Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Monday holiday

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The Monday holiday was the aftereffect of our Tagaytay weekend. Simply put, we spent it lazily. Come afternoon, the three of us feasted on our merienda which consisted of hotdogs, peanuts, popcorn, Spanish bread, choco cupcake, orange juice, and apple juice. By the way, if you haven't noticed it yet, we were just three in the family. My big man, my little man, and me. Yes, this is how we eat. Always. And still I wonder why my waistline keeps on expanding!



The Spanish bread bought from Sonya's was the best Spanish bread I have ever tasted. The litte man, on the other hand, finished half of the choco cupcake and he loved it so much definitely because it was chocolate. We all know how kids adore chocolates in any form--drink, candy, bar, ice cream, etc. He paired it with Gerber apple juice. Yum yum!




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Sunday, August 29, 2010

I love Tagaytay weekend!!

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My honey's calendar marked August 27, Friday, as day-off, and Malacanan Palace announced August 30, Monday, a holiday because it was National Heroes' Day. So imagine how happy I was when I learned that the three of us will be spending Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday lazily and stress-free!

August 27, Friday - The rain the night before would not stop and it seemed that it had no any plans of stopping, so I wondered if going out of town would be a clever idea. I had second thoughts of going, yet the wife in me told me that my husband needed to recharge his pressured mind and abused body (thank you very much to his demanding work) and the mother in me agreed also that the little man deserved to have a different place to witness and a different air to breathe. So despite the heavy rains in Manila, off we were to Tagaytay.

We arrived there just in time to stop our complaining tummy. It was past two in the afternoon when we had lunch at RSM. As usual, we ordered the sought after Bulalo which had generous serving of tender beef, vegetables, beef stock (perfect ulam as it is) and, of course, the star of the show- the bulalo, or commonly called utak. I insisted on getting fried tawilis, a bestseller also. These two viands, paired with two servings of plain rice, calamansi with red-hot siling labuyo, and ice-cold cola... with the Taal volcano as the backdrop...ahh!! Perfect late lunch!!







Since the place was not that crowded given the time and the (ordinary) day, the little man had the chance to freely roam around its grounds. He played habulan with his dad. My two men were so tired already, and so we left.



Next stop, Sonya's Garden. This place never failed to make me smile. Endless colorful flowers greeted me in every corner I went to, and unique wood, art, and antique pieces in extraordinary designs placed in different spots fascinated me as always.




We bought the ever-famous Sonya's Spanish Bread and
the bestseller Choco Cupcake.




The last time we were there, it was just the two of us. Now, the little man was with us who, like in RSM, joyfully took advantage of the wide, clean grounds of Sonia's. We just let him walk, run, sit, and pick pebbles and it was evident that he enjoyed his semi-unguarded playtime in Sonya's.




It was time for dinner when we left Sonia's. As always, our tongue craved for Italian dishes only Bon Giorno could pacify. We even brought a bottle of wine to complement what we ordered, only to be told that there would be a corkage fee, so with broken hearts, we finished our meal without it. Wine or without wine, Bon Giorno's dishes were perfect as it is. Pizzas in (not so) thin crust made crunchy in every bite plus cheese melted to perfection, it was one great pizza experience. The pasta, no matter how familiar we were with it already, still tasted soooo good, and still gave that "umph" as if it was our first time. The sauce that was pretty rich for the pasta noodles making the noodles swim a bit ( just a bit, really) was meant to be served like that for a much tastier and yummier pasta overload. We had free serving of bread with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a dip. We ended the night really full and satisfied. We even considered having lunch there the next day.






August 28, Saturday- We woke up at around eight in the morning, hurriedly took a shower and went to the road at around nine. We headed to Jollibee, the little man's favorite. We ordered two breakfast meal, and the little man got a FREE yum with cheese. Yep, he got that for free!! That was his lucky day!

We then went to Caleruega after breakfast. Tagaytay trip will never be THAT complete without a visit to this wedding-famous church. The entrance of p30.00 per head was worth it. The little man again enjoyed his freedom by running here and there, round and round, until honey and I both gave up to his never ending energy. Caleruega still captured my heart through the greens that surround it and the unique pieces it had in discreet places. This place will always be a special place for me...ask the big man why ;)








That was our last stop and we bid goodbye to the city of Tagaytay with smiles in our lips. We spent just two short yet fulfilling and fun-filled days away from home and it was definitely worth it. Now I cannot wait to go out of town again! I wonder when would be the next long weekend?

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My Lasagna Roll




I was craving for lasagna so I decided to make one. Since my mother-in-law had THE BEST LASAGNA ever, and afraid that my hubby will compare mommy's version and mine, I decided to give it a twist by rolling the lasagna noodles instead of layering it so to divert his attention to the lasagna's new look instead of the taste. Turned out that he enjoyed my version too along with the new look of his lasagna.

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Monday, August 23, 2010

Who is Rolando Mendoza?

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August 23, 2010 -- Just as when the country is doing good due to the success of the elections and, so far, the satisfaction of the Philippine people with the governance of the new President, and with all the good news about the country's representative gaining popularity and positioning herself as one of the top favorites in the much coveted Miss Universe crown, the country's reputation is once again challenged.

Today has been a very bad, sad and disappointing day. Since 11:00 in the morning, news from all the local channels, that later on spilled to international news, as well as local AM and FM stations covered the hostage-taking in the busy road of Manila of a tourist bus carrying Chinese nationals visiting the country. The hostage-taking lasted for almost twelve hours, leaving several hostages injured and worst, dead. Later on, troop of policemen aggressively attacked the hostage-taker that made way to his death. The hostage-taker, identified as Senior Inspector Rolando Del Rosario Mendoza, was dismissed by the Ombudsman early this year, denied of his benefits, and was not allowed to hold any government post. The reason: he and company allegedly abused and extorted a Mandarin Hotel chef who they charged for illegal parking, driving without license and using illegal drugs. It was also reported that the chef was forced by Medoza and company to swallow a sachet of shabu, plus extorting php20,000.

Other details about Rolando del Rosario Mendoza:
- He was one of the Jaycees International’s Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines or TOPP in 1986
-He has 17 awards and commendations from the Philippine National Police
-He is a native of Naic, Cavite
-He was born on January 10, 1955
-Has a wife named Aurora and has three children
-He entered the PNP as a patrolman on 1981
-He became the Senior Police Officer 3 of the Manila Police District on 1991
-He became the Inspector in May 2002
-He was promoted to Senior Inspector in August 2002
-He allegedly charged the Mandarin Hotel chef on April 9, 2008
-April 25, 2008, administrative charges was filed against Mendoza
-The PNP Internal affairs suggested dismissal of the case as the chef was a no-show
-The Manila Prosecutors Office Eighth Division also dismissed the case due to, again, the complainant's no-show
-He was dismissed by the Ombudsman in January 2010.

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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

My little man's birthday video - part 2

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I still cannot get enough of my little man's first birthday so I am posting yet again another video of his birthday. This was taken by Thor Production Kids and was "chopped"by my techie brother Mackoy. I am running out of words for Thor. They are simply the best!!

Note: best viewed on a small screen

Saturday, August 7, 2010

My little man's first formal wear

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My cousin Bong got married last July 31, 2010. Since it was a formal gathering, Elmer had to wear the traditional barong, while I wore something that would pass as a formal dress. Migo, on the other hand, wore his first ever formal wear. It was not a barong, for I had second thoughts of letting him wear something that would make him, and us as well, uncomfortable. So what I just got for him was a set of polo, tie, vest, pants, black socks and black shoes. It looked good on him! I cannot wait for another formal event so I can see him wear something like that again. ;)



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Thursday, August 5, 2010

The fab shoes and the rain

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Rain, rain, go away...

As what I have mentioned before, I hate rain. I am a commuter (and proud of it!) and walking in the rain is such a hassle. Imagine getting soaked up and all. Despite having the biggest umbrella in town, drops of water in different sizes get in the way to irritate me the more.

Just two days ago, few meters from Trinoma where I would alight, heavy rain fell just in time! Talk about perfect timing, huh? There was no warning at all--no drizzle, no dark clouds. It just fell because it wanted to, and people from all over ran in all direction to find just enough size of a roof to shield them from the rain. I, on the other hand, had no choice but to go down from the FX taxi because Trinoma was in front of me already. I was complete with my battle gear anyways--umbrella for my head and a tailored coat to cover my arms. Perfect! So I confidently walked in the rain despite it being quite heavy, until I looked down. Oh, no!! My shoes!!

Yep, I was wearing the wrong kind of shoes that day. Luckily, there was no flood, though the water was slowly rising for an inch or two. After around one hundred and fifty steps, my shoes were already wet. Good thing water was not able to find its way inside so my feet remained dry and untouched. It was just my poor pair!! The material is not suitable for the rain and now I wonder if I can still use it ;(

Having that experience, I blamed myself for not buying shoes that are suitable for rainy days. There are lovely pairs out there, pretty and fab ones, yet tough and perfect enough to experience some splash from the unfriendly rain. These are all water resistant, and very, very, very pretty!! They are made of rubber and plastic that makes wiping the water uber easy. And they can go along with whatever outfit I fancy. There's a pair that matches my skirt, my shorts, my skinny, my jeggings... and they are really very pretty!! And I am just glad to present them.... and oh, by the way, did I mention already that they are just so pretty?!!














*Above are Crocs and Melissa shoes. Please check out their website for description and other details.

*Photos from Crocs.com.ph and MelissaPhilippines.com

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