ang pinakamasarap na pansit sa balat ng lupa

remember when i posted about the pinakamasarap na siopao sa balat ng lupa? well, i know about the pinakamasarap na pansit sa balat ng lupa too! again, it could be found in suntec! as usual, i don't know the name of the stall but if you'll allow me, i could take you there - it's at the suntec food court!

my favorite side dishes are luncheon meat and egg. i'm not a big fan of the squid-ball-like stuff but i'm gaga over maling... and eggs! the bee hoon is fried to perfection - not too limp, not too stiff, not too salty, but the flavors are very good and distinct. there's also steamed cabbage, not too overwhelming. the browned onions and green chilis are superb too! everything just blends into an unbelievable magic in your mouth, later in your tummy, and later still, in your toilet. ok, let's not dive into that. eew.

when i'm not stressed, i could eat a whole packet! carpenter style. but when i'm under pressure at work, i could eat 1/2 only, or 3/4 max. yes, no matter how divine the food is, i can't be forced to eat when i'm stressed.

cheers to good food and good life!

ps: i don't like red chillies on my bee hoon.

walks and talks

i miss my mom.

as a kid, i din't grow up to an affectionate family. we weren't the type who would cuddle and snuggle in bed. i kissed my parents before going to bed and before leaving the house but it was more out of respect rather than affection. we didn't hug. we weren't vocal about our love. i love yous were only seen on our greeting cards and we didn't say it freely or randomly. it's something sacred and we professed it only on special occasions.

now, i testify that all these are not true measures of love - at least for me. look at us now. we have the greatest relationship with mami. i could tell her everything and truly, time, and not affection, molded what we have now. i used to keep secrets from my mom. as old as it may sound, moms know best. i don't need to explain further. now, i consult with her for matters as trivial as which vitamins to take, to things as grand as taking new jobs. she's my adviser. she sees 2 steps ahead and 2 steps behind.

oh, can i just say that with what we have, affection is now a bonus? we now say i love yous out of nowhere! hugs, not so much, but we're getting there!

here are some random pics taken when i had a good walk and good talk with mom one empacho night.

i loved the "greenness" of these plants! they're in a wonderful shade of lime green, so vibrant!

i loved this walkway and the nice lighted canopy!

MBS skypark natuloy din :)

when mami was here, we went to the sky park. mike asked me to promise him that i won't go there unless we are together, but if it's the family then i could go. hehe. it's with the family, so it's fine!

this is the "thorny" decor - view from the ground floor. it's really majestic. i don't understand how thorns or grass or whatever this is became art dahil hindi ako sosyal :p it's not an eye candy for me but it's amazing.

we went straight to the queue for the sky park. it's a long queue but it didn't take that long. this is the view of the hotel from the sky park queue.

and the view from the grounds of the ship-like sky park. not really awesome on pic but it is when you see it live na live worldwide. wow.

here's the little woman patiently waiting for her turn. she likes to play with her foot.

and finally, we made it to the top. 57th floor, is it? here's the flyer.

sky park talking to the singapore flyer: "so you're not so great now, eh? asan ang tikas at angas mo ngayon?" hehe. we have one arrogant structure here.

here is the helix bridge. suntec towers can also be seen near the trapezoid-top building.

i don't know what this lotus-like structure is. hehehe.

sunset snapshot :)

and some donya poses!

shopping para sa bahay ng mga dwende

bahay ng mga dwende - that's how we fondly call the new home of the two lovebirds, erika and wawin. it's a small one-bedroom unit in makati, just right for "lovers" living together but quite small for a family. with one baby? can do but no room for yaya.

i'm way too advanced. why am i talking about babies at this time? i'm writing about the home, not about the family.

ok, so we went to ikea to shop for some home stuff for the 2 kids - some stuff to adorn their lovely home and also to get cool ideas from the showroom.

we loved the black shelves, the ones kuya's pointing at. since it's a small unit, bins or cabinets won't be advisable. they need all the floor area that they could get. we thought of using shelves instead to save floor space. we got the bigger version of these black shelves.

i loved this kitchen area. we got the red clock and a different model of the steel plates rack. the dwendes are also considering this type of stove. nice :)

we also loved this dining set. it's a super space saver plus the design is good. converted to PHP, it would be around 11 to 12k. we didn't get it. it's a bit bulky to transport and they could probably scout for some more in manila.

we loved this idea for the tv. a tv rack is out of the question so we're thinking of having the tv mounted on the wall and enclosing it for added effects. the shelves that we bought are similar to this one (above the black boxes).

it's so exciting to shop for home stuff! i wish i had my own home to decorate :)

3 books on my shelf

looky look! i have 3 books on my shelf! it's a mystery how i got the winnie the pooh book. i just found it there! it's all good though. i'm almost done and i looove it. so light!

lessons learned:
@ always appreciate the little things
@ be a child at heart
@ it's ok to be silly and foolish sometimes
@ your real friends and family will love you despite point 3 above
@ it's wonderful to be remembered on your birthday
@ thus, make your friends feel special on their birthdays
@ honey is good for the heart (and for the bear)
@ i want to have my own christopher robin!
@ don't steal baby kangaroos from their mum
@ travel with your friends

when keyla starts to understand things, i promise i'll read this book to her :)

the other two, i downloaded out of curiosity. i think i have read wuthering heights but you know me, i'm old. i'll find out later.

ang hirap (part 3)

tapos sinilip ko agad ang kasagutan kasi dinugo ako. tama naman! pero naloka ako sa solowsyon!

paanong nangyaring minultiply lang? at may nalalaman pa syang pag-iwan kay 3! at pinaka naloka ako sa pag dibaydibay 2! di ko talaga alam yun! wala akong matandaang ganyan! either my memory is failing me or kakaiba na ang pag solve ngayon! haays.

ang hirap (part 2)

at dumating ang question na ito. grabe hira na hirap ako! di ko maalala kung may mha ganitong tipo nga ng problem solving noon at nakalimutan ko lang or ewan!

may i divide a thousand times ako!

ayan sa baba ang answer ko. naka box pa. naks!

ang hirap (part 1)

kamakailan, napansin kong may pagbabagal nang nararanasan kapag ginagamit ko ang utak ko. minsan nahihirapan na akong mag proseso or mag retain man lang ng info. siguro parte ng pagtanda, or siguro sadyang ganun na noon pa at ngayon ko lang napansin hahaha!

sa suhestyon ni jan, bumili ako ng aklat na ito. practice in mathematics. sabi sa harap ang persyir hayskool raw. cool! siguro naman kaya ko...

vanity atbp

exactly 2 months before the wedding! i have neglected my skin big time for the past months thinking, "there will always be time to pamper."

my face has always just hit the sack right away after my laaaate night showers. no moisturizer, no toner, just my pillows :p hello wrinkles! hello dark circles! hello blemishes!

now i'm cramming... like i always do. oh! and i have some dark rashes on my rib area! i have no idea what they are but they are pretty ugly and alarming. i self medicated but later on (last sat) consulted a dermatologist just to be sure it's not cancer (as i always predict [talk about paranoia]).

so here's what i have been making pahid on my skin like crazy for the past week:

1. l'oreal facial scrub
2. l'oreal toner
3. l'oreal moisturizer - this one's a day cream but i don't get the point of using a different cream during night time (read: ang mahal kung bibili pa ako ng night cream)
4. anti- itch cream - for the hideous rashes (which didn't help, btw. so it's one wasted crap)
5. nivea cream - i feel i have super dry skin, thus the rashes. i love this cream! i replaced my lotion and i really like the effect :) it somehow helped to soothe the rashes an the dry skin.

so there you go! so far so good but i think i need a follow-up post for some other items after the derma consultation. sana lang makatulong!

the little children

saw this group of kids one morning while jan and i were buying our daily serving of taho.

they look so cute: holding hands with their partners so they won't get lost. listening to teacher's instructions while walking.

they may be little but they are great! all children are :)

QT

call it quality time
call it multi-tasking

this is us video chatting
this is us checking out our phone apps
this is us umaarte

cut! hehehe

baging

i love it how keyla plays with my hair.

yup, i know my hair is dirty.

and she shouldn't play with it

'cause she'll put her hands in her mouth later.

but she'll grow up soon

by then she'll be less fascinated with small, silly stuff.

life my hair!

keep the fascination alive, baby girl!

you'll grow up soon :(

attentive

i love it how keyla listens to every word i say when i talk to her.

as if she understands

as if she digests and processes the words

as if she's ready to fight the world equipped with what she was just taught

as if!

grow up to be a good listener, baby girl!

grow up to be a good learner, baby girl!

not so much with the academics, but with things that really matter in life :)

lechon?

i love it how keyla wraps her legs around the arm of the person feeding her.

we have no idea why she does that.

"you are not going anywhere! i need my dede!"

baby, don't do that so much... you look like a lechon.

but a very cute lechon! :)))

hold me now

i love it that keyla now knows how to hold her bottle (sometimes).

she now knows that if she kept the bottle still, it will give her what she wants.

she has these pink bottle handles and those are so useful!

sometimes, she accidentally pulls the bottle out of her mouth.

and she attempts to bring it back.

only, the bottle goes straight to her nose or to her eyes!

almost there, baby girl!

you are growing too fast.

love ko to

we were so happy with don m's birthday surprise party at kbox that we didn't want the night to end. as in! we were possessed - not with evil spirits. we were intoxicated - not with alcohol. we were high - not with drugs. nothing worldly, only good company and laughter. and it was enough to keep us happy for how many hours.

from kallang, we wanted to do something different and bold. take note: it was past 10pm then. we thought of going to the night safari, sentosa beach bars, or sentosa bonfire, or go to a cozy hotel and have coffee and lots of talk. we ended up going to fort canning park! we didn't find any tambay spots there but, believe it or not, we hiked at fort canning part at the wee hours of the night! we didn't have anything but our funny remarks. wala kaming napala. we kept on searching for this bar but we didn't find it. in the end, nauwi rin kami sa...

kallang leisure park where there's mc do 24 hrs! sinapian talaga?

so there we were, we ordered coffee and chocolate drinks courtesy of don m.

here's my choco cup! i love how it smiled back at me. it almost hurt me to consume the happy face... but that's life. he had to go.

and a thousand and one fries! masarap bagong luto.

we stayed there until around 5am! we were just telling stories, funny ones and serious ones. i will never understand why we always choose to "stay together" for soooo long every time we meet. misteryong malupit... bizarre... pero masaya kami :) all the time!

kbox parteh parteh ni marco

noong lumipas na kaarawan ni don marco (sya kasi ang pinakamayaman sa aming samahan), naisip naming sorpresahin sya ng salu-salong may kantahan. bakit kamo? dahil mahilig syang kumanta. yun lang hehe. naisip din naming maging sporty sporty tulad ng swimming, bowling, dahil mahilig din sya dyan. pero pilay si mike kaya kantahang walang patid ang nagwagi. di na rin kailangan mag-abalang magluto dahil may kainang wantusawa! so solved na ang mga chikiting.

magaling si anne. nadala nya si marco sa kbox sa kallang leisure park. sa kabila ng pagsusungit ng matandang, mayamang, matagal pang mamatay na si don m, nasorpresa naman sya :)

heto't masdan ang sampol sampol ng mga pagkain galing sa buffet. ok na. masarap naman at nakakabusog. maki lang ang napicturan ko pero kumpleto naman mula pampagana hanggang disyerto (wow disyerto ang tagalog ng dessert? hahaha nabuhangin lang). busog ang lahat sa pagkain at inumin.

'di lang sa pagkain busog ang mga bagets, pati sa kantahan. ay! wag ka, walang nota at letrang pinalagpas. sulit na sulit ang bayad namin! ayos kasi may mga opm! galing talaga. enjoy. patok ang lady gaga songs lalo kay mike!

so... happy ang lahat! sayang hindi nakapunta yung iba pero masaya pa rin naman :) sa sobrang saya, mistulang buntis ako sa picture. asus!

maligayang bati, don m! iba ka!