2 more days before 2011

Looking at my previous blogs about my last year's trip to the US, i have come up of the lists i really enjoyed and am hoping to do again next year. People whom we met and is still in contact with.

(meeting for the first time Paolo's side of the family, Tita Girlie and Tito Orly and the rest of the family)

It was really great to have met them and so nice of them to tour us around California.

(Lawrence and Tita Olive and the rest of Paolo's housemate and friends)

Paolo stayed in his cousin's house Lawrence for almost 6 months and met some incredible set of people.

Visiting San Diego and just enjoying the sceneries. Too bad we were not able to visit San Diego Zoo and Sea World. That would be included in my next to do list.

No visit to Vegas without trying the casino and as they say "beginner's luck" i played the slot machine and won about 150$ :)

Paolo drove from Vegas to LA and this was what we saw on the way. Isn't it beautiful and breath-taking with the mix of colours in the sky?

Enjoying the weather and the sights at the Universal Studios. Unfortunately, we were not able to try all the rides as we were pressed with time. We went in quite late and just managed to check the tour and few of the rides.

PINKBERRY!! this is the tastiest,creamiest frozen yogurt i have ever tasted so far!!
I was not able to take a photo of the Cheesecake factory to show how much i love their food.

Walking around Beverly Hills and hoping to find a celebrity. But lo and behold, because we met the master tailor of Versace, Mr Turiano, who is a proud Pinoy whilst we were passing through the boutique. He gladly posed for us, chatted and even gave us his business card.

Last but not the least, Shopping! Paolo and I really went crazy over the stuff we bought and up until now, every time we buy things here in VN we can't help but compare it to the things we know we can buy back in the States.

Asha's all grown-up now

That's my niece Asha during her Christmas party at school. She is my sister's 4 year-old daughter whom Paolo and I adore so much! We missed her physically but we regularly talk on Skype, and we love listening to her random stories and antics about anything that interests her.

Everytime, they are online and Paolo's not around or asleep, she gets disappointed and questions me why he is not talking to her and how Paolo loves going to sleep! She is just a doll who is very smart and sweet to everybody around her. She is 1 of the reasons why i am excited to go home next month!

Mango is on SALE

Paolo and I just got back home from the city after he had decided to take me out for a short stroll. He was actually looking for some headphones but was unable to find it here in VN. We headed to 1 of his favourite game shops here hoping to find something that might interests him, but unluckily, did not see any. As for me, I was able to grab me 2 tops from Mango. I don't normally buy in this particular shop especially here in VN because of its item's hefty prices. I also sometimes find it difficult to buy trousers since they mostly cater to Vietnamese sizes which unfortunately, I am not. But i think today, was my lucky day because i bought 2 items that only cost me around 500,000vnd, not bad considering that the original tag was about 700,000vnd for each. At the moment, majority of the items are 50% off its original price, but i know based on experience, that they will further slash the prices to 70% off. I am eyeing on some necklaces that i hope that i could purchase on a cheaper cost. :)

New Year's Eve dinner ideas?

I have been scouring the worldwide web for some dinner recipes that I can prepare for us on new year's eve. Since, we had pasta, chicken and pork last christmas, i was thinking of another set of recipes that is easy to prepare and cook.

Whenever I look for recipes, I usually log into www.allrecipes.com to find something that i can work my hands with or just for inspiration. I also read http://pinoyfoodblog.com/ for some Filipino recipes that i am more familiar with. Paolo likes Filipino food more than anything but will sometimes try other varieties.

First thing that came in my head was, BBQ pork ribs, but i know it will take me sometime to prepare that one, considering the numerous restaurants here in Saigon that serve mouth-watering ribs! But we'll see, i have all the time in the world to prepare and make our new year's eve really special.

What about you? Are you going to cook for the new year's eve? Care to throw some ideas to me?

I know I have been good this year!

I know Christmas gives so much excitement to any person, young and old! Our tradition of giving/exchanging gifts is one of the highlights of the season. Paolo and I spent christmas here in VN so we missed out on spending with our families back home, but it did not stop us from exchanging gifts to one another. Before Tet left for Manila, she left us with a couple of gifts which I ordered Paolo not to open til Christmas day.

Come the day, i was very happy to see that Tet was able to get hold of a pair of flats in caramel/beige. I already have 1 in black but was really hoping to get the other colour but to no avail because of my shoe size. But here it is, in the exact colour that i wished for!

The second gift i received was a no surprise for me because i know that i will get it even before christmas day. hahahaha!! since i have been a good girl this year, right Santa? This is my first, so i hope this wont be the last!

But aside from all these things i got during the yuletide season, what i am really and always thankful for are the people around me whom i know will always be there for me no matter what! I may have missed Christmas back home second year in a row but you all know that in my heart and mind I am with you!

Cheers to a few days left of 2010 and looking forward to another exciting year ahead!

Christmas Eve dinner

Paolo and I have just finished our christmas eve dinner. This is our 1st christmas in our new apartment and it went really well. I prepared menudo (Filipino pork stew), roast herb chicken and lasagna. We ordered in a arugula and roast squid with mango salad from Au Parc since i am not keen on making one from scratch.

Too bad we were not able to take our photo together because Paolo's been complaining of "starvation" since i started preparing the food to cook. It took me a while to prepare all because of marinating the chicken, slicing the veggies and the meat etc.

It was all worth it actually especially looking at how Paolo devoured the food on the table! :) lol.

Merry Christmas to all! I hope you are all having a great time with your families.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone! whilst waiting for the chicken roasting in the oven, i've thought of reminiscing last year's celebration my husband and i have had in the Sin city. It was very memorable for us since it was my first time in the US (read previous posts) and we were celebrating our 1st year anniversary. The weather was really cold, I was wearing 2 layers of clothes but i can still feel the cold lingering through my bones.

(that's me watching the dancing fountain in front of the Bellagio)

Paolo and i occupied ourselves walking around Vegas, it was very tiring but the sights were all worth the energy lost and blisters on my feet!

(i reckon this was taken inside the Bellagio, but not quite sure :)

We first went inside the Caesar's and looked around the casino, Paolo asked me to play slot machine but i declined. I was in awe from all the things i see inside.

Of course, Vegas trip won't be complete without visiting its famous landmark!

Today was busy...

Today my hands were quite full of different things that i enjoyed doing. I woke up already knowing what the plans were for the day. I started mine paying the bills and heading off to have a body massage and a long overdue facial. It was really good to have these for myself as I felt that i have forgotten to do something to replenish my body from all the work and sidelines that i have been doing this term at school. This was also in preparation for the dinner we just had with Paolo's colleagues in the company he is working for.

Today also marked our 2nd year wedding anniversary. Nothing special planned for both of us since Paolo is occupied meeting deadlines at work. It's fine with me, honestly, since i know we can always go and have lunch/dinner anytime he is free. And tomorrow, I will be cooking for our Christmas eve dinner, so i am saving my energy from all the chores waiting for me.

Little did I know, Paolo's already planned out to buy me the bag that i have been eyeing for a long time after the dinner. I am not that surprised though, because we have already talked about this. I'm happy and may i say EXTREMELY happy that i now have it!!

This i learned today...

My sister just made me realise this and it is true!

*** The more you share your blessings the more it will come back to you.

Thank you God for showering me with so much things that I am able to impart them to others.

2 years and counting

Paolo and I will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary 2 days from now. Woah! i did not realise that it has been 2 years since we tied the knot!

That moment is something that i will never ever forget! It was a blast seeing all our families, relatives and friends gathered together to see us finally getting hitched after 8 years of being girlfriend/boyfriend.

To Paolo, if you are reading this, "mahal kita!" *wink*

In n Out Burger

When Paolo was still in the US, he kept telling me stories about this burger chain he and Lawrence usually dined it. He told me how different the taste is compared to burgers that we are used to back home. He said that this fast food chain only serves burgers alone and nothing else. So when I was in LA, the following night, we headed to In n Out burger to try it and he was right! I love their burgers and the fries!!!! YUM!



According to In n Out

"Our commitment to quality starts with our hamburgers. We make them from fresh, 100% pure beef. They are free of additives, fillers and preservatives of any kind. But the focus on quality starts well before we deliver our hamburger patties to our stores. We own and operate a world class patty making facility. Since we only serve burgers, fries and drinks, making a high quality hamburger patty is everything to us."


I miss their burgers! take me back to LA!!!

A year ago

Same time last year, I was onboard alone for my first trip to the US. Paolo was there waitinf for me as we planned to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary and christmas. I was very excited and worried at the same time as it will be a first travel of me w/o someone to fly with! And the thought of being inside the plane for almost 19hours freaked me out just a lil bit!

It was not a plan for me to spend christmas in the states but I think God played His card well for me as I was able to sort the plane ticket and other stuff with no difficulty at all. So at 4am of 18th December, i was onboard for a flight to Narita and then LA!! woot!woot!!

It was the longest 24 hours of my life! hahahaha... i was very excited to see Paolo since we have been away from each other for almost 6 months! My stop-over to Narita was just short, i only waited for 2 hours before boarding the plane that will take me to LA. I was so bored because i did not bring my laptop and there was nothing to do aside from people watching! i tried using my phone's wifi but it was not free! All what i wanted was to have this 2 hours waiting to be over and done with, so i can finally prepare myself for a gruelling 15 more hours flight.

When the plane landed to LA, it all sunk to me that after 6 months i can finally see my husband again! LAX was an old airport to me. It was not the same other new/posh airports i have been into, though i was in the look for Hollywood celebrities :) lol

I gave Paolo all the details of my flight but since i was a newbie there, i exited the wrong gate and i had to walk more to find Gate #5 for Northwest Airlines passengers. I was walking outside the airport building and was wondering where my husband could be since i did not see any other person waiting. The finally, I saw the sign of the airline and there was Paolo waiting for me inside!! He was surprised to see me coming in from outside. I met his cousin Lawrence, and we drove to see his mum and have breakfast!


(our 1st photo in LA - BJ's)

Lawrence treated us at BJ's and we had this really interesting and mouth-watering dessert called Pizookie after a sumptuous pizza dinner.

Backpacking alone?

I had an interesting thought yesterday about backpacking alone to Cambodia. Tet and I went to Phnom Penh several months back for a weekend getaway and have been dying to travel and see Angkor Wat in Siem Riep. From HCMC, there is a 6-7 travel time to Phnom Penh but I'm not quite sure about the distance and the travel to Siem Riep.



I told Paolo about this plan of mine and he was not quite keen on the idea that i will be travelling alone :( He just told me to just go home and leave my "mischievous" idea for now :)

International celebration at school

Last 25th November, Foundation Stage 1 and 2 had our international celebration where all the teachers and children went to school wearing their traditional costumes.

Here I am with 2 of my Vietnamese teaching assistant, Ms Phuong and Ms Van

And another 1 with Iris (USA) ,wearing an American Indian costume.

Christmas is just around the corner and it starts here in the classroom

I know, i know, the title is quite a long one but i can't seem to find a shorter title for my post. It's just mere 1 1/2 more weeks to go before term 1 ends and all of us here especially the kids are getting more excited about the holiday and the christmas for some who celebrate it big time like Filipinos do
I prepared a Jelly baff for the tuff tray in the classroom and put some winter animals (penguins and 1 polar bear!)that the children can play with. My assistants added some glitters to enhance the feeling of "winter" in the classroom.


The jelly baff is a very interesting tuff tray activity in the classroom! It is very easy to prepare and it looks like a real snow from a far, but then when you touch it, it is very gooey and jelly-like, hence the name "jelly" baff.

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I got obsessed making our own christmas tree from scratch! For the past years, we only put up the 1 we have from the resource room, but since now, majority of the kids are more able to help me with painting and decorating. I have decided to take it to the next level and make a tree using newspapers and modroc! The trimmings are a mix of christmas baubles and handprint giraffes made by the kids themselves!

Sandpit play

Working with kids is very unpredictable. Sometimes you will do many unexpected things to get them engaged with you or an activity. This morning, my children enjoyed watching me barefeet and playing in the sandpit, so they have decided to bury my feet in the sand!



It was extremely fun getting messy and seeing them laughing as they dug sand to put over my feet. They even demanded i stay there until they say i get out! They counted to 3 before they told me to jump out!

I wonder what could be the next activity i am going to have with them tomorrow?... uhmmm....

A long overdue post... Princess D'Annam

Last August, Paolo and I were treated to a relaxing 3 days 2 nights stay in a quite secluded place 4 hours away from the chaos of Saigon. People in VN know that August is not a good time to go to the beach as this is the start of rainy season here, but what the heck! we still managed to enjoy our stay in a beautiful resort called Princess D'Annam (Phan Thiet). Pouring rain greeted us when we got there but it did not stop us from looking around the area and appreciate the strong winds and the waves in the sea.

The resort's service is great, i think the service really comes with the price. The villa we got was really beautiful and we got an amazing view of one of the many swimming pools available in the resort. Our villa was in a quiet location amongst the beautiful flora and fauna, a little far from where the main hall is, but it was nice to be really away from others. It was very quiet and we can hardly see other guests. It was really a time for us especially Paolo to relax and enjoy his time away from his work.

Home Alone

Chiqui and Pino left last night for Manila after months of staying with us. So now, i am all alone whilst Paolo is still at work beating deadlines:( When i got home, i cleaned the house and cooked dinner for us. I tried using the vacuum cleaner i got for teacher's day and it was working ok. I just did not like the work of assembling and disassembling all of it. Good thing I only have 1 carpet to maintain at home:)

It's 3 more weeks to go before term 1 at school ends and we are now all busy with International celebration on Thursday and the upcoming Christmas production!

I just hope Paolo comes home soon as I am getting bored with nothing else to do.

Have a good night!

Teacher's Day

It was Teacher's Day here in VN yesterday. And many people who have lived or have been living here can definitely attest to the fact that Vietnamese people celebrate this particular day with respect and in such a big way! The week prior to this day, you will see loads of banners hanging outside schools and language centres saying "Happy Teacher's Day!" Even shopping malls, banks (credit card companies), flower shops etc would join in the hype and offer numerous discounts for teachers.

But nothing beats the smiles and hugs and (really nice presents) i received from my students and their parents! It was very overwhelming! Nice is an understatement actually for the fact that they made an effort of making this day extra, extra special by those sweet gestures.

All i can say is that I love what i am doing and will definitely be doing this for a very long time!! And i enjoy being with them!!:)

Christmas is for Kids (kids at heart too)

Being a true-blooded Pinoy, i can't seem to help myself but be extremely excited about the yuletide season even if I am away from home! I just can't explain that feeling of joy whenever Christmas is getting nearer. Btw, up until now, i have not bought my christmas tree yet as I needed to go around the city to look where i can buy one :( But was able to buy 2 cute christmas decor that i plan to put under the tree once i have it in my house. For now they are standing on the shelf where Paolo puts some of his PS3 games.

I started buying some gifts for our nieces and nephews back home since Paolo's sister will be flying back to Manila next week. I bought a maxi-dress and skinny jeans for Asha and a pair of polo and trousers for Baby Cedrick. I was not able to finy any for JM but will look for 1 tomorrow. I just love buying things for them (i don't know and can't really explain why, but I know that it is better to give than to receive and whatever i give is returned tenfolds!)

When I was little, I always hear adults saying that Christmas if=s really for children and I don't understand what they mean. And now that I am adult, I can definitely say that indeed Christmas is for kids and kids at heart like ME!

I have not thought of what i really want for Christmas but Paolo and I already have an understanding of what we both want :-)

For now, I will just stick with a christmas tree for me. Until then, i will only start thinking of what i want to buy for myself :)

Hat Day for Charity

Today was Hat Day at school, a fund-raising activity lead by children in Year 1. It was really nice to see children and parents alike putting so much effort with variety of hat/cap style they wore this morning. Majority in my class wore hats made by themselves and it was a success knowing that the children themselves made/designed/created all of them.

It was hard for me to choose which one is the BEST because knowing children this age, I appreciate every little and simple things they do. But i had to choose only 1 and I chose the one made out of weetabix carton, cut and made into a "crown". I know it was my student's work of art because of the uneven snips of the papers she used to stick on her crown. I will post the photos on my next blog as I forgot my camera back at school.

38 more days to go before Christmas!!

Hohohohoho.... btw, just told my husband the other day to start sticking his wish list up on the fridge door :) will see if he'll do it!

Down with Flu:(

This is something that most teachers can relate with...flu! we are very much prone to getting it easily. Just 1 big sneeze from those cute and huggable kids and BOOM! you're ready to take your pills when the night falls.

I remember when i was a kid, my mum used to make me some herbal medicines she learned from when she was still living in the countryside. It was a concoction of different herbs that i can no longer remember how they look like, but i tell you, it always work!

Now, that I am away from her, and time has changed. I still sometimes stick to natural remedies for simple cases like flu.
Byt of course, taking lots of H2o helps to ease it out a little bit. I usually, make ginger, honey and lemon tea when i feel sick.

Here is the no-fuss recipe for the ginger tea.

1 whole piece of ginger
honey
lemon (optional)

1. Boil a cup or 2 of water, peeled and sliced ginger for about 3-5 minutes.
2. Transfer into a cup and put honey to taste.

Some people squeeze lemon in their tea, but i want mine to be simple as the above's recipe.

I prefer my ginger tea with a little honey because i want to feel the "spice" through my throat when i drink it. I think the effectiveness of it is when u feel that your throat is being washed with that distinct taste of the ginger.

Countdown to Christmas 2010

Woot!woot! i can now feel the cool breeze of the upcoming yuletide season. i know, i know, it's been raining these past few weeks and that also made it feel a lil' colder! but i'm a pinoy and i know the feeling of excitement when "ber" months start. we all get excited and giddy about it that we want to decorate as soon as possible.

My next to do list this weekend is to buy me some christmas stuff as I plan to put a tree up in our apartment. Paolo and I are celebrating Christmas here in VN so I would like to create a "christmassy" atmosphere just like back home.

I am really looking forward to this weekend's escapade and I hope to find me some really nice decor!

It's 45 days til Christmas Day!

Can't believe it has been a year!

My last post here was dated 17 October 2009 and I can't believe how fast time flew. That blog was about me missing my husband especially when he sent me flowers all the way from the US. Fast forward to today, we are together back in VN! We both are busy as bees, although i am on a week half term break from school, still i am occupied with so many things about school, home and some other very important things.

Paolo got home about 15 minutes ago but has to leave again for a photo shoot. I will be back to school on Monday and will be busy with report writing and after that i will be looking forward to christmas season! YAY!!

There were many things have happened to and around me for the year I have not blogged. The list goes on and on.

* Flew to the States for the 1st time last December.
* Spent Christmas and our wedding anniversary in Vegas.
* Moved to a new apartment ( i'm loving it!)
* Paolo moved back here in VN
* Tet and Nilo got engaged.
* Tet and I had an unplanned trip to Phnom Penh
* My friend Trixie and my sis-in-law got pregnant and gave birth to baby boys
* 2 car accidents back home (wasn't me)
* Moved to a nursery class this year.
* Carl's Jr and Popeye's have just opened their 1st stores in VN
* The new Vincom Center has opened its door to Saigonese.

Looking forward to a more exciting things to come my way for the remaining days of 2010.

Keep smiling!