Mel and the New Normal

I wasn't even thinking about writing about our experiences helping out in Villamor, for the following reasons: 1) I only stayed very short periods compared to a looottt of other people, and 2) I wasn't really following protocols correctly, I think! Plus, a lot of people have written about the roles, instructions, directions that make helping out a lot less intimidating. But in case you're reading this before heading out to any of the sites, here are some of my notes: DWSD - Pasay (for repacking of relief goods) This place was easier to find than I thought! It's very near where Nayong Filipino used to be, simple as that. Since I went there the 2nd day that they asked civilians to volunteer, it was very easy for us to park (almost right in front of the gate!) I don't know if protocol has changed since then, but when we signed up, we had orientation immediately. After that we proceeded straight to the gym, and were assigned to different tables. It was pretty much ...

Choco-late de Batirol has been long on my must-try list of places to try when I returned to Baguio. I didn't know what to expect, I just knew I had to try it! That's Josh's snake from his horse ride. It's not part of the menu, haha. This is the Cacao fruit. I really don't know what was running through our minds when we impulsively purchased this. It's like, I expected the whole fruit to taste like chocolate or cacao! (Of course it didn't!) They advised on to suck on the seeds. Erm. Honestly it was not good at all. The ladies in the next table were peering at the fruit curiously, so we gave them some. They though we were being generous, but honestly we couldn't eat any more. Hahahaha! This is the famous chocolate de batirol (hot chocolate) of the place. It was good. However, I was expecting it to taste like Mary Grace's hot chocolate -- thick and goey. It wasn't, it was milky but still chocolatey. It was a good drink for the cool weath...

Hill Station is a very popular area in Baguio now. Just a stone's throne away from SM Baguio, I never noticed it until I read about it in Anton's blog Ourawesomeplanet.com. As we passed by it going around Session, I promised we'd come back and check it out. The library in the adjacent Mt. Cloud Bookshop has starred several times on the IG feed of my friends. Entrance Signages Look upon entering. It was quite dark, as it was also dark outside.  With my cousin Trish, and her BF Martin At this point (a month later) for the life of me, I cannot recall the names of these dishes. Peruvian chicken? It was good, though nothing blockbuster for me.  Personally, this was the dish that I enjoyed. It was their house salad, and it included native Baguio ingredients (what else?) like strawberries, candied walnuts. It was so fresh, like it was picked off their backyars. (It probably was!) Another memorable dish, their ice cream incorporating Baguio flavors ...

To an amazing dad, thank you for taking on the on the challenge of being a wonderful provider and father, even if we were just kids ourselves when we became parents. I'm sure our kids could not ask for a cooler techie dad/punching/pinching bag/Mr. Clean lookalike/driver. Happy Father's Day!!

While I was pregnant, I made a list of things that I missed doing. I missed doing them because I was stuck in bed, and physically limited. This included eating at my favorite restaurants (the smells made me sick), doing things with my kids outdoors (well, this was rare to begin with, we were more of aircon people), and jogging (insert FEELING here bwahahahah). I think I just missed the freedom of movement. This gave rise to another list eventually, the things I WOULD do and I have NEVER DONE BEFORE if I made it thru without physical problems. There's a separate mental list of things Kat and I would do if she made it thru, but I never had the heart to write it down. Anyways, the list of things I WOULD do included: 1. Surfing at Baler. (I know, I'm so FEELING talaga. Whales don't surf! But I tried it once and I liked it. By once, I mean, a surfboard hit me on the head once in Punta Fuego. It was love at first hit.) 2. Learn how to DJ. (This is a long story in itself.) 3....

I don't remember ever picking strawberries in Baguio. Perhaps when I was a kid. Or maybe I just forgot. Anyways, we promised the kids that we would take them strawberry picking. So even if it was raining a bit, and it was traffic getting there, we still persevered. Since it was our first time to travel to the fields by ourselves, we had to use Google Maps on my S4. We were able to find the correct spot, though we mistakenly took the longer, off-road route (my bad.)

The unofficial and partial elections resultsof May 2013 makes me want to migrate. Info c/o Yahoo Philippines (don't shoot the messenger): In my best Ryan Seacrest voice ---- Philippines, your Top 23! 1. Grace Poe 2 Loren Legarda 3. Bam Aquino 4. Nancy Binay 5. Francis "Chiz" Escudero 6. Alan Cayetano 7. Sonny Angara 8. Cynthia Villar 9. Koko Pimentel 10. Antonio Trillanes 11. Jun Magsaysay 12. Migz Zubiri 13. Risa Hontiveros 14. JV Ejercito Estrada 15. Richard Gordon 16. Jack Enrile 17. Gringo Honasan 18. Jamby Madrigal 19. Mitos Magsaysay 20. Edward Hagedorn 21. Edward Villanueva 22. Tingting Cojuangco 23. Teddy Casino Now, I don't want to point out particular names for fear of being thrown rocks at, but, SERIOUSLY PHILIPPINES, SERIOUSLY?? Even the partial results of our local elections (Muntinlupa) makes me want to... sigh. Though when you look at the list, oo naman, if not them, who right? I mean, who else would be in the list that's more deserving? Ma...

Our family loves Hong Kong! It's that one place we can go to very easily, and that we feel safe and comfortable in. I don't think we can ever get sick of it. Like what I said a few entries back, this was our first time in HK without the kids. We learned so many things and saw so many new places! Every time we're in HK, our mindset is making our kids happy, so we never bothered checking out places like Sasa, etc. We would just make several runs to Cotton On and H&M, but that was it! The rest of the time was dedicated to Disneyland, Ocean Terminal, museums, etc. (On a side note, our kids super love Muji, hehe.) We missed the kids so much that as soon as we landed, we just kept looking for things to bring home to them! I can't explain it, but our kids are fantastic travelers. I kid you not. They are awesome travel companions. Perhaps it's because of their age? They started travelling at 5, so they were old enough to walk and eat by themselves. They never threw t...

I mentioned in a previous post that I would use my Holy Week Thursday to rest and blog, but sadly, I woke up on Wednesday with colds. We spent Tuesday in the heat, distributing and selling food at Montemaria at Tagaytay, and it got to us on Wednesday. I shoved it off because I still had a pile of paperwork to take care for for our events on Thursday, Saturday and Easter Sunday. But come Thursday, I SLEPT THE WHOLE DAY! =P Which I guess is for the best, because on Friday I had enough energy to... go back to work. Oh well. At least we were able to watch some DVDs! J watched the Breakfast Club for the very first time. In the end, he was like, "I don't get it". Hahahahha!

You find me here alone I hear a voice that's so unknown. It strikes courage on my backbones Strengthen my heart A life set apart I see that's what you are. A fire when I'm weak A strength that carries me The cover thru the storm That's what you are You come, you come with open arms You say "I love you for who you are" When I was haunted and alone With this baggage on my back Dragging me down You set me free You set me free You set me free How quickly will I run away And let it all go to my head I can't give in to my self and harm people who get in my way Why can't we just listen, break down our pride Get away You come, you come with open arms You say I love you for who you are When I was haunted and alone With this baggage on my back Dragging me down You set me free You set me free You set me free You set me You set me free You set me You set me free Free When I was haunted and alone With this baggage on my...

My favorite girl from the current season of American Idol. I'm excited to see more of her performances! Here she is singing an original song she wrote, "You Set Me Free." You can see the judges shaking their heads in disbelief. Randy Jackson keeps going "wow," and Keith looks like he's about to cry. When she sings the last few notes, you can see she has this smile, like she can't believe that performance came out of her. The whole performance was haunting perfection. She got a standing ovation after. Please note -- this girl is PARTIALLY DEAF.  Go Angela! You come, you come with open arms You said "I love you for who you are" When I was haunted and alone With this baggage on my back Dragging me down You set me free. P.S. Apparently, this song was meant to be a Christian song. DUH. It's pretty obvious, I don't know how we didn't pick up on that earlier =P Perhaps it's the Valentine blues. She's the daughte...

I just wanted to blog very quickly about our visit to Wildflour. I'm not starving right now anyways (I cheated today, my kids make it so hard to stay on this diet!) so might as well blog about it. Wildflour is one of the top restaurants in Manila now. Well, this is based on newspaper articles and several photo uploads of foodie friends. Their food always looks delicious on instagram! Hahaha! So on one of my meeting days in Fort, we decided to check it out. We've been very good in our spending anyways, so we thought we would treat ourselves. It was EXCELLENT! Damn.