licensed to trade

i passed my series 7 license!!!!! woooohoooo! i thank the Lord kasi He gave me the wisdom, the patience to prepare for the test and His will for me to pass. =) i was grinning from ear to ear after i passed! i called paul and all i could say was 'yey! yey! yey!' =)

what is the series 7 license? This exam is administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) that provides an individual with the qualifications necessary in order to make different types of trades with all types of corporate securities, except commodities and futures. It is also one of the steps necessary in order for a member firm associate to register with the NASD. The Series 7 exam must be passed in order to take many other principal exams offered by the NASD.

for me, passing the series 7 means i get to keep my job! hehe =) that's the bottom line.

bebe update

she looks so cute in pink!

michelle is growing to be a very sweet girl. she's always smiling and hindi iyakin. pag nag gagala kami, she's always on her best behavior. she would cry ng konti when she's hungry or sleepy or wants to change position--kung naka upo, gusto humiga; pag humiga, dadapa; pag nakadapa, gustong tumayo. she can stand up by herself pag meron syang hawakan. she's starting to take steps when assisted. she's not crawling yet the way babies normally crawl....pa reverse sya gumapang! =) medyo natututo narin sya mag 'close-open' hehe.

her eyes light up when she smiles and like mommy, lumalabas ang dimple nya on her left cheek. she's an amazing little girl. i feel so blessed to be her mom and really thank the Lord for giving her to us. =)

restaurant review: pres a vi

how do i begin to tell you how much i like the restaurant, pres a vi? =D i first read about it on sfgate and found out that the chef is of filipino descent. that got me really excited since i love to cook and i am proud when i read that filipinos are becoming rising stars in the culinary world.

anyway, back to pres a vi. the restaurant is located at the presidio with views of the bay, the golden gate bridge and the palace of fine arts-that view alone already sells this restaurant! it is a little difficult to find the place since mapquest can't give you the exact location. address is one letterman drive but the corner of lyon and francisco street would be more accurate is you're using a map. it's right in the same building as LUCAS ARTS (yes, george lucas' studio). street parking is recommended (although it might be difficult during the evening) since parking at the garage is $6/hour and you would want to be at the restaurant about 3 hours so parking gets pretty expensive. it's not an 'eat and run' kind of place so you eat and enjoy a good conversation with your friends or whoever you're dining with or watch as the chefs and the cooks prepare your amazing meal in the open kitchen.

there were 7 of us from work who went and we all have never gone to the restaurant. the place is big and spacious, will barrell ceiling, and a wine cellar to boot. the 'in' thing at restaurants these days are small plates so when you go, be prepared to order 2 or 3 dishes for yourself alone. everything we tried was great. i had a shot of lobster bisque which was rich and creamy, served in a shot glass (thus the name). i had the lobster and mango spring roll which was refreshing. then i had the seared foie gras and scallop....love foie gras! it's so rich and creamy...for this dish, it was just 1 scallop and the foie gras on top, so you can see why it's necessary to order more than 1 dish for yourself. after that chel and i shared the rock shrimp risotto which was good although i've had better risotto elsewhere (try the blackened risotto at brindisi at the belden place). chel had crab cakes and seared halibut with coconut cream sauce over garlic fried rice. both really delicious also. the rest of our party had ahi tartare which was dynamite! serve with crispy taro chips to contrast the texture of the fish. the paella was really good, too. chel says it's the best paella she's ever tasted although i didn't try enough to actually determine if it was that good. =) they also serve their version of surf and turf which is beef yakitori and jumbo prawns. to me, the beef yakitori tasted a little bit like tocino, which is slightly sweet. the jumbo prawns tasted like it was tossed in fishball sauce! hehehe it was delicious. throughout the dishes, i can see the filipino influences that the chef introduces to his food. he also serves shrimp lumpia (and he calls it that) which we didn't try but i will the next time i go (which is soon i hope!).

we had dessert, too. we ordered everything on the menu except the creme brulee`. i'm a creme brulee fanatic but i skipped it last nite so that i can try other desserts. almost all of the deserts we tried were outstanding. the bread pudding is the overall winner in the dessert category which everyone tasted and enjoyed. runner up would be the macadamia torte. our least favorite was a chocolate hazelnut cake (or something like that) which according to my friend amy tasted too flowery for her. i thought it tasted flour-y (different from her flowery..she said she tasted too much lavander) and the chocolate was a little to bitter for my taste.

over all, pres a vi is a must visit again soon restaurant for me. it brings food from all regions of the world and gives it a fresh twist. i definitely recommend this restaurant. be prepared to spend at least $50 per person...yes, it can get pricey since you're ordering several dishes for yourself. but every once in a while, i think we all deserve a treat and pres a vi is definitely worth it!

sonoma

yesterday, nag punta naman kaming sonoma! i had fun yesterday, too. dun lumabas ang pagka-funny ni tiray na usually e tahimik lang. sya ang bangka namin kahapon which was refreshing. =) i think michelle had fun too. =)

viva las vegas!!!

paul and i decided to go to vegas for 3 days to celebrate his birthday. (bday nya noong march 29). he's getting OLDER so we might as well enjoy while he still has his youth!! hehehe sama ko no? =D

we went to vegas nga where we stayed at the monte carlo. the room wasn't that great but for the price we paid, it was a steal!!! we were right on the strip and they had a pretty cool pool.

first day:
we were finally checked-in our room around 6 pm na. we were both tired from the weekend so we didn't really feel like walking down the whole strip so we just decided to have dinner at p.f. chang's at the aladdin then watch the fountains at the bellagio.

second day:

we went swimming during the morning before we ran off to the bellagio for the buffet. kala namin masarap talaga kasi all the reviews were great. hindi pala. i like the buffet at the mirage more than bellagio's. mas marami selection. paul says the local buffet here in daly city's even better than the bellagio's.

laki tiyan namin pareho kakagaling lang ng buffet

our 2nd night in vegas, we went to see the show mystere by cirque du soleil. grabe! it was worth the money we paid for the ticket! it was absolutely amazing!!! this is my 2nd cirque show and this one was better than the first one i saw. nakakabilib grabe!

tapos we just walked down the strip and pinagtrip-an ang mga kung ano anong nakikita namin.

since we were still full from the buffet feast, late na kami nagdinner. we just bought corndog and chili dog from nathan's which had a store at our hotel. (nathan's is a coney island, ny orginal) i've heard of nathan's before na masarap nga daw ang hotdog nila and my favorite actor, cary grant worked there before he became 'cary grant'. anyway, super sarap! paul and i will be scouring the local supermarkets to see if they're available locally. pag hindi, we'll be forced to by online and pay $$$$ for shipping!

third day:
wala na kaming energy from the loooooooooooooong walk up and down las vegas boulevard. hindi na kami nakapagswimming ulit. nag sugal nalang kami. eto si paul nalugi ng $55! hehehe we're not big gamblers so malaki na para samin yung natalo na yun.

and then it's back home with our precious little girl, michelle. =)