ALENG’S BIRTHDAY

We had a simple dinner celebration today for Aleng’s birthday. She’s with us for the year because she’s currently studying at PUP to obtain a degree in B.A. Entrepreneurial Management. It’s basically like Marketing or Business Management din naman. I guess the focus is just more on honing a person’s skills to be an entrepreneur… I think she likes the school naman but she is just so silent always, never really talks and makes kuwento. But I hope she makes good and finishes her course or even just two years of it so she can take the sub-professional civil service exam and maybe enter the government service. A college degree is also necessary even for private companies so I just hope she doesn’t go the way of Annie and gets married before she finishes college. Meantime, here are some pics taken after we had eaten simple dinner fare of spaghetti, cake and ice cream for Aleng’s birthday…

NEW BANK ACCOUNT WITH METRO

This year 2009, I finally decided to push through with my plans to set aside some money for a savings account…it may be used for a planned trip/vacation…or an appliance/electronic gadget …or a birthday party or summer outing with the family…or even just for an emergency slush fund…whatever the purpose may be, the important thing is that I will try my best to set aside a little money each payday into a savings account. I was only able to start this at around March using the money my Papa gifted me as the initial seed money… then from each month’s payday, I would set aside an amount ranging from 200 to 500 to put into this savings fund. Sometimes, I admit I inadvertently get money from said account to buy needed toiletries/groceries but I still try to return the money as much as possible. Then, when the hubby took out a GSIS loan this month to refurbish the kitchen, I decided to finally open an account with Metrobank (which is just across the street from us) and deposit the money while waiting for our ‘tile-man’ to become available ( I think he stil has a pending project with Ate Ne and would be available next month pa…) I guess now that the money is in the bank, it would make it more difficult for me to get it easily well, sure there’s an ATM but I still need to get to an ATM machine diba? Unlike when the money is just stashed inside my cabinet in the house and I could easily get it anytime I want…now, at least I am more or less assured that I would only be using the money for meaningful purposes! So, here’s good luck to me! And I hope this venture of mine to save money would flourish for a long...long…long…time!

KUYA DOMENG IS DEAD!

We got the fateful call at around 6 am last week, as the hubby and I were getting ready for work and I heard him curse over the phone…then, after a while I saw him sitting on the sofa hunched over and emotional though I couldn’t really say if he was crying. I learned the sad news then that his brother died – in his sleep like a bangungot. It seems (from the stories of Ditse who was at BP at the time) he slept the night before with his tummy aching, they figured it was just from too much food intake. Then, in the middle of the night his wife was awakened by restless noises made by Kuya in his sleep. She tried to wake him up but he wouldn’t wake…fearful that he may be afflicted with ‘bangungot’ she called for help and they decided to bring Kuya to the hospital. He never made it alive to the hospital…he was dead before they even got there. Of course, it is expected that my husband, as well as the rest of his siblings, would be affected by his death. They are a close-knit family despite the fact that they were nine siblings in all. Kuya is the second in their brood and when I became part of their family, he was the one who usually tends to their farm. Since their Tatang died, no one else in their family had followed his footsteps except Kuya. My hubby did for awhile, but work in Manila beckoned and was far more lucrative so he left their province for greener pastures. But when Kuya grew old, he found he could not farm anymore so they left their house (which was situated at the back of the compound) to live in Pulilan, where her wife and family resides to help her sell puto and chicharon at the tiangge. Maybe, he had been feeling sick a long time but no one really knows…he is not the type to talk and complain much kasi e… I guess he feels he doesn’t have the money to go for a checkup and so he just lets his body heal itself naturally. But I wish he would have said something…anything to anyone so that his other siblings could have helped him… but now I guess it’s too late…today we lay his body to rest…goodbye Kuya…I will always be reminded of you whenever I prepare your favorite fruit salad every Christmas…I promise to send one out to the heavens for you each year… Rest in Peace brother…

A time to stop and play

Last Sunday, my daughter made a very odd request… at 7 pm (considered the oras de peligro) moreso since we just arrived from our nearby province in Pampanga and I was right smack in the middle of getting our Sunday dinner ready… she was holding her ceramic tea-set in her hands and she asked (oh so pitifully) that we play for I haven’t played with her in ages!!! I was quite about ready to brush her off and tell her to go play computers instead with her brother when I stopped, took a step back and told her sweetly to wait a bit until nanay finishes cooking and then we can play…she jumped in glee and I will never exchange that joyful expression in her face for anything else in the world. After a time, I felt she was getting a bit impatient … I was too but I had to let the adobo simmer for awhile… I told her to wash the tiny cups and saucers and even the teensy plates first so it would be clean for us to use real food and drinks in. By the time she was through washing and drying, dinner was ready! And so I had my niece finish up preparing the dinner table… while I set off to play teatime with my daughter. While we were drinking mango juice (not tea) in her teensy cups, and ate mini puto and kutsinta which fit perfectly in her tiny plates, I took advantage of her good mood and fed her dinner (rice and chicken adobo) at the same time. You see this daughter of mine is one very difficult child to feed ---remember that TV commercial with the mom doing all sorts of tricks just to feed her child, well I’ve done all that and so much more… I gave her vitamins and appetite stimulants; made her meals pleasing to the eye; hid carrots and other veggies in omelettes and ground meat patties; fed her milk and cookies and healthy sandwiches as snacks… but she still ends up looking terribly undernourished. So totally unlike her kuya whom we (almost always) had to pry with a crow bar from the dinner table! So I guess the moment she asked me to play teatime with her… I decided to hit two birds with one stone – well, make that three birds – one, I was able to fulfill a little girl’s wish to have a teatime party; second, I was able to feed her dinner without much of a fuss and; third, I was able to spend some precious bonding (and even relaxing!) time with my daughter…something which we might just make a regular habit every weekend.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES 10 – Sweet and Sour fish

This is another dish that has become a family favorite, particularly the hubby’s. I got the recipe from my favorite food blogger (Connie Veneracion) You will find two recipes of sweet and sour fish in her archive and they’re both delicious… the procedure is basically the same you fry the fish first (any kind of fleshy one will do). Then you mix all the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce (vinegar, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper) and cook over low heat. Finally, you stir-fry the vegetables (ginger, onions, carrots, bell pepper) and assemble everything together – place the fried fish on a platter, top with vegetables and then pour the sauce all over the fish and vegetables. Serve while hot!

LOOKING FOR A SECOND JOB

For the past month, I got busy searching for a second job…I searched websites to try part-time work for online tutors, medical transcriptionists, editors, blog-writers and I found a few possibilities. In fact, I went so far as to send out my resumes to some of them but only a few of them replied back. And those that did I did not find so desirable pa…either the place was too far for me to make the commute or the time slot they had available did not fit my schedule because it would interfere with my work here at the office. But why do you think I need another job when I am already doing well in my job here and in fact, I just got regularized (at last!) after three years here at my new office and fourteen years in the government service! Imagine that… I wasted so much time! Six years from now I could be eligible na sana for early retirement! But as it is now, I have to wait until 2029 – I’ll be about 58 years old by then! Oh no! But that would be fine…I guess, I am just glad that I got to be regularized after all and I have to thank my new bosses for that! You see the reason why I need another job is because the finances lately have not been meeting up. Well, I have been used for quite some time that the hubby’s salary is almost always used up in loans for the kids’ education or maybe some other things/renovations for the house. But for me…it’s a different story… I have always been used to having ‘other’ sources of income like in my old job at the PNP I used to work as a writer, co-editor, and what-have-yous for the organization journal/magazine. Then, there was a time that I worked as media officer for an NGO of legislators so I had two jobs then so I figured I could still wing it this time. But I guess the circumstances are different – I am a bit older now and most of the companies particularly the tutorial jobs for Koreans were looking for younger applicants, especially those that just graduated. I even went for an interview for two companies that did decide to call me…and both times, the Filipino manager accepted me but said they hoped I won’t look my age when I get interviewed by the Korean bosses. They even lied for me and said I was just thirty-five but then too bad that they never called me back so I guess I wasn’t believable enough for the Korean boss huh? Meanwhile, the writing jobs are too difficult because it would require me to write a certain number of articles per day and I don’t think I can do that anymore because there may be times when I have a full workload at the office and thus I may not be able to fulfill my obligations… So, I guess I will just have to keep looking elsewhere…weekend jobs na lang sana para I won’t be so tired every night. Meanwhile, I’ll have to make a few budgetary adjustments na lang muna to make ends meet…I will have to make the kids (and the hubby too!) realize that our money isn’t like it used to be and so some penny pinching efforts have to be made collectively. I just hope this works…Good luck to me!

BUWAN NG WIKA @ VMS

It’s our second year to celebrate Buwan ng Wika at VMS and my daughter is quite excited because this time around their class is required to come up with a costume that’s Muslim-inspired. I am glad, too, that their costume is simple enough and would not require me to scour the shops of Divisoria, Quiapo, or other similar places. Instead, the teacher just required the children to dress all in black, then a multi-colored malong or sarong shall be wrapped and/or secured with a pin on the shoulder. Quite simple eh? What we just made were the gold-colored fans that was shaped from cardboard and wrapped in gold foil. Then, for her accessories she wore pearls around her neck, on her wrists, ears and even her hair and a red jewel sticker was placed on her forehead to simulate the Bindis worn by Hindu women. It’s just so bad that the venue for their dance is quite small (the roofdeck of their school) so I was only able to take her picture while in the classroom and while they were awaiting their turn to dance. But during the dance, I found it quite difficult to get near the stage as I was afraid to block the view of the other parents and students watching… maybe next time I’ll get a better vantage point so my photos of her dance won’t turn out so blurred…or better yet, I should get a new DSLR camera so I would be able to shoot pictures no matter how far I am from the stage…now, that’s a nice thought!

KING CRAB @ PAPA’S

This is not a dish I cooked nor did I eat it at a restaurant… but rather this is common food fare that we indulge in whenever we hold get-togethers at Papa’s house. As is the usual case, they call us up or text us to ask what kind of food we like and we usually end up asking for pretty much the same thing…not just because it is our fave kind of food to eat but also because the food we want is not the usual stuff we could buy at our local market. Besides, its prices are usually not very cheap and so we take advantage of the chance for them to buy us what we couldn’t afford hehehe… like sushi, pink salmon sashimi, tiger prawns and this king crab…yummy! Now, I can’t wait for our next gustatory feast!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 9: PORK BROCCOLI IN OYSTER SAUCE

This is one favorite food that I usually order whenever I am in Chinese restaurants. But it’s good that I do not have to wait to visit a Chinese restaurant to be able to eat this dish because this is after all just a stir-fry dish that is quite easy to prepare. Sometimes it can be done with beef but this time, I made it with pork tenderloins since it cooks faster and besides, beef is quite expensive nowadays. All that needs to be done is to first slice the pork thinly and then also the garlic, onions and the broccoli florets. When everything is ready, you heat up some oil in a wok or whatever non-stick pan, sauté the garlic, onions and then the beef. Wait until the pork changes color then add the broccoli florets, the oyster sauce, a bit of water, then salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the fire and transfer to a serving platter. And you now have a quick and easy pork broccoli in oyster sauce.

FIRST GLIMPSE OF LANGKA FROM OUR TREE

I am not quite sure at all when our langka was planted…I think it was about a year ago when Ditse asked for ‘binhi’ from Inang’s brother whose tree has been producing very big langka fruits and that’s not all cuz their tree has been known to produce so many at a time – even ten! That’s why after about a year or more of waiting, we are so excited that our very own langka tree has started to bear fruit – in fact, 6 fruits in all! But that’s not all in one tree… rather there are four fruits in one and two more in another tree! I just wonder how long it’s gonna take for all of them to grow big and ripen…I just hope they don’t do so all at the same time cuz we don’t have a ready market for them! All I could think about is the paladusdos/ginataan, pastillas, ice candy or even just plain minatamisang langka that we could make with our very own langka fruit – I could hardly wait!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 8 – CHICKEN AND POTATOES IN CREAMY CHEESE

And so after the somewhat disaster that I experienced with cooking Bachoy…I decided to cook something that is quite close to my heart…one that I know my kids and hubby would love – after all it had all their fave ingredients – milk and cheese! This is another recipe I got from CASA Veneracion and it is truly another super easy dish to prepare. For the exact recipe, just browse her site. All that needs to be done is to lightly brown the chicken then the potatoes in a little butter. Season with salt and pepper then add some water and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes to let the liquid evaporate. After that, you add the milk and cheese and when the cheese melts, you simmer for a few minutes more, turn off the fire and serve while hot! I tell you the creamy goodness of this dish is something the kids will surely love!

New Phone from SUN

Today, I and a few officemates decided to take out a SUN Group plan for PhP999 that we could share among ourselves and pay the cost depending on our consumption. It was actually quite a good deal / promo from SUN since we are given unlimited calls and texts to other SUN numbers plus 250 free combined texts to other networks - all that we get for our monthly service fee of PhP333 per month. The ones we had to pay for are the calls we make to other networks and also the PASA load to SUN plus international and other system texts we make. The only problem was that the units that they give out for free are not very good ones; in fact, they are just the typical phone with the basic features like call and text messaging capabilities, camera, FM radio, MP3 player, etc. And so since we didn’t have much choice, I opted to go with the one with dual sim capabilities na lang so I can do away with my other phone na. It was just a simple MyPhone unit, nothing spectacular although it did have interchangeable back covers so you can change the phone’s colors with just one snap. The one other benefit of having a group plan is that it would save me much time and effort in getting the needed credentials because in this case, only the principal member (in this case Ate Ne) would provide her billing statement, proof of income (payslip or certificate of compensation) and all we had to do was pay the advance fee of PhP333 each and voila! We have a new phone with our own 333 SUN plans! Hurrah for SUN!

So what am I doing...still awake at 11 p.m. at a weekday yet! when I wake up really early at 5 am everyday to prepare the kids' baon and help them get ready for school...nothing really...just that I found the urge to write again...what?!? Did I get that right? writing again??? yes...it's true...all of a sudden I've found the urge to write -no fireworks... no big explosions - I just found myself rummaging thru the inner recesses of my bag for the blue blogging notebook (yup the one which I bought seemingly ages ago to jot down spur of the moment blogging notes). But this time I'm not just writing notes but this full-length article!

I guess even if the computer is just within my reach I find it hard to start writing again because I truly took hard the fact that they took away the laptop the office issued... although at the time I didn't want to accept that yet. So now I guess it's a start that I'm starting to find the urge to write...even if the old fashioned way. I realize that I don't really need a computer to write... all I need is to get back to basics - just a pen and paper and my thoughts...(In fact, I'm typing this in the computer and posting this entry 2 months later)

Well, I am in no special hurry ... I hope to take this one step at a time - and not rush myself into anything... I know it's a bit tedious business writing in a notebook cum diary then typing and posting in the next few days or even weeks...but I'll manage somehow. I know I'll never hope to come close to professional bloggers like my idols Sassy lawyer or Marketman or Ivan or Anna Manila - who always manage to write about anything and everything they put their minds to... but I hope to get there too someday and today is the first day of my journey - so please bear with me...

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 7 – Pork Bachoy?

It is my first time to try cooking a dish that is a known favorite of my hubby… and admittedly I had my apprehensions at first because I know for a fact that he is quite a picky eater. But armed with a recipe I got from the blogsite Mga Luto ni Dennis at iba pa, I went ahead and cooked the dish. It is quite simple really – you just sauté the sliced pork in ginger, garlic and onions. Then you add patis and pepper and let the pork cook. After that, some water is added and when it has boiled for a few minutes, you add the misua, a bit more salt and finally, some onion leaves are added. For a complete copy of the recipe, you may just browse thru the website I mentioned earlier… And did the hubby like it? Well, it is a little of yes but no…Yes, he liked the dish enough to eat much during the meal…but he does not consider it a real authentic bachoy (like the one his mother used to cook) and why??? Because it did not have pork blood…well, I do not know how to cook with pork blood and even the market I frequent doesn’t really sell it so I guess I would not have the chance at all to cook bachoy the way he wants it…but I’ll just be content with the fact that he liked what I cooked today…even if it wasn’t really bachoy for him.

OBOY’S NEW HOUSE AT AFPOVAI

My uncle’s house (formerly inside Fort Bonifacio when he was still in active military service) held numerous memories for us as children…this is where we usually hold our get-togethers like Christmas, New Years, birthdays and other simple salo-salos or even summer vacations. But when he retired and Fort Bonifacio was sold and converted to the Global City, he had to let go of the house…and with it all our happy memories… but of course, it never really gets lost because each one of us have pockets of memories stored inside our hearts. And why am I suddenly taking this trip down memory lane??? Well, actually it’s because this uncle of ours wanted to revive that old tradition – for our families to get-together in one big house – eat our hearts out, drink and chat the whole night, sleep over and then the next day get up and eat again. This is why he built this big house in AFPOVAI to replace the old one that we fondly call Q139 (the house number). And today, we got to see the house for the first time …it is indeed quite huge and equipped with all the modern amenities. It is quite airy too so that one doesn’t really need to turn on the airconditioning just to keep oneself cool inside the house. In fact, the house is quite energy sufficient and environment-friendly too because they had solar panels that would save up on some energy. I was only able to get a few pictures of the house…because I only used my cel…maybe the next time we are there I’ll be able to post some more. The pic on the left is the dining area with French windows that lead to the patio and gardens that surround the entire ground floor. At right is the sala where the main door is located and where a mini bar can be found.

The next pic shows the patio where most of our meals are held… the oldies are the ones who usually eat on the main table while we (cuzins) stay outside where it is much more airy and refreshing to eat. Besides, this is usually where the buffet table is placed and so it would be much easier for us to get our food refills…hehehe!

Then, upstairs there are three bedrooms – one for each of his children – for Dot (although he seldom stays there because he has his own quarters at the PSG), the other is for Dian (who lives in Clark, Pampanga so he uses the room only during weekends that he goes home to Manila) and the last is for Ming (the only daughter who lives in Cebu). There is also a big den or TV room that has a few modern sofa beds scattered about for the benefit of those who want to sleep after a huge meal or even stay for the night. There is also a huge open space to the left of the stairs …they say the Uncle plans to put a gym there, but the equipment ordered hasn’t arrived yet….sayang!

I wasn’t able to get pics of the bedrooms…next time na lang! Even Uncle Boy’s bedroom (which is downstairs was off limits e!) It is located to the right of the sala just before we reach the kitchen. What is unique about the house is their solar panels situated at the roof and which takes care of half their electricity bills. Pretty neat huh! Most of their lighting and water heating needs are already covered by the solar panels so only the TVs, fans and aircon shall be billed by Meralco. But with all the huge windows and open spaces for the wind to pass thru, I don’t think they have much need for it naman e. The one thing more that I liked in this house is their guest bathroom situated opposite Uncle Boy’s bedroom – it had blue tiles and a glass blue bathroom sink! How cool is that??? Next time I promise to take more pics of this very pretty and refreshing house!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES 6: PORK CURRY

For the past three weeks, we have tried our best to stay away from chicken dishes in deference to our family members who have had a bout with chickenpox. But lately, I have started to run out of ideas and dishes to cook. And so this time, I decided to convert a favorite chicken meal (of the kids!) but instead use pork… but I used the same procedure: Saute the garlic, onion and ginger.

Add the pork and let it brown a bit. You may add the seasonings at this point – salt, pepper and the curry powder. When the pork is partially cooked, add the potatoes and/or carrots then the cream or coconut milk. Let the vegetables cook a bit before adding the kakang gata and the red bell peppers and voila! It is done… serve with steaming hot rice!

A BOUT WITH CHICKENPOX!

I don’t really know for sure how she got it…maybe from our neighbor, Michelle but they say her chickenpox happened about a month ago (in May pa) so I wonder if it was possible for a virus to last that long??? Well, anyway no matter how she got it I guess there’s really nothing I could do about it but wait it out until the virus decides to leave her body. Meanwhile, I would try my best to relieve the itchiness that is sure to come with chickenpox…oh dear, why did she have to have this disease now when school will be opening next week??? The good news though is that Kaye had the pox for only a week and then she started scabbing and healing quite well so that only very few marks were left on her body, most of them on her legs and back (thank God there were only a few on her face!) The bad news, however, is that she infected her father…oh no! I thought he already had chickenpox when he was younger…and Inang thought so too …but apparently he hasn’t had it yet and so now he’s suffering from it. They say an adult’s bout with chickenpox is much worse than when he had it as a child and this proved so true with my hubby. In fact, he had chickenpox marks all over his body – even inside his mouth. And what’s worse is that they itch all the time and all at the same time…I don’t even know how to help him…calamine lotion doesn’t seem to work anymore! He also doesn’t want to go to the doctor since he’s afraid to infect all the other patients there! Oh dear…what am I supposed to do??? But I guess what made his situation worse was the fact that his pox lasted for so long…like three weeks or almost a month!!! I learned later on when he got well na there were moments when he felt like just wanting to die… I guess that’s the way he is…he very rarely gets sick and when he does, he has it so bad that I wouldn’t really know what to do to ease his pain and give him comfort…I try my best to just be there…because I guess that’s all I could really give him…

(Image from Clipart)

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 5: TUNA IN MUSHROOM AND CREAM

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 5: TUNA IN MUSHROOM AND CREAM Okay, okay I am truly very sorry…I know I have been quite remiss with posting lately, particularly with my kitchen misadventure series. It is not that I haven’t been cooking lately…I guess the food I have been cooking are just the regular ones and so I haven’t found the energy to post them at all! So this time around, I am posting quite a simple recipe that I did not actually get from any particular site. It is actually a dish similar to an old time fave – chicken a la king but instead of chicken, I used fish, particularly tuna fillets. The cooking procedure is quite the same, the fish is pre-cooked. But instead of boiled, steamed or grilled like chicken, it is rolled in flour and deep fried. Then this is set aside. Next, you put butter in the pan, stir in the mushrooms, add the milk then you let the mixture boil a bit to thicken it. Finally, add the fried fish and serve while still hot! Pretty easy…and tastes great too!

PIAO OUTING @ TAGAYTAY

PIAO OUTING @ TAGAYTAY For the second straight year, our small unit at PIAO will be holding our annual team-building at Tagaytay. Nope, it’s not exactly our favorite place in the world… In fact, I get to visit this place about twice or thrice each year but heck I still never get tired of it! But compared to last year, where only Keith and I were able to come (because the hubby had an important ballgame) this year I was able to take Kaye with me since Jun went with us na din. First stop, as usual, was Bag of Beans for breakfast and their brewed coffee. Afterwards, we wanted to shed off the heavy meal we just ate so we went to visit a zoo but a different one this time and not Paradizoo since its entrance fee is quite steep and so we opted for its sister zoo – the Residence Inn.

They even had the chance to have their pictures taken with live animals…of course for a minimal fee but that’s OK… they may never have the chance again e so might as well get it over and done with! I’m sure they take the necessary precautions naman e so doing it would not be so dangerous… still, I can’t help but remain apprehensive when it was Keith’s turn to have a pic with a baby tiger…even if it was just baby, it is still a tiger with its fangs, claws and all!

Next stop was People’s Park to walk off some more our heavy meal/breakfast. An added plus was the zipline that allowed the kids to take part in another daredevil stunt! I decided not to take part in it na lang…not really because I am afraid of heights (although partly, I guess) but because of money concerns. A roundtrip costs PhP300 and one way is PhP150 and so I had the hubby join Keith na lang while Kaye and I opted to ride the cable car with Jude and his equally fearful daughter, Gianna.

The highlight of the day was lunch at another bulalo restaurant - Taalena (I think!). And as usual, we ordered bulalo and tawilis (Tagaytay’s specialty food) This time, their bulalo was still great but not very spectacular. We also ordered crispy pata – another food good for the heart (hehehe!) and we even tried the restaurant’s other specialty – adobong dilaw! It was OK naman but I missed the saltiness of the true adobo with toyo. Here are pics of the food we ate.

Suffice it to say, we were all stuffed after our meal and so we spent some time resting at the resto grounds and taking pictures. It had a pretty garden and some nipa huts to house those who may wish to drink and dine outside. Before heading back to Manila, we stopped by Mahogany market to buy some beef, pineapples, and other pasalubong stuff… we all went home happy for the fun time, good food and special friends we spent our day with.

KAYE’S 7th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

For this year, Kaye celebrated her birthday in a bit of bongga fashion, in fact, we celebrated it three times! … because after all, it is her 7th birthday and instead of spending it at a restaurant in a fancy dress…we opted to spend it at a pool! Where else? It’s summer for crying out loud! My daughter’s birthday this year fell on a Monday and so on that day we just bought her a cake. It was during the weekend after that (on May 24) that we decided to go swimming at Nicolas Grande resort which was just near the house at Barranca. Then, on the next day (a Monday) we gave her a party for her friends naman in our subdivision. I know…I know some may say this may be a bit too much but hey it’s not all the time that our little princess turns seven so we might as well celebrate it well! She had been a good girl naman e with all her nice grades this year and the last so I guess she deserves to be treated well din!

KIT’S CONFIRMATION


My boy, Keith will be turning thirteen (13) years old in a month’s time… and it is also around this time (if I remember correctly) that I, too, had my confirmation and so when my sister-in-law asked me if I wanted to have Kit confirmed along with his other cousins at Bahay Pare I immediately agreed. We carefully chose his new godparents and settled on (for the girls) Sanse Edith and Boots, and (for the boys) Odie and Adrian. He shall be confirmed together with Ace, Alkey, Argie and Ariane.

The ceremony was held at the Baliuag church (where Corkey’s dad is a lay minister) and it was a bit hot but we patiently waited… finally after the priests sermon and reminders to the kids undergoing confirmation, the actual ceremony started. The hubby was the one who took the pics…he was able to take a pic of me while I stood as godmother to one of his pamangkins…but when his son’s turn came, he pushed the shutter a bit too late (hehehe). After the ceremony, there was a little salo-salo at Lon’s and a few more hours later we went back home to our own place in Bulacan, thankful that my son is now a confirmed Catholic…I just hope he truly understands what it entails.


(here's a pic of him and his cousins while awaiting confirmation...)