Green Living

Proudly showing her week-old Mongo plant. J

Rufo’s Famous Tapa

After our trip to Jacob’s Ladder Immunization Center, the Hubby and I would just eat any food that’s within our reach. Hanggang langit ata ang gutom namin. Our fault though. We skipped breakfast for fear that we will not make it on time to Jacob’s. Good thing, they don’t have lunch breaks. Yeap, they still accommodate patients even at 12 noon.

So ayun, traversing Alabang-Zapote Road going to Alabang, baling-bali ang leeg ko kasisilip sa mga nearby restaurants. I was supposed to settle with Lido Panciteria when the Hubby made mention of Rufo’s Tapa, which is behind Lido. Upon hearing the name, may nag-flashback na kwento sa isip ko from one of the blogs I’ve read. So ayun, mega-park agad kami!

The Hubby gave his order first. Miss Server took my drink and repeated the order agad.

Miss: You ordered for 1 Famous Tapa, 1 Tocino, 1 Bottomless Iced Tea, 1 Bottomless Orange Juice and 1 Leche Flan. Thank you...

Me: Wait, wala pa akong order kaya.

Miss: Ay, kay Sir lang po ba lahat yun? Akala ko po Ma’am kasama na kayo dun.

Ayun, ganun ka-gutom si Husbandry at 2 plates agad ang sa kanya.

Verdict. We both loved the Tapa! The sauce especially. Totoo yung tag line nila na ‘Sauce pa lang, ulam na!’. Too bad they only have limited branches around the metro. I seriously wish they would open more branches soon, like sa Alabang and Fairview? Hehe!

The Hubby was even asking me the day after if there is a Rufo’s near to our place. Adik!

Amber's (Nonexistent) Gift of Music :(

One night, Amber was singing her heart out. We all stopped at what we're doing to listen. 

Then the Hubby told me, “ANAK NGA TALAGA NATIN, MOMMY”.

Hahahaha! I couldn’t stop laughing. Poor kid, wala talagang pagmamanahan ng boses.

When Amber was still a baby, she hums every time she hears a good song. I was so hopeful, thinking that her fairy godmother bestowed her the gift of music.

Now that she can speak and sing with words... I’m beginning to hunt for the fairy godmother... kinulang yung fairy dust. So kaka! :/

Jacob’s Ladder Immunization Center: Update

Their clinic is no longer in SM Southmall. They have relocated to a more spacious place in D Grand Building near the Las Pinas City Hall. And they have been there since September 2011 (abah, it's more than a year na pala and I only learned about it just recently?).

Good thing I called them up first before we went there last Saturday to have Amber’s Flu Vaccine or else, we might have ended up malling in Southmall instead.

The doctor is still the same bubbly Dr. Joseph (oo, basta, parang ganun yung name nya, ha-ha!) and the rates have not increased so far!

The place where they transferred to isn’t that far naman from Southmall, kaso sa sobrang traffic sa Casimiro Ext., hay naku! Buti na lang they still offer the same reasonable vaccine prices.

If you’re coming from Alabang, the D Grand Building is located at the left side, just before you reach the Las Pinas City Hall. When you reach the SM Center Las Pinas, lagpas ka na. ^_^

You may call them at (02)478-4707 for price and vaccine availability inquiries.

Going back to Amber’s vaccine... Here, she is showing us how she behaves while we wait for our turn. 

Don't be deceived! Pakitang tao lang yan! Hahaha!

After a while, she started playing with the toys. Pantanggal inip.

When it was our turn, Amber hesitated to go inside the doctor's room when she saw the familiar Doc. Nag-flashback ata sa kanya yung mga tusok ng needles. Buti na lang Doc has been very matyaga to talk to her and make her feel comfortable during the check-up.

Then when it’s time for the shot, Amber let out a long shriek. Daddy was quick to show her the new LPS toy that we’ve bought days before and hid in the car. Parang naudlot yung iyak nya and she totally forgot about the injection. Tsk-tsk! See what LPS can do to kids? ^_^

Holding on to her newest LPS buddy. Hindi naman daw masakit yung injection! Harhar!

It’s Christmas In Our Home!

At last! We were able to set up the Christmas decors before November ends. Akala ko, aabutan na kami ng Christmas day.

I couldn’t say it’s easier to set the decors this year. I have a little helper nga who was very proud of helping Mommy by handing me the Christmas Tree ornaments kaso I had to keep an eye on the little helper as she was such a copycat and tried to do things that I hope she didn’t because she’s giving me a scare! Tama bang umakyat din sa window sill? Kaloka talaga!

Anyhow, the tree is up care of me! As usual, the theme of the tree is – labo-labo! ^_^

The little girl could not take her hands of the sparkling Christmas balls.

I swear, I tried to make it as organized as possible using the same old decors kaya lang in the end, it still turned out like that... pero mukhang okay naman di ba? >;/

The Hubby naman put the decors outside the house.

Even the fishes’ aquarium was adorned with LED lights. Para lang silang nagpa-party-party ulit.

There it goes. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Bonus na lang ang kulang... ehem-ehem! ^_^

November Celebrations

Hiyah!

I’ve been very busy these past few weeks, especially during weekends, that I did not post any weekend activities of my little girl.

It’s a good busyness though. ^_^ My newfound business is doing well. I’m not running out of daily inquiries and I’ve sent out orders the past 2 weeks and I still have an unfinished batch sitting at home. Thank God for the blessings! Sorry if I don't talk about its details here kasi I made a pact, since the time I constructed this blog, that that I am keeping this blog very personal. Chos! Sabi ko lang yun, I'll talk about it din soon. Hehe!

Heniweyz, going back to my not-so-personal life... ^_^

We celebrated 3 birthdays in the office this month. The 4^th birthday will be held this Wednesday but I can’t wait until then to show the pictures of the past 2 celebrations anymore (mine kasi I’ve already shown previously). Not naman because the pictures are grand, nothing really unusual, it's just nice to talk about it. Saka I remembered that I haven’t introduced my office buddies in this blog yet. That’s so not nice of me considering that they are who I share my everydays with. Mas matagal ko pa nga silang kasama kesa sa anak ko di ba?

So without further ado, here are my officemates, the ones I usually spend my days with... ang dahilan ng kakrung-krungan ko most of the times.

This is Kuya Rey. I will not mention how old he is already because it doesn’t really matter. He looks, thinks and feels younger than us anyways. LOL!

His birthday is really October 28 but because it fell on a weekend and our other tropa went back to her hometown the following day, we celebrated his birthday on November 5.

We used to be the Power Puff Girls and Danny Bravo until Margz resigned.

We refer to Kuya Rey as the natural Scorpion. Kasi ang trait daw ng taong born under the sign of Scorpio, eh yung pag may pinakisuyo ka, hindi pwedeng walang reklamo. Madalas, kokontra pa yan. Pero in the end, gagawin naman. Yan! Yan si Kuya Rey.

Pero very dependable yan. Sobrang maasahan talaga! Sha ang Rey of all trades namin sa office.

Meet Miss Novel. Let’s also skip the real age part. What’s important is that she looks fairly young compared to her age. LOL! Totoo naman di ba?

  

She turned –tythree last November 17 and since it also fell on a weekend, we were treated to a hearty lunch on the 19^th.

If you look at our pictures, it seemed that they were taken on the same day, at the same time. Pasensha na po, sa sobrang cute ng office namin, that spot is the best place where we can dine in together. And we actually prefer dining in the office than dining out, ang init kaya sa labas! Wag na lang pansinin that that table is actually our boss’ table. Eh wala naman sha kaya keri na shang dining table. Hehe! 

Opsie, I missed making kwento a lot that I’ve been typing all away na. Parang nobelang flop na ang entry na ito so I’ll end it with a - BOW! ^_^

Who Am I?

Have an inspiring Thursday, everyone! ^_^

“I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed in the ocean, vapor in the wind.

Still You hear me when I’m calling.

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.

And you’ve told me who I am...

I am Yours... I am Yours.”

Villa Bubut / Casa Francina (Part 3)

What do you know?! There’s a beach a few meters away from Ate Bubut’s gate. So cool!

So before we leave, we headed to the beach. We don’t really have plans to swim. Makita lang namin yung dagat, solved na kami! Wala kaya nito sa Maynila! ^_^

It was the little girl’s first time to walk on a sandy beach. She kept on saying, “Mommy! Mommy! What’s this?!” as her feet digs in the sand. Nakakaaliw!

Further in the 2nd frame is Puerto Azul na daw according to the people there.

Sadly, we didn’t stay on the beach for long because Ate Bubut had to go to the airport that afternoon to fetch his husband, Joop (pronounced ‘Yoop’ in Dutch). The troupe headed back to Manila before noontime.

It was a fun short getaway. And we look forward to going back. Thank you, Ate 'But for having us. We surely had a great time!

Villa Bubut / Casa Francina (Part 2)

Casa Francina is so much better and nicer in daylight! See for yourself... ^_^

Ate Bubut visited us in the morning and was surprised to find out that we were all staying in 1 room. There are 2 rooms in the guest house, 1 was supposed to be shared by Mama and Tita Let while the Hubby, Amber and I were to use the other. Pero dahil nagkatakutan na the night before dahil sa humuhuning tiktik, este tuko, we all decided to stay in 1 room. 

An hour later, we're back in the main house to have breakfast. I love the view on the window! Try nyo sumilip, bangin po yan. Haha!

View from the top...

This well is no longer functional to human beings but is still good for bathing frogs. Ang laki nung palaka. I hope he finds his princess soon... any interested single ladies out there?! LOL!

It looks like I'm having a future sprinter. Go, anak!

And then I saw the real reason why Amber is having a 50-meter dash...

Ate Bubut took out Yumi. She'll be riding the car, too! Not ours ha, Ate Bubut's... whew! Sigh of relief!

Everyone stepped aside at the sight of Yumi. Hehe! Sinong gusto makipaglaro sa Labrador? Sino?!

Hindi naman kami mukhang afraid, di ba?! Hehe!

One last shot before we leave Casa Francina...

Villa Bubut / Casa Francina (Part 1)

Yeap, I'm dividing this post in 3 parts so that you won't get tired of looking at so many pictures. ^_^

The title of this entry are fictitious names that we came up for Ate Bubut’s spacious farm land in Ternate, Cavite.

Ate Bubut by the way is Hubby’s first cousin who just came back in town after so many years of living in The Netherlands, Middle East and wherever else in the world. ^_^

It was a short trip from Manila but since we were only given coordinates that we plotted in the GPS, we really don’t know what the exact place is called so we referred to it as Villa Bubut or Casa Francina, according to Tita Let.

We made several wrong turns because the road going to the place was quite hidden from the main road. 

But when we got inside the gate, we were all awed by the vast nature that awaits us.

We all loved the trees that surround us! And the looong pathway going to the main house.

The main house though is about 20 steps up on the hill! Ilang calories kaya ang mabu-burn ko dito?! ^_^

At dahil hindi ako architect o interior designer, mahirap para sakin ang i-describe ang looks ng bahay ni Ate Bubut. Hmmm, all I can say is that it showcases Ate Bubut and her husband's love to travel. Every corner of the house has trinkets that they got from every part of the world they have been to. Para shang museum. ^_^

And I love that it has a lot of space!

With us is Mommy Lil. She's Ate Bubut's mom.

The kids enjoyed running around the house. And while they do, I was praying hard, for them not to bump and break any of Ate Bubut's treasured mementos. 

Amber & nephew Justin.
Justin is Ate Bubut's grandson.

I was glad that the little girl felt hungry and asked for dede, nawala ang nerbyos ko sa pagbabantay sa mga vases and wooden statues na pwedeng matumba at madisgrasya ng dalawang pagkalilikot na bagets!

We stayed on the guest house that is separate from the main house. It was still a few steps up from the house. Ramdam na ramdam ko na nasa bundok ako. It was so quiet and peaceful. Mga kuliglig at tuko lang ang naririnig ko sa background. Communing with nature talaga ang peg! ^_^