Nami Island in Korea

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/jZ8cE8JA

An Awesome Place to Hang Out

Just recently, I got acquainted with the newly-opened Japanese restaurant named Izakaya Sensu located somewhere in Bonifacio Global City and I would have thought of going with my family and friends in the near future but out of the blue a special someone offered me a post- birthday lunch treat: an amazing opportunity to try out this resto just the two of us.  We both have the same set of taste buds for Japanese food -sushi in particular. We think it’s fresh, healthy and absolutely delicious. We ordered some blockbuster dishes and some morsels of goodness. I have to say, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!  The Sushi is very good. I like sushi made in different ways from each other and I have not found a roll I did not like. The food selection is good, pricing seems decent, and the customer service is over the top. A must for any Japanese food lover.

Of course, Izakaya experience is not complete without checking out its adjacent bar called Chotto Matte. I was told it means "wait a minute" in Japanese. I failed to ask why they dubbed it such but I think the idea here is to slow down and have a drink or two. And this is why Chotto Matte is open from lunch till dinner. I went with the morning after cocktails line of beverages. I ordered Chotto Americano a conconction of Belsazar red vermouth, Campari, herbal tonic, and orange zest. My drink had a stronger fruit taste and I liked it! I think I got a kick out of it a bit too much as I didn't even realize that I gulped down the whole mug in a shorter period of time than the usual. I heard that this is also one of the bestselling drinks and after finishing one, I figure out why. Yet I have come to know my limits more intuitively so I chose not to order a second glass.

As a whole, I guess, the resto/bar's relaxed vibe and cozy atmosphere would be a good watering hole for "Titas of Manila" (a term used by my gracious friend) who would like to chill out, experience a uncommon ambience and sip something different.

I just love the place. We'll definitely be back to try more! Right? 😊😊 It's my treat next time babe.:)

Christmas 2015 couple picture

Eulogy for a dear friend

TARA must be one of God’s toughest soldiers because He gave the hardest battles to her. She was given that kind of life because God knew she was audacious and fearless enough to live it. He used her deepest pain and suffering as the launching pad of her greatest calling- to make a difference in other people’s lives. She ran the race even while she was waiting on God . While waiting she worshiped Him. While waiting she served Him. While waiting she did not faint. She trusted that life’s challenges were not sent to defeat her but to increase her. She was thankful even during trials.

Indeed, God has placed her where she is at this very moment for a reason. And I salute her - for her life, her devotion to her daughter, and her commitment to her family & friends. We thank her for sharing with us the ideals in the name of truth, love and faith. Her legacy will live on in our hearts now and forever.

Our 29th Wedding Anniversary Countdown

We consider our upcoming anniversary a significant one as it marks the countdown to our 30th wedding anniversary. Come 18th of this month - we would have been married for 10,585 days or 254,040 hours or 15,242,400 minutes which is over 914 million seconds!

During this time we would have shared, on average, over 79,300 hours of snuggle time (sleeping!) or about 9 years, 1 month; we don’t work together so we’ve been apart for over 61,317 hours which is about 6 years, 12 months. We would have by now shared about 23,100 meals together which equates to approximately 1 year, 6 months of continuous dating, eating and travelling along side by side!

God is good!

Bonding with my siblings

As children and youngsters we may had some minor skirmishes at times, but as we grow older the ties that bind become as strong as the love between us. Here we are sharing a unique blend of love, camaraderie and friendship with my siblings awaiting the New Year 2015 countdown at The Manor Camp John Hay, Baguio City.

Akim's celebration of life in the City of Pines

We welcomed our second son Akim into the world on New Year’s eve 1988. Sometimes, we feel kinda put out that we won’t be able to have big birthday celebrations for him as almost everyone will be busy with New Year’s eve festivities. But we always try to come up with something to keep his milestone celebration going, even when others are distracted or out of town . Instead of trying to out-do New Year’s eve, we pour all the goodness of his red-letter day - family, cake and eating out every year. So at least one day a year he gets all that “you are special today“ energy. And on the last day of 2014 we made whoopee in the City of Pines.

Sweet Moments with my husband

My sweet moments with the love of my life  as we savor Baguio's chilly weather  awaitng  New Year 2015. The photo shoot courtesy of our eldest son

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Christmas 2014 Family Picture

 The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with kindness and good will become for us the magic of Christmas. A Blessed and Happy Christmas 2014 to one and all!

An Intimate Letter from God to us

92nd Dad's Birthday Memorial

A Happy, Heavenly Birthday For Our Dad!

Today is our Dad's 92nd Birthday Memorial and in behalf of my siblings and the rest of the family circle I want to honor anew the person who amplified the adjectives GREAT/AWESOME and made a tremendous impact on our lives.
We thank God for giving us a wonderful father like our Dad who has impressed upon us a foundation upon which to raise our own families – a lasting legacy to pass on to the next generation. He passed on to us an incredible heritage that provided a platform to learn, grow, and enrich ourselves to become what we are today.

At first, I thought it would be impossible to pinpoint one action that made him a great father, but after hundreds of precious memories of him inundating my mind these past few weeks, I found myself always coming back to one simple, yet incredibly powerful action: LOVE. He rarely said, “I love you,” but he demonstrated it tirelessly and unconditionally in different ways. Mostly, I remember that he loved our Mom so much, and watching him how he treated her in a loving, devoted fashion has had a profound impact on our own respective family life. His deep and abiding love for his family and steady commitment to his secular jobs and spiritual endeavors were visible examples of what it truly means to be “ great and awesome person”. By the same token, the values of kindness, forbearance, and humility ingrained in us by our Dad have allowed my siblings and I to move in a more purposeful direction and guide us in the course of life.

My siblings and I always find ourselves missing our Dad so very much. The grief still comes along once in awhile, but the joy in the memories treasured by all of us gently pushes aside the blues. Deep inside our hearts are the fond memories of him shaping our characters and morals. We miss him. We miss him dancing and singing with our Mom with gusto. We miss him playing a variety of musical instruments - piano, violin, guitar, harmonica and whatnots. Yes, we miss him after all these years.
He was a dedicated and conscientious man who worked so hard and made sacrifices for his family. He set his goals high and accomplished them no matter how hard or impossible they seemed. He kept our family together; kept a roof over our heads, provided food in our stomachs, supported a great deal of our education and supplied us things more than we need to survive. More than being a doting father, he was a teacher, minister, and provider. He was a great husband, father and grandfather. He's the family's champion - a pillar of strength and discipline. He motivated us to do our best in everything. He played an important role in our spiritual life - instilling in us God’s enduring principles of faith, hope and love on the road to life.

God has blessed him with a good head on his shoulders and natural talent for leadership . He applied these God given gifts creatively and with a strength of purpose that inspired all of us and everyone who knew him. His extraordinary and multifaceted career filled us with awe and admiration. We have always esteemed his academic achievements, tried to be like him, and be our own persons the way he was.

He was a man of few words. All the life lessons we learned from him were not enlightened through words but through deeds. He was the kind of person who shunned lengthy reprimands whenever we committed actions against his moral values instead, he set an example for everyone to follow. It was the way he lived his life that taught us how to confront life's intricacies. He never followed the crowd but his conscience. He never compromised his principles.

He was more than a father- he's the cherished person next to Mom. And he will live forever in our hearts. He is worthy of our praise and accolades - not only because of everything he has done for us, but also because of who he was. And we trust that he has earned his place in heaven. We know that one day we will be together again on a new journey.

Unlike the previous years that I wrote about my Dad , this year my thoughts and emotions are much different. I still miss seeing his smile, hearing his laughter and experiencing his genuine zest for life, but today I feel a new connection, and sadly, also an incredible longing for him. As a song goes, " I hear the echo of your voice, reach for you as if you're here - your tender touch, your warm embrace; I still can see your face, you are the one I can't replace and though it's been so many years, I still can see your face."

We love you Dad. Happy birthday!

( This is me and my Dad when I was five years old - I will always be his little angel "" and he will always be my hero )

Trust His Heart with Lyrics (By: Babbie Mason)

We will not lean to our own understanding, because when the road gets rough, we may not always understand, but God knows and understands totally.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Palawan Adventure 2014

My 60th Birthday: An Amazing Celebration of Life

My 60th Birthday Bash with my family at PF Chang's with its Pricey and Huge Horse

You are looking at a picture with a gigantic horse behind us. It is one of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro horses which is found outside or in the entry of most of the chain’s location around the world. My family and I had never stepped foot into a P.F.Chang’s before and it’s not on our to-do-list yet. I know what some of my friends are thinking right now. Good healthy food at a Chinese restaurant? Is the food really that great and delectable? Someone told us the lettuce wraps were the best. Is it as expensive as we hear it is? Now more than ever, we are trying to go green in our meals simply because of the abnormally high levels in our blood chemistry test results. So for that reason, Chinese food should be knocked off our menu. Not anymore when we learned that the restaurant uses absolutely no MSG in their dishes. Not only that, there are fantastic options for vegan and gluten-free customers as well. And although the resto is not a nut-free environment, they can prepare meals for people who have nut or shellfish allergies. And because yesterday was a special day to celebrate life with my family we opted to try and experience P.F. Chang’s with a fresh palette.It is known the world over for their lettuce wraps and that was the first thing we tried. The lettuce wraps were…let me put it this way - I was polite and ate two. But I would have been happy to clean the plate off all on my own. There were that good! My children were blown away!

My verdict :
With so many Chinese restaurants in Metro Manila, P.F. Chang is just one of the better places to eat American-Chinese cuisine. It's good but nothing super special except the lettuce wraps. It's not a place that you wake up thinking "I can't wait to go again!"

But I do like the horse –it's my Chinese astrological sign after all - an expensive horse at that ! And the best part of it all : I availed of a SC discount privileges even without presenting a SC card. The PF Chang’s management only required me to present any cards that show a senior citizen’s age and/or birthdate. Isn't that' cool? hahaha

 

        Coffee time with my siblings and sisters-in-law after a sumptuous lunch at PF Chang's Shangrila 

    My eldest son's birthday gift