Valentine's Day 2011

Here's what I got from my loving husband for the heart's day. Both Tet and I got the flowers at school whilst i was busy minding the kids over morning snack.

We did not go out to dine-out, rather, i cooked a hearty meal for the 3 of us! Tet baked blueberry cheesecake for us to devour after our valentine's day dinner!

I hope all of you have had a memorable and exciting heart's day! Spread the love everyday!

A pre-Valentine's Date

Since we moved here in VN many years ago, Paolo and I never celebrate Valentine's on the day itself because of the experience we had on our 1st year here. We used to live in Tan Binh district near the airport, it was perhaps a 15-20 minutes drive from the city and back (traffic back then was still ok,compared to what it is nowadays). We have just finished attending a Saturday night mass with a couple of our friends when we all decided to go back to the city and buy some cakes at Cafe Central (Sunwah Tower, District 1), it was around 7pm of Valentine's day. Going to the city was a breeze, considering that we had to travel up there from where the church was. The struggle began on our way back home!! It took us nearly 4 hours in the taxi to get from District 1 back to Tan Binh because of the mass if people roaming in their motorbikes everywhere!! Imagine that? 4 hours?!! so then on, we told ourselves not to go out and celebrate the Heart's Day the same time as most people do.

So, after work today, Paolo, Tet and I have decided to pull our celebration earlier and headed to Hard Rock for a happy-hour drink and early dinner! It was a sinful meal for the 3 of us as we have managed to finish a large serving of baby back-ribs, nachos and onion rings!! Tet and I ordered our usual cocktail drink "mojito" as Paolo enjoyed himself with a glass of diet coke:)

(Unfortunately, Nilo (Tet's husband) was not with us as he is now in Malaysia for a business trip)

Sunday is Family Day

I spent my last Sunday in the PI by going out of the city and heading towards the north. My family and I went to my brother-in-law's hometown in Pangasinan before we went to Manaoag to have our car blessed and to attend the Sunday mass as well. It was a 4 hour-drive from Manila via the new NLEX (North-Luzon Expressway), we left our house at 3am and reached our destination at around 7am.

The view that greeted us in the early morning was spectacular! I have not been out of Manila since 2007, so when i opened my eyes after a nap, it was just breathtaking!

After visiting Manaoag church, we drove back to Tarlac to have our lunch at Isdaan. The restaurant is huge and the food was really tasty!not to mention the SINGING COOKS AND WAITERS are really talented! They will entertain guests as you order and dine in the comfort and awe of the place! It was a really great place for the whole family as there are a lot of things to do for both the youngs and "young once":) My nieces and nephew enjoyed taking photos of themselves around the area!

(Dinosaurs are there to the delight of kids!)

(My sister Rhea and niece Asha)

(Few of us in front of 1 of the many koi ponds)

(That's my niece Inah and my Nanay waiting for the food to arrive)

We topped our long day by visiting Subic to do a little shopping at Duty Free! It was a day worth spending time and energy with people whom I love the most!