happy anniversary beb!

on sept. 21st, paul and i celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  we opted for a simple dinner at house of prime rib and was impressed by the service and the food.  it's not gary danko of course, but h.o.p.r. sure hit the spot.  i think it's a must for anyone who visits san francisco.  =)

 green apple martini

(note to self: you don't like green apple martini, never order it again)

  

prime rib carved right at your table

city cut prime rib, medium well with mashed potato and cream spinach

(sarap)

i love you beb!  happy anniversary again!

nasabi ko na sa kanya lahat ng mushy-ness during dinner, so no need to write it here.  =D 

hospitality

filipinos are proud of their hospitality.  having lived here in the states for almost 13 years now, that hospitality has not disappeared.  we always have friends and family visiting from all over the world and we do our best to make them feel welcome and comfortable whenever we spend time with them.  sometimes, i would take a day or two off from work just to take them around town...or if i can't do that, i'll leave the office early just so that i can spend time with them. 

but maybe that's just me.  because apparently, not everyone seems to remember what being hospitable is all about.
 

michelle's first book

Illustration and story by  Michelle.  Hand-writing by Mommy.

what are the best restaurants in cavite, metro manila, and boracay?

in preparation for our trip to the philippines next month, i would like to ask for YOUR suggestions on which restaurants to visit while we are there.  

paul, michelle and i were running errands the other day when i turned to paul and said, 'pag uwi natin ng pilipinas, kakain tayo sa chefoo!'  sagot ni paul, 'e ang traffic naman magpunta dun e!'  sabi ko naman, 'i traveled all the way from san francisco, tingin mo traffic is going to stop me?'  di na sya kumibo.  pinapanga-pangarap ko ang masarap nilang pancit canton at fried chicken. haaay!  matagal tagal narin akong hindi nakakakain dun.

sa manila naman, i used to always go to gerry's grill.  every time i'm in the country, mga 3 or 4 na beses akong pumupunta dun hanggang sa mag sawa na ako.  di ko alam kung pupunta pa ulit ako dun.  parang naumay na yata ako.

definitely, kakain kami sa seaside.  =)  

san pa ba kami pwede kumain bukod sa mga lugar na to(boracay, cavite and manila)?  please give me suggestions =)

happy birthday michelle!

"good morning, little miss birthday girl!  it's your birthday!  time to wake up and get ready for school!"  i said to michelle as i gently woke her up on the morning of her birthday.

"thanks mommy..." she replied sleepily.

"i'm going to pick you up at school today ok?  i'll bring treats to your school so you can enjoy them with your frinds."  i told her.

"ok, i'll wait for you mommy.  don't take a long, long time, ok?"  said michelle.

i went to work that morning but naturally, she was all i could think about.  she's a big girl now.  many of the things that happen to her from this moment on, she will remember all her life so it's important that we fill her with such good happy memories. 

i left work at around noon to get the cupcakes at the supermarket and to cook pancit at home.  i was starting to panic because i felt that there was so much i needed to do and i didn't have enough time to do it. as i drove home, i was running a mental list of things to do:

go to the supermarket and get the cupcakes

cook pancit

thaw the chicken

pack for swimming

paul had already put together the disney princess bicycle which was our present for her on her birthday. 

i got home cooked the pancit (which was delicious btw) and paul and i ate lunch.  there was this voice in my head that kept telling me since the day before to call the hotel and make sure that their pool is open.  i ignored it then but since i had a few minutes to spare, i picked up the phone and call the hotel....good thing i did because their pool is closed for maintainance....i canceled the reservation...one less thing for me to stress about!

we drove to michelle's school just in time for her to wake up, well, according to the teacher, she didn't sleep that day.  when i asked her why, she said, 'because i'm waiting for you to pick me up, i didn't want to sleep!'  excited?!

it was the first time i saw michelle interact with her classmates and her teachers.  she's really well behaved and masunurin.  she was moved to the class for 'big kids' and i think that class will really prepare her for kindergarten next school year.  i'm still undecided if she'll go to the same school next year...it's something i have to think about within the next couple of months.

anyway, we went home and she loved her present!  she completely forgot that we were supposed to go swimming that day.  

saturday was cooking day to prepare for the tanza fiesta celebration/extended bday celebration for michelle.  it was soooooooooo hot in san jose on sunday but the kids had fun running around, biking, and hitting the pinata.  

michelle still talks about her birthday.  like i said, she'll remember many of the things that happen to her now.  it is really important to make most of these memories, as positive, happy, and uplifting as possible.

thank you lord for giving me such a wonderful daughter.  may she grow up with the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom and use her to be a blessing to others.