Valentine wishes (misplaced?)

An officemate asked me yesterday about our Valentine's day. I said matter of factly, "Wala eh." Well, I had a free Valentine dinner ticket in a hotel in Alabang for two courtesy of our VP and hubby and I took advantage of it. Libre eh.

Unfortunately, the evening was not the way we expected it to be and yes hubby was not amuse (read: bad trip). Nevertheless, it's for free naman and was given out of kindness so the least that I could do was to be grateful despite. :)

Can I share to you the note that I gave to our VP as a sign of my appreciation?

Dear Mr. Hwang,

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" (Aesop)

Thank you for the kind gesture.

Happy Valentine's day to you.

Anyhow, Valentine's Day was just any other ordinary day for us. It was never big for me, ever since. Probably because I am not the senti type or the chocolates and flower kind of girl. I would prefer that we do something different on Valentine, instead of splurging on roses, tulips or arranging an expensive romantic dinner in a fancy restaurant or in a five star hotel.

if you would ask me, I'd rather go on a long drive, let's say go up north - Vigan, anyone? Or we could explore a place like Binondo/ China town and eat authentic Chinese foods. I would also love to visit antique shops (like in Makati and Sampaloc) - marveling on those old but immaculate plates with intricate and complicated designs like these (www.daphne.ph) 

(from http://www.curioussetting.com)

or admiring those aging but still elegant lamps,chairs,candelabras and chandeliers. 

(from http://realrica.com)

(http://www.curioussetting.com)

If only I had a big house where I could beautifully design with those stuff from the past. 

Do I hear my husband's silent protest on this? :) 

But hubby wont say no if I put paintings on display. paintings are our secret dream. so art museums are also on my Valentine wishlist. 
 maybe one day we could have...

a Malang?

or a Bencab?

or mother and daughter. 

(from www.oceansbridge.uk.co)

There is no greater love than the love of a mom for her children. And I am amazed. 

This is it. 
Are my wishes misplaced? 

Happy Valentine's Day

How else would you express this extra ordinary day 

except through sweets.

from sweet people in the office.

patay ang tonsils ko nito. overindulgence.

Have a great great day everyone!

Saturday night

So what did we have last Saturday night?

Noodles - i tried japchae. I was not sure if I really cooked the dish correctly, pero masarap pa rin naman sya sa akin. :)

dimsum
we had siomai from Henlin.

tikoy (red boxes, yet to be cooked)
we felt luckier coz tikoy was a giveaway from Puregold.
fruits
oranges,kiat kiat& banana. are grapes supposed to be there? I am not sure. the ate just placed them there.

I made sure we prepared only those that we can consume. no wasted foods please.

as usual, i don't have the family photo. but we were all in red. even the two ate. :)

Kids' Say

Yes, its Abi, who else

I was upstairs going to the bathroom when I overheard the exchange of words between Abi and his Papa. Let me tell you that this is just normal between the two. This is just one of those.

Abi: Papa, why do you tell us to be smart always? Mama just said "behave". It's not exam naman everyday, but good behavior is everyday.
Me: ( Good! It shows that my pangaral is seriously ingrained)
Papa: Yes, you should be smart everyday. (D never gives "sound" argument. Pang aasar lang talaga ang habol nya, kaya paulit ulit lang sya ng sinasabi).
Abi: But Papa, behavior is 25%.
Papa: What is 75% then?
Abi: There is no 75%!
Papa: If Behavior is 25%, what is 75%?
Abi: There is no 75% nga!
Me: (har har har)  

Aside from teaching values and proper behavior, we encourage our children to express their ideas freely, even to the extent of pointing out to us our mistakes and inconsistencies. There are times when Abi goes overboard, he yells during arguments just to get his message across and this alarms me no end. but i get comforted by the thought that children live by example. It could be his personality, but one day I know he would learn to tame his temper. we only have to teach him little by little.

"Train a child in the way he should go, 

and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Thank you Tina

Parque Team was here. and Tina gave me this.

Oh Tina, how did you know I need to organize my accessories? Who told you that I am the most disorganized person in the universe?

Isn't it so chic?

Kids' Say

Who else, but Abi.

Abi aka Plato:


Abi: Mama, if a person is not baptized but he knows what is good, will he go to heaven?
Me: (Aw! Philosophy of Religion hello!) (What are you up to Abi?)

Abi: If everyone has original sin, what about Mary?
Me: (ewan nga)

Abi replacing Rodrick in "Diary of the Wimpy Kid"



Me: Abi, 1st grading period you were No. 7, 2nd grading period you were No. 8, I think now you have slid to the bottom. Why?
Abi: It's because my classmates are getting better and better.
Me: Nyay! (kasalanan pa pala ng mga kaklase)

Abi crying for Justice




(www.flicker.com)

Abi: Mama, how do we get the prize?
Me: when you go up the stage this March to get the Eagle award
Abi: What? but that's not the rule!
Me: That's the rule. I told that to you.
Abi: No! Papa told me it's when I got 4 Gold Eagle
Me: No! You should go up the stage like Anjo.
Abi: (Crying and screaming) Why do you change the rule in the middle? Rules should be in the beginning!
Me: (ano raw???)

sea salt TSOKOLATE???

I use sea salt for body scrub. I love it, in fact. Since I started scrubbing my legs with sea salt hubby was telling me that i was probably using too much lotion :)
But sea salt chocolate? it's another story.
For the season of hearts, I am starting my February with a blog on Chocolate. YAY!

Dark Chocolate with Green Mango & Sea Salt

it doesn't look bad on the inside, though.

the taste? it's a bit salty, sour and the sweetness of black chocolate.
Thank you to my office mate who sent this to me. thanks for the thoughts. for a chocolate fanatic like me, ubos agad ito.
It's a product from the Philippines by Theo & Philo. (God and Study?)  I wonder what else they make? hmmmmnnnn.