what happened to my photo a day challenge

okay, so i started doing the photo a day challenge a few months back and i was quite excited and a bit successful at first, but then things keep piling up at work and time off became sort of a luxury.  Thus, my photo a day challenge became a REAL challenge since i can't find the time to do it anymore :(

anyways, i'll try to make a comeback (i hope) or set up a new challenge for myself aside from trying to trim down my TBR list and my weekend cooking projects at home :P

till then!

October TBR List

My reading pace slowed down a bit the past two months, so what I am going to do for October is to set up a TBR list.  This might help me from getting distracted (by other books :P) and of course to catch up on my reading :)

Here's the list I came up with:

1.  I Am Number Four (Pittacus Lore) - I have been wanting to read this for quite a while now, but I haven't been able to grab a copy.  During the last MIBF at SM MOA, I got the whole set including The Lost Files :P  I am halfway through the first one and I hope to finish it this month.

2.  The Power of Six (Pittacus Lore) - being the OC that I am, I need to read this book right after the first one :D  Plus the fact that I read a number of good reviews for the Lorien Legacies.

3.  Creep (Jennifer Hillier) - since I read the synopsis at Amazon.com, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book.  I was really happy when I saw a paperback copy at NBS.  Its been a while since I read a psychological thriller, my last being Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, so I am really excited to read this.  A plus factor is when I learned that the author is a Filipina (or part-Filipina) and she had a book signing during the MIBF.

4.  The Best of Archie Book Two (Archie Comics) - yup, you read it right, Archie :D  I couldn't stop reading the first compilation so when I saw Book Two at Fully Booked, I just got to have it :P  I also plan on getting the Will you marry me Archie compliation hehehehe.  Sooo reminds me of my childhood :)

5.  An Abundance of Katherines (John Green) - i really, really want to read this book since I read the synopsis!  Though I don't have a copy yet, I am trying to get my hands on one hehehehe :) ... This just in, Fully Booked said they have this on stock! Yay!  will try to get a copy this weekend :D

6.  Fifty Shades of Gray (E.L. James) - due to the hoopla surrounding the book, curiosity got the best of me.  I just want to find out what the fuss is all about.  Some of my friends read all 3 books and yes, I was challenged, thus the inclusion in the TBR list :P

7.  The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern) - I was intrigued by this book.  when I looked it up online, there were a number of good reviews.  I recently got copy from the MIBF and I can't wait to start :)

Sooo, that's my October list.  I hope I can read all of them or at least half of them before November comes in.

I Failed

I failed -

to tell you how much i appreciate everything you did for me

all the patience, help and advice, even all those times you told me off

just to make me listen and to let me know that i am wrong.

to let you know how happy i am that you are proud of me,

though i do not know exactly how you always knew what i did, small or big

you never fail to tell me how my accomplishments made you feel.

to tell you that going home to your home cooked meals

has always been something i look forward to everyday

i wasn't even able to tell you how proud i am when people tell me

how much they love your cooking

to make the most of the times when you were with me,

i guess i just assumed that you will always be there

a permanent presence in my life, someone who i never thought would leave so soon.

to tell you how much i love you,

there are no words that can convey how much i do.

i cannot even begin to express how thankful i am

that you were such a huge part of my life.

I failed to even see you one last time before you went away,
and until now, I cannot let go of the fact that I missed that. 

A void now exists in my life, and I guess that can never be filled by anyone else.

I just hope now that you are with our Creator, you know how much you mean to me.

- for Tatay Joe-

Looking Back : Habagat's Wrath

Habagat - a seemingly natural occurrence reared its ugly head early this month and left several provinces, Rizal included, submerged in water for days.  Some areas in the metro were under flood waters for around 2 weeks.  According to Pag-Asa and other government agencies monitoring Habagat's progress (of destruction), the rains were more than Ondoy's and that is a LOT.  The only difference is that Ondoy was faster, in 6 hours or so, a lot of areas were already flooded.  With Habagat, the rain came in steady streams, giving people, including us, more time to prepare and evacuate.  However, that still doesn't make things any better.  Our house was submerged in waist deep waters before lunch time of August 7 and on the next day, waters were already neck deep.

On September 27, it will be exactly 3 years after Ondoy ravaged the country.  Three years after I saw and experienced a helplessness and a shattering heartbreak like no other: seeing your own home, with everything in it: all your memories, everything you worked for, submerged underwater and afterwards reduced to a mud pit.  All I can do during that time was just to watch and wait and pick up the pieces left after Ondoy. The experience of swimming out of our house and towing  my parents to safety and seeing the expression on their faces the first time they saw our house and everything in it literally caked in mud after the typhoon will forever be etched in my mind.  Things like that leave scars, and I am no exception.  I tried to write about Ondoy a few times and I cannot get past a paragraph without breaking down in tears.  Until now, I cannot bear to recall that memory in full and write about it.

Habagat, though a milder version of Ondoy, was still heart wrenching, though we were more prepared this time and flood waters were not that high compared to Ondoy.  Our area was submerged in neck deep waters, while inside the house, it was waist deep.  We managed to save a majority of our stuff and thankfully, the only damage was on the walls and on most wooden fixtures.  All the rest are okay.  The next step now for me is to save up for a second floor, and I guess at this point, that needs to be prioritized. 

dining room 

living room 

another view of the dining room 

 front door

 kitchen with floating refs

outside our gates

My major worry that time were my dogs.  We made a makeshift shelter for them before we evacuated to our neighbor's house next door, but when the rains became stronger on the second night, their shelter toppled.  When I saw Bambi, one of my dogs lodged in between our fence grills, I panicked.  I was thankful she was okay, but I cannot find my other dog, Queenie.  Queenie is a survivor, she survived Ondoy by squeezing herself on top of the aircon.  I was so scared while I was looking for her in chest deep waters that I was crying.  When I heard a whimper, I went as fast as I could to the back of the house, mindless of floating debris and other what-nots.  She was standing on top of a pile of floating wood, a really smart move.  She swam to the back of the house where she was saved the first time a flood this magnitude hit us.  I got her and she won't let go.  Mama and I made a sturdier shelter for them, but Queenie was scared, she won't let me out of her sight.  It took a while before she calmed down.  But thankfully, both of them are fine.

Just to give you an idea how high the flood was, here is another shot of Queenie and Bambi post Habagat:

We just finished cleaning (and drying) the house and most of our stuff just last weekend.  Though there were two long weekends this month, I wasn't able to enjoy it since we were occupied with the house.  Now that that's done, we can relax the next weekend and start fixing things up and planning what we have to do next.

I am a bit of a control freak and when things get out of hand and there is absolutely no way for me to turn things around and a feeling of helplessness sets in, I start to crumble in silence.  That is one thing I have to work on. 

But one thing is for sure, my family is a survivor.  And it is true what everyone was saying during that whole ordeal, that the Filipino spirit is waterproof :).  Resiliency is a national character and through it all we can still  manage to find something to smile about and be thankful for.  Me, I am thankful that my family is safe and that my dogs are well.  I am thankful for the family that took us in and for everyone who sent me messages of support.  For family, friends and co-workers who prayed for us, called or posted through FB and Twitter and sent messages through SMS; who helped us clean the house, for sending us supplies to help us start over since most of our food and house supplies were out, I cannot thank all of you enough.  For JB, who never fails to lend a helping hand to their people.  I am proud to be a part of the JB family, thank you very much for looking after us.  Lastly, for the Man Upstairs, thank you for watching over us all during this whole ordeal.

I know there is a lesson here somewhere, and I would come to terms with it sooner or later, but for now, I think my family (again), needs to pick up the pieces, heal and move on.  Though the wounds are not as deep as before, re-opened wounds still need time to heal.

one rainy afternoon

This day was supposed to be the start of a hectic week for me. Monday was a holiday so I only have 4 days left to do all the stuff i needed to do for work. Unfortunately, the weather woke up on the wrong side of either the Pacific or the Atlantic and ended up bitching the whole day. As early as 8 am our streets were already flooded and I can't leave daddy home alone. So I ended up spending the day at home, while waiting for the flooding to subside and the bitchy weather to say bye-bye.

So what did I do today? i was supposed to cook up a frenzy in the lab for my projects and do some number crunching but i ended up doing these instead:

1. Caught some shut-eye - yup, after I realized that I am not going anywhere today, I just slept in. Besides, the weather was good for snuggling under the covers, and the day was just dark and gloomy.

2. Read books - and I am still reading :) currently juggling my reading time between Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Fifty Shades of Gray and re-reading The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel).

3. Made Fruit Salad - weird, but yeah i did made a batch. I was really planning on celebrating the departure of the flood by dinnertime :)

4. Changed my bedsheets - not the most ample time to do so, but hey, the rain has stopped and the flood was receding nicely and I have a lot of time on my hands.

5. Gave myself a pedicure - tipid mode ON, plus the rains are not gonna stop overnight so I might as well give my feet a bit of pampering since i might be walking on flip flops and sandals for the rest of the week. Plus going to a nail salon during this kind of weather is not actually practical i think, since i will most likely be walking in the rain.

6. Updated my games - by updating I mean playing some of my iPad games that I haven't played in a while :p

7. Wrote on my blog - i just discovered that I can now actually create new posts on my iPad! This is sooooo awesome! :). the last time I accessed my account thru my iPad, viewing my blogs was the only option available, but now.... Hmmm, seems like i can blog more often now :) yey! :)

Well, the rains have finally stopped (hopefully) and the streets are clear of flood, I just hope it stays that way. I hope the sun makes an appearance tomorrow, too :)

My Photo A Day Challenge Relaunch

I have been on hiatus for 2 months for my Photo A Day Challenge.  I haven't been able to complete my April challenge and have not taken any photos for May :(... Oh well, anyways, moving on, I hope to get back on track and starting June will TRY to complete this daily challenge.

wish me luck :)

Avengers Hangover

One word comes to mind when I am asked to describe the Avengers movie : AWESOME.  it is absolutely one of the best films I have ever seen.  No exaggerations.  I want to watch it again. and soon.

I got to watch the movie premiere last April 25 (one of the perks of working for the bee), and i was just soooo amazed by the movie.  Plus, we got to meet and chat with Gino Quillamor of Monster Radio RX93.1 for a bit...cool di ba? :)  I was also in good company, with Yna, Chubby and Irma and her friends.  Gen and Ayie were there also but they were seated away from us.

Super duper thank you Irma for the tickets ... mwah hugs! :)

daddy and j.co

My dad developed a strong liking for J.Co's Donuts.  Period.

Let me explain why this is a big deal.  My dad dislikes (or so he says) sweets.  He says its because of health reasons, which is true.  But my mama and I know that his disliking for sweets is overrated (or should I say overly stated haha :P).  True, he doesn't eat that much sweets since he really is monitoring his sugar intake, but when he does come across something he likes, sweet or not, it immediately becomes an exemption.  After one bite of Alcapone, my dad is a goner.  Though J.Co. is kinda sweet, for daddy, it is an exemption.

It started when I brought home half a dozen of Alcapones.  He was hesitant to try one at first because, as usual, matamis yan eh!.  Mama and I asked him to try just one, and he did.  After a bite, he said "Hmmm, masarap pala! Di naman gaano matamis eh! Penge pa nga isa".  

When I was able to bring home a dozen, before I even got a chance to take a picture of the donuts, there was already a missing piece.  One donut seemed to magically appear in my dad's hand as he was watching his tv show :P.

A dozen (minus 1) J.Co Donuts :)

He loves Glazzy, Oreology and of course, Alcapone :).

His doctor is going to kill me :P

how j.co stole my heart

It was a Saturday afternoon and I just kinda got off work (yes, on a weekend) when a newly opened store in the Megastrip in Megamall caught my attention:  J.Co's Donuts and Coffee.  Actually, my friend, Chubby, brought me a cheesy donut sandwich from J.Co a few days days back and I really, really liked it! :D.  So, with a smile on my face and a grumbling stomach I went inside the store and lo and behold! I was in donut heaven :)  I was taken aback by the lay-out of the store and the variety of donut flavors they have.  I was kinda expecting a Krispy Kreme lay-out and format look-alike but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't the case.  I have nothing against Krispy Kreme, mind you, but their space in Megamall is kinda cramped and seats are just few and the atmosphere is not exactly relaxed. In fact it has a kind of frantic air, like a fastfood restaurant sort of vibe, so one can't exactly lounge around or hang out there like most of us do in coffee shops (or maybe its just me) :P  Anyways, moving on, J.Co has two counters: the drinks and desserts counter and the donut counter.  Their drinks are quite similar to your Starbucks fare ranging from hot to cold coffee drinks to more specialized ice blended drinks.  The donut counter displays the array of flavors available for the day. So after a few minutes of thinking what I wanted to get, I got myself an Alcapone and a JCoccino.  The Alcapone being the specialty of the house and the JCoccino, as the barista explained, is similar to a Frappuccino.  Both tasted great.  After my first bite of the Alcapone, I instantly regretted getting only one piece (takaw).  Going back in line to buy another piece is out of the question since by that time the line was insanely long!  The donut has a white chocolate frosting topped with almond slivers.  The dough itself is soft and not dry.      I then told myself that I need to buy a dozen of these to bring home.  I waited a while for the line to shorten and when it did, I went to the counter only to find out that there were no donuts left.  I was shocked! one moment the counter was full and then barren the next, all in under 30 minutes.  Everyone in that insanely long line must've bought a dozen each. I missed my chance to get a dozen myself. Darn!  Oh well, since I work in Ortigas, there would still be other days to get my hands on a box (hehehehehe :P).  But by then I knew, my heart (and my tummy) has been ensnared by J.Co :).

 

donut counter 

I love their napkins :) 

since I wasn't able to buy anymore donuts, I just sat back and relaxed a bit with 

John Carter: A Princess of Mars.  I was taking my sweet time eating my donut hahaha :) 

The Weekend Project (April 8, 9 and 15)

The Weekend Project is a chronicle of sorts of my kitchen adventures at home.  How did this start?  well, it started during the holy week.  I put it upon myself to run the kitchen so the parentals can relax for a few days.  I looked for recipes on the net (all my cookbooks were drowned by Ondoy) that I can cook at home and then went on a supermarket frenzy prior to the holy week break.  I opted to try some Thai dishes and experimented on a homemade version of Charlie Chan Pasta.  I realized it was fun :)  I realized I kinda missed how fun it was to cook and just play around with the flavors without all the technical considerations I have grown accustomed to (since my job as a food technologist requires me to do so).

I got so inspired I told myself I need to do some cooking at home more often, thus The Weekend Project was born.  At home, there are no constraints, no limitations on creativity, except of course when ingredients are absent :P, at home, time is not limited and there are no deadlines. Although the pressure is still there to make it taste good since both my parents know how to eat well and are quite critical when it comes to food.  I was born in a family of food loving people.  The Barnachea Clan (my mother's side) prides itself in either being a good cook or a good food taster (a connoisseur if you will :P), so food is in my blood (and literally in my bloodstream, since I eat a lot :P).

So, here are some of stuff I made the past 2 weekends and some comments from the panel of judges (daddy and mama).

Charlie Chan Pasta

I tried my hand in concocting a homemade version of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Pasta.  I got a recipe from the net and did a few tweaking on the recipe and voila! However, I wasn't really successful on this one, the sweetness is kinda high and can be toned down a notch or two to bring out the spiciness of the dish.  The parentals have the same thing in mind.  Daddy said it was sweeeeeet.... but he ate like two platefuls of it, so I guess it wasn't all that bad :P.  Will redo this recipe in the next week or two.  I want to perfect this one since I really love Yellow Cab's version of it.  At the same time my ego is screaming for redemption hahaha! :P  We had this pasta with Raisin Bread from Shopwise.  Their Raisin Bread is really good, it isn't sweet and all that raisin-y, except of course when you bite into one.  

Thai Chicken Fried Rice (Kao Phad Gai)

This dish I soooo love! :D  not because I cooked it but because I was able to remember my Bangkok days when I tasted this.  The recipe was great and so easy to follow :).  The secret? Thai Fish sauce and Cilantro!  I love the combination of flavors plus I love the fact that I can eat this on its own.  Will definitely cook this again.  The seniors liked this dish.  They even had the leftovers for breakfast the next day paired with fried eggs :).

Sweet and Spicy Fish and Tofu

I used Creamy Dory fillets and Tofu for this next dish.  I got the recipe from www.casaveneracion.com.  It tasted great! :) I was kinda scared of the spiciness level at first but when the sauce was poured over the fish, the strength of the chili was toned down considerably and the whole dish just came together.  As a testament to how much my parents liked this dish, there were only 3 pieces of bite-sized fish fillets left and some pieces of tofu but my dad kept it in the chiller for him to eat the next day.  Either he really liked it or he was just being a sweet dad.  I think I prefer to believe that it was the former for my ego's sake hahaha!

Pork in Thai Holy Basil Sauce

I made this at the last minute.  Since we had some pork lomo in the freezer, I decided to just whip something  up like this.  Plus the fact that I bought a Thai Holy Basil Sauce in the supermarket.  After my re-entry into the wonders of home cooking, I have this sudden interest in the oriental section of the supermarket.  Robinson's Metro East Supermarket has a good selection of Thai and Singaporean Sauces :).  I sauteed  the pork slices with some garlic and onion and added some of the sauce and kinda played with flavors a bit, adding a dash of this and a dash of that and then I added some string beans to have some greens as well.  Voila! dinner was served :)  However, I kinda got carried away with the spice level for this one.  My dad literally needed to drink cold water to take the heat off his tongue.  So, next time, I need to tone down the spice level and constantly remember that my tolerance for hot foods is higher than most people :P.

Fish Fillet in Lemon Butter Sauce

Last Sunday I did Fish Fillet in Lemon Butter Sauce.  I got the recipe off the Cooking Diva (Chef Melissa Deleon) from the net.  The recipe was easy to follow and the final product was good.  The butter sauce was not too rich, the lemon juice provided the break it needed so as not to render the dish too oily.  The garlic and green bell pepper gave the sauce the flavor oomph, marrying the sauce with the fish fillets nicely.  I still need to do a few improvements on this dish on my end, but it was a good first try nonetheless (*pats self on the shoulder*)

Sauteed Spinach

This last dish was requested by my Dad.  Not actually requested, but I was kinda expected to cook this dish since they bought spinach from the supermarket earlier that day.  I just sauteed the spinach in garlic and added salt, a dash of sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce.  All that's left after dinner was the plate ... so I guess they liked it :).

Well, that's it for now.  I want to be able to keep this up and do some more dishes in the coming weekends. Will try to do another pasta dish this weekend if not will try to make another meat dish.

Cheers! 

Erratum (Photo A Day Challenge March 15 - 31)

I have a booboo :)  #19 for March should have been FUNNY instead of TINY :P.  I got my photos jumbled.  Since it would be easier to just post the photo rather than redo the whole collage thingie I did, here's the correct photo for #19 :D:

19.  Funny

happy weekend! :)

Photo A Day Challenge (March 15 - 31)

I have been out of the loop lately due to a series of unfortunate events that plagued our family recently.  That topic will be for another entry since I would like to focus on happy thoughts for now.  Happy thoughts ... happy thoughts... BOOKS!.  Alas, I haven't come across a copy of the elusive John Carter book I have been looking for.  Though I already reserved a copy at two (yup, 2!) Fully Booked branches, neither one has contacted me yet.  One customer service assistant told me that they are currently out of copies and there is a shipment coming in soon, but being my very makulit self I still try to go to different branches just to see whether there are still copies left  :P  Soooo, I ended up buying Locked in Time by Lois Duncan which I really enjoyed.  Now, I am reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and i'm loving the book so far.

Anyways, on to my photo a day challenge thingies for March.  Here are my pics for the last half of the month.  I  experimented a bit and grouped my pictures into 2 collages to give it a bit of drama (naks!):

March 15 - 25

March 26 - 31

That about sums it all up.  Looking at my pictures, I need to go out and take pictures outside more and be more creative and interpretative and stuff like that.  Oh well, lets see how i will do on April :).

ciao!

We Are Young (Fun)

Give me a second I

I need to get my story straight

My friends are in the bathroom

getting higher than the Empire State

My lover's been waiting for me

just across the bar

My seats' been taken by some sunglasses

asking 'bout a scar

and I know I gave it to you months ago

I know you're trying to forget

but between the drinks and the subtle things

the holes in my apologies

you know I'm trying hard to take it back

so if by the time the bar closes

and you feel like falling down

I'll carry you home

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

Now I know that I'm not

all that you got

I guess that I

I just thought maybe we could find new ways to fall apart

But our friends are back

So let's raise a toast

Cause I found someone to carry me home

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

Carry me home tonight

Just carry me home tonight

Carry me home tonight

Just carry me home tonight

The world is on my side

I have no reason to run

So will someone come and carry me home tonight

The angels never arrived

But I can hear the choir

so will someone come and carry me home

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight

We are are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

So if by the time the bar closes

And you feel like falling down

I'll carry you home tonight

lyrics from: http://www.metrolyrics.com/we-are-young-lyrics-fun.html

mama and milk tea

I recently introduced mama to milk tea.  She was kinda skeptical to try it at first, but since I was really makulit and kept telling her to just try one, she finally gave in.  We were in Gateway Mall last Sunday and I was looking  forward to my milk tea fix in Chatime.  When mama finally said she will try one, we then had a long discussion as to what drink she will get.  I said lets start you off with the basic milk tea. But, she was kinda on the fence on the taste factor, she was a bit worried if she would like it or not. So I said lets just get flavored milk tea first.  We went back and forth if she wanted red bean, taro, even banana.  My mom is not adventurous when it comes to eating so I need to explain a lot of things to her before she agrees to taste something.  Finally, she agreed to try the Lychee Milk tea.  I went in line while she looked for a seat.  When she finally got her drink, i was very happy that she enjoyed it :)

I got a Large Pearl Milk Tea and my afternoon was complete ! :) hahahaha! :P

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it

Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life; 
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Amen

-Reinhold Niebuhr

from http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/serenity.html

Photo A Day Challenge (March 5 - 14)

I missed my weekend blog update since I was up and about last Sunday doing some errands.  I also had some "me" time and spent the afternoon looking for a book that I wanted to get my hands on for two weeks now, but I still can't find a copy.  The book is called The Collected Works of John Carter Volume 1.  Volumes 2 and 3 are quite abundant, but Book 1 is kinda hard to find now, especially since the movie, John Carter, is now showing in the theaters.  I guess a lot of people took an interest to the book due to the good movie reviews ( I know, since that is one part of the reason why I want to get my hands on a copy of the book, well aside from literary reasons and the hunger for a good read... ehem...*insert intellectual nod here*).  AND even if I already reserved a copy in one branch of Fully Booked I still went around some stores to see if I can find a copy faster :P.  The  thing with this book is, it seems that it is only available in Fully Booked and not in the other bookstores (bummer!), thus, the harder it is to find ... thus, the more I want one! grrrr....  Enough of my book addiction for now, and before this blog entry's title is changed to "My Futile Adventure to Finding John Carter", I should start posting my Photo A Day challenge pictures for March 5 - 14 :P.  Here they are:

5.  A Smile 

6.  5 PM

7.  something you wore - was on leave that day and went around UP helping my cousin get her requirements for transfer, thus the shirt :)

8.  Window - our office does have a lot of windows, but the the blinds are always down

9.  Red 

10.  Loud

11.  Someone you talked to today - my cousin Ghina

12.  Fork

13.  A Sign - makings of a new hangout :P

14.  Clouds - since I am indoors almost the whole day, I just made my own clouds :)

Whew! Finished! :)  on to next week's Photo A Day Challenge! and on to my continuous search for the elusive John Carter Book (hope I find one soon!)

up and about with the girls

My cousins Ghina and Regine and I went out a few times this week.  These two girls are like my sisters and spending time with them is just pure happiness :).  Here are some of the pics we got during our weekly eat outs and going around thingies :

A. Midweek Dinner Out at Eastwood 
     We met up for dinner in Eastwood last Wednesday since I needed to go there to get a bag I reserved at Bratpack.  During dinner, there was a little girl behind our table (who Ghina keeps calling Jaden, since she looks like Jaden Smith, who we pointed out is a boy, bit she ignored us :P) who literally keeps popping up from behind whenever Ghina takes our picture.  We were trying to stop ourselves from laughing so hard once we saw the series of pictures she took. Jaden's parents might hear us :P.  Check these out:

We finally got one without her in it, though:

B.  Errands Errands and takaw mode
     We went out again yesterday to do some errands.  I got a new Postpaid phone plan from Globe by the way, with a free Blackberry Curve :) yey!  i spent a few hours on my new toy today trying to figure out how that thing works :P
     Ghina was more excited with the phone than I was, we ended up buying accessories for it right after I got the phone.  I also got her yellow kicker earphones as a belated birthday present.  We ended up eating dinner at Tokyo Tokyo (yup, japanese again) and since we were all hungry by then, we ate A LOT :P  we didn't have room for Magnum Ice Cream after (this was the sad part of my day).
     We went back to our place and watched episodes of The Voice since all three of us looooove Adam Levine (he's so cute!!!) and after an hour or two, the girls went home.

C.  Sunday Surprise at Banapple
     Ghina had a sudden craving for Banapple and she picked me up from the mall while I was doing some more errands.  We had an early dinner there and talked and talked and talked.  Here's what we ate:

Baked Cheesy Penne

Chicken Parmigiano

     Of course, Ghina ate rice :P but she still insists that she is now on a diet.  We were supposed to have coffee or tea after, but were sooooo full.  We also had a slice of Snicker Fudge Cheesecake ... so yummy! :)  My week ended with yummy food and good conversation, it more than made up for the bad part of my week :P