2009 Tour of the Fireflies

It was an experience of a lifetime, even if I didn't even get to finish half of the tour. I got into a small accident along EDSA, getting my knees and PRIDE wounded. Wa poise would be the perfect words. I realized that I am not skilled enough for that kind of biking yet, with riders making "git-git" (gosh, what is an English term for that?) and rude car drivers. I guess I can only do biking where I can have one wide lane all to myself. Pang UP Academic Oval lang pala talaga ako! :-)

Barkada "Lechon Night"

Our dear friend RW was in Manila and another dear friend MNC just celebrated her big 29th birthday, so the barkada had to get together! We had the get-together at the main house of the Z's sprawling estate. MNC treated us to Sabroso Lechon, admittedly the best tasting lechon I've ever had! I can still imagine the taste up to now. Thanks, MNC!

We also ordered Kare-kare, Laing, Grilled Squid and Fruit Salad from CCME. The Grilled Squid was a disappointment though. Fortunately, CCME agreed to a refund the day after (That's what I call good customer service).

As always, we had a great time! Also saw our newest "pamangkin", Baby E, and she is so adorable! Unfortunately, it was way past her bedtime when we took pictures so no pictures of Baby E here.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

We celebrated Mom and Dad's 4oth Wedding Anniversary with a Holy Mass and Renewal of Vows Ceremony at Saint Mary Goretti Parish --- the same Church where they were married 40 years ago. We thanked the Lord that He continues to bless our parents, and that our parents have had a most happy and harmonious marriage throughout the years. We also thank our parents for the love they have always showered us. We pray for more happiness and good health for them. Together with our extended families and closest family friends, we had dinner at L'eau Vive of Asia, a French Restaurant run by Catholic Missionaries.

Tagaytay Road Trip

E and I went on a spur of the moment road trip to Tagaytay. Having fallen in love with Sanctuario at the Metro Walk, we decided to go to the original Sanctuario in Tagaytay, located at the Ridge right on the rotonda. The place was decorated with antiques and we enjoyed the cool weather while being mesmerized by the view of the Taal Lake. We tried their Garlic Cheese Pate with their homemade bread as starters. For the main meal I had the Chicharong Tilapia while E had their Crispy Tawilis again.

At Sanctuario by the Tagaytay Ridge

On our way home, we decided to stop by the famous Rowena's Cafe for some mini pies. They're famous for mini buko, apple, mango and ube pies. But we discovered that they already have meals available which you can have inside the Cafe or outside under a gazebo. However, the air was not as cool as the Tagaytay ridge.

Inside Rowena's Cafe

The gazebo at Rowena's Cafe

Sanctuario, Metro Walk

E and I have been dying to try this restaurant in Metro Walk. One Sunday evening, we had the opportunity, and we are so glad to have found this place! Make sure you're hungry when you go.

Their Adobong Tostado and Crispy Tawilis with the sesame oil vinaigrette are to die for!
E enjoying his Crispy Tawilis

Can I Do 9 Hours of Teaching?

This is the question I am now asking myself after talking to the School's Dean. It seems that my classes are "in-demand" and since I only teach on Saturdays, they are asking if I can pack in three 3-hour classes on Saturdays. That will be from 8AM-11AM, 11AM-2PM and 2PM-5PM with a 15 min. break for each of the classes. Iniisip ko pa lang, napapagod na ako:-)

Happy Birthday Baby T and Baby G

Baby T with his parents at his birthday party at the Century Park Sheraton

Baby G with Grand Uncle E

Our New Best Friend

Our Balikbayan Box from New Jersey just arrived after almost 3 months with this precious little thing. Tried it last night while watching TV. It's the iRobot Roomba, the automated vacuum cleaner. Galing!

End of My 16th Term

Last Saturday was the last day of classes for this term, my 16th as a teacher!

Big Bag Sale!

Pre-owned bags for sale:

Gucci (P5,000 each)

Prada (P5,000 each)

Louis Vuitton (P15,000)

She Loves Ice Cream!

Taken at Elfav(El Favorito) Ice Cream Parlor at Pergola, BF Homes Paranaque. Loved this place, and so did Baby S. They also have full meals available (pasta, steak...),snack items (like nachos), free wi-fi, and they have some board games available. Would love to own a place like this some day...

Westgate, Alabang

After reading about Kanin Club, our Dad invited us for lunch. Of course they wanted to try the Crispy Liempo and Crispy Dinuguan. We also had the Grilled Squid, Dilis Salad, Aligue Rice and Tinapa Rice. Baby S had the Chicken Nuggets, and she almost finished one order! The place is super full on Sundays, and they don't accept reservations.

After lunch, we had coffee at Bona Coffee. It was a very relaxing place, and they have free wi-fi.

CCME Homemade Foodstuff Co.

On special occasions at work with my team, we arrange for food delivery from CCME (Tel. Nos. 9282765,9299598,0920-4615445), which offers a wide variety of dishes at a very reasonable price. Last Tuesday, we ordered the following (One order serves 20 people):

Lechon Kawali – my favorite, yummy! The pork skin was really crunchy (2 kilos at P550).
Beef Steak - also good, tender beef slices with lots of onions (P645)
Shrimp Tempura – more like breaded shrimps, but good enough (P720)
Chop Suey – very good, with young corn, mushrooms, chicken liver and the usual vegetables (1 gallon tray at P280)
Rice – (1 gallon tray at P95) for 20 people, we ordered 2 trays

With drinks, the meal cost around P132 per person (there’s a P100 delivery charge). Very reasonable, I must say, and we definitely enjoyed the bonding!

Other dishes we have tried that are also really good:

Beef Lengua in Salsa Blanca – ox tongue in creamy white mushroom sauce (1 gallon at P730)
Beef Lengua Estofado – ox tongue in tomato and red wine (P730)
Beef Roast (P645)
Chicken Pastel - crusted creamy chicken,sausage, mushroom and potatoes (P565)
Fish Fillet – with mushroom dip (2 kilos at P625)
Seafood Medley (1 gallon at P680)

Take a look at their mouthwatering, expansive and reasonably priced menu at http://homemadefoodstuff.com.

Kanin Club

Much has been written about Kanin Club (Westgate, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Tel. No. (632)7711400) , but I only got to try it last Wednesday. Auntie S (from New Jersey) was home for a few weeks and my sister T and I took her and cousin Kuya H to Kanin Club as recommended by E. The food is definitely a must try! We just tried the dishes that Kanin Club is famous for: crispy liempo (deep fried thinly sliced liempo, very much like chicharon) and crispy dinuguan (lechon kawali topped with dinuguan sauce), plus laing and nilagang beef tadyang, and of course the loaded fried rice (fried rice with Chinese sausage, crabmeat, ham, peas, sautéed pork, scrambled egg and garlic). Yummy! The meal was definitely cholesterol-laden, but I loved all the dishes!

Why I Am A Teacher - Part 2

It has been 8 weeks since we started this school term, and I’ve never felt happier about teaching. In my “25 Random Things About Me” in Facebook, this is my number 2:

“ I think that being a teacher is the best job in the world and is the most underrated. It is a lot of HARD WORK, but nothing beats the feeling when you know that your students do their best…”

In my two classes this term, I have students who scored poorly in the first quiz, but got 90 and above in the succeeding exams. That only means that they were challenged by the subject at the start, but that didn’t stop them from doing their best. I’m glad I am their teacher this term, it gave me so much inspiration and fulfillment.