There will have no guilt for sleeping for hours and being just lazy all together. No guilt for eating too much food, I will have just have to consider taking diet pills after. It’s my birthday today and I will eat as much junk as I want, as much sweet my body can take and I will rest in the cold bed inside this hotel for 2 days! My Dad decided to celebrate my birthday in a hotel with the whole family. Since it’s on a weekend, he decided to check us all in here in Ortigas. Actually, I was the one who looked for a nice hotel, he wanted a 5-star hotel but I didn’t think it is so practical to spend 25K Php for an overnight stay, so I looked and looked and I just ended up booking at my favorite not so 5 Star hotel around the Metro, (since we - the husband and I, have nice memories of this hotel)…

So since it’s way a lot cheaper than Sofitel, we are booked for 2 days! I just love birthdays!

And it’s Christmas. Anybody feeling all giddy already or have you been stressing too much from all the rush? I on the other hand felt so unpopular this year. I wasn’t invited to any parties, yes aside from my work’s Christmas party, I will never attend any Holiday parties anymore. Loser huh? Aside from shopping a few items for my family and close friends and browsing on the internet from Facebook to reading about the best spa filter that you can use in your home spa, as if I have one… My days are just normal. The Holidays will actually start tomorrow, I will attend our hospital’s Christmas party and I will be tagging along my son and his nanny. Then I will be off from work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday will be a spa day with my best friend. So as far as I can recall, she is my only social life apart from my family. HAHA… Then on the 24th will be a busy day in the kitchen for Noche Buena.

What am I excited about? Well, despite being a rascal, I wrapped a few items for my son and unlike last year that he’s only 1, now that he’s almost 3, I know he will appreciate our gifts more. So aside from the fact that I am very excited to offer my thanks to the Lord and celebrate His birthday with Him and my family, I’m just too excited to see my son’s face when he rushed to our tree and open his little knick knacks.

Merry Christmas everybody. I hope you will be filled with love and happiness this Holiday season!

We are planning a vacation but one of the plans for orlando vacations would have to wait around July when we all go to the US to meet our sister. We are, of course very excited to go to Orlando and some other parts of the United States with our sister and our relatives but that will have to wait because right now we are more excited of the possible plan of going to Hong Kong! My Dad asked us to go on a Disney trip with them. I think he’s obviously doing this to be with his grandsons more than with us. HAHA. Lucky us right? Anyway, he told us to book everything, to prepare everything. I hope we get great deals so we can go to HK probably January or February depends on the booking of the hotel.

Soon we’ll have our pictures taken again with Mickey and this time Dustin will be with us. Good thing he knows who Mickey is.

A well deserved family vacation is needed once in a while. From the hassle and bustle of the rush in the metro, you have to have a relaxing vacation every year, at least. We didn’t have one this year, summer was too short to plan for something out of town much more for something out of the country. But I would love to plan a vacation to Riviera Maya and have my whole family and my in laws checked in Karisma Hotels + Resorts. Their beachfront hotel rooms and their relaxing massages at the beach is something to look forward too plus the kids can enjoy activities suited for their age. Who can resist their gourmet inclusive packages where everything is first class and you get treated as royalties. I wish I win the lottery so I can bring my parents and in laws for their well deserved relaxation!

1.. Learn to travel light. That way, a) you don’t have as much to carry, and b) you don’t have as big a bag to store in your house when you’re not traveling.
2. Close the circle. This takes a little discipline — ok, a lot of discipline — but if you can build the habit of always seeing every act through to its logical end every time, it will prevent a lot of clutter. In practical terms, this means that every time you use something, you follow through until that thing is back where it started from: eat a bowl of cereal, wash the bowl, dry it, and put it back on the shelf. Our lives tend to be built up out of a lot of little “incompletions” that lead to clutter; if you can break that habit and see see things all the way through, you’ll find a lot more improves than just your clutter situation.
3. Clean one room or area a day. This is less daunting than cleaning the whole house, and gives you a clear goal, instead of the “one-more-thing” syndrome that strikes when you get a mind to “do some cleaning”.
4. Find the clutter “focal point” of each room and keep it clean. In the bedroom, make the bed and keep it clear; in the kitchen, don’t store anything in the sink. If these focal points are clean, the room will seem less cluttered.
5. Give it away. Make a habit of taking regular trips to the Goodwill or other donation center to give away excess stuff, and make sure that when that day comes, you’ve got a full load of stuff to get rid of.
6. One in, one out. Make a habit of throwing out, selling, or giving away something for every new thing you bring into the house. For example, when you buy a new pair of shoes, get rid of your least favorite. Variation: One in, TWO Out!
7. Use “deep storage” wisely. Pack up things that you’re not going to use and store them — don’t keep stuff out when you are unlikely to ever need it.
8. Don’t shop “recreationally”. Go shopping for the things you need, not to kill time or “just to look”. Avoid succumbing to temptation by avoiding temptation itself!
9. Never put anything on top of anything smaller than it is. For example, never put a newspaper on top of a small book or your keys. You’ll lose less stuff that way.
10. Don’t make piles. Ever.

The last time I had dinner in Mario’s was during my sister’s elementary graduation. Our dad brought us to this elegant place at the back of SM Megamall (now St. Francis Square), raving about their great steaks and wine. It was our first time and it didn’t happen again, first the restaurant’s prices were expensive and second, maybe there wasn’t any great reason to dine in Mario’s again. But we ate and dined again in Mario’s not in Manila but in Baguio, iba talaga ang apo anuh, we just passed by Mario’s Baguio from PMA on our way back to our hotel and we didn’t have any idea that my Mom was serious when she told us that we are dining there that night, she told us that she will tell it to Dad (we left him in PMA at that time). Around 5pm when Dad arrived with his Mistahs, he asked us to get ready and we are marching to Mario’s. Anything for their apos. Perk na rin for us, pati kaming magulang nadadamay. Anyway, I was too busy to take pictures of Mario’s interior and the food we ate kasi cranky na si Dustin, he didn’t take a nap in the afternoon and he was throwing tantrums once in awhile.

Here’s what we tried that night:

Soup
New English Clam Chowder, rich and creamy in a bread bowl (my Dad and Mom got this, we didn’t order any soup)
Classic Mushroom Soup, creamy mushroom soup topped with croutons (for the kids)

Salad
Mario’s Caesar’s, our famous classic salad done the inimitable Mario’s way (my brother ordered this and shared with his wife, Dad got one two for him and Mom)
Crab and Mango Salad, crabstick and mango with a tangy dressing on a bed of greens (for us, love-love-love this)

Our Dinner
For Denon, Angel Hair Pasta, black olives, tomatoes, and basil
For my Bro and Me, Steak and Shrimp Orientale, duet of teriyaki steak and shrimp tempura
For Mhine, Lasagne Pasticciate, rich and creamy pasta treat with layers of tender beef
For Mom, Salmon, salmon fillet with pesto hollandaise or roasted garlic
For Dad, Fillet Mignon, bacon-wrapped tenderloin fillet, mushroom sauce

We skipped dessert because we were so full already. We had fresh strawberry shakes anyway.

The Verdict:
Worth your money! I love Mario’s. Expensive lang talaga kaya once in a blue moon lang dapat. Read More…

(I only had these food photos, was too busy kasi with my son)

Our Valentine’s Day venue, courtesy of our ever generous Daddy. Highly recommended place to treat your love ones. The food is superb. Actually, the 1,200 Php per head is so worth it. Though I haven’t tried most of the food since I was busy attending to my very cranky son who wanted to sleep at that time, what I tried were all delish. 7 countries, 7 cuisines but to tell you the truth? I only got to try 3, Indian, Japanese and American. But with those three, I need weight loss pills, seriously. I still feel bloated up to this day. I can’t imagine my family, who ate a lot. Oh gosh! I will surely come back there with my family, I still need to try that grilled lamb chops my brother was raving about or that chocolate fountain that I only noticed when we were about to go out. Darn. Anyway, here’s my share of pictures from the celebration…

My boys at the lobby waiting for our valet; I was about to take my solo picture when my bro posed behind me, ala Scofield - Sana lang talagang si Michael di ba? LOL; Our blurry family photo.

Thanks Daddy and Mommy for our wonderful Valentine’s Day lunch!!!

If you’re in my list, you can view more here.