and yes, i won! i won!

 After an exhausting campaign, i won 2nd place in the merciful mother and me photo contest i really didn't expect to win because some of the other entries had thousands of votes versus my 150+ votes. Thanks to all of my friends, officemates, relatives and friends of friends who voted and did not unfriend me as I kept flooding facebook with all sorts of pathetic requests for votes like ...

• Top 5 reasons to vote for me ("Everytime you vote, an angel gets his wings...") 
• Dear Santa all I want for  Christmas is...("Good friends with stable internet connection... and world peace)
• Every voter will get a chance  to win a tshirt!

After all that, I got my ipod nano on Dec.23 and what a happy Christmas it was! Again, thank you all! Next up, a mama mary video contest! dun-dun-dun-dunnnnn!!!

maligayang pasko lucena!

 here are some pics from our Christmas in Lucena. Twinx wasn't able to come because they were being cautious with her pregnancy. We did get to chat with her via webcam last night.

 The feast prepared by Wowa and Tito Dante

 Hmmmm. blog website  is acting up. the pix are vertical in photoshop but come out horizontal here....
anyway, some of the food on the table were turbo- broiled chicken with mushroom, caldereta, embotido, gallo con queso (tama po ba wowa?) quezo de bola and hamon.

Interesting sidenote: according to food writer doreen fernandez, during  the spanish colonial times, beef and cheese were rare and expensive as they came by galleon so only the rich were able to afford it. Thus, the ordinary folk had to save up and only had them for noche buena. And that's why these Spanish food (jamon, embotido, morcon, galantina, relleno, castañas) became identified with Christmas.

 the desserts: buko salad, gelatin with lychee,  ube halaya all made by Tito Dante and leche flan by Dana.

 kain po! let's eat!

 this is me with the ipod nano i won in the mama mary contest. thaks to everyone for your help!

this is dana also praying that she wins an ipod or new cellphone. there's another contest coming up dana! join na!

 wowa opening the gifts

 dana and kristoff

 as requested, i got dana books by Bob Ong.
The next day,


I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas...

 Even though it was raining, a troop of kids and adults still went from house to house yelling "Namamasko po!" as Wowa and Jon handed out coins and candy.

 After a while though, the the giver started losing yuletide cheer...

 We got a chance to chat via webcam with Kuya Nonong and Andrew

 before we had to go back to Manila to avoid the traffic. And we did!

Some of the well-preserved old houses that have been revitalized by finding new ways to use them. Some are preschools or law offices or restaurants...

or proud tourist attractions like the Enriquez Ancestral house. May our Filipino traditions endure wherever we may be! Maligayang Pasko!

 some of my gifts for the kids this year: a lego-like car (tsk,made in china) but i did partner it with filipino books with really interesting drawings.

new artshirt

My latest artshirt design! I call this "Sosyal" and it's inspired by Damian Domingo

by the way...i won! i won!

In other news...

 That's my winning entry on the far left

my perseverance has paid off again! I won first prize in the "Where have your sandals gone?" photo contest. It's the first time I won the top prize in a nationwide contest! I won a trip for 2 to Boracay with accommodations at Patio Pacific plus cash and gift certificates from Rider!

Too bad I wasn't able to claim my prize personally as it was also the office anniversary and I was being awarded for 10 years of loyalty! Still, I am soooooo happy! So guys, my advice, keep joining! You'll  lose most of the time but your chances of winning are still better than hitting the jackpot at  the lotto!