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Showing posts from July, 2012

Dolce

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The grannies (my parents), were not answering Matt's knocks on their door at about 845pm, the night the latter arrived from Manila with his Pa. The folks were probably resting or sleeping so we didn't disturb any further. We then drove to Dolce for some sweets and milk tea to enjoy Matt's homecoming :D The place had a good crowd but we were still able to get a table for our group of five. It was fun having the whole brood there enjoying each other's company as we chatted in between sips of honeydew and wintermelon. I live for times like this. As the Italians say, la dolce vita. :)

Full House

Our eldest son, who is on his 3rd year in uni, just turned 19 years old last Monday. He flew back in town to spend his weekend with us and for a few days of R&R to celebrate his birthday with family and some of his close friends. Quick plans to get together have been made and I hope he enjoys every minute of his short weekend birthday break. Meanwhile, I'm having my doses of hugs from my college boy. It's been more than a month since I last snuggled up to him. :) *taking advantage* Eldest son, Matt (sitting right of youngest son), turned 19 a few days ago. Joining us in pic are my Pa and Ma.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

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This is what happens when you leave your pet with a groomer... Even Bo doesn't seem happy to look like a Shih Tzu / Chihuahua hybrid... ...Shih Tzu before... ...Shi Chi after...

Because It's Chinese

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Last night, Kyle, the 2nd Kuya, could not remember some of the characters in Jake's Chinese review sheet. And because I didn't know a stroke of Chinese, I was totally useless in helping them. Sadly I'm clueless even if my life depended on it. What was there left to do then? I texted my ever dependable Hubby, who was in Manila, to go online as I would be calling via Skype. He texted back to confirm. As soon as we connected, the Chinese tutorial commenced. Jake and Jerry during their Chinese tutorial over Skype And what was I doing while this was going on? I was holding the iPad steady and taking photos while they talked. Not too useless after all!

Blogging and Hashtags

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I noticed my blog posts lately were mostly about food, school, kids, and travel. Not that I don't have anything to write about. Perhaps because I'm on sabbatical, my world these days mainly revolve around these. Rewind to 2002, my posts were more verbose or long-winded then, very much like how one would normally write on a pretty diary with a scented pen during the 80s. I remember a dear friend, Geri (short for Geraldine) who gifted me with a pink hardbound journal and jokingly demanded that I write about our teenage adventures in 1985! Geez, I still have it! In my online journal, I blogged whatever came to mind - milestones, joy, excitement, funny or embarassing moments, nonsense, and of course, drama, no holds barred. I took pride in being self-taught in customizing the look of my blog using html codes and plugins. Those were the days, the early blogging era before the term "social media" became a byword. Now there is wordpress slider among many tools t...

Simply J's

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We've heard about it before and wondered why people seem to flock to the place. Now we know (said in the manner of Manny Paquiao's ad) ... the resto definitely gives value to your hard-earned peso. Thus, the crowded parking area especially during dinner time. Here's our P340 lunch for 2 at this shabby chic looking resto along Escario St. in Cebu. (1) Caesar's salad (2) seafood pasta... (3) interiors of Simply J's

The Comic

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Of the three boys, our youngest son, Jake, has the propensity to be the comedian in the family. His witty and sometimes, outlandish quips when he butts in adult conversations, leave us in stitches. Take for example last Sunday's exchange during lunch at my in-laws' place. While Jerry the aunts and I were candidly talking and reminiscing about our two elder sons' (Matt and Kyle) "toddler antics", Jake suddenly asked: "Was I already born that time, Pa?". "No, Jake (because there is a seven-year gap between him and Kyle, who is now 15), you were not born yet", one of my sisters-in-law replied. We all laughed and I almost choked on my gelatin dessert when I heard him say, "Ooh... riiight... I was still dead that time." LOL. Like I said, he seems to come up with these off-the-wall one-liners at the snap of a finger, without intending to be funny at all. Quite a skill, this boy has. Impeccable timing too. So... I put tog...

No Safe Distance

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I was early for the boys' pick up this afternoon and the gates were not yet open. When this happens, the long line of waiting cars reach up to the main road, causing a jam. That was what happened to me today and although the wait wasn't too long, I found myself quite apprehensive when I was stuck near this power transmission line. We don't know the intensity of the electromagnetic field there is. All I know is it could be a health hazard. With these around, there really is no safe distance from EMF.

Sprocket

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As defined, the term "sprocket" means: Noun: Each of several projections on the rim of a wheel that engage with the links of a chain or with holes in film, tape, or paper; A wheel with teeth. This is also the name of a newly- opened cafe in Cebu that serves coffee / milk tea, pizza, pasta, salads and more. Why that name? It's because one of the owners, I heard, is a photography aficionado. It's the reason why there are old school camera paraphernalia on display and a wall of lomo photos. We tried it yesterday, a Saturday, and had their oolong milk tea, honeydew milk tea, pesto pasta and pizza margherita. Verdict? We enjoyed our orders (and the place too). :) And we'll be coming back to try more of what they have.

And This Is Just For Snack

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Friday means I could let Jake have some extra play time. An hour is just about enough for him to burn the extra energy. He ran from and chased after his Grade 2 classmates while I sat and waited at the lobby. He was already panting and out of breath when he approached me to say he was done and was very thirsty. To the canteen we walked hand in hand (yes... he still allows me to do that, lol) for water and snacks too because he has already finished off his "baon". After checking out the food choices, he settled for 3 pork dumplings and a cup of rice. A growing (and still sweet) boy, he is.

Grannies Go to School

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Because my parents were free earlier this afternoon, I invited them to join me for a drive to get our sons (their grandkids) from school. Last week, when Pa was away taking care of business in Manila, Ma went with me. We made it a treat to buy our afternoon snacks from the school cafeteria while waiting for Kyle and Jake to get off from their classes. We simply love the allowance-friendly native "kakanin", banana-cue and fresh buko juice. Beats having costly snacks at the mall, hands down. This afternoon was Pa's first time to join and Jake was happy to see all of us. I guess he's proud to have his grannies there. It was special having Pa and Ma in the school canteen sharing native snacks with me and my boys... It's something my boys and I will remember dearly. "pinaypay", banana-cue and young coconut juice for snacks

Time Travel Series

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Back in the day when Lego bricks and Rugrats on tv kept my boys preoccupied... busy... Matt @12, Kyle @8 and Jake @1 --- THEN! :) Matt and Kyle smile for the camera... Jake looks intently at the tv while clutching an early version of the Nokia cellphone :P Circa August 2005 Location: Tuscania, Guadalupe, Cebu City --- Matt at 19, Kyle at 15 and Jake at 8 --- NOW :D

Label Reading

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This just made my day... LOL (In the shower while Hubby was getting ready for his trip to Manila) Jerry: 'nor, you bought me body wash pala?! Me : Ha??? Wha... Oh??? (surprised... thinking I bought him men's scented lotion) Jerry: No wonder I'm getting soapsuds again. *** a case of 2 people not reading labels ***

Breaking The Routine

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I have been on sabbatical for almost 2 years. For a stay-at-home mom like me, what I miss, aside from the regular 15-30 salary (*sigh*), would be the times I eat out for lunch with my colleagues. Nowadays, lunch time is good and means sharing home-cooked meals with my folks while waiting for the time I get to pick up my sons from school. Not that I mind, but lunch out for me usually happens on weekends, if possible at all. Today, a Monday, I had a lunch date with Jerry. From out of nowhere, while getting ready for work, he just popped the invitation. So the rest of the morning, I was happily looking forward to having a special time with hubby while enjoying our food selection. Come noontime, we chose Cafe Georg at Banilad. And it was a pleasant surprise to find the place packed - on a Monday! I ordered the pork belly roll up and banana yogurt honey shake while Jerry had no-frills US sirloin cheeseburger. Food was great and time spent was extra special. at Cafe Georg ...

A Little Celebration

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The end of the 1st half of the year, the start of a new month, payday plus (the highlight of the week) the silver and bronze medals received by our 8yo and 15yo sons a few days ago were the perfect excuse for this extended family to splurge a little extra on food. We chose to have Japanese dinner at SumoSam . Jerry and I recently discovered the Perfect Match and ordered the steak and chicken combos (for sharing with Pa and Ma) plus ebi tempura with gohan (for Jake) and US beef sizzling plate (for Kyle). What we like about the perfect match is it comes with either steak or chicken plus a choice of one from the following: ebi teppan, ebi tempura, salmon or fish fingers (we got salmon for both of our combos). A combo is served with house salad, miso soup, California rolls and Japanese fried rice. And that's a complete meal right there for this group. Perfect match indeed for sharing with perfect company! Part of our steak/salmon combo Jake's ebi tempura The exte...