Mother's Day Celebration 2012

It's one of those Mother's Day celebration when my dad had to fly to some country for business. Aside for a get together at my parents' house, my dad sent me a message to prepare a small surprise for my mom on his behalf. The whole week, I was coordinating with my sisters on how to go about this surprise. So I told my siblings that whatever they have in mind, 2 important things should be present.

1. A mother's day cake.

 2. Roses for our Mom.

My husband and I took care of the flowers and my siblings bought the cake and my brother Ver added Chocolate Mousse from Becky's Kitchen.

I celebrated Mother's day with my mom but I didn't take the spot light away from her. As always mentioned in my yearly Mother's Day posts, Mother's Day will always be about the woman who brought me to this world. MOMMY! The kind-hearted Being who taught me the true essence and the simplest form of WOMANHOOD. My #1 mentor, adviser, inspiration and strength as I go through the journey of MOTHERHOOD myself.

My siblings and I had a separate celebration for our Mom. It sure is extra special, because we made her cry... We Love you Mommy!

As for me, I thought it was my birthday XD Thank you Adolf Cruz for a one of a kind celebration. This year's celebration was just extraordinary because I got a piece of my favorite food, not only once but throughout the day.

We started with Mom's Day breakfast in Banapple Connecticut Greenhills, Lunch with my favorite plate from Pinoy Toppings and ended our day with dinner at CityBuffet Robinsons Galleria.

But the highlight of Mother's Day 2012 was the new addition of the family my second son Mikee. This time, I celebrated with my "3" boys. The whole meaning of Mother's Day is to have my kids around.

Thanks to those who posted on my Facebook wall, for the warm text messages. I wasn't able to send everyone who greeted me a thank you message, let this entry cover for it. Hugs!

Sunday Spent At The Ayala Triangle Gardens

I was out with my family last Sunday. We met up with our relatives at the Ayala Triangle. The kids had fun running around, while the adults savored some moments of catching up. We chose Ayala Triangle over the weekend because there, you will find peaceful mornings and afternoons compared to its usual busy evenings. It is also the perfect place to take our pets for a walk.

Just like what Kat told me, Ayala Triangle is the "Central Park" version of Makati. It's like an oasis in the middle of the city.

It was pretty humid when we went out last Sunday. Boy, this sudden change of weather is making it even worse. Good thing that there's a lot of restaurants to choose from. To cool down, we decided to chill with some gelato from Caramia Gelateria.

As always, I like something minty, rich, thick and chocolatey. Mango Mint and Cioccolato: perfect combination.

My Gelato Moment

We spent the rest of our cool afternoon strolling around and taking pictures with our phones. For Mothers Day, I want to treat my family including our Beagle Emo for an early morning walk at the Ayala Triangle then breakfast. But this time, I'll make sure to bring a camera.

Ayala Triangle Gardens Guidelines

The Infinite Avengers

I am not a comic book person. But I get my knowledge about these things such as the Marvel Comics both from my husband and brother. I read a few strips of The Avengers when I was a kid. I got familiarized with The Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America with those "few strips".

My husband and I watched The Avengers on 3D at the Promenade in Greenhills. Like everyone else, we waited with great anticipation for it to finally hit the big screen. When the first Iron Man came out, my husband told me that Mavel just might do The Avengers. Well, thinking that The Hulk was released too, and with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) making some special appearances, they just might... and eventually, more superheroes were introduced through the years, including Captain America and Thor.

My husband and I were not the only ones who got into this whole Marvel phenomenon. Our eldest son Franky as well. We bought some videos of The Avengers for him to watch and enjoy. The so-called videos are cartoons of the original Avengers superheroes, which includes The Ant Man, Wasp and HawkEye.

The movie was very entertaining, fun, yet filled with action scenes. They did a great job with The Avengers. We watched it on a weekend and with the whole week of waiting, I've read several reviews and I can't believe that there were still unsatisfied movie goers. Most negative feedback I've read circulated on not giving justice to Black Widow's character and something about HawkEye and there's one who even said that it was an Iron Man movie. In other words, there weren't any balance among the characters. That's them and this is Us- Marvel fans. For me, it was a well-balanced flick. If I'm to play as Nick Fury, I would probably say: "everyone did their job and each met their purpose". I saw the realistic side of being a superhero--- if we have superheroes.

By the way, hats off to Mr. Mark Ruffalo, best portrayal of The Hulk.

-photo source-

To make this entry shorter. One of the things that got my attention was the teaser trailer at the end of the movie. In relation, my husband treated me to a good reading for my iPad. It's an awesome comic book, great while I waited for the time to see The Avengers movie. My husband told me that this particular Marvel Comic book might come in handy for the next Avengers.

And so it is...

Does this smile reminds you of someone or something? Think: The Avengers Teaser. That's right folks, it's THANOS! I say, there just "might" be something bigger, greater and powerful behind the next Avengers. 

Get The Infinity Gauntlet for iPad
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Beachin' Around Subic

Our trip to Subic late last month was partly a family affair and a gathering with our friends. Last year, we went to Baler to surf. Though we planned to go back to Baler this year, due to some circumstances such as having an infant around and a friend who's going to be a first time mom (yehey!) we had to cancel and set for another one. Summer of 2012, we decided to go to a much nearer destination, SUBIC!. Our trip went around the beaches of Subic. After our ZOOBIC Safari, we went to All Hands Beach Resort and there, we spent the rest of our afternoon and evening.

Based on the website, All Hands Beach Resort was famous to the U.S. Navy. The name of the resort was derived from the old saying" all hands on deck". All Hands Beach is great for swimming for all ages due to the shallow and gradually sloping depth of the shoreline. -source-

The sand is fine and white. For a summer weekend, it wasn't as full, so we pretty much enjoyed the whole beach. They also offer night swimming. All Hands Beach Resorts has an awesome line of amenities and water activities for the whole family. They also have a lifeguard to watch over their guests.

Entrance fee: 

Day Swimming: Php500 

Night Swimming: Php600

The following day, we went to a nearby beach resort (which I forgot the name). The beach is more of a public beach. The usual beach resort that offers an affordable entrance fee, it opens at 8am then closes at 5pm.

It was a perfect destination for a quick dip in the ocean. Before leaving Subic, we all decided to go for another round. The view was fantastic, it was clean, with fine white sand and clear waters. If you're around the area and you want to freshen up, this beach resort is located along the way going to All Hands Beach Resort. It's near the Subic Bay International Airport.

 Entrance fee: Php200

We had a blast! For me and my family, it was amazing. My son learned how to swim on his own, he was able to see real starfishes and baby crabs in the shallow waters of Subic. Everything was perfect. The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot. Both our families and friends were around. As always, we're blessed with a fun-filled summer!

All Hands Beach Resort

Music to My Ears: Legendary Essentials

Even if downloading is just a click away, my husband and I still prefer buying original cds of our favorite artists. My latest finds are copies of the people who made a great impact in the music industry both abroad and here in the Philippines. I accidentally found The Essential Michael Jackson in line of the other music legends such as: Miles Davis and Whitney Houston.. Michael Jackson is indeed a true legend.

The 2*in*1 Series FRANCISM was an extraordinary find. We weren't expecting that it was for a very cheap price of Php180 and it wasn't on the sale rack. So I was like: "what? they're giving it out just like that?"  I'm talking about original compositions with the best sessionists to play the music and of course the cool  sound of Francis M's voice to relay the message of the songs. We don't get this kind of music nowadays. All I hear on television, over the radio and in music shops are cover songs.

The ESSENTIAL: MICHAEL JACKSON: a 2-disc cd composed of the very best of the Legendary Michael Jackson.

The 2*in*1 Series FRANCISM: a 2 disc cd---hits of our very own Legend Francis Magalona.

Both artists passed away in 2009. It was a sad event, but they left us with a unique blend of music filled with amazing songs and compositions.