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!

pregnant pause

Upon her doctor's advice, Twinx spent a week back home so that she  could get some bedrest for her growing baby! For lunch, Ma and Twinx made molo soup. It's a chore to make but so satisfying. Good thing sis was here to help make it!

The dumplings before going into the soup. A neighbor suggested we place them in front of the fan for a few moments before going into the soup to help keep the wrapper from slipping off. I don't know the reason behind this but it worked!

With nothing to do but eat, sleep or watch TV, Twinx would often get sleepy or hungry, which she says is part of being pregnant, but I'm not so sure... that would mean she's been pregnant for years! Kidding!

Anyway, the dumplings have been plopped into the steaming hot soup and Ma added the spring onion and toasted garlic.

Here's the finished product. It had just been on the table for a few minutes and it was already half-empty by the time I took a picture.

Just like old times. Twinx with the family. Hope you enjoyed your stay!

For dessert, some yellow watermelon. It tastes the same, but it sure looks peculiar.

Lunch at Cabalen

We had a couple of gift certificates from Cabalen that were about to expire so we decided to use them before going to the supermarket.

3 ways to cook lapu-lapu

Papa has a suki (favored vendor) who sells him lapu-lapu at a very affordable price. That's why we sometimes have dinners like this. The easiest, of course, is deep fried lapu-lapu which tastes absolutely delicious just plainly seasoned with salt and pepper. Another favorite is pesang lapu-lapu, which is simply making a soup out of the fish head with cabbage, pechay, ginger and onion. Perfect for rainy nights and even better when paired with sauteed garlic, onions and tomatoes and patis. And to keep my Papa's cholesterol in check, I also learned to cook steamed lapu-lapu.

Here's how:
Make 2 small slits at both  sides of the fish and season with salt and pepper and about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Stuff the slits with chopped ginger and green onion or leeks.(Use ordinary onions as substitute if you run out, like we did. Boo! ) Steam for 30 minutes. Longer for bigger fish. You may also pour some hot oil on it but that would defeat the purpose of a healthy meal. Serve at once! You can also pair it with my Coron sauce.

Filipinos love dipping sauces so here's the perfect sauce for this, inspired by our trip to Coron:

Saute garlic, onion and ginger in a pan. Add half a cup of soy sauce, 1/3 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of sugar   and 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce. Bring to boil and then add some chili flakes or fresh  sliced sili  for an added kick.

My backpack design entry

Shopwise had a backpack design competition around the theme Pinoy pride so this is what I made...I didn't win but I did get some Shopwise groceries for my effort. I decided to add some more touches as I was inspired by jeepney art and our penchant for horror vacuii (fear of empty spaces) It's just so Pinoy to decorate everything with abubut(trinkets)

side view of the bag. featuring lucban's pahiyas fiesta and bohol's chocolate hills

Sentro 1771, fabulous filipino food, finally!

After some mildly disappointing meals at Fely J and Mesa, my faith in upscale Filipino food has been restored with Sentro 1771.  We've always wanted to go there but were afraid that since it was part of the Chateau 1771 group, it would be insanely expensive. Fortunately, it's just around average for Greenblet resto prices but infinitely more satisfying.

Father's Day celebration at Mesa

Ok, confession, we actually celebrated Father's Day a week early because we thought it was on the 2nd Sunday of June. No wonder we were able to get reservations for Mesa easily. hehehe! But it was all for the best as we avoided the crowds and we were all together, which is the most important thing.