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! ^_^

Nuvali Stop Over

This is a pahabol Christmas post. The busy me forgot to publish it before the year ends. So allow me to make a post-Christmas kwento. After all, there is a saying, "ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan".

Hukey, nuff of the excuses and nonsense reasoning, here are some pictures taken when we stopped by Nuvali on our way home from Tagaytay to have our late lunch at Conti’s. 

The masikip entrance of Conti's. ^_^

I love these mirrors on the staircase where you can
compare your before and after-eating photos. LOL!

As usual, the Koi fish were a big hit but we weren’t able to take pictures of them anymore because of the possessive mob that has gathered around them. We just contented ourselves by looking at them from afar.

Back to meal time! Here's what we had for lunch...

Chicken Roulade, P235

Roast Beef in Mushroom Sauce, P295

American Grilled Ribs, P295

Beef Teppanyaki, P260

...and Green Mango Shake, P80

Hubby was a little disappointed because all the cakes he chose to order were out of stock. Too bad he ended up not having any desserts at all. 

Shempre it wouldn't be complete without a little photo shoot. ^_^ 

  
Magkukwento lang ako ng konti pa ha... ^_^ After we dropped Nanay off in her house in Muntinlupa and while on the way out to SLEX, the Hubby asked what day it was. Shempre we came from a weekend vacation so we thought it was still a weekend. Then he realized it was Monday! We just took a leave from work. And the car plate ends in 2! Yeap, coding sha! It was a good thing that there weren't too many traffic police around and maybe they didn't notice us so we were able to enter SLEX without being flagged down. Instead of getting home early, we had to wait someplace until 7PM. Haiz!

And there officially ends my what-seemed-like-never-ending Christmas kwento. ^_^

Tagaytay Christmas Get-Away (Part V: Pictures and More Pictures!)

My last entry for our Christmas vacation will be about the things that we did the most in Tagaytay... picture-taking!

Day 1

We checked in at the hotel and went to mass in the evening.

Day 2

Our plan to visit Paradizoo on Christmas Day didn't push through because I've seen from their website that they have increased their entrance fee from P99 to P199 per head. The Hubby was willing to go but I wasn't. Call me kill-joy but I call my self prudent. Hahaha, pagandahin naman natin ang term na kuripot. Basta lang, I don't feel like I should spend close to a thousand peso (since there are 5 of us) to meet and greet the farm animals, no matter how adorable they are, no matter how I wanted Amber to see them. Pero sabi nga ng Nanay ko, one of these days, you will be so willing to go there to the point of spending even more than that. O, e di sige, hintayin ko na lang kung kelan yun. Sana may manlibre. ;-p

Instead, we went around the hotel, let Amber play at the playground for a while...

And strolled around the hotel's premises...

Amber snoozed after her bath and while she waits for the elders to dress up... 

After that, we went to Taal Vista Lodge for a good view of the lake and volcano. I like that they allow non-guests to go in to take a full view of the Taal lake but if I were a guest, I will feel uneasy because there are just too many people already. Nevertheless, let us take advantage of this non-guests privilege while it lasts, shall we? ^_^

Paid P100 for the parking. That is good for 1-hour worth of picture-taking!

Amber says, "wul-key-noh! wul-key-now!"

We still took some shots back at the hotel lobby before calling it a day...

Day 3

We stayed on bed until there was just enough time to catch breakfast downstairs. After eating we went again to the hotel's backyard to greet the sheep. We had to because Amber kept on tugging us to their direction while she says, "sheeeeep! sheeeeep!!!".   

After that, we went back to our room to pack our things.  

A little pictorial while the bill is being settled

We went to the local market to buy fruits (pineapples!!! lots of them!), vegetables and some pasalubong. Mama also bought flowers from the stalls along the road on our way home. 

The pineapple farms were so nice to look at. I just couldn't take a good shot because I was carrying a toddler who is sound asleep. ^_^

There goes our 2011 Christmas get-away! Looking forward to more get-aways with the family this coming year. ^_^

Happy holidays everyone! 

 

Tagaytay Christmas Get-Away (Part IV: Christmas Mass)

I had to give this post some serious thoughts before publishing it. I know it's Christmas and there shouldn't be room for aversion on this merry season at least, but there's no better way I can write about this experience than what's on this entry. Anyhow, I'm sorry for those who will disagree but these are my thoughts and this is the way I felt.  

We heard mass at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church.  

The church is big and spacious. And the altar looked great!

They had a program which was led by the ministry’s teenage members. It started with performances of different choirs from every barangay. 

We always look forward to the “Panunuluyan” re-enactment which is done in churches before the Christmas eve mass begins. It was enjoyable to watch until they have dragged the scene for almost an hour. :(

Had we not reminded ourselves that we were there to hear mass and pay homage to our saviour, the Hubby and I would've walked-out of the church when they began showing video clips of actual abortion. I really couldn’t take it, I felt I would throw up if I continued on seeing it. I just had to look at Amber and cover her eyes for fear that it might give her nightmares. It was too graphic. I heard Nanay sniffling and it was just the worse church program that I’ve attended!

Apparently, they were campaigning against the RH bill and abortion, which I hope they didn’t do that night. There were children inside the church! The video was too horrifyingly graphic! Even I who used to watch and like gory films felt sick not even 30 seconds of seeing it. And they aired it for a good 5 minutes! It was Christmas eve for goodness’ sake! Where are the merry thoughts?

I believe there are a lot of ways to get the point across. I wish they have looked for more acceptable ways rather than causing trauma most especially to a large number of children who were present at that time.

It was just so tacky and insensitive. We still heard mass after that and prayed so hard that people will be guided towards what is appropriate and what is simply unacceptable.  

Tagaytay Christmas Get-Away (Part III: The Food)

We planned to have our dinner at LZM Restaurant (known for its famous boneless bangus) on our first night in Tagaytay. But it was already closed when we got there so we settled ourselves at Shakey’s in Robinsons. We had to make our dinner quick because we have to attend the 9PM mass and it was almost 8PM then.

Our dinner was uneventful, except for Mama’s outrage against the staff for their very poor service. I kept on telling myself to let it pass because it was Christmas and maybe they were just all eager to go home. But Mama couldn’t stop herself by the obvious inattentiveness.

The next day, we had the buffet breakfast at the hotel. The choices were very limited but I was surprised that I was so full from what they have served. 

Konsensha: Eh kasi naman yung plate nya pati lunch at dinner, kasama na!

Garlic Rice, Tocino, Chicken Adobo, Corned Beef and Ham

Vegetable Omelet

Breads, butter & jam with Lugaw

I said I can live for that day without having to eat again. Pero shempre chika lang yun! Ako pa, hindi kakain!?

We went out again in the afternoon and went to Josephine’s to have our late lunch there. But my goolay! Andami pa ring tao! It was already 3PM and the place was still packed! When the Hubby inquired, we were the 17^th in the queue. As in aabutin na pala kami ng dinner dito!

No matter how I like to eat at Josephine’s while enjoying a good view of the Taal lake, I wasn’t crazy to wait that long so we went back to LZM Restaurant instead. No Taal lake and volcano in horizon but the food was great!

The restaurant is located at the 2nd floor of I-don't-know-building.

The famous boneless bangus. P350

What's a trip to Tagaytay without Bulalo? P450, unlimited soup

Ampalaya Con Carne (which I love!) and Pancit

After our late-lunch-snack or snack-early-dinner combo at LZM, we passed by Robinson’s Supermarket to buy crackers for Mama, potato chips for Hubby, milk for Amber, instant coffee for my coffee-addict Nanay and mountain dew for mwah!  

Side kwento... Mama is so funny! Hubby and I saw her smiled and blushed when she saw that there were a lot of Korean nationals inside the supermarket. Bakit kaya? Feeling nya nasa Korea na sha? I bet her ultimate dream now is to travel to Korea. Oo, kakabugin nun ang Europe trip nya with Papa and her US vacations. She even announced to us that her Mabuhay Miles can now give her a free airfare to Korea, kelangan na lang nya ng kasama. Ikaw na talaga, Ma! "It’s you already"!

The next day, we binged on the hotel’s buffet breakfast again. Sayang I wasn't able to take pictures but they served Pasta, Pancakes, Tapa, Danggit and Mami this time. The salad and bread bars were still there. I ordered for a Mushroom and Cheese Omelet and it was soooo good! ^_^

Hay! I'm still so hung-up on Josephine's. It was a decade since I last ate there, I was sooo craving for the Mutya ng Cavite (it's a seafood soup ^_^)! Haiz!