Moving Back to Blogger

Hello to all!

This blog has moved to OVERFLOW.... If you enjoyed (I hope) reading our family's adventure/s, captured moments as well as mishaps, please update your links to http://moonlight-mom.blogspot.com/.

I really hope to see you all there. ;)

Advance Christmas greetings!

Hong Kong - Day 1 (Novotel Citygate)

Toilet & Bath for Matt & Kyle, originally uploaded by gratitude.

Something happened here. To continue...

LP: Ang Pagwawagi

Hindi pa tapos ang pakikipagsapalaran sa akademiya ng aking mga anak. Sa bawat taon na napipili sila bilang honor students, para sa amin, ito ay representasyon ng tagumpay sa bawat baytang na kanilang daanan.

Pasintabi lang po sa mistulang pagyayabang sa lumang larawan na ito pero nais ko lang ibahagi ang para sa aming pamilya ay isa sa mga simbolo ng pagwawagi.



Batiin natin ang mga litratistang nakilahok sa linggong ito sa tema ng Litratong Pinoy.

Less One Day

Monday! Work was okay save for one annoying incident when the accounting firm erroneously deposited the funds to another corporate account. They were not even aware of it until I tried tracing where the funds went. Ugh! Anyway...

That didn't stop me from having a generally good day. In fact, I've been "wearing" this silly smile on my face. Here's why...

Pre-school Jitters

My hands were clammy. I felt my tummy in knots. I couldn't relax at all as I sat there on the first row with Jerry. My kid in Nursery2, being a finalist in the Voices of Children poem recitation contest, was about to compete with the rest of the finalists.

He was the 4th to recite. Finalist number 1 recited softly and sheepishly even as the mom moved closer by the stage to give moral support. Finalist number 2 or 3 didn't go up the stage at all. Oh no!

Jake was next. I saw him peer from the side of the stage as if looking for our faces in the audience. We waved at him. He flashed a big smile upon seeing us and then he walked up the stage...

Please click here to continue....

Rihanna - Chris Brown Concert in Taguig

We were at the venue 2.5 hours early! We stood the whole of 3 hours watching CB first, then Rihanna with a brief fireworks display break in between as they completely changed the stage set-up.

Verdict: Best concert I could remember. Hehehe (as if I watch too many!)

A few pics and a vid here.

When Cute is Not

Me: Hmmm... *kiss, kiss*...*hug, hug*...(Smothering my 4 year old son)
Me: Why is my Jake so cute?...*presses cheek*
Me: Why is your skin so soft, hmm?
Me: Mama wants to hug you... always.
Me: Cute cute cute....
Me: This one is cute (presses cheeks)... this one is cute (pats his tooshie)...and this too (points to his male organ).
Jake: No! That's not cute.
Me: Huh? If it's not cute, then what?
Jake: Big.
Me: Oh!

And then in my peripheral view, I saw my husband laughing.


Jake and me (using Photo Booth)

Fashion Watch

I don't really consider myself a fashionista. In fact the closest I'd get to being one is when you see me browsing some fashion magazines or watching makeover shows on Velvet or Lifestyle channels... You can say I'm not the type to want to be first in sporting the latest trend since I'm already comfy in my jeans and shirt and basic footwear.

So... when I received an invite for Fitness.Fashion, at the Waterfront Hotel (Lahug), I was confused. Hahaha. What do I wear to such an event??? The dress code said: "Wear something chic". Right... What's chic these days? That's very ambiguous.

After deciding on a top I already had and a good pair of jeans (yep, dark skinny denims) and stilletos, off I went with my friend Dahlia.

The show was a mixture of collections from several designers, the likes of Joey Samson, Louis Claparols, Tonichi Nocom, Protacio Empaces, Jun Escario, Rajo Laurel, Philip Rodriquez, Vic Barba, Rhett Eala, Arcy Gayatin, Randy Ortiz, Cary Santiago, James Reyes, Lord Maturan, and Edwin Ao (list of designers lifted from StyleCebu.com).

There were really nice clothes on the ramp but Dahlia and I, along with our other lady-companions on the "green section" were aww-ing and ahh-ing at the buff and lovely (male and female and Cebu celebrity) models more than the collection. Hihihi.

So much for fashion watching. It was a new experience for me and taught me a bit about style (which needs to be put to practice I suppose). I hope I don't see myself in pictures with a blacked out face and labelled "what not to wear to a fashion event" or "caught by fashion police". ;)

Touring Terraces

We've been frequenting the Terraces for the past few days until the last weekend. It's a nice venue to take my Manila-based parents to. They're impressed that there's something like Greenbelt or Glorietta in my Cebu home-base. Hehe... For city-dwellers like them, malling is a staple activity. Yep, I should know. :P



Here we are, enjoying Yellow Cab pizza and calzone a few hours after a filling lunch at Big Mao (both at Terraces)

41st (Part 2)

What: My 41st
When: October 31
Where: Laguna Garden Restaurant at the Terraces (Cebu’s answer to Greenbelt or Glorietta)
Who: with my boys, my folks, my paternal and maternal relatives

41st (Part 1)

What: My 41st
When: October 30
Where: Ginza Restaurant then went to the Terraces (Cebu's answer to Greenbelt or Glorietta)
Who: with my boys and folks

Playing Catch Up (2) - A Night with Marcel

With friends distributed around the globe, every chance we get to meet up with a good friend, we really give time for it. One such occasion was when Marcel Fernan flew in (Cebu) from the US a few days back.

We all met up at the Tinder Box for wine and pica-pica and then moved to Z Bar where the men had a few more drinks, hmm, as usual. They had the perfect excuse.

Funny that (almost) everyone (except for myself and Monica Climaco), were in black garb that night.... Trying to show a slimmer silhouette perhaps? Try harder guys, just kidding.



From left to right: Rene Ybanez, Henry Lopio, Marcel Fernan, Jerry Rapes, Manny Climaco

Playing Catch Up (1) - Mama Sol's Birthday

The past weeks have been busy for me at the homefront with my youngest and me getting sick one after the other, like a tag-team of sorts. Then to add to that, we also had major movements and changes at work. Think, paperwork and tighter coordination among all groups.

To cut the chase, I'm posting pics of other events that happened in between. So this is part 1:



We got invited to Mama Sol's (aunt's) dinner party at the Marco Polo where we were served a fusion of Japanese, Italian, Chinese and native food. Yummm! However, the al fresco dinner was mildly rained on and prompted most of the guests to wear the table napkins on their heads ala "hat" party. Wehehe... I guess that was what caused me to get sick for a week. :P


When the mild drizzle stopped, the dances began. One of the dance numbers was from a belly-dancer, to the men's delight. As the music commenced, I threw side-glances at my teenage boys who seemed to enjoy the serpentine moves of the curvaceous dancer. Ah boys... My Papa Lalo (uncle) was regretful of the fact that he left his eyeglasses home! Haha! That was amusing and definitely good news for my Mama Sol!


Since it was a Tuesday, with work the following day (my sons were on school break), we left at about 930pm. That was when most of my uncle and aunt's contemporaries started boogie-ing and chacha-ing the night away...

LP: Maalaala Mo Kaya

Isa ito sa unang pumasok sa aking isip para sa tema ngayon sa Litratong Pinoy.


Litrato ko at ng aking kapatid, mahigit 35 taon na ang nakalilipas. Wehehe, ang tagal na nun!

Ito rin ang litratong kasama sa feature sa nostalgia bloggista noong isang taon.

LP: Kadiliman

May mga ibang lugar na sadyang madilim para mas maganda ang dating... gaya ng bar. Ang lahok ko sa linggong ito sa Litratong Pinoy ay kuha sa Treff Bar sa loob ng Waterfront Hotel & Casino sa Cebu. Ang bar na ito ay glass ang bubong kaya "see-through" ang mga bituin sa kalangitan. Pag tumingala ka, ganito ang view mo:

There are only two things

Sitting up in bed while busily 'facebooking' and munching my Cheezy corn crunch junk food, I "accidentally" let out a loud burp.

"Ew! Ma, that's disgusting! Burp is disgusting!", exclaimed my 4.5 year old son.

My husband, who was sitting shirtless by the desk and fiddling with the remote control of the a/c while wondering why the freon suddenly ran out on this warm night, guffawed.

"Hey...did you teach this little imp that?", I asked my hubs as I tried to stifle my own laughter. "Of course not!", he quickly retorted.

"Fine", I said. Now turning to youngest son, "Ok, and what do you mean by disgusting???"

"Burp and "ut*t" (f*rt) are disgusting", he remarked looking proud of himself.

"Oh... and what about "u-*" (sh*t)? Is that disgusting?", I asked, trying to pick his brain.

"No... Ma, there are only 2 things that are disgusting and that is not", he stressed.

Ooo-kay...

That's just on day one of their semestral break. I wonder what other things he'll "learn" next.

LP: Liwanag (Light)

Kung ikaw ay nakarating na sa Manila Ocean Park, kapansin-pansin ang lugar na kung saan nakapuwesto ang mga kwadradong upuan na ito na gawa sa plastic. Madilim dito at ang nagbibigay ng bahagyang liwanag ay ang mga upuan na merong ilaw sa loob. Ang maganda, nagpapalit-palit pa ng kulay ang ilaw ng bawat isa. :)

Ayan, nagkaroon ako ng lahok para sa linggong ito. Teka, tingnan naman natin ang ibang klaseng liwanag na ibinahagi ng mga ka-litratista sa Litratong Pinoy?

Temporary Disconnection

My sons were warned a couple of months back to limit their mobile phone usage. Just recently I requested Globe to deactivate the wap service of Kyle's phone after it's 2 billing statements registered P1,500 and P1,000 respectively on data / internet usage alone. Argh! That's even higher than an HSDPA's monthly subscripiton plan for unlimited use of internet! *Groan*

At first I figured it must be the mobile phone's button placement that triggers the accidental connection to wap/internet, whenever it's in the pants' pocket. But the second time it happened, despite Kyle's statement that he doesn't use wap, I thought this still looked more deliberate. Hence my request for deactivation.

Matt on the other hand, was heavy on text messaging. His SMS usage lately was NOT lower than P1,000 (net of free sms)! That's easily about 30 messages a day! Ugh.

Over the last couple of months, I successfully collected from their allowances the total subscription fees thinking that this would make them feel the waste of money and probably put a stop to the runaway cost. They paid me but this strategy wasn't effective in lowering the expense. It was still beyond their combined P750/month plans.

Now they're phones can only receive calls and messages. Outgoing calls and messages have been barred. They tried to negotiate with me, for me to re-consider my decision and pay the bill. I was playing hard-ball this time. Heh! And then I came up with a plan that would benefit both parties.

The deal was for them to start blogging online (which they are not too keen about). If I see at least 10 posts (of not less than 200 words per entry), then their mobile plans would be paid and reactivated. So far, they have both created their accounts with Blogger. Matt has written 3 posts and Kyle is on his way to writing his entries as well.

I hope this works. *Crossing my fingers*



Matt & Kyle

Homeschooling? Sort of...

When my eldest son entered pre-school 12 years ago (he's now 15), I assumed the "new" role of the mommy-tutor. We would study his lessons and do his homework together.

It was the same thing three years later when it was my 2nd son's turn to enter school. Study time became part of our daily routine on weekdays, usually after dinner time. My hubs and I divided ourselves between the 2 boys. I was in charge of Filipino while Jerry handled the kids' Mandarin lessons.

Hiring a professional tutor was never a plan even if my husband and I were working full-time and leading busy lives. As parents, we were pretty much involved with our boys' academics and extra-curricular activities (though I was rarely active in PTA stuff).

So fast forward to this school year. I'm no longer as strict and as hard on the boys' studies. Why? The early habits formed became ingrained in them that they are now able to handle school stuff by themselves and consistently maintain their slot in their respective honors' classes.

Nowadays, eldest son checks on 2nd son and youngest sons' (nursery2) lessons when we (the parents) are not around or need to stay out late for some matters. I'm relieved and very glad he can now help us out when needed. Soon, we'll regain some more free time when both elder boys play an active role in their little brother's studies. Let me share what I captured on video...




And here are some pictures of Matt with his peers doing some research and snacks afterwards.

Litratong Pinoy: Bago Nga Kaya?

Noong ika-12 na kaarawan ni Kyle, minabuti kong bilhan siya ng mga libro bilang isa sa mga regalong galing sa amin. Nang mabili ko na ang mga libro, pati ang aming 15 taong gulang na panganay ay na-engganyong humiram nito. Nakakatuwa dahil sa kabila ng mga makabagong electronic na gamit nila gaya ng cellphone, ipod, kompyuter, Playstation at PSP, nahihilig pa rin sila sa pagbabasa.

Ang mga bagong librong hard-bound na ito ay nabili ko sa halagang P375 (suma tutal). Mura diba? Naka-sale na kasi, taong 2008 pa yung almanac gayong patapos na ang taon at papasok na ang 2009.

Ikutin natin ang mga litratistang Pinoy/Pinay para tingnan kung ano naman ang bago sa kanila.

Label Reader, I'm Starting To Become

I just received an email a few minutes ago which prompted me to blog. It mentioned about "made in China" stuff and how some products, though made in China, are not labeled as such (yikes!). Part of the email mentioned about checking the barcodes in order to tell where a product was manufactured. I'm no authority on this and it would be best if somebody out there could validate if true. Still, I'm listing it here for everybody's benefit:

The 1st 3-digits of a barcode:
00 - 09 >>> USA & CANADA
30 - 37 >>> FRANCE
40 - 44 >>> GERMANY
49 - >>> JAPAN
50 - >>> UK
690 - 692 >>> China

By the way, it's not just melamine that we're supposed to be looking out for. Other food additives found in processed foods we consume everyday are equally dangerous, if taken excessively: artificial coloring, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, and trans fat. Hmm, that was a mouthful (pun intended)! Click here to find out the truth about 7 common food additives and why these shouldn't be part of our diet at all.

Kyle's 12th

It was a no-brainer birthday planning event that turned out really great. An afternoon of internet-gaming session with lots of pizza for snacks for Kyle's friends for the 2nd time (or is it 3rd?) is still the popular choice for us.

It was a good thing there was a newly opened internet cafe near our workplace. Reservation was a breeze as the people manning the outlet sees me often. They gave me a good price for 10 computers reserved for 3 hours. That should be enough, I thought.

On the day itself, it turned out we had to pay for at least 15 computers as Kyle's guests were more than we expected! LOL. They were all excited to the point that a few of Kyle's friends even arrived at the venue ahead of us. Haha. Judging from the looks on their faces, it was well worth it.

So, tip for today, for a hassle-free tweener birthday celeb, ditch the balloons, the loot bags, the pinata, and the birthday clowns. Or better yet, invite the birthday clowns for some gaming session instead.
---

Venue: eNGy Cafe and Da Vinci Pizza at Asiatown IT Park

Litratong Pinoy: Luma Na

Ang Coloseo ang isa sa mga kilalang lumang istruktura na magpahanggang ngayon ay nakatayo pa. Ginawa noong AD72 hanggang AD80 (ayon sa nakatala sa internet), ito ang ginamit na arena ng mga Romano para panoorin ang paglalaban ng Kristiyano at leon o kaya naman ay mga "gladiators".

Taong 2003 nang makita ko sa unang pagkakataon ang pamosong atraksyon na ito sa Rome at tunay na kamangha-mangha ang tanawin na aking nakita. Pakiramdam ko noon ay parang nagbabalik ako sa lumang panahon ng mga Romano.

Sana nagustuhan ninyo ang napili kong ilahok sa linggong ito para sa Litratong Pinoy.

Litratong Pinoy: Aking Kompyuter

Ilang taon akong nasanay gumamit ng kung ano-anong brand ng computer, mapa-laptop man o yung ordinaryong desktop. Pero sa kainitan ng aking pagkahilig sa photoblogging noong 2005, naisipan kong bumili ng sariling laptop. At sa pange-engganyo ng aking kapatid, napag-desisyunan kong bumili ng aking unang Apple na produkto, ang iBook.



Inspirado akong magtrabaho. Bakit ika nyo? Ang ganda ng laptop tapos ganito pa ang view ko sa maghapon...



Simula noon di na ako gumamit ng non-Mac. Tuluyang naging Mac convert na ako. Sa kabutihang palad, noong lumipat ako sa aking bagong employer noong 2007, MacBook ang naging standard equipment naming lahat. O, di ba? Ang saya! :)




Nakaka-curious din makita kung ano naman ang mga computer ng mga litratista sa Litratong Pinoy. Tingnan natin dito.

Litratong Pinoy: Puti at Itim

Ilang Huwebes din akong napahinga sa pagsali sa lingguhang Litratong Pinoy. Mabuti at may konting oras para makapagblog bago maging abala ng tuluyan. Ang tema para ngayong Huwebes ay "Puti at Itim" at sa aking paghahanap ng litrato sa aking koleksiyon, nakita ko ito...



Litrato ito ng kamay ko, ng aking kapatid na si Junnie at ni Jake OR Zia sa ibabaw ng umiilaw na upuan sa Manila Ocean Park. Sa katunayan, "colored" ang shot na yan kaya lang against the light kaya naging parang anino ang kulay ng aming mga kamay. Puede na rin di ba?

Dalawin natin ang ibang lahok sa Litratong Pinoy dito...

SM Horror Story/ies

Last Sunday, as soon as I plopped myself on the couch after our Manila-Cebu flight, my cellphone rang. It was Ma. She was just checking on us if we arrived safely home and on time. But right after I replied, she proceeded to blurt her horror story.

She lost her wallet in SM Mall of Asia! Argh! And as she was speaking on the other line, she was close to hysterical. She narrated that Pa looked for a place to sit down while she went to nearby Celine. She was just a few minutes inside Celine, picked an item she wanted to buy and proceeded to the counter. She noticed nothing unusual, except that the mall and the boutiques were jampacked with people. It was a weekend sale after all.

At the counter, when she unzipped her bag, she found her long wallet gone! Her cards, cash, senior citizen's ID, everything... gone!

I could feel her anguish. Along with the cash she lost was the cash gift I gave earlier that day for her birthday... I was even joking about it, telling her I couldn't afford to buy her an LV Speedy yet (to replace her Lacoste bag), but the amount could be her 1st installment.... *Sigh*

Sad thing is, this wasn't the first time it happened. Earlier this year, she also lost her wallet from inside her bag while in SM Southmall with Pa. Same story. The thief seemed to have used some "sleight of hand" trick for Ma not to feel anything. Grr.

Let this be a warning to all to please be careful with your bags or wallets. SM is not immune to these petty criminals. Hard times... There's no telling when and where the thieves would strike again.


Ma, enjoying the empty (newly-built) Northwing of the SM City Cebu last January...


At SM City Cebu - Jake (with Pa), Matt, me, Pa and Ma... That's how she normally carries her bag while malling...

Timeline: 31 hours in Manila

SATURDAY
8:00 AM flight to Manila

12:00 noon @ Recipes (Greenbelt)


2:00 PM @ Mocha Blends (Las Pinas)




4:00 PM @ Cafe Breton (Westgate, Alabang)


7:00 PM Dinner @ home
9:00 PM Coffee @ Starbucks, Madrigal (Ayala Alabang)

SUNDAY
8:00 AM breakfast
10:00 AM Skype video call between family in Manila and Junnie and Mitzi in Canada
12:00 noon lunch at home
3:00 PM (after 31 hours in Manila) flight back to Cebu.

Happy 70th Birthday Ma! :D

2 Weddings 1 Weekend

Wedding No. 1 -

Last week, we attended 2 weddings and a birthday party. As in all weddings, dress code was formal. However, I was dismayed when I tried on my formal dresses. None of them fit me comfortably. Ugh. After a quick trip to the mall, I bought a gray dress that looked passable.

Two days before the wedding, I tried the dress on again and found out it easily showed wet marks (back, under arms, etc). Disgusting. So I went back to the mall to get me a decent looking outfit and ended up with this....



Nope, it's not a dress nor a gown. It's just a dressy top I wore with a pair of really dark skinny pants.

Oh well.....

Anyway, here are my sons, looking dapper in long sleeved polos...



Wedding No. 2 -

The first wedding was evidently lavish and expensive. The guests totalling 1000 were mostly the who's who of Cebu. But to me, wedding number two was better in all respects. It was intimate and all the details were just impeccable... decor, food, music, programme. The works. Of course you can't go wrong with food from Abaca. It was just perfect. And to think, preparation was only less than two weeks....


infinity pool


Jerry and some of our friends during cocktails


the table setting...

Ah weddings... I pray both couples have a blessed union full of love, happiness, and little kiddies. :)

Cuz Mimi's Barney-themed party for daughter Marti

Cuz Mimi's Barney-themed party for daughter Marti, originally uploaded by gratitude.

Last Saturday was the advance birthday celeb for my niece and God-child Marti. JCA Pizza along Salinas Drive was made exclusive for the afternoon event. Her mom, my cousin Mimi, was initially frantic when Barney the mascot, was nowhere to be seen.

It turned out the mascot was just late. Perhaps they got stuck in traffic. Imagine a purple dinosaur on the road.... Hehehe...

Jake, amused at Barney...

Japanese buffet dinner @ Kotei

Kyle, Jake & Matt...so full, they could hardly smile :P, originally uploaded by gratitude.

Not content with the barbecue lunch I had with my friend Ann, I urged the boys (hubs and sons) to have dinner with me at Kotei in Club Ultima.

Gluttony...ugh!

Spa treat for good friend Ann

Looking sleepy refreshed after an hour of foot pampering, originally uploaded by gratitude.

August 31 was Ann's birthday. It was a Sunday, but being moms with Sundays reserved for family, we chose to meet up on a Saturday instead. For lunch we tried the new barbecue place (was it Barbecue Joe?) at The Walk then dessert and tea at nearby La Marea.

To complete the afternoon bonding, we hied off to The Forum for some serious foot massage.

@ the boys' Jesuit-run school

Matt, Jerry & Kyle in front of the statue of Jesus..., originally uploaded by gratitude.

August 23, 2008 was the inauguration and blessing of the newly installed statue of Jesus at SHS-J...

In photo are hubs and our 2 elder sons - proud of their Jesuit school/alma mater, all three!