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!

Moooning

I didn't misspell the title of this entry. That's just playing with the name of this new place at the Walk. It's a Mexican fusion resto-bar named Mooon.

It's open (almost) 24/7. And on some Sunday afternoons, my family and I lug our macs, psp, gameboy, and the newspaper and spend time doing our own thing there while sipping Mooon's fruit cooler.

I like that it's near enough to my workplace that I could actually get wifi signals. Hehe... Perhaps on some days, this could be an extension office for when I need a change of scenery....

Well, just maybe...