Wowo at Jon's birthday party

Here's something from 1990, a betamax video of Jon's birthday party! We didn't have a video camera then and only borrowed one from our neighbor. Thank God I was still able to have the tape converted to DVD. I think we were supposed to send a copy to the States but in the analog age, it was harder to make copies so this was never sent.

visita iglesia 2009

It was the Maundy Thursday and Twinx tested out her new camera.

We started at the spanking new, reconstructed Magallanes Church which was closed when we got there last year. The place is huge and there were ushers everywhere! Next stop was San Sebastian, Twinx's favorite church. She tried many times to get a clear picture of the interior but the mass and low light conditions inside proved to be a challenge.She had better luck at San Beda and its painted ceilings.This was St. Jude. Camera out of focus (gutom na yata ang kumuha)

Quiapo Church had fewer than expected people inside probably because mass was over.

Beautiful facade of San Agustin, the only church in Intramuros that survived the American bombing of Intramuros in World War 2 because it was made a red cross refuge. And finally, we prayed at the Manila Cathedral. Again, the pix are a bit blurred...the photographer was already famished....nanginginig na sa gutom! As a sacrifice, we didn't eat anything from the food stalls around the churches like the isaw or the fried squid. We just ate our baon fudgee bars and water before rushing to Max's for dinner! My cheeks are already sunken from extreme hunger. heehee!

tradisyon na ito!

pa's birthday and earth hour

Chicken risotto was ok, not as fantastic as the seafood risotto

The shrimps wrapped in bacon and asparagus was an explosion of flavor! Too bad there were only 4 pieces.

we had dinner at italianni's for pa's birthday and we were worried about what would happen if we stayed till 8:30pm, when Makati and the rest of the country turns off their lights for earth hour. The waiters informed us that their resto would only be dimming their lights and provide candles because they might have food accidents if they turn off all their lights. Too bad, since we were planning to escape in the darkness when we asked for our bill. hehe.
Most of Ayala did turn off their lights and according to the news, so did SM's Mall of asia.


this was the view from greenbelt's parking lot.

and this is greenbelt 1 all dark save for the headlights of vehicles.

and this is amorsolo street and mile long. some establishments chose not to participate... earth killers! booo!

still more pix from new year

Pa and the boys showing off the shirts from Kuya Rocel

photos courtesy of mang omeng

New year is a big deal in Pasay as this is the annual grand reunion and opeing of gifts and exchange gifts and raffle. And of course, the paagaw where my relatives scramble for coins that rain down from our generous aunts' hands.

i had to go to work on New year but I left P500 for anyone who could get the highest score on our new magicsing that Tita Chuchie gave us. Everyone thought Sherwin would win with his off-key songs that made my Kuya Arnel laugh so hard his blood pressure rose. In the end, Kuya Celso scored an upset without even glancing at the lyrics.

Ako ang nagwagi:Kuya Celso wins the top prize,photo by Jon

New year 2009 pix

pix from New Year's eve...

ewwww! I filled up the chicken butt with mushroom following wowa's directions. hope it turns out ok for tomorrow's family reunion!

Twinx sewing up the chicken butt

that's our yellow lab, sasha. i covered her ears to protect from the noise of fireworks outside. poor sasha!
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new year's day:

rodel and his kid, alexa

ate cecille and ate conching

it's a new year's miracle! the boys are washing the dishes for a change!

pandayan kitchen crew ready for action!

happy 2009!!!

all saints' day

We don't typically celebrate Halloween here, though we used to rush home every Saturday to watch the spooky special on Magandang Gabi Bayan, where now Vice president Noil de Castro would showcase scary stories and places they covered with matching godawful special effects supposed to scare but turn out really funny, instead.

Every year on the 1st of November, Filipino families troop to the cemetery to visit their departed loved ones. As with all family gatherings in our country, this becomes a fiesta. There's food and drinks and stories are shared not about the dead but about each other. Fortunately, loud music has been banned so there is still some solemnity mixed with bouts of laughter. my nephew Sherwin hams it up for the camera.

When we were kids, we would play with the candle drippings and form all sorts of toys with it. I resisted the urge to make a rose like I used to make and just watched the kids make a ball of candle wax and had to smile at the sense of wonder and the pride they got from watching their ball of wax grow larger. If my aunt Diche /Fernanda were still alive she would tell us playing with candles will make you wet your bed! :) I forgot to tell Bien that his dad used to gather the wax and sell them for a small sum to people who would turn them into candles again. Since they paid so little, some kids would cheat by covering a heavy stone with wax to get more cash. Don't know if the buyers were ever fooled, though.

Early All Saints Day visit

We decided to go to Lucena before Nov.1 to avoid the horrendous holiday traffic jams that would surely clog all roads to the provinces. Tita Gina prepared a sumptuous feast for us at her home. We had steamed crabs, shrimps, mussels, grilled fish and buko pandan, too!

I gave Dana the much delayed DVD of her 16th birthday celebration which she liked, even though there were scenes which she said she didn't want to see again! Ah, young love!heehee!We also brought a cake from Conti's, a mini-Mango Bravo which almost melted as it couldn't fit inside the freezer. It was still delicious, though.

Oh, and we also got the pasalubong that Tito Nonong and Tito Alan sent us. Got a cool pair of adidas sneakers and a Clark Kent/Superman figure! Yay!

Everybody:You can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella-ella...

After merienda, we went to Wowo's grave to pray although we were shivering from the rain and the chilly wind that blew through the cemetery. Brrr!

Then we were on our way home and instead of going to our usual dinner place, Leslie's, we tried out Rose and Grace, a cafeteria-style resto that also had a kiosk inside. We ordered the bulalo and fried tawilis and loved how quick the service was and more importantly, how cheap the food was(Around P500+ for a hungry family of 5!) And we could have all the bulalo soup we wanted ! Sorry, Leslie's, Rose and Grace resto is our new go-to place.

Sarap!