Michelle covers the Beatles

she's not perfect after all

'train up a child in the way she should go, even when she is old, she will not depart from it' - proverbs 22:6

 michelle has always been an easy child.  she listens to what we say, she's not super likot, follows what we say, she's very understanding and very well behaved.  she's never thrown a tantrum.  that is, until tonight.  

she threw a hissy fit we never saw coming.  it caught me off guard and broke my heart into so many million pieces.  *sigh*

but we've made peace now.  and again everything seems perfect.  but tonight, she reminded me that no matter how much i try to make her perfect, she will never be and she will make many more mistakes.  this may be the first tantrum she's thrown in her 4 short years, but it's definitely not the last.  all i can really do is train her in the way she should go so when moments like tonight happen, she'll know how to find her way back and get on the right path again. 

 oh how much i love her. 

(i am ever so thankful she doesn't throw tantrums left and right.  i'd like to think of it as a learning experience for the both of us.)

sf symphony presents...

last year, we saw the nutcracker on christmas eve.  this year for the holidays, we went to the san francisco symphony last night to watch the snowman with the sf symphony orchestra as musical accompaniment.  ganda!  michelle enjoyed the short film and the festive music.  towards the end of the performance, the orchestra played some of the most popular and well-loved christmas carols and the audience all sang along as they played.  christmas is such a joyous event.  =)

the sf symphony orchestra did a wonderful job.  paul and i hope to watch more of their performances in the future.  

here are some pics from our family date:

a very snowy lake tahoe trip

the day after thanksgiving, paul, michelle and i went to south lake tahoe to enjoy some early snow.  winter came early in this part of the world and the sierra mountains saw snow as early as the 2nd week of november.  

when we headed up to the mountains on friday, the sun was shining brightly.  the snow looked so pretty as it glistened under the sun!

after we checked in at the hotel, we rushed to get to the nearest snow park so we can go sledding.  at this time of the year, it starts to get dark at 5 pm.  we reached the snow park at 4 pm and didn't have cash to pay the snow park to go sledding.  after running to the nearest atm to get cash, it was already 4:15.  the good thing about being late is that we were only charged $10 to go sledding instead of $30 (it's normally $10/person).  

now, i am scared of heights and the feeling like i'm going to fall out of control.  even the feeling when you slide down a playground slide, i don't like that.  but that's exactly what sledding is.  sliding on snow while seated on a sled.  yes, my heart raced as we swooooshed through the slippery snow but it was so much fun! 

 

we had dinner at applebee's afterwards and then relaxed at our hotel.

now, look back up to pictures number 1 and 2 and see how clear and sunny it is.  the next day, right outside our hotel, it looked like this:

and we drove through this...

which made me feel like this...

early on saturday morning, i was silently praying paul would just say, 'i'm not gonna go snowboarding nalang.  let's just head home...this weather is horrible.'  pero wala akong super powers!  we went to the ski resort and paul snowboarded for only 1.5 hours.   michelle was soooo bored!  the ski class we wanted to take started at 1 pm and we got to the resort at 1:30 so we couldn't take the class so michelle and i decided to just go sledding.  as we walked to the sledding area of the resort, i asked for directions only to be told that sledding is closed kasi nga matindi ang snow.  bigo!  so we headed to the lodge to beat the cold.  buti nalang one of my friends from way back was there (small world) and we hung out and tried to entertain michelle.  at around 3, paul found us and said the words i had hoped he would say 6 hours earlier.

we lost one of our tire chains and had to buy a new pair.  fortunately, the folks at the resort helped us install the 2nd pair.  it took us 2 hours to drive a distance of 30 miles.  the drive that would normally take us 3.5 to 4 hours took 6.  but we made it home safe. =)

it will take some time for me to get used to the snow.  i still like beach vacations the best.  i do not like dressing in so many layers.  it's a whole production to get michelle in and out of her clothes just to make sure she is seated in the toilet in time! but i am looking forward to another ski trip next month, this time for a whole weekend instead of just overnight.  and this time, my cousins are coming so mas masaya and we will make sure michelle and i get to ski class before it starts!!!

harry potter

ok, medyo delayed na to...pero i'll try to recap the things that happened since we got back from pi. 

harry potter 7 part 1 - i work for a BIG company na maraming mayamang kliyente.   as a thanksgiving treat to the clients, we hosted an advance screening of harry potter in union city 1 day before its worldwide release.  i was not a fan of the harry potter movies or books.  i just never got into it.  but to prepare for this screening, i called the biggest hp fan i know and borrowed her dvds.  i had 1 week to watch all the earlier movies and i was quite surprised i found all of them very interesting and very entertaining.  that j.k. rowling has some wonderful imagination!  at the screening, we could take whatever we wanted from the concession stand.  all the popcorn you want, ice cream, nachos, candy.  parang fiesta!  after the movie, there were goody bags waiting for us as we walked out of the cinema.  scarves, wands, and harry potter glasses. wow!  it was such a well received event.  we've gotten so many 'thank yous' from the clients (well, their kids actually) saying how special they felt because they got to see the movie before everyone else did and how special they all felt! 

a few days after the movie, as i was reading facebook updates from friends all over the world, one particular comment about harry potter cracked me up.  my friend said, 'watched harry potter 7 today!' or something to that effect.  and the comment from my friend's friend was this, 'maganda sana yung movie...kaso i didn't like the ending!'  i cracked up when i read that!  maraming sarcastic comments pumasok sa isip ko pero syempre di ko nilagay.  sinabi ko nalang kay paul. hihi!  i'm looking forward to part 2!

boracay

we went to boracay during our vacation in the philippines.  i have been to a several beaches in different parts of the world, and i have yet to find a beach with sand more beautiful than boracay's.  

i've been to boracay with my friends before and this is my family's first time.  everyone had a good time.  

 

 waiting for the flight to kalibo

 ati-atihan

 the beach

 relaxing at astoria boracay

 

relaxing by the beach

 polvoron from boracay!

 this is as deep as my mom will ever get in the water

 

hotel review:

the good - astoria boracay is nice and new.  the facilities  are really beautiful.  the pool is very small but real estate in boracay is expensive so resorts would rather use the space for rooms instead of a bigger pool.  the manager seems really nice.  mas nauuna pa sya bumati sa guests kesa sa sariling nyang staff. 

the bad - the layout is very poor.  i think the architect or designer went for form instead of function.  i didn't like the lobby/dining room combo.  it's so weird to walk into the space after spending time at the beach, all covered in sand while other guests are enjoying their meal in the dining room.  there's too much traffic in one confined space. service is ok, staff could use more training and improve their customer service skills.  for the price that i paid for, i expected to have conditioner in my room.  it's the little details that takes a hotel from being good to great.  would i stay there again?  unless prices are dirt cheap, not really.  just being honest.  i want the hotel to do well but i wasn't blown away by anything. 

food:  i don't remember where we ate.  nothing really stood out but none of them where bad.  meals are very expensive...everything is expensive in boracay.  we were at d' mall looking for beach toys for the kids.  one store said P250 daw, another said P380, pareho walang tawad.  konting lakad pa at nakita namin ang palengke and a similar toy goes for only P150.  sold!  so magpunta kayo sa palengke at doon bumili ng supplies na kakailanganin nyo like water and snacks, you'll get it for half the price. 

while the sand in boracay is perfect.  it bothers me that it is so commercialized.  it's very different from my first trip back in 2004.  i had a better time in coron, bohol, and maui.  i like beaches that do not have too many people.  siguro if we stayed at shangri-la, my opinion would be different.  but we can't afford to pay for 12 people to stay at shangri-la boracay.  not now at least, sana someday we can!  =D

before boracay

ano ba ginawa namin before boracay?

oh, nag karaoke kami ng mga pinsan ko that friday night!  lahat pala kami mahilig kumanta.  =)  sayang lang at di lahat nakasama.  oh well!  there's always next year!  (parang uuwi talaga kami next year e no?)

saturday/sunday, we went to laguna to spend time with paul's family.  nag rent kami ng private pool and we spent the night there.  masaya naman.  di masyado mainit, kaya di masyado umitim and the pool is fresh and clean (they replace the water for each guest at the resort.  mura ang tubig sa laguna).  

michelle spent most of her waking moments in laguna in the water.  that's where she built her confidence and relied on her floaty thing.  she was kicking all over the pool.  malapit na mabuild confidence nito for a full on swimming class (next summer perhaps).

monday naman, i went to dinner with my friends from high school.  nagpunta kami ng tagaytay and ate at buon giorno.  ang cute ni raja!  mabait na bata din.  mukhang nagkasundo naman sila ni michelle.  after dinner, we went to starbucks for some coffee/tea hanggang sa mag aya na umuwi si michelle.  how i miss these guys.  sana nandun din si lizette at imee...pati si crisanto, si ryan reyes, at si gamban.  again, sana next year!  =D

tuesday....boracay na!  separate entry to.  highlight e!