ODE TO MOM

What would this world be without your vibrance?

This household without your tenderness?

This family sans your devotion?

Me in the absence of your affection?

You’ve got more than character

You’ve got verve, got candor

You don’t do ordinary, boring love

It’s either silent love or tough love

I’ve grown to be stubborn and spunky

So much so that at times I fight even Mommy

And for that, I’ll never stop apologizing

Selfless, you deserve no less than a child so revering

But I could also be laidback and funny

Able to carry myself around uncaringly

Others never let their kids go un-chaperoned

But you let me do my thing, look after my own

They would think you don't pay attention

Truth is I've become my best version

All because you never confined your child to rust

The greatest yield of our maternal bond is trust

What would this world be without your vibrance?

This household without your tenderness?

This family sans your devotion?

Me in the absence of your affection?

Happy birthday, Mommy! 

Family Christmas: 2016 Christmas Photo Dump No. 4

December 25, 2016 | Sunday

Here’s to the most eventful Christmas day I’ve had with #TheRimases to date!

I had fun enduring each other’s noise, taking photos for memory keeping’s sake, exchanging gifts with them for the first time, playing (and winning) bingo (which was total madness btw), devouring potluck dishes, and munching on some leftovers after every game.

It may not be that obvious, BUT I TRULY AND SINCERELY LOVE MY FAMILY! :)

Happy New Year again!

Photo sources: Charina Iraola and yours truly!

THE WKND SPECIAL Vol. 9

This is a late post but whatever. :)

September 01, 2016 | Phillip’s Birthday

Family time!

There’s no easier and faster way to gather the family than by the mention of *you know it* FOOD. It always works! Haha!

It was my cousin Phillip’s birthday + we also really wanted to visit his family’s new home.

The new home is huge! And pretty! And near ours so that’s great news! I’m so happy I got to visit! It has plenty of rooms and space, manicured lawns, a large balcony, high ceilings, nice furniture. Aaah! #GOALS Hahaha!

It was a pretty intimate night with mostly just us relatives there. Dinner was simple but complete with pasta, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, veggies, and desserts. The rest of the evening was mostly spent by the front yard. Cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and even dogs came and went sporadically. School activity, work, social life, and household chores could get in the way of people’s schedules, but we would always try to make do.

Happy birthday again, Phillip! He’s 26 now I think? :)

September 03, 2016 | Isaw Date/Spontaneous Road trip with College Friends

So this was supposed to only be just a simple and quick meet-up with friends. We were just really missing the isawan.

If you live in Tanauan or Sto. Tomas in Batangas or anywhere near this place, you’ll know which specific isawan I’m referring to! In my personal opinion, this isawan has the best street food out there. And the vinegar sauce, I can’t even explain how much I love this food spot’s suka.

This isawan played a great part in helping us survive college life. This place witnessed some crazy hilarity among friends, the coming and going of people in our lives and the stress eating caused by school deadlines. Hahaha, crazy!

After eating stick after stick after stick of chicken intestines and other innards, we had nowhere else to go, no plans. Since Aileen Mame was Lipa-bound to buy some lippies, we thought we should go with her for some road trip fun, so we did. We were, as usual, laughing the whole time, the laughter mainly brought to us by Mame, her driving skills and candid funniness. We were laughing out our nerves 70% of the time while she was driving because she is still new to this whole driving thing. It was even her first time to drive at the expressway which was nuts! Hahaha! It isn’t the safest road trip I’ve had but surely one of the most memorable ones, what with our lives on the line. At least it became an interesting story. LOL

September 16, 2016 | UPLB Fridate

Jason and I always go on our LB dates on Fridays because they serve as our simple workweek capper. Dates are always a good idea, and UPLB’s the nearest place that can get us going for a long time without boring ourselves out.

And finally, Big Belly’s again! Remember that last time in July that we were here? That time when it was *gasp* closed? Thank heavens it was only temporary.

We got there around past six after work, so we got to order and finish our plates of Cheesy Garlic Chickens in peace – no whiners, no panicky waiters, no long queues, very few occupied tables! I’d say it was a good time to recapitulate the whole workweek. :)

We then went strolling around the area, like we always do. Going in and out of shops to check out whatever, we were just basically killing time. We were enjoying ourselves too much that we didn’t notice the time. It was already 9, so we started looking for this particular food trike. I chanced upon this food trike online when my cousin posted a photo of it. It got me feeling intrigued, and it so happened to be in UPLB so win-win for us!

Interestingly, this food trike only comes over every 9 or so each night. The idea is the driver/server sets different menus every night, so it’s always something else every time. What manong offers is cheap, ranging from P10-P40, and pretty unique for street food fare. On that particular Friday, there were macarogna (obviously a play between the classic baked mac and lasagna), yema cake NHN (NHN stands for “na hindi nakakataba”) and pizza! They are good enough for what you pay for.

This food trike is perfect for students who are on the go and down to their last straw of allowance for the week.

September 24, 2016 | Antoniette’s Birthday

It was Antoniette’s or, as we so fondly call her, Tegs’s 24^th birthday! How come she’s only 24? Boo, haha!

This has become a yearly thing for my college best buddies and me. How would this not become a yearly thing when the celebrant/celebrator knows how to cook so well and does not just prepare enough but floods the table with too much food goodness? Feel us?

Since it was also Zhello’s birthday last September 14, she, along with Antoniette, received quirky gifts from us too. When I say quirky, I mean something I’m not comfortable showing here and something they wouldn’t wanna use in public! Haha! Btw, Roc’s also a September baby, but he didn’t make it. He still contributed to the party, though. :)

We were all just either in Antoniette’s room lying around and making fun of each other or at the big table munching on food the moment we already felt hungry from too much laughing. Yup, laughing can be tiring. How can you not laugh too much while watching friends struggle to do sit-ups?! Imagine their crumpled facial expressions every rep? Haha! Aaaan yuuup, we were living the boss life for a day.

As for Roc, Zhello and Antoniette, I wish happiness and light and love for them!

Belated happy birthday, friends! xx

Photo sources: Antoniette Pulutan, Aileen Malbataan, Justine Dador, yours truly!

THE WKND SPECIAL Vol. 6

Or should I say HOLY WEEK? Or HOLY WKND? HAHAHA! I’m so funny!

I am enjoying this series so much that I have decided to follow up just last week’s post with another one. Also, it had been a pretty eventful holiday weekend so why not, right?!

March 23, 2016 | Holy Wednesday

As for me, the holiday weekend officially began on the eve of Holy Wednesday. I believe, by this day, Catholics such as yours truly should already be taking a break from consuming meat products, but I was sadly unable to oblige because Cheesy Garlic Chicken Fillet Night happened.

This is something that my boyfriend and I had long wanted to do but kept on putting off until Wednesday. So even when I knew it wasn’t quite right, I gave it a go since everything we needed was already set and just awaiting our service.

The result? Perfection!!! According to my standards at least. Hahaha! Kidding aside though, our Home-cooked Cheesy Garlic Chicken Fillet was really good. I mean the sauce wasn’t that sweet. It was a balance of sweet with a little kick of spiciness. It was paired with coleslaw without the mayo as a side dish which made my taste buds even happier. Good thing it was a pretty successful project since it was the first viand we ever made. Now we are more excited to cook more. Hihi!

March 25, 2016 | Good Friday

As I always do every year, my Good Friday was spent for some sacrificial and devotional time. I once again joined in our barangay’s Way of the Cross in which we would go around the roads, farms and hills in our area while we pray the 14 Stations of the Cross.

 

There had been a few changes this year. Way of the Cross started at 5:00AM, earlier than the usual 7:00AM. I liked this schedule better because the sun wasn’t that bright yet during the whole journey. And because it started earlier, it also ended earlier as expected at around 8:30AM. There were also some changes in the trail leading to the end of the walk. And since Alyanna, my niece, and I woke up late and just had to catch up with the group, we had a hard time following because we didn’t know which route the group took. Good thing we were able to catch and keep up with the help of the other tardy joiners. The usual comboni pitstop on top of the hill wasn’t available that day too, so the group had to just rest somewhere by the road in the hill. It was tiring but ultimately fulfilling!

This Way of the Cross is one of my most precious traditions yet. It sends a freeing, cleansing, optimistic feeling in me. It’s something spiritual. I am not the most religious person out there, but taking part in an activity like this is something I am and always will be very proud of. And because of this, I vow to walk and pray until I’m old and grey, unable to walk long and steep hills because of arthritis. But until then, I’ll just do what it is that I need to do – walk with him.

 

March 27, 2016 | Easter Sunday

Rejoice for the Christ is risen! :)

I woke up this day after 11 hours of much needed sleep. And what was the first thing I was told? That we were going to have a family boodle fight! Whaaaat?! Much obliged!

This simple boodle feast was hosted by Ate Myra, Kuya Russell and their kids. They prepared adobong baboy, sinigang na baboy, salted eggs, mangoes with shrimp paste, bananas, and watermelons – so yummy and so Pinoy. It was the first time we had something like that, so I was really happy about it! Another family bonding!

I would not mind if we are going to make it a yearly thing. I actually hope that we do! I’ll even contribute some food too!

Then come early evening, I had Easter dinner with my high school girlfriends plus Jep and Archelle at Bugong Bistro in Halang.

It was basically catch-up and make-fun night with my girls over Thai food. We tried to update each other about what each other’s been up to lately. We then laughed and laughed about how we were so naïve and stupid as high schoolers. I know, I know. It’s the only thing we know to do when together, but this time we were able to un-box some really crazy HS memories that shouldn’t have been unearthed ever because they were just hella embarrassing. That we ever did or got involved in such activities was beyond us! Hahaha!

We squeezed in summer planning too since we are bound to go to the beach come May 2016. And even this part didn’t reach an agreement, hasn’t reached an agreement yet. What did you expect?! Haha!

Good thing we had the restaurant all to ourselves because we were too loud like always, and I could only picture out how others would react were there anyone else aside from us there at the moment. Imagine eight female voices battling it out on the table! Crazy!

We hung out some more at Starbucks before calling it a night. :)

***

And that’s it about me. Hope you all made the most of your time through happy and meaningful moments with Him, your family, friends, and loved ones just like I did over the Holy Week.

Pray and love!

THE WKND SPECIAL Vol. 5

Or should I say WKNDS? :)

Some things happened over the two consecutive weekends, so I’m going to indulge myself by oversharing.

To briefly sum things up, I spent some good quality time with my family, friends and boyfriend.

March 12, 2016 | Saturday

This was the day I paid a long overdue visit to my school, Lyceum of the Philippines University – Laguna, for some good time with a few of my friends. There was nothing like bonding with friends in the same place that got us all close together. It was a well-timed visit since the school was celebrating its 15^th Foundation Anniversary that week.

Though catching up with friends and school was my primary reason for going, I also went because of PNE (Parokya ni Edgar). Despite already watching PNE perform there before plus the other time I did when I was still in Grade 5 or 6, I still wanted to see the band again because why not??? The guys know how to put on an entertaining show for everyone through romantic/comedic lyrics matched with humorous banters. It was a no-brainer go-go. :)

Rekta, a local band led by our good friend Kuya Bogs, performed as a front act too, so that was a bonus.

The crowd sang and clapped along, and we did too. I was not able to keep count, but I think the band played not more than 10 songs. That was fine because at least I enjoyed all of them. The concert ended a bit earlier than expected, around 9:30PM, so we still had time to have late dinner before calling it a night. :)

We spent more time in front of the stage, so catching up wasn’t given much attention which is why I hope to see them again soon.

March 13, 2016 | Sunday

Whenever there are family gatherings, I make sure to make time no matter what. Even when I already have a prior appointment, I find a way to squeeze in a few minutes or hours to attend family events, especially really important ones, because they don’t come along that often anymore.

Last, last Sunday, my family on my mother’s side gathered to join in the celebration of Baby Gaile’s 1^st birthday! Her actual birthday was last March 14, but it was a Monday, so Kuya Gian and his wife had to adjust their daughter’s party in consideration of the invitees. It was a simple lunch catering for the adults and afternoon party for the kids. It had been a chance for the family to get together for even just a short while, so I was glad it happened. :)

Gaile brings so much joy to everyone in the family despite her being a bit shy and aloof. That’s most likely because she doesn’t see most of us that often, so that’s cool. Besides, she’s a baby, a cute one, so whatever she does or however she acts out is excusable. Haha! :) Personally, I am delighted every time I get to see and cuddle her. I want to carry her around even if that entails crying on her part because she doesn’t really know me well. Hahaha!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, BABY GAILE!

I love you! Kisses!

March 19, 2016 | Saturday

This Saturday was spent making up for my birthday treat for the boyfriend that had to be postponed several times because I decided this time I wanted to prioritize catching up with friends too because I felt like I had been neglecting them which was the last thing I wanted to do. Sorry! Haha!

Jeck’s birthday was last March 8, and we went out March 19. It was still March, so I’d say that wasn’t overly delayed and still a valid date. Haha!

I chose to just take him out on a date. It wasn’t fancy or anything unique; just a simple one was enough for him for as long as the thought of reciprocating his efforts was there. He would always be the one to take me out, so I decided it was about time he got the same treatment because guys deserve as much appreciation from girls too. :)

Faustina’s in UPLB was the perfect place because it was just this small, quiet and cozy restaurant that I was hoping it would be.

Food was magnificent. Everything we ordered was its bestsellers and for good reason. Silindro Ribs and Peach Mango Pie a la Mode were the absolute bomb and most probably the reason we’ll come back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!

You already know what I want and need you to know, so I’ll just leave things at that. You know the rest. Thank you! Kisses!

***

I missed writing one for this series. Something about it is so relaxing. It’s like The Happy List Series with the joy it brings in me except it’s purely all about life events here.

Bye for now! :) Time for a break! Time for Holy Week! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015!

There are no better people to celebrate Christmas with in this world other than one’s FAMILY – the only people who will stick with you through everything.

My December 25 didn’t start out well. I was losing interest, but the company of everyone in this photo and the rest of our family turned my bad day into a happy one for which I’m thankful as always!

It’s not always easy for everyone to overlook negative things. People are people. They have reasons, but it’s good to know that there’s at least one day every year that makes it a little less hard and more doable. Christmas is the day that becomes an encouragement for people to respect differences, forgive shortcomings, forget bad pasts, and rekindle lost relationships. More so, if we can do these with others, it should come easier with our family. It’s also worth mentioning that, if anything, it should all actually begin with the family.

Merry Christmas to and from this bunch of humorous, un-boring, ageless, candid yet loving and caring people in my life!

Happy birthday, Jesus! It’s your birthday, but You’re the one showering us with gifts and love! You’re awesome! :)

Arem and Kate’s Wedding: Bridesmaid Duties

Ladyhood has always been a challenge for me because I know it takes a lot before a girl can become a proper lady. Admittedly, I cannot yet call myself a lady, and, sadly, I may never be one. Hahaha. Good thing a pretty make-up and a decent red gown were able to cover up my true ragged self, and I was able to front my face as a fine, young lady for a day.

It was my first time to attend a wedding as a bridesmaid, and I enjoyed it so much. It wasn’t really the duties that come with being it that made it fun for me but the striking womanly feel it brought out in me. It was new for me, so the experience was unforgettable.

Also, the people/new family I was with were just as crazy and carefree as me. Young and old, they were all nothing short of awesome! They showed just how possible it is for people from different generations to have the same grasp and acceptance of modern-life jokes, customs and attitudes.

Anyway, here are some of the photos from Wednesday’s wedding!

This bouquet is a symbol of the other things that happened that wedding day. No, I didn't catch it, not really. Everything had been predetermined, and I was just a part of it, a victim. That's all I'm gonna say. Hahaha!

Congratulations, Kate and Arem! Your wedding was elegant and heartfelt. What a beautiful day for your wedding. Glad to have witnessed your true love. Thank you for having me! I already feel so welcome in the family. :)

It was also Basty’s Dedication day!

Sadly, I was unable to take pictures.  But here’s a dolled up photo of him. The titas did this to him. Hahaha. Cute!

I love you, Basty! Please stay fluffy!

The rest of the day was spent swimming in the pool with water in just the perfect temperature, neither too cold nor hot, just right. Also, billiards happened. Stoked!

P.S.

All photos were taken from my S5, and I have to say I am absolutely enjoying my phone more and more each day. It seems like the only thing I need to get by in this “ultra social” world.

xx