My vacation

   When most everyone had hied off to another place, taking advantage of the long Holy Week break, we opted to stay in town. The news says that Manila is like a dessert, a ghost town even, although I would never even have known because I hardly stepped out of the house. 

    My vacation is very productive. Other than little trips to church to pay tribute to the solemnity of the season, I pretty much stayed home. Those days, all that free time in one uninterrupted big chunk, were more precious than I would want to admit. 

    I have been on vacation many times without exactly feeling that I was on one. But this one was different. The days actually felt long. Hot, yes, but thankfully long. There were many hours to do many things. I loved that, if only because they hardly feel that way anymore nowadays. 

    What did I do? I was on home-keeping and housewife mode, naturally, puttering here and there, keeping and putting things away. Again, I sorted and simplified, giving away some stuffs to the maids, a poor family in Baclaran church who became our friend and some friends.

    When I was not daydreaming or eating, I organized. I found satisfaction in finding and employing smart storage solutions for the many things that ceaselessly find their way into the house. And when I got too tired I lolled in bed, reading and seeking solace from the books that set me off smiling and dreaming some more, spinning my thoughts into lovely fabric of ideas that I in turn organized into lists, written in my little yellow notebook, for fear they would slip away with the summer wind. 

     I've rested, yet I have accomplished much actually, although as the case always is, there is still more to be done. Of course, I stuffed myself with chocolate and ice cream, something I loved doing every summer. My husband and I got to spend more time playing with the kids too.

     So that's how life was for me two weeks ago when half of Manila is away - simple and spontaneous, sort of just tossed together like a salad.

    

Easter's Eggsciting!

AJ is melting the chocolate chips.

me and AJ

We are making chocolate lollipops!

Easter egg hunting time!

We are making colorful eggs here!

My three older boys made this!

Jehrard, me and baby Andrei

  

    I remember my first Easter egg hunt. It was in my cousin Jaclyn's house that my brother and I and some of our other cousins joined our first Easter egg hunt. My Auntie Bella ( who has since passed away) planned the Easter activity.

    I remember we would excitedly venture out into the garden where we knew the eggs were hidden. We would comb the lawn, peek through crevices, part bushes and shake flowerbeds. We really can't wait for the prize. But, more than the prizes we would get for all the eggs we collected, we cherished and enjoyed the process of finding them in hunt. 

    Yesterday, my three older boys, Andre and I made chocolate lollipops and just this afternoon, we started coloring and dyeing the hard- boiled eggs. My three boys happily coloring away as many eggs as they possibly could in as many ways as their imaginations allowed them to. We didn't use decorative techniques such as sponging or gold-leafing that seem to be quite popular now. My husband had taken pictures of some eggs that we have decorated to remind us of the day like this. My baby is still too young to join in the activity. But we went to Rockwell this morning and joined the Easter egg hunt. That was my baby Andrei's first Easter egg hunting experience. I can see the wonder in his eyes with each decorated eggs he uncovers. The Easter egg hunting experience this morning was another time of discovery and wonder for my three older boys and first time for my baby, and perhaps a time for reminiscing for Andre and me who were very happy to watch from the side. I'm reminded that these simple but heartfelt gestures were as important to me then as they are now for my children and will be in the future. I may not have pictures of the time I went Easter egg hunting in my cousin's house but I keep the happy memories within me. 

     This morning, I made sure I am armed with a camera so I can record, for my children to see in the future, how traditions that we practice like Easter egg hunting makes us appreciate the beauty of life and the gift of family and friends.

Holy Week

   Where will you be during the Holy Week? More importantly, what will you be doing? All too often, this holiday has been viewed by many as a happy time-off to go to the beach, to hie off to your favorite shopping destination offshore, or just simply stay home. Now there is nothing wrong with that. However, we get so caught up with the relief of having some respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we miss out on the main reason this holiday came about. I don't mean to sound preachy here but it would do all of us (and the world we live in) some good if we were to take sure steps to once again touch base with what truly matters - having a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no better time than to start now.

    I'm not saying we should be prohibited from smiling and being happy, considering that we are observing a solemn season. But I can't point out often enough how sincere, baby steps on our part can make the Great Guy Up There truly happy. After all, this, too is a season of thankfulness and hope. Let us reflect on how good He has been to us the whole year and take this opportunity to resolve to give back to Him what we know in our hearts He rightfully deserves. Two activities that you can start doing (if you haven't yet) are spending time with Him and offering some sort of sacrifice.

    When was the last time you went to the Blessed Sacrament? Try the experience. When you are ecstatically happy , pop in to say "thank you". When you are at a crossroads, go there to ask guidance. Even when your pain is beyond words, simply be comforted in and be embraced by His presence. You don't have to say a thing. Trust me, He knows. And I guarantee that you will walk out feeling lighter and more positive about everything.

     Every time the Lenten season rolls by, it has become a habit for me to offer some sort of sacrifice. I can't remember where I picked up the habit. For the Holy Week, I abstain from eating meat. I would read to my children passages from the Bible and stay at home and just be with my family. Next year, I will give up eating meat for 40 days and sweets will be included in the fasting. Regardless though of what your sacrifice is and how you choose to go about it, what's important is how true your intentions are. You don't have to ask for anything. It can simply be your way of thanking Him. 

     Most of us vow to be better persons at the start of New Year but for those who have not stuck to that vow or have somehow sidetracked a bit, the Holy Week is a good time to stay in the running. No matter where this holiday finds you, may you uncover, in the pockets of your heart, time to thank Him and truly love Him. It doesn't have to be a contrived effort, neither does it have to happen at a specific time of the day. Your way of loving Him can be expresed in little acts of love spread out during the course of one day.

    

Why I love doing the grocery

   My love for cooking and baking started when I was seven years old which led to my passion for grocery shopping.  Every Sunday, I would always go to the grocery with my parents and I was so excited to buy items for baking. I remember how excited I was to show my yaya the foods and ingredients that I've bought. I loved spending time with my yaya Josephine in the kitchen. My yaya taught me how to make polvoron, maja blanca mais, ice candy and etc... I would always watch her as she cooks and prepare our meals. 

   When I was teenager I knew I wanted to be a good wife and mother. Call it a simple dream, but hey, that's just me. Although the idea of a corporate job appealed to me at one point (more so because of my fondness for the fashionable power suit and the huge wooden desk overlooking the city on the top floor of a sleek building) it ebbed off as soon as the closing credits of the movie came on. Yup, it's appeal was purely cinematic. Not necessarily real, too rose-colored to be true, fleeting at best. Being a homemaker is an idea I held on to. Although I may not like the thought of a nine-to-five job, I have never qualms about taking on the challenge of being truly domesticated 24/7. I remember when I could not wait to do wifey things like run a household, cook, bake, do arts and crafts with my children, I even wanted to go to the wet market and meet the fish. 

   Now that I am a wife and mother, I have happily discovered that my domestic dreams are not too far-fetched from reality. I enjoyed doing the grocery even if I do it most of the time just by myself. It became such a chore for me that I do it almost everyday. I buy everything in huge quantities (the fresh fish, chicken and vegetables, our cook gets once a week at Dapitan or Kamuning Market). To make my grocery shopping easy,  I drew out a very organized list. I started by listing everything I needed to keep the household running, from groceries to toiletries to cleaning aids, office supplies and personal effects, and categorized them in alphabetical order according to kind (i.e. sauces, canned goods, dairy, medicines, condiments, etc.). It is less trouble for the help because I just print out the list and all they have to do is mark the items needed in addition to specifying the quantity. I avoid going to groceries on weekends unless I absolutely have to and I never go without my valuable custom-made list. It has served me quite well. The few hours you will spend personalizing your list will be worth the time you save going back and forth the grocery aisles like a headless chicken.

   I like going to Waltermart and Puregold because it is consistently well-stocked, it is always neat and clean and I'm already very familiar with the place. Because Puregold is quite popular, the long lines at the checkout counter can be taxing. It is also a good place to get choice cut of meats. I buy the fresh meats at Monterey (you can find this at the meat section) and have them cut the way I want them to. For deli fare, Santi's is an all time favorite.

   Another place I truly enjoy going to is S&R. They have a wide variety of goods, it is also clean, the space in between aisles is wide. You can buy the items in bulk. My kids loved the food samplings along the aisles, especially on weekends. They have a good selection of processed meats and dairy products too.

   Whenever I travel with my family abroad, our first stop is usually the grocery. We buy all sorts of foods and refreshments that we stock up in the fridge of our hotel room.

   I really enjoy going to the grocery because it is there where I can unwind, relax, and have a quiet time. Our house is open most of the times to friends and loved ones, and whenever they drop by the house and they haven't eaten or they feel like eating again, I can make use of whatever is in our pantry or refrigerator to serve them. Come to think of it, maybe that is why I also like going to grocery and buying in bulk, I want to be a girl scout in the kitchen, always prepared! And more than anything else, I love seeing the biggest smile plastered on my children's face every time I come home with bags of their favorite snacks and juices. 

The Joys of Summer at Home

my treasures

my kids holding their super water squirters

kids playing in my room

 

  I hear my children squealing with delight. I checked on them just 5 minutes ago and they were in our garage, with swimming goggles on, unapologetically squirting water at each other with bright-colored water pumps. We do not have a swimming pool so we use the inflatable ring pool instead. I guess it's the next best thing to beat the heat.  

   I am sorting out clothes - mine, Andre's, and kids' - putting away some for storage, setting aside a pile to give away. Each closet are crammed (we are six in the family which means I have to clean out six closets...whew!) especially mine and Andre's. I really feel the constant urge to unload. Moments later I go down again, looking for something to eat, only to realize that my boys found another playmate. My husband has joined them. He who loves to swim is now teaching the boys the basic water breathing techniques. I get a piece of banana, settle in a chair contentedly, and watch them while I eat. 

   I am soaking in the sun, the heat, my sweat, the sight before me. It is hot outside and I feel all warm and cozy inside. I feel very blessed. Before me are my real treasures. 

   After taking a shower, they laze around. And in the quiet of this very hot summer afternoon, they lounge. And loll around in bed. Play XBox 360. Watch disney movies. Fight and argue a little. Make up. Goof around pretending to be the monster from the movie Unborn. Then they look again for more food, settling on some fruit. They explore, they discover, they widen their little world and grow. 

   Where did my summers like this go? The long, languid days that stretched on forever, as lovely as my dreams - when can I have them again? I am a wife now, a mommy, with a household to run and many lives to organize. There is a structure to my hours, a plan to my days. I guess from time to time it is but natural to miss the loose knots of youth - those cushy, carefree loops that allowed me to skip from moment to moment with nary a care in the world. I still remember clearly the many joys that came with it. I remember the feeling so clearly that can almost touch it. But I've had that time of my life and I enjoyed it fully while it lasted. I wish all of that now plus more on my children and children their age. This is the golden time of sun and fun. Pretty soon they will all grow up and find out for themselves how life will not be always be so simple. It will still be beautiful, definitely, just not as uncomplicated. So I want to tell them, in all their innocence and youth, to soak it all up, every bit of it, so much so that there will be enough to get by when life's little bumpy rides arrive. Happy childhood memories have a way of molding adults into a resilient, positive bunch.

   They are now playing in my room. I look at them and listen in on their little musings; their conversation making for an interesting backdrop while I am doing my chores. They are now laughing at the name Ilay (the name of an old man from the movie Unborn). For some reason it amuses them and me as well. They say it out loud and promptly collapse in heaps of laughter. The whole day, all the way before they go to dream land, Ilay is a happy word. I wonder what it will be tomorrow. 

   I listen to them and thank them in a big way in my thoughts. Dear God, I am grateful for gentle days like these. I too often forget what it is like when life is this simple, when every day is but a summer's day. Thank you for your hands on my shoulders, for this shot of inspiring joy, coming so unexpectedly, like a warm smile from a stranger, or the fragrance of flowers carried ever so softly by the breeze.

   For now,  this is my summer - my days are packed. I'm craving for mais con yielo, loving my family in heaps, and feeling so blessed. My summers may not be as simple anymore, but there will always be days like this to remind me how carefree it once was, and how one day when I am much, much, much older, it can still be. The cycle of life will make way for that.

Loving Hong Kong

Manila International Airport

Harbour City Plaza

This is how we sleep during our stay in Hong Kong

Ocean Park Hong Kong

a photo with Swift

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Having snacks outside the Bakery

Black Sesame and Walnut Soup

   

    I was in Hong Kong recently with my husband and my three boys. My sister-in-law, Princess Ching, joined the trip with us too. It was her first time to go to Hong Kong. The PAL flight to Hong Kong was relatively full. Hong Kong is about one and a half hours away from the Philippines.

   

   Hong Kong hasn't changed much. It has always been one of my favorite places. I have been going there since I was eight years old. I remember my dad telling me that he will bring me to Hong Kong if I will get first honor from first to fourth quarter during the time when I was on my third grade. And fortunately, I did! I was so happy that time because it is going to be my first time to travel outside our country. And since then I've been going there at least three times a year because we have a family business there. It became a second home to me.

   Well, we normally stay in Park Lane Hong Kong which is situated right in the heart of vibrant Causeway Bay. This time around we found ourselves in Kowloon at the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The hotel is built on the Ocean Terminal, a pier which is frequently visited by Cruise Ships. The whole complex is part of a huge shopping center with lots of branded store names and restaurants which we find very convenient for us especially that my husband and I brought our three boys with us. We don't have to go outside the hotel to shop or look for food outlets.

    We opted to have lunch first at City Super food court which is located inside Harbour City Plaza. I love to eat there because it showcase an international fusion of freshly prepared, restaurant-quality meals - at fast food prices! You can take a break from shopping, relax and enjoy a refreshing drink with something delicious to eat. My kids ordered pastas at Te. Te is not a fast food, not a standard restaurant. Their pastas and herbal teas are so good. I ordered my food at Takomaru, the expert of making Japanese octopus ball in town. My meal will not be complete without my favorite dessert which is the  hot black sesame soup and walnut soup. You can order it at Honeymoon Dessert. They provide ranges of choice to serve the dessert-lovers in the city. It is so good that for us a visit to Hong Kong will never be complete unless we have at least a couple of meals there. An even nicer thing about it is that we always see familiar faces because the servers and waitresses from five years ago are still the same ones up to now.

      

    We got there on a Saturday and left on a Tuesday.  We went to Ocean Park on the second day and Disneyland on the third day. Ocean Park is still the same but Hong Kong Disneyland has changed a lot. They added new attractions, entertainment and spectaculars for the whole family to enjoy. Tomorrowland was expanded to incorporate three dynamic new attractions - the exciting Autopia experience, the fun Stitch Encounter (my sister-in-law got to participate in the encounter with Stitch and it was so funny), and the UFO Zone adventure. We rode the indoor roller coaster in Space Mountain and I swear that it's going to be my first and last time to ride on it. It made me dizzy and I was scared that my three boys won't be able to handle the warp speed of the roller coaster. We also went to Tarzan's Treehouse which was beautifully decorated with trees and all those things that appeared in the cartoon. We took the jungle river cruise along a river and there was like fire and gushes of smoke along the way. It was really fun.

    I have no doubt that Hong Kong is close to my heart because it consistently only takes a couple of hours after arriving there for me to already wish I would have an upcoming trip back. Can you imagine already planning to go back when you haven't even left yet?

    I will always love Hong Kong so alive. I love its skyline, food, shopping and the bargains. I love the way the people dress up and am ceaselessly amazed at how working women can run through traffic stops in their spiky heels. I love taking the ferry because there is an Old-World charm to it that you cannot shake off and even miles and miles of walking is pleasant when capped off with a refreshing bottle of sugar can juice available at practically every sidewalk. Well, I'm thinking of going back there again but this time it is going to be with my baby boy!

    

   

How to keep the music playing?

   All too often, we see women who, in the hustle and bustle of striving to be good homemakers, forget themselves and their personal needs. Specifically, they forget to pamper themselves and in the process end up looking unkempt, plain, and sometimes even disheveled. I'm not saying this is a bad thing but when something can be done, why settle for looking ordinary. Looking good does not have to be expensive, what with the multitude of products available on the market to fit every need, every budget. Before being a mother, remember that you are a wife first. Your husband was and should still be attracted to you.

  

   Try remembering the first date with your spouse (then boyfriend) when, hours before he was scheduled to arrive, you preened precariously before the mirror making sure that you looked just right. Go back to the time when just thinking of him made you smile, when you couldn't wait to see him and when simply being together was enough.

  

   I have heard of stories that the most common complaint of wives is that their men don't bother to take them out on dates anymore. To this the men almost always have the same answer: "Our wives don't bother to fix themselves up anymore, secure as they already are that we married them." Marriage should not be a license for us to just sit back, relax and to let nature take its course. One has to constantly work at keeping herself good - in all aspects.

   

  Of course, there will be times that he will catch you at your unglamorous looks. To think otherwise would be unrealistic. Nonetheless, this should not be the norm. Continue to make an effort to keep yourself  desirable and attractive. In short, don't be a losyang. Stay fit ( by this I don't mean you have to look like a model) and healthy. Take care of your skin. But more than that, please smell good. You owe it to your husband, but more than that you owe it to yourself. 

   

  Remember to make coming home a pleasant experience for your husband, so much so that he will not dread seeing you at a day's end. Okay, maybe dread is too harsh a word but one should have the right attitude in handling time towards spent together after a long day. It should be relaxing, not stressful. I know it's such a cliche to say that woman shouldn't nag but really, we should not. Talk to your husband but don't whine or complain all the time. 

 

  Romance shouldn't end where marriage begins. The jaded would probably scoff at my optimism. "Wait till you are 25 years married!" they might say. When we see an old couple holding hands our mindset should not be one of surprise. We should not marvel at how and why they stayed that way, rather we should acknowledge that it is but natural for them to be the way they still are-affectionate toward each other, not marred by time or age.

  

  Your husband should be the highlight of your day. In some way, however good my day already is I feel better when my husband is home and we have the whole night ahead of us to wrap up the events of the day. We don't sleep angry at each other and never has a day passed when we don't say "I love you" and mean it. We are in our tenth year of marriage and some may say it's premature for me to talk about how to keep the music playing. Idealistic, I maybe. But I have high hopes and I'm going to take it step by step, one day at a time. More importantly, I am going to face the tune and enjoy the dance.

   Marriage is not a bed of roses-I've seen enough break-ups to last three lifetimes but by and large I believe that if there was reason to get together, there must be enough reason, too, for a couple to stay together. All in God's plan all in God's time. True love should bring out the best in you. And while physical beauty should in no way subsist as the be-all and end-all of a happy marriage you owe it to yourself and your spouse to make the best out of whatever attributes God has blessed you with. For beneath the individual layered with stress, responsibilities, mommy-duties, busy schedules and tight workloads lies the woman that your man fell in love with.

  

   Surface and shine!