preparing for media noche feast ...

Here I am on a Sunday evening ... blogging, emailing and uploading pictures while preparing / cooking for our media noche feast tomorrow. hah, talk about multi-tasking! :)

So what will I prepare for tomorrow's media noche? hmmm... just simple food this time which I am sure Ico and Sam would definitely love : pork barbecue, grilled TJ hotdogs, spaghetti (or baked macaroni for Kuya), fruit salad and chocolate mousse cake.

While waiting for the new year's countdown, will simply set up barbecue station, have a little picinic outside our house and watch fireworks display of our neighbors! hahaha..tipid noh! :) Though, we bought few sparklers and fountains, no firecrackers allowed! Takot kami eh! lol. :)

After 12, will have "new year's party" with our neighbors with food ala potluck style, and I... will definitely bring out my choco fountain! I am sure this will be a big hit again with all the kids here! :)

Can't wait for the new year! New year, new hope...and a new beginning!

Happy 2008 everyone!

You lucky girl!!

Indeed a very lucky girl...

Got so many gifts this Christmas season... enough to last for the entire year.

Sam got bike (again) from the in-laws and Dora scooter from Daddy. Leap pad from Mommy and Ballet studio from Kuya. A doggie pet cage from Santa. And others...gifts from relatives and god parents. Can't ask for more.

Haayyy...kids these days...really, really lucky and truly blessed! :)

Sam's Christmas loots Busy...busy.. busy.. don't know where to start eh?!
aaaawww...so sweet! picture taken last night. Daddy and Kuya busy teaching Sam with her new Leap pad.

An ironic twist on my LV Speedy 30 Damier hunt ...

I just posted the other day my frustrations on getting the LV Speedy 30 damier canvas bag from LV HK, LV Manila and LV US online.

Surpsingly, this specific bag is out of stock and unsure yet when will it be available. Grrrr... just when I want to buy this bag for Christmas! Parang lahat ata nag-shop ng LV Speedy 30 bag! hahaha!

Then I received a call at exactly 2:20pm from LV Greenbelt today. The sales associate informed me that the LV NEVERFULL MM bag already arrived and reserved under my name until Sunday, December 30. My Gawd?!! yun bag na ayaw ko na hanapin and I accepted that NEVERNA yun Neverfull saka biglang siya dumating?! Very ironic noh?! Just when I am really keen on getting Speedy 30 damier as my holiday gift, saka eto sya....oh tukso..layuan mo ako please!!!

Kakainis!?!! Now I am having second thoughts if I should get Neverfull and the Speedy 30 pa ngayon. Eh happy na ako with my Batignolles Vertical that replaced my Neverfull desire last October.

Now I am torn... hay naku, really ironic.... very,very ironic! I want the Speedy 30 Damier..as in! But my original love was Neverfull! Eh ang hirap din hanapin ng bag na ito... Bakit..Bakit?!!

Talagang I am cursed ata whenever I am decided on buying a Louis Vuitton bag.... Haay! Bakit..Bakit ka ganyan?!?! (hahaha! nalokah na!)

Our Christmas 2007

How was your Christmas?

Ours was very hectic, busy, tiring but definitely happy and fun Christmas.

Pre-christmas dinner was spent with my in-laws and celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary. We just had simple dinner and exchange of gifts.

By 10pm, we all gathered at hubby's ancestral house in Pasig. It has been a tradition to spend Christmas eve cum reunion of all clan: Soriano-Bunas-Bugnot-Jose-Camacho-Santos here with the traditional gift giving, kris kringle and raffle. This year's party theme, RED and GREEN! (as if may xmas color choices pa!lol.) Again, since this is a potluck feast...I brought my ever-yummy chocolate fountain... another big hit with the kids and adults! Hahaha!

Sam got bike (again) from my in-laws, while Kuya Ico got semi-mountain bike from Tito Willy. Oh we got so much Christmas presents too...we got ang-pao's from our very generous Tito Willy and we won the Christmas raffle twice! Hahaha! Went home by 4am with three big plastic bags full of gifts. Kakatuwa! :)

Christmas day itself, I prepared two simple family meals in one day. Lunch for my immediate family wherein we had shrimps and baby back ribs fiesta. And dinner for Mike's relatives with grilled feast: liempo, pinaputok na tilapia, talong, ihaw dalag and nilaga for soup. Really yummy! And for desserts... bought supper yummy mango torte from Conti's, tiramisu cake, hubby's macaroni salad and Mommy's home made fruit salad.

Gosh...I can imagine my post-Christmas weight now?! hahaha! Really pigged-out this holiday season.

How about you, care to share how you spent your Christmas day? :)

Traditional Christmas picture by the tree

At my in-laws house: wacky family picture with Daddy,Mommy and cousin Dannah

the boys in red and green theme : brothers Kuya Jay, Robin, Mike and cousin in-law Winner

before noche buena. uuyy... my yummy choco fountain again!

Sam busy collecting her gifts

the grand matriarch.. Lola Serya and ever-generous tito willy (our Santa)

Christmas day. Lunch at home. With conti's mango torte! mmm... uuyy..may choco fountain ulit!

... and now the LV Speedy Damier too!

OUT OF STOCK... can you believe that?!

The speedy 30 LV Damier is out stock at HK LV stores now... my very good friend just called me from HK Pacific Place and told me the sad news... waahhh! She also tried checking at LV Ocean Center, Canton and Central...wala na din?! Bakit?!!

Bakit pag-bibili na ako ng LV bag (like neverfull MM) laging wala?!! waahhh... para syang joke or curse sa akin! nyahahaha!

Haayyy...this is my Chrismas gift! this is what I want for Christmas?!! (booohoohooo... so frustrated!)

*uuuyyy...nagpipigil pumunta sa LV Greenbelt!! mahal don eh! lol..and i am so sure, out of stock din don!

update: just checked LV e-luxury site... wala din speedy 30 damier! waaahhhh... bakit?!!?

Barney...Live in Manila!

We just came from "Barney Live in Manila" show at Araneta early this afternoon and I must say... it was not so much oohhhs and aaahhhs as I expected it to be.

Well, the little girl enjoyed the show as she was clapping and singing with some of the songs but comparing her reactions from the Sesame Street Show last July... it was totally different concert experience! She was less excited and ecstatic this time. Not so much excitement on her voice or sparkle from her eyes :( hmmm... we figured it must be because there were more characters and mascots from Sesame Street Show. And the stage production/design was really nice compared to Barney's boring stage backdrop. Hahaha!

Anyway, here are some of the concert pictures from my idiot digi-camera...

picture with fellow mommy bloggers peachy and joaquin, kelly and manu.

Our Barkada Christmas Party

We had our annual Christmas party cum reunion with my highschool friends from St. Paul Pasig last night here at our home. It was my first time to host our annual Christmas party and I must say, talagang kina-career ko sya! Hahaha!

My friends knew that it's going to be a different experience from our previous gatherings since ako nag-prepare! (arte and drama wise!) Hence, I made sure everything was well-thought of including party theme, food set-up, presentation, games and even our raffle prizes. My friends were surprised with the gimiks I prepared and they were really happy because this was our first party that was truly unforgettable and fun for all of us.

Syempre I was really happy that the party was a success and really went great! They enjoyed my "jologs" games and raffle... Yeehheey! galing-galing di ba!?! Everybody went home pa may gifts bitbit.

Anyway, sharing some of our party pictures...

Table set up for 12 guests...kinda formal set up di ba?! And placed little santa bells as accent cum souvenirs

(shhh...got my little santa bells from Dapitan..hihihi! tuwang-tuwa sila i-take home!)

It's a potluck party but I prepared buffet set up complete with food warmers pa... parang catered noh?! We had yummy buttered shrimp, tempura, chili crab from Dampa, Libis. Sushi platter from Kitaro as appetizers. Crispy noodles from North Park. Lechon manok from Andok's. Refrigerated cake as dessert. My nido soup with quail eggs, inihaw na liempo and our favorite...chocolate fountain (sure hit!)
Up close with my yummy choco-fountain with melon, grapes, wafer sticks and marshmallows as dip!

(sadly, after more than 3 hours of running...bogged down yun choco fountain!! waah...)

Even the kids also aligned with our party theme colors..red and green! otherwise, if di naka-theme pay up P500 for raffle and games!
My highschool barkada with our hubbies.... originally ten kami..but others migrated na to US and SNG.
wa-epek ang formal set up with crabs and shrimps?! lol. Sarap kaya kumain using bare hands?! hahaha!kids at the background..busy at the choco fountain!
Seryoso di ba? P100 lang at stake dyan... Memory game (or Chandler's top list) Sample Jologs Question: History....List the names of Bagets 1 and 2 stars! Bwahaha!
Another jologs question : Current Events... list the names of PBB Housemates Season 1 and 2! Hahaha!
Raffle time... pastillas! Syempre wala kami take home ni Mike. Kami game show host eh! Hahaha!
Since the party was a great hit..we've decided to celebrate again this coming June 2008 for our 20th-year anniversary as barkada!?! (shhh....obvious na ba sa age?! lol.)

I am really excited na! We want to celebrate with style... kaya, we are thinking of buying personalized gold jewelry ie: friendship bracelet or pendant for us. Aliw di ba?! Hahaha!

Anyway, party preps almost seven months away pa naman..got lots of time to decide and prepare pa! Excited ulit!! :)

Thanks guys... really love you all! Super enjoy talaga to reminisce and kwento lang... sa uulitin...

Testing the chocolate fountain ...

Got my choco fountain as a Christmas gift from my sweet Tita Lolet. I told her my Christmas wish and she immediately handed me the money to buy it na daw. Hahaha! In less than one minute ha, without batting an eyelash, she gave me the money...wag ko lang daw sya papuntahin sa mall to buy it for me!


So eagerly, I bought the chocolate blocks (white and dark choco) and vegetable oil from Chocolate Lovers Cubao. I bought fruits (grape and melon) and tested the choco fountain early this evening... and... it was a great success! Wohohoo..ready na for the big party on Thursday! :)

Thanks Peachy for the choco fountain 101 tips! Truly helpful.



* note: hard to clean the choco fountain machine ha! Bilis mag-solidify ng choco when left alone, difficult to remove yun excess choco from the machine! :)

I want to shop!!!

I want to shop !?!! I want to hit the malls and shop 'til I drop! Waaahhhh!!

This is my first holiday season weekend stuck at home! Gawd, I can't believe it...the itchy shopper in me just stayed at home for two days!

I am so here at home, just reading post of other Mommy bloggers and I am soooo envious with them as they are out shopping this weekend... wala nag-post kwento eh! busy lahat with christmas shopping! bwahahaha!

Since I had been yaya-less for the past three days, I am stuck here at home. Blogging and watching video with hubby. I can't leave Sam with my other helper because I don't think she can handle my daughter naman. So here I am spending much quality time with my family! (uuyyy... magpaka-totoo gusto talaga mag-mall! lol.)

Actually I attempted to go out yesterday afternoon, but the traffic from our village to C5 was too much! It took me almost an hour just to reach C5 Libis. Then upon entering C5, I can't believe all major roads going to Ortigas Center was also full... traffic watch from the radio described how all roads going to major shopping center was jam-packed with cars. Upon hearing this, I've decided to go back home and bought DVDs instead from our nearby grocery store.

Because hubby was so good for finishing my Christmas lights, I bought him Best of NBA series DVD. And I, since I haven't seen Grey's Anatomy Season 4, bought one for myself too! So our entire Saturday evening spent watching DVD series marathon and on pizza delivery.

So here I am again blogging on a Sunday evening... still itching to go out and shop... :(

I really, really want to shop...I badly want to go out and shop! (**frustrated**)

Finally... our Christmas lights are up!

Remember my previous super inis post about our Christmas lights?

Well finally.... hubby was able to set up our Christmas lights completely!! Wohohoo!! After almost five weeks noh!?! (mind you, I bought partial set of Chistmas lights as early as October 30 pa!) Our lights are up... buti na lang umabot before Chrsitmas! lol.

Of course with a little help from a handyman, he was able to put up the capiz lanterns too! Galing-galing! :)

Anyway, I am really, really happy... pasko na finally! hahaha!

Sam was ecstatic too! She was shouting and jumping "It's Christmas! ... It's Christmas!"

The husband did this "creative" lights for our pocket garden..hihihi!

with two dozens of round capiz lanterns, seven boxes of icicle lights on plants and four boxes of curtain lights at the terrace grills...wow?! meralco truly happy by now!! lol. Note: I wanted sana to change the icicle lights he placed with the capiz lanterns, but I decided not to tell him na lang... baka magtampo na, pinaghirpan nya yun eh! hahaha!

And to share one of my fabulous finds ... I was able to buy this really cutie Christmas tree skirt at a very,very low price! I saw this last October at Toy Kingdom at P1,299 each. I wanted to buy it but I find it quite expensive just for a skirt.

In one of my shopping spree last week, I saw these skirts at SM Homeworld again. The tag price was reduced to P689.00! Good buy na for me kasi I really wanted to get na talaga skirt for my tree... luckily, further discounted pa with 30% off! Hahaha! I went home with my tree skirt at P482.00! Yipeee!! Really happy... finally, I was able to change my tree skirt after four years! Hahaha! :)

And to complete the total Christmas-y effect.. already got some gifts under the tree too! (my tree was up as early as first week of November!) Mostly toy gifts for inaanaks from Richwell, Toy Kingdom and Toys R Us...not yet done with my Christmas shopping! Need more shopping time pa for gifts to relatives and colleagues!! Haay.... :(

Sam's First Christmas Party ...

Since we had no yaya today... I am happy that I was able to join Sam on her first ever Christmas party.

This was just a small and simple Christmas party at Fairchild Learning Center together with her fellow junior nursery classmates.

Their real Christmas party to be held next day at the village clubhouse with class performances and gift-giving with their adopted kids from Erap village.

Anyway, here are some of her Christmas party pictures ...

Party food : cocktail hotdogs, marshmallows with chocolate dip, sandwiches, tetra pack grape juice .

Party time with classmates: Therese, EJ and Brian

Yummy, yummy party food ...

Sam's favorite TJ cocktail hotdogs... (wa poise ka, anak!! lol.)

Happily playing Trip to Jerusalem game ...

Exchanging gifts with classmates....

Sam excitedly opening her gift... It's an Elmo puzzle!

Giving her Christmas goodies (packed chocolate crinkles) to classmates

Missed the sales conference .... and an unexpected news!

I missed our sales conference and Christmas party at Tagaytay last Friday.

Sad to say we got an unexpected news late Thursday evening that yaya Jenny's mom passed away. It was really a surprising news to all of us thus, we immediately allowed yaya to leave as soon as she relayed to us the bad news.

Sadly, we are not preprared without yaya that morning...

And since our new househelp cannot handle Sam's needs, and it is Sam's first Christmas party and MIL's birthday party also that day, I've it will be best if I stayed with the family and not join the sales conference.

Luckily, my boss and colleagues understands that family comes first in an emergency like this...

Hectic Christmas Party Week

Very hectic week... I have a back-to-back-to-back Christmas parties and I need to be fresh and "pretty" during these nights... hahaha!

Eat and drink 'til you drop ulit! Gawd, I can imagine my weight now!! lol.

• December 12 : Company Christmas Party with Wild, Wild West Marlboro Country theme.
• December 13 : Ice Plant Party for top Corporate clients with Winter Wonderland theme
• December 14-15: Sales Conference and Christmas Party at Hotel Dominique, Tagaytay. Back to the 80's as our party theme. (and we are asked to dance Head over Heels by Go-Go's! Darn!) Good thing I need to rush home for MILs party...so, won't stay overnight! I will miss this fellowship night! And body shots game!
• December 14 : MIL's 60th Birthday Party with Pasko sa Nayon theme

Got no time to shop for my Alice CROCS! :(

No time to buy for Christmas gifts to colleagues...and even Christmas tokens for clients!

Pledge muna sila lahat! hahaha! Next week na lahat ng gift deliveries! :)

Haayyyy... I need to drink RED BULL to keep me energized! :)

Shoe Shopping for the little girl

Yup, got excited again with the Alice CROCS news from Abie.

After seeing her shoe post yesterday, I immediately checked out CROCS store for Alice ruby red color, size 10/11. Happy to say I found this cutie pair from CROCS Megamall. Still fresh from delivery! Hahaha! :)

As soon I saw the Alice CROCS up close, I fell in love with it..really, really cutie! I want to get one for myself but unfortunately no size available for adults. Haayy.. maybe next time! :)

Anyway, still happy from my CROCS purchase, went to GINGERSNAPS to check for new items. Then I saw this cutie sparkling gold shoes. Aaaaawwww! The gold shoes will match just perfect with her gold belt and brown shorts. She'll wear this matching attire at her Christmas party this coming Friday. Hihihi! Arte ni Mommy! :)

Syempre my GINGERSNAPS store visit will not be complete without buying blouse again for the little girl. Hence, got her little girly cream-colored blouse too! Hahaha! Just can't stop shopping talaga for my Sammie! :)

Check out latest addition to Sam's shoe collection ...

Christmas loots for street carolers

Ever since I was given a car, I promise myself that every holiday season I will be sharing Christmas loots to street children instead of giving them money.

The loots are very simple. It simply consists of tetra-pack juice, biscuits, candies, lollipops and chocolates. This year, since I’ve been very blessed, I added few items which they can share with their families, a can of sardines and instant noodles.

After packing each item, the loots were then placed inside our cars, and given to street children or carolers. Usually we give these bags to carolers (kids and older handicapped people) while I am stuck in traffic, parking area or anywhere I can see them.

I’ve been doing this for over ten years now and I am happy to say, I am quite satisfied in giving these loots. I know it’s not much, but I prefer to give these food items rather than give them money to spend for vices like gambling, smoking or buying “rugby”.

Hoping with this small gesture of giving, I can share my blessings and allow them to forget their pains and sadness even for very, very short time. Seeing their happy faces and hearing their sincere holiday greetings and thank you brings joy and smile to my heart. :)