Nuvali Saturday

We went to Nuvali last weekend since it's my dream (haha!) for Xian to see and experience feeding the famous koi fishes there and try his first boat ride. And eventhough it's a busy week for me because of the February 14 school activity and we still have office schedule last Saturday, buwis buhay akong umabsent and so far I'm still here at may trabaho pa naman ako.hihi.

Although I also love my work but family is still my top priority since weekend is very precious for us nowadays, eto na lang yung time to have some family day out.

Saturday came, Allan, Xian,me and Inay left our house at around 8:30 AM. Good thing that the weather is perfect that  morning kaso we encounter lang some minor glitch with directions after taking the Silangan exit and turn on the wrong route. Instead of turning right sa left kami napunta,well it's my fault since I insist that we turn left according to my instinct. (But my instinct fail that time. Bigla-bigla nang-iiwan sa ere. I was thinking karma ata 'to kase absent ako.di kaya?) Thank God that the husband "sensed" na wala atang pinapatunguhan pagdadrive nya and adding to that,that one person na napagtanungan namin di sya sure kase di daw sya taga-dun. Okay atleast we enjoyed the mini joy ride.

Fast forward na sa kwento,finally we reached Nuvali around 10:00 AM na ata.

Hello there!

Even though I've seen a lot of pictures of the koi,nakaka-starstruck pa din  ang mga isdang orange na 'to sa sobrang dami nila. 

Xian loves feeding them. He giggles everytime there's splashes of water generated by the koi.For the whole fish feeding experience,Allan and Xian bought 7-8 packs of the feeds and I think sa dami ng napakain ni bagets, close na sila ng mga fish. Kawawa lang tingnan mga fish everytime they went crazy fighting over the feeds pero in fairness mukhang masaya naman sila sa ginagawa nila :)

Here's some of my boys fish feeding moments.They're the Team White.lol.

Now here's the Team Violet:

me with Inay dear

Our day out is incomplete without some family snapshots.

 
After feeding the fish,  what else to do kundi Boat Ride! Allan bought our tickets and reserve the whole boat ride for our group for Php 180. we were assigned boat docking #20 (tama ba yung term?)  and that time nasa #15 pa lang yet Xian already wants to ride the boat. So while waiting for our turn and to entertain Xian, my two boys just engaged in their usual playful self.

daddy,habulin mo ko..

their "huli ka" kissing game.. Btw,can you spot Inay dear, inip na din sa boat ride.hihi.

Finally after 25 years, it's our turn! :)

mahangin talaga sa labas.

 

gusto nya solo lang nya yung upuan

Xian loved it when  the boat entered a tunnel under the bridge. There was also a time when he happily exclaimed "wow,mommy look flamingo!" We were shocked that at his age he already knows that kind of bird.

The water taxi ride took about 10 minutes to go around the lake which the little man enjoyed every minute.Feel na feel nya lang the whole time. With the boat's sudden turn before our boat ride end (pang-finale ba.. haha!) I looked at Xian to see his reaction and he said "mommy,di naman ako scared!"

moment lang..

After our boat ride,we had our lunch at Claw Daddy. I will publish a different post about it next time. For now I'll enjoy the rest of our precious days with my boys. This is our last weekend before Allan's flight.

Happy Weekend everyone! 

Valentine's Day Dinner

Since we had a school activity yesterday, Allan went to my workplace and patiently waited there at the lobby since it's our plan the night before that we'll dine out na lang on Valentine's Day.Good thing that our activity were finished on time so I was able to leave the office at 5:45 PM.

Where to eat? My first options are between Gerry's Grill or Hap Chan but the husband said na sobrang traffic going to SM Lipa and byahe pa lang ubos na oras, which is may point naman. Then I suggested na Lipa Grill but according to him,wala masyadong parking space dun.  So my last choice is Giligan's Restaurant  (again) at Robinson's Place and so far ok naman sa date ko kase naisip din daw nya dun.Weh? Besides dining at the mall is the best option since it's more accessible for us to buy Xian's pasalubong.

The place is jam-packed when we got there,good thing we were able to reserve a table after a couple of minutes.

Inside the restaurant, I saw a few couple with their kids. I told him sana sinama nya si Xian para sana dalawa sila na ka-date ko that night but according to the husband, we deserve some couple time every once in a while plus we just came from a family day out last weekend (na until now di ko pa din napopost.ansipag ko mag-blog.lol) So last night, it's just the two of us.

What I love about the place is their very relaxing ambiance. Cool na cool. It's a fun dining restaurant instead of fine dining. 

For this Valentine's Day dinner,these made our tummy happy while we're talking on just about anything,tipong binabalikan yung mga dating date night namin for the past 11 years.

 Giligan's Seafood Feast

hubby's plate of Sisig with Rice. I also order this one. #gaya-gaya lang.

Mango Float

partner na pamatid uhaw.

But you know what made our date special for me that night aside from the fact that he liked my gifts?

Few minutes before we leave after Allan settled the bill,nagpaalam sya na pupunta lang sandali sa rest room. while waiting for him, bumalik si crew sa table namin then gave me this single stem rose (which is inserted in the bill presenter and said "pinapabigay po ni Sir (Allan). Happy Valentine's Day po Mam!"

You see,I can also relate to Em's post about the flower thing since di ko na matandaan the last time I received flowers from Allan after we had Xian (last Valentine's Day was a paper rose from my boys.in fairness effort naman.nakatago sya sa baul ko ngayon.lol) But talking about the real flowers, I forgot already. Although during our bf-gf days,every Valentine's Day talaga meron sya binibigay na flowers and chocolates plus handwritten note pa. But there was a time that I told him to stop doing it since nanghihinayang din ako sa ibibili nya flowers,ipandagdag na lang nya sa chocs,mas matutuwa pa ko lalo. Akalain ko ba naman seseryosohin nya.Hmp.

That's why I'm surprised to received something like this last night. well,di na nga lang sya bouquet pero keri na din.hahaha. I've been teasing him the whole time after that. 


We were supposed to watch a movie pero tinamad na kami so we just stroll around and bought Xian's pasalubong. He also bought a new luggage bag which made me realized that less than a week na lang at schedule ng flight na ulit nya.Pero dahil Valentine's Day ngayon,iwas emote muna ako.


So that's how we spend our Valentine's Day 2012. Simple and laid back,parang kami lang.

Thank you so much hubby love for this day. Alam mo na yun. I will forever be thankful to God for giving me someone like you, someone "imperfectly perfect for me". Thank you for giving me the best gift - our Xian and for loving me unconditionally which you never fail to express every single day. Now on our 11th Valentine's Day together, still thank you for everything! Words can never express what we have. 

Xian and I love you so much!♥

Simple Joy: Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake

Blueberry Cheesecake is one of my favorite cake ever since I tasted it. Love at first taste, I must say. I always go to Red Ribbon since they offer one of the best blueberry cheesecake and whenever we're at the coffee shop, that's always my choice of dessert to match with my favorite frappe.  Anything about blueberry cheesecake makes me drool but I don't have the willpower to do it because I thought it's complicated. I'm not an expert in making dessert, but I'm an expert when it comes to eating! :P

That's why it's an achievement for me to make my very own blueberry cheesecake. Thanks to Em and Lanie's post which became my inspiration and of course,big thanks to My Mom-Friday's where I got the procedure. Head on over to her blog for recipe.

So here's my first ever attempt to make a no-bake blueberry cheesecake. Everyone in our household loves it,we actually ate half of it last night.haha!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!♥

Valentine's Day Gifts for Allan

Since I already received my early VDay gift, I scoured the mall one time and also checked some online shops to buy possible gift/s for hubby that he can use when he gets back at his overseas work and here's what I've got.

1. The North Face Bag Electron 40L

He already have a black 50L of this bag and since he finds it too bulky for his things sometimes, I decided to buy him a smaller version. Wala pa ko time i-wrap so I decided to hide it in our closet pero di ko lam kung saan pinaglihi asawa ko at ang linaw ng mata, nakita na nya sa cabinet namin while I'm at work,ending hindi na surprise gift.

he already used it when he went to Manila last Monday ( he dropped by at my workplace then we we went at the mall afterwards to buy some tools at Ace Hardware and do the grocery)

2. Black Adidas Jacket

My recent loot for him. I left this at my workplace so there's no way for him to find this at home. So feeling ko naman masusurprise na sya.Hehe!  

4 Days to go and it's Valentine's Day already! What's your plan,mommies? About us,we still don't know siguro dinner after our school activity that day or he'll cook my favorite dish for our simple dinner as soon as I got home. Anyway we have an scheduled family gala tomorrow.Sabi ko nga,kung di pwede lumayo gawan ng paraan kahit sa medyo malapit. So ayun,excited na ang Xian!

Aside from the occasion that it's Valentine's Day, Feb. 14-15 are also our 11th anniversary as bf-gf. Yep two days ang date of anniversary namin! it's a long story to tell no wonder our bf-gf anniversary will never slipped our mind,kami na ba naman ang makisabay sa Balentayms Day :)

It's a Casa Rap Afternoon!

Last Saturday afternoon on our way to my in-laws place, we had an impromptu stopover at Casa Rap to have our snacks. They're just our neighbor town and only 20 minutes drive if we use the expressway.

Casa Rap is an organic garden restaurant located at San Jose Batangas and owned by Sister Emma Alday, an advocate for the environment. Proof of this can be seen in the restaurant's earth-friendly designs and color. At first, it just looks like a house covered with trees. It is not easy to find if you're not familiar with the place. Hindi sya masyado pansinin, unless pumasok na mismo sa loob. 

As soon as we enter, the whole place feels like a secret  garden. Bigla ko tuloy naalala ang favorite show ko nung bata ako na Mary and The Secret Garden! :D

The Place!

I heard they serve really good food for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Based on experience, it's better to go there early pala because they're only open until 5:00 PM. 

When we arrived there, it's 4:00 PM already so we only had an hour to enjoy the food and the place,  plus we're the last customers na ata that time so we had the place all to ourselves! 

When we were seated at our choice of table,too bad some of their menu  for snacks like their grilled sandwiches are not available that time. So go lang kami dun sa available. Hubby and I tried their lomi, the husband having lomi as one of his comfort food love the taste of Casa Rap's version. When we ask Xian what he wanted to eat, the little man quickly replied "mommy,fries atsaka burger!" Patay! So we told him that there's no available fries nor burger there and we'll just drop by at the nearest drive-thru after that.Okay naman kay bagets.He just chose what he want and pointed Casa Rap's Salad.Okay, so we tried it too.Then for dessert,we had their famous Casa Rap Halo-Halo. I super love it! The best thing about their halo-halo is that instead of using ice, they use buko sherbet.
 

According to the articles which you'll find there, Sis Emma personally designed the place.  They were even featured in some lifestyle television programs because of the popularity the gained through the food they served by organic farming. Since she also has an innate love for art, you'll find a lot of interesting pieces inside her restaurant:

 

framed write-ups about Casa Rap

 books

some recycled pieces you'll find at the place

 the owner's handwritten note on the menu book

Some Family Snapshots

 Xian love this aquarium thing that is fish-deprived that time.hehehe.By the way,did you know that it is made from the truck's windshield? Talking about creativity,huh?

They have different tables and chairs there. One of them is this wooden table and bench which is Xian's favorite spot.

Hello, ako Xian!

Up for something? ngitian pa lang nila nagkakaunawaan na :)

kulitan of my two boys while waiting for our food.

may textmate na ata si Xian at mukhang kunsintidor pa ang tatay. 

My two babies: Baby Allen and Daddy Allan 

moi

mommy and my baby no more.

 Mukhang nalugi yung isang bata sa tabi.hihi.

The Food

 Xian's Choice: Casa Rap's Salad.Xian love the okoy. I love the sour dressing.I'm not sure if those flowers are edible.lol.

Yummy Lomi! Since andami pala ng serving and we both order this, hubby finished my leftover lomi since Xian only got to taste a few spoonful.

Meal is better kapag may Coke! #cokeaddict

Casa Rap's famous Halo-Halo. The Best!

Happy Customers

The C Family!

One thing is sure,we will definitely go back again at Casa Rap for lunch to try their other yummy dishes,I'm craving for their Sinigang na Gindara and Halabos na Hipon and their ice cream with lambanog! :P

 *Casa Rap is in Km. 90 in San Jose, Batangas. It is open daily from 7am until 5pm. For dinners, contact them two days in advance for arrangements. You can contact them at 043 726 2873.

 

My New Cam: GE Power Pro X500

Happy Monday everyone!

This is quite a busy day for me at the office,we'll be having another major activity a week from now. This activity is one of the major highlights of our department every semester kaya imagine nyo na lang kung gano ako kangarag lately. Imagine naman friends, the event will be held on the 14th of February! Kamusta naman yun, unless they don't have a date kaya plan talaga nila i-boycott Valentine's Day. lol. No wonder the possibility of having an out of town trip is not feasible nowadays (Bye for now, Bohol!) because of my tight schedule at work, besides I already used  all of my leave credits last time. Saklap di ba? Pero sabi nga, if there's a will, there's a way. Kung di pwede sa malayo, eh pwede na din naman sa hindi masyado malayo and that's what we're planning to do.  I feel recharged since my little family came from a super sulit bonding weekend. We spend the past few days  kase at my in-laws place.More of that on my upcoming posts.


Anyway, this is supposedly my post yesterday but I wasn't able to publish it because of some connection problem.

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I've been reading some reviews about some affordable camera since my trusted digital camera of 3 years broke down 2 months ago.

Allan asked me what camera I like. Since I'm not a professional photographer or anything close to one,my only priority is just to have a camera that I can use anytime to take decent shots compare to my phone. I want something to be handy and can fit perfectly in my bag when we're out since I'm with an active tot most of the time.

Pero kung like din lang (aside from the DSLR of my dream),here's my first choice kung sa totoong buhay.meganun?!

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ 100 @ Php 16,900 (Kimstore's price)

 

The very nice Sis Em mentioned about a trusted online gadget store. Unfortunately when I inquire about the product of my choice last week, there's no available stock that time and I have to wait for a couple of weeks. 

That time also, I came upon Sis Cha's blog about her camera review of her  GE Power Pro X500, so I googled more about it and after reading  a lot of reviews from other users,that became my second option plus it's more affordable with its equally good features. (Read between the lines: I can still use for shopping the remaining money Allan allotted for the supposedly budget for the cam.Ayos!)

 
GE Power Pro X500  (I also chose the Black one)

photosource: Image from Google

I've read that the GE Power Pro X500 is a bridge camera since it's a crossover between a digicam and an SLR. It has an SLR-like feature plus it's compact compare with the true DSLR. I believe that it's a good deal especially for people like me who doesn't have any background about photography.

  
So last week since it's a working day,hubby and I met up at Robinson's Place Lipa during my free time just to buy a camera. We headed to Picture City. Obvious ba na di ako masyado makahintay? :D

We bought the camera for an amazing price of Php 9,995 plus additional Php 100 for the screen protector and Php 550 for the tripod. 


By the way, the GE Power Pro X500 comes with a pouch, 4 GB SD card, 4 disposable batteries, 4 rechargeable batteries with charger, USB cable, CD-ROM drive and shoulder strap.
 

With the technical details, it is a 16 mega-pixel sensor, with 15X Optical Zoom,27mm wide angle lens. What I love about it are the different shooting programs.

 

So that's the story behind my GE Power Pro X500. Sample photos on my upcoming posts. For now, I'm really satisfied with it because of the quality pictures! :)


Thank you again hubbylove for the advance V-Day gift.love you loads!♥

Kiss,Kiss!

Because they just can't get enough of each other,here's another sweet moment of my babies caught on cam.

Never mind the husband's depressing hairstyle, wala syang chance magkaroon decent haircut while he was there.That's why early morning the next day, barber shop first destination nila ni Xian! :D

Howkey fine,kayong dalawa na ang sweet. hehe! 

Anyway, here's what happened on the past few days while the husband is here.

Day 2 of Hubby's Vacation: Since it's Wednesday and I go to work, he dropped by at my workplace so we could eat our lunch together eventhough I only have 1 hour lunch break. The school's cafeteria is jam-packed with students,so lunch out is our option. Funny thing is, we can't decide kung san kami kakain plus it's traffic so we had no choice but to park Azul near my workplace and under the scorching heat of the sun, nilakad na lang looking for a place to eat. It's either wala ng table or long queue. Finally we ended up @ Chow King and had a quick lunch then managed to get back at the school 5 minutes before our time.hehe.

 goofing around.imitating Xian's favorite pose lately.now you know kung kanino nagmana si Xian :)

Day 3 of Hubby's Vacation: I already got my new cam,yey! Since it's a working day again,we met up at the mall during my free time. I'll do a separate post about it soon. Then when I got home that evening from work, he cooked my favorite dish for dinner.

excited na ko gamitin ka! hubby,gala tayo :)

I know,I know..  you've seen this dish a lot here in my blog! :P

There you go,sana lang maganda weather this weekend ano?