Christmas Theme: Children's Party!!!

Venue: Hamabar, City Sports Club
Date: December 19, 2006

Here are pictures of our company's very first Christmas Party.

These guys work hard and know how to party hard too. Food was overflowing for our party of 20! Oh yes, and beer too. The guys must have been too inebriated to remember the following day how they just let loose the night before. There were games, dancing and karaoke singing.

Yup, it was all fun!

Behold the wacky bunch in pictures! (You may view slideshow here.) *Pictures courtesy of Mitzi, Jerry, Junnie, May & Linnor

In the Last Few Days

The Management team during the last All White Christmas Party @ Astoria Plaza, Dec. 15, 2006. I flew to Manila last Friday to join Jerry and the rest of the Ortigas team.


The following day after the Manila Christmas party, we were back in Cebu to attend Manny's birthday dinner last December 16... Marcel's family was in town as well.

Yes, we're definitely in that time of the year when we feel the extra poundage creeping up on us. Yikes! In every invitation we go to, there's just so much food to eat! Food galore! What else can I say?

Caution: Student Driver

Matt's first attempt at driving was made into a family affair...
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Why we thought it was a good idea to teach 13 year old Matt to drive during the height of typhoon Seniang last weekend is beyond me. :D But then again, the road at IT Park was empty when Matt, under Jerry's tutelage was on the wheel driving around the block for a few rounds. He was all gawky and nervous but evidently excited at this new prospect.

Jerry taught him important pointers which Matt realized was a responsibility on his part more than it is for show.

Since our vehicle is automatic, the whole experience was only to give Matt a taste of things to come in a few years.

Celebrating Special Days

Let me greet my own Paparazzi a (belated) happy birthday (12/10)! Here's my brother Junnie's tribute to the main man in our lives who molded us and taught us how to live God-centered lives: Paparazzi - the other side

We love you Pa!

@->--


MIL with her favorite boys...


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Last Monday, the 11th, was my MIL's birthday. There was a planned dinner by all her kids. It was just a small gathering of family and relatives. Jerry's branch of the family (us of course) was there from early afternoon. And on seeing Jake and hearing him sing his birthday "serenade", Mommy was all smiles. She was a pleasant sight to behold. We're all glad she seems to have gotten over the blues brought on by Parkinson's. And we continue to pray for her health and peace of mind.



Among many things in common, we both love Jerry and kids to bits.

@->--

OFF-TOPIC

Mommy (MIL) has remained affectionate of and concerned about my family in spite of her knowledge of some friction brewing in the periphery (blown out of proportion by a meddling person & concurred/tolerated by several others who should have known better but apparently did not know any better). I wonder who feeds Mommy the info, I wonder if the info is accurate.

When she learned about Jerry's weekly assignment in Manila during one of our visits to her, she asked me if everything's okay with me or if I don't mind handling our home, kids and work, all by myself. Aw, sweet... I told her we're managing. It's not a new set-up to me after all, since I've been used to Jerry's frequent trips (locally/internationally).

(Rant alert) Mommy's concern is genuine and runs contrary to the belief of some quarters who say I don't do my wife and mother duties well, who question our parenting style, who belittle our dedication at work, who question our every motive, or who call up my own parents to tell on me for something really silly (hahaha!), etc. etc.

Really now... We've been together happily for more than 15 years, even more than our detractors' (failed/dysfunctional) marriages. Jerry and I have talked a lot of times about the situation. We both agree that it doesn't matter what others say, as long as we're not guilty of things others do i.e. harassment thru blogs and text messages, false and malicious accusations, immature name-calling, or character defamation (all because of the word "bullsh*t"), etc. etc.

We know where we stand. We're so thankful to God that we have a normal family and a happy marriage, we live comfortably, we mind our own business, we have excellent kids and we have been blessed generously in sooo many ways.

My message to those who think otherwise (you know who you are)...

Deal with it. You and company, stop sending text messages like you are the aggrieved here, because you're not. All of you have done more harm than good. Capisce?

Jerry's Birthday Treats

Katsudon fest at Chowabungga


Japanese dinner at Ginza


with MIL, our very special guest for the night (shown here with nurse Cathy)

We had several meals to celebrate Jerry's birthday. Talk about binging!

Ma & May

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Ma has been a frequent visitor of Cebu these days shuttling in from Manila and back to take care of my grandma. 92-year old Lola Meding has been confined at the ICU of the Cebu Doctors Hospital for several weeks due to on/off fever. It turned out that her lungs were infected and had to be drained. She's back in a regular room. She's stable now and making a slow recovery. We're all praying she gets better soon.


@->--


Ma is not one who's brave to fly. Riding a plane is something she's not too thrilled about, especially if travelling by herself. On her recent trip from Manila, Papa was busy with work stuff and was unable to accompany her to Cebu. Instead, Ma paid for my sis May's flight just for her to act as chaperone. Heehee... It was timely as May was off from Sun-Mon.

Aside from staying up sleepless for 24 hours (catching up on family chika), May & I were able to finish up Pa-Ma's 40th anniversary invitations/handmade envelopes. Plus of course, if you noticed the pictures, we also binged on salad and Oh Georg food!

Making the Most

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Jerry spends 3 weekdays in Manila. Matt & Kyle spend 8-10 hrs every weekday in school. What do I do with my time on weekdays other than spend 8-10 hrs at work? I go home for lunch and ham it up with Jake and the cam.

Long Sundays

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It's been a while that we have been spending our Sundays differently. We used to visit my MIL on Sundays after hearing the 11am Mass. We'd linger on for a chat with other ILs way until mid-afternoon. It was a pretty predictable schedule for everyone and weekends without the Sunday get-together felt rather incomplete.

However, since August, we've modified the routine a bit and rearranged our weekend schedules. Now we visit my MIL on Saturdays, leaving the whole day of Sunday all for spending time with Jerry and the boys.

We have plenty of time to do all or any of the following: review Matt & Kyle for the past week's lectures and prepare for the coming week's tests or projects, de-clutter our own rooms and clean up our mess, finish up on some D-I-Y (do-it-yourself) stuff around the house, go for a drive to see new places or just go for a drive, watch a movie, eat out, or be with each other while everybody does his/her own thing.

Matt and Kyle actually appreciate this new routine better. They feel like they've gained an extra day to spend time on their interests. Happily, I feel the same way too.

Happy Birthdayssss!

@->--

Dec 05 - Happy Birthday Jerry!
Dec 10 - Happy Birthday Paparazzi!
Dec 11 - Happy Birthday Mommy (MIL) and Jaymes!
Dec 16 - Happy Birthday Annalou and Manny!
Dec 21 - Happy Birthday Marcel!

Birthdays are a-plenty this month. Lest we forget, the most important of all birthdays is just two weeks away. He's the reason for the season.

Perfect Wrong Timing

ooOoo

Jerry got back from Manila last Thursday. Good thing super typhoon Reming did not hit Metro Manila directly or PAL's domestic flights would have been cancelled.

For a person like me with a short supply of patience, I was glad I didn't have to drive. I abhor the way taxicab and jeepney drivers weave their way in traffic! Now that Jerry's back in Cebu, I get to rest from the wheel for a few days. Hehehe... However, as he was driving me and the kids home that night, there was a sudden knocking sound from within the car. It turned out to be engine trouble. It was perfect timing that Jerry was already around when the car chose to conk out. Or else... who knows how I would have panicked.

Yesterday, we had the car towed to the shop for repair. Friday and early today, the kids, Jerry and I took cabs to and from our destination. Save for the expense (Php 82 to Php 92 each way), it was rather convenient hopping on and off of it, just like the old times. Never mind the way they drive and weave in traffic! As for the boys, it was an entirely new experience.

* The car is now fixed

Little Man of the House

This is a common sight these (week)days when we all go out for school/work.