A Pair of Havaianas for DAD

During are usual rounds at TRINOMA we pass by All Flip Flops and got a pair of Havaianas for Hubby. Finally, I was able to convince him that it’s more comfortable to go around the mall and other places with slippers.

Jolos' Achievement

Jolo is this year recipient of the St. Dominic Award - is given to pupils who have met the Undergraduates Honor Policy.

He/She must have no grade lower than 87 in any of the following subjects from the first to the third trimesters: Religion, Language Arts, Math, Filipino and MAPE. His/Her final average should be at least 92%. (The MAPE grade is not included in the computation of the final average.)

He/She should have no grade lower than 85% in Christian Living and Character Education from the first to third.

He/She must complete the curriculum year within the prescribed years.

He/She must have conducted himself/herself in conformity with the standards set by the school in compliance with school rules, regulations and policies.

Dad, Mom and Kuya Migs are proud of you. We love you anak. Keep it up!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. As I was listening to the Priest sermon he stress that Church has two Christmas. One is the usual Christmas we celebrate every 25th of December while the other one is the Easter Sunday. He says that Easter Sunday must be celebrated like 25th of December for the reason that it signifies new life (rebirth). According to father Tonet, it’s part of our tradition to prepare food, have new clothes and prepare some gifts for Christmas and why don’t we exercise it also during Easter Sunday. He also said that Easter Sunday is the longest celebration of the church. It runs for fifty days and will end on the Pentecost Sunday. Well, this is the first time heard of this and for the coming years I should celebrate the Easter Sunday as used to be. How about you????

Easter Egg Hunt

This is our second year celebrating Easter Egg Hunt. Migs & Jolo were energetic to find the hidden eggs. They even ask us for hints. This is one of our precious moments together. Upon searching I saw this trivia about Easter Egg Hunting.

The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chick hatches out. The egg is seen as symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. The red supposedly symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world and human redemption through the blood shed in the sacrifice of the crucifixion. The egg itself is a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.

The Easter egg tradition may also have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent in the West, though this is speculation. Eggs were forbidden during Lent as well as on other traditional fast days. Since chickens would not stop producing eggs during this time, a larger than usual store might be available at the end of the fast if the eggs had not been allowed to hatch. The surplus, if any, had to be eaten quickly to prevent spoiling.

Likewise, in Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy are prohibited during the Lenten fast, and eggs are seen as "dairy" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without shedding its blood). It was also traditional to use up all of the household's eggs before Lent began, which established the tradition of Pancake Day being celebrated on Shrove Tuesday. This day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday begins Lent, is also known as Mardi Gras, a French phrase which translates as "Fat Tuesday" to mark the last consumption of eggs and dairy before Lent begins.

source: wikepedia

My Sacrifice

Every Maundy Thursday is my sacrifice day. I usually do the way of the cross together with Mommy El. It’s just now that we change plans since Mom and Dad stayed in Las Piñas since Saturday. During this Lenten season Mom El thought us to do the way of the cross by visiting churches that will represent each station. This year was a memorable one; I did the station of the cross together with Hubby and my two kids. We started at around 7:30am and finished at around 11:30am. I admire my kids, despite their age they were able to know the meaning of the word sacrifice. Below are the list of churches we visited for this year.

1. Sta. Teresita Del Niño Jesus

2. Lourdes Church Q.C.

3. San Roque Church

4. Espiritu Santo

5. Sta. Cruz Church

6. Binondo Church

7. Manila Cathedral

8. San Agustin Church

9. Nuestra Señora De Guia

10. Malate Church

11. San Sebastian Church

12. St. Anthony Church

13. Loreto Church

14. Sto. Domingo

A moment of reflection

Let us examine our lives and remember the suffering and death of our Lord which freed us from the bondage of sin. Our challenge this Lenten season is to renew, integrate and practice the beliefs of this important season of the Church calendar year to our personal lives. Repentance and forgiveness are important acts that we should extend to one another as Jesus Christ has done for us. wish you a very meaningful Holy Week and an advance Happy Easter !!!

Box of Doughnuts

Each time we pass by the mall we will not go home empty handed. Krispy Kreme will always be in the list. Before the donuts war, we easily get contended with Dunkin and Mr. Donuts then GO Nuts Donuts introduce a more tangy variety of donuts and months after came the Hot Loops. I’ve tasted all of this and even tried Cellos’, and Krispy Kreme stands out, aside from being expensive it really melts to the mouth. The original glaze is perfect with brewed coffee. Not that sweet but more of a mouth watering taste that you will easily get hooked. So what are you waiting for, grab now..

Preparations for Jolo's 6th Birthday

One more birthday bash in the making. On the 13th of April the exact birthday of Jolo will be celebrating his 6th birthday at Kenny Rogers Quezon Avenue. Just this afternoon we reserved that date. This will be a simple celebration like what we did for Migs when he turned 6. Sponge Bob will be the theme of his party and have already got invitation, table cloth, prizes, and party favors from Toys “R” Us. The only problem I have is his cake. I know that the carrier of Sponge Bob is Goldilocks and unluckily all of their SB motifs are out of stock. Whaaaatttt!!!! Just to be able to go with the theme, I’m thinking of doing a picture cake once again. This time he will wear his SB shirt and will start from there. I’m thinking of getting him SB shoes (crocs style) and a hat to match his theme. Definitely this is out of budget but maybe I can squeeze it in. I still have 12 days to do it. Before Holy Week we went to 168 mall and have already purchased Loot Bags, Party Banner and other stuffs. I’d rather go back to DV the week of April 6 & 7 to finish all the things I need to add on the party.

I'm the COOK

How I love to cook. Since I’m on leave for the rest of the week I promised my family that I will cook all the food they want. Hubby and the kids were excited. Me too! I just don’t know were to start so I asked Hubby what does he like for lunch? And he said he wants Nilagang Baka. Wew! I thought he will ask for a more complicated dish like Paella or Lengua. So I cooked the Nilagang Baka with matching ripe mango shake. My kids love the soup stock and even ask for a second round serving. Well it will be a tough week for me. But I know that Hubby will always be at my side and whatever I will cook I know that they will like it because I will prepare it with much love and care for them. Happy Eating!

Time to Invest

By merely “saving” your money you may not be able to achieve the kind of returns you are really after. That’s why I started investing since I graduated from college. I want to retire from work at the age of forty and start another business eventually. I already have a life plan, pension insurance and last year I just finished the educational plan for my youngest son. Much as I would like not to have additional dues for the next year maybe not for a long time. We will invest for a house and lot. Not our dream house. But it doesn’t matter; we just want it for an investment that’s why we have to finance it thru SSS because we’re saving our PAG-IBIG housing loan for our dream house. The subdivision will start its construction by the next six months. The place is very promising it is right across a big hospital with plenty of restaurants along the main road and even close to one of the big malls in the metropolis. I just hope and pray that everything will be in order. Please pray for us.

Emerald Garden

After each graduation is a treat. We brought the family at the EMERALD GARDEN located in front of the US Embassy in Roxas Boulevard. This is my first time to eat here. Since I’m not that familiar with this place, I ordered the food which I think will enjoy much. We ordered the ff: Fish Roll, Cream of Corn Soup, Fried Chicken, Pancit Canton, Sweet n Sour Pork, and Broccoli in Garlic, Cold Shrimp Salad and Sweet Taro (house special). The food was great. Not much of MSG like other Chinese restaurant. We eat to the max. Mom El enjoyed the Sweet Taro. Yummy!

Review

Food: ****

Budget: 3k up for 10pax

Migs Graduation

March 14, Friday was Migs graduation from Kinder-B. I and Hubby filed our VL to be able to come and witness the much awaited graduation day of our eldest son. We were all excited! I even had my hair done and put on some make up. Hubby even cleans our shoes.

The afternoon was not perfect because of the humid weather. Most of the kids were also late due to heavy traffic, but the school promptly started the program at 2:15pm. It was so touching seeing the kids. I really admire their teachers for molding them like a piece of glass very fragile yet become more brilliant with all the learning’s imparted to them.

Parents alike are definitely proud of their kids. Especially those who have medals and one of them is Juan Miguel Carlos, my eldest son.

Congratulations Anak! We are proud of you.

Resignation

RESIGNATION . . . . . you read it right . . . . . nop, not me, but some of my colleagues are resigning. Huh huh huh !!! I know that no one is indispensable, but it’s very hard to see them go. Many BPOs are offering good compensation and promising careers here and abroad. This really triggers the Company where I’am in now. We are continuously loosing good people that can contribute in achieving company goals. Come to think of it, everyone is entitled to enrich themselves and to have a career that safeguards their future.

To : Yumi, Karen Steph, Vi-anne, Kat, Shirly, Jane, Lorraine and My Dearest She She

Here is a verse that I want to share with you

"I hold you in my heart, for we have shared together God's blessings." Philippians 1:7

May the LORD continue to bless all of you and grant your heart’s desire.

Until we meet again . . . . .