Birthday Breakfast at Heaven and Eggs

Our dear friend RJW, who is based in Hong Kong, was home just in time for her birthday! Her hectic schedule only had breakfast free, and so our get-together was for breakfast. Heaven and Eggs in Eastwood was our choice.They had hearty breakfasts of rice and tapa, longganisa and adobo, as well as pancakes with sinful toppings such as oreos, nutella and bananas. Yummy! RJW surprised us by treating us, when we were supposed to treat her! Thanks R, it was great to see you!

Birthday Celebration - Day 2

The next day, E, AC and JU woke up at 5:30AM to bike.

Breakfast was at the Areva Pavilion. Failed to take pictures of the whole group, by the time I got to bring out my camera, everyone else were either swimming or going back to sleep.

Birthday Celebration

What is the perfect way to celebrate a life milestone of turning 40?

It is first, thanking God for the many wonderful blessings, for a life well-lived, and for the amazing people who have been part of my life.

Second, it is spending time with these amazing people.

I thought of gathering the most important people in my life for a weekend in Antipolo. I chose MMLDC (www.mmldc.org) for obvious reasons, but also because of its proximity to the city (travel of less than two hours). Besides, I'm sure that most of my guests have not been to this place yet. It also offered a lot of activities -- there's swimming, jogging or walking, tour of the aviary and the duck pond, a gym and a gameroom.

Everything started with a Holy Mass officiated by Father Catalino, who we found out celebrates his birthday four days ahead of me. And thus we learned that April 30 (two days after my birthday) is the Feast of St. Catherine, that is why he was named Catalino. He continues to say that I should have been named "Catherine". Don't be surprised if you hear some people call me by the name "Catherine".



We had dinner after the Holy Mass at the open-air Areva Pavilion:

My family and E's family:

My high school barkada and their hubbies:
My college barkada and their families: There was no program that evening, but my nephews and niece prepared messages for me.

What is a birthday without a cake, but honestly, I forgot to get one! Good thing my sister T and college barkada SC brought one each:-)

Last Night in Hong Kong

Photo Op outside our hotel:

We filled up the pedestrian crossing when we crossed. Kulang na lang, yung flag-bearing leader, we could have easily passed off as a tour group.

The Spaghetti House, a popular choice for dining in Hong Kong especially with Filipinos. I remember dining here almost 20 years ago. Just not sure if this is still the original location.

They couldn't seat us in one table, so we had to have four separate tables.

Ocean Park

E and I were the designated chaperones and hosts for the kids who were old enough for Ocean Park's heart-stopping rides. Nope, didn't go on any of the rides -- but had a lot of exercise walking up and down Ocean Park's hilly landscape. Also enjoyed Ocean Park's breathtaking sceneries with the combination of water and mountains. Was really impressed by the energy of the kids and their daring attitude. They all rode the scary rides! Their big smiles at the end of the day made it all worth it. So glad we brought them there.

Hong Kong May 2010

This was our first trip abroad with E's family. We were 18 persons -- 10 adults and 8 kids. We flew via Philippine Airlines which had an ongoing promotion at USD158 an RT ticket to Hong Kong.

Our first day in Hong Kong was mostly going through the shops near out hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. At the Harbour City, we went to Toys R Us, Lane Crawford, Uniqlo and Muji. My mother-in-law and I even lined up at the Louis Vuitton boutique just for fun.

On our second day, E and I were the designated chaperones for E's parents while the rest of the family went to Disneyland. Left E and the parents-in-law to meet up with dear friend RW and her family for lunch in Causeway Bay. No pictures because left the camera with E. RW chose SML (small,medium,large) in Times Square. Loved their version of the lechon kawali, pesto pasta and steak.

In the afternoon and evening, we continued our shopping and window-shopping. Most stores in TST close late. H&M on Canton Road close at 10PM