Happy Hearts Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Sana masaya ang puso ninyo ngayong araw! =)

Picture courtesy of Bitmoji

Ako, palagi namang happy ang puso ko. Yun nga lang, just like last year, LDR uli kami ng asawa ko this day. Di bale, bawi na lang sa April pagbalik namin sa Canada.

Anyway, pumunta kami nina TanTan at Ate Charry yesterday (February 13) sa SM Marilao to buy some biscuits at syempre very festive na aura ang sumalubong sa amin. Haha, love mode na talaga ang mga tao!

Ayan ready na ang mga flowers!

I honestly don't like receiving flowers. Maganda lang kasi sa unang araw tapos unti-unti ng magda-dry. Poproblemahin ko pa kung ano ang gagawin pagkatapos, Syempre manghihinayang ka namang itapon agad. Kaya I prefer balloons and bears and chocolates!

Haha, pero as if naman papadalhan ako ng asawa ko. Sasabihin lang nun na magshopping na lang ako kaloka. Pero nakakatuwa ding alalahanin yung kabataan ko na nakakatanggap ako ng mga ganyan haha.

Uyyy, heart-shaped ice cream cake! Buti na lang hindi ako mahilig sa ganyan.

There were so many people in the mall ha, considering that it's a Tuesday tapos "petsa de peligro" pa (sa February 15 pa ang sweldo). Pero mukhang pinaghahandaan talaga ng mga Pinoy ang Vday kaya may budget. I was surprised din na sobrang haba ng pila sa Hypermarket, baka magluluto na lang sa bahay yung iba para mamaya lol.

Plan naming mag-dinner sa bagong diner dito lang sa may kanto namin mamaya (parusa mag-mall ng VDay, I swear) so sana matuloy. But before that, pupunta pa kami sa hapon sa Malolos to help my aunt (who just got back from the US) fix her SSS pension. Sana makauwi kami ng maaga.

O siya, just enjoy this day ha! Love love love!

February 1, 2018

Lunch at Gerry's Grill

My BFF Raxie came over here in Marilao again last Saturday (January 20) to spend time with me and Nathan. But because I don't want to hassle Mamoosh (since we've had late lunch already), I asked Raxie to just meet us at SM Marilao first so we could just eat lunch there.

Raxie arrived first so she called me and asked where I want to eat. She mentioned Max's which I instantly negated lol. Umay na ako sa Max's sa Vancouver haha! I suddenly remembered that I haven't eaten at Gerry's Grill in SM Marilao yet since it opened around two years ago so I suggested it. Oks daw. We both love sisig and calamares kaya ayos.

We waited for a couple of minutes before we were lead to a booth table. The receptionist was nice. Overly nice na nga eh haha.

Raxie didn't want to order a lot, kasi baka di raw namin maubos. Both of us are watching our diet kaya kelangang magigil sa pagkain.

We just ordered calamari for appetizer.

And pork sisig and inihaw na liempo as main dishes. Plus one cup of rice lang since I'll be eating Nathan's leftover pa kasi Jollibee chickenjoy ang lunch nya (na tinake-out ni Ninang Raxie for him).

Raxie ordered green mango shake din pala kasi init na init siya.

Nakakamiss din kumain sa Gerry's. But I might not dine there again in the near future haha. Ang liit na ng servings nila. Or baka nasanay lang din ako sa malalaking servings sa Canada? Haha, bitin ang food. Buti na lang nga may leftover pa na chicken si Nathan. Hindi na kami nagdagdag ng order kasi nga it will take a while, baka wala na rin ang momentum namin pagdating ng food.

This was our bill. I made the mistake of thinking na walang service charge kasi I looked on the lower left side -- VAT sales, 12% VAT, at Total lang ang nakita ko. I didn't know na may VAT din pala ang service charge? I gave the Php50 bill plus the coins as tip.

Tataasan ako ng kilay sa Canada (at lalo na sa America) kapag nalaman nila yan. Unacceptable haha. Kasi at least 12% DAW dapat. I guess Pinoys are just kuripot in giving tips kasi nga mahirap ang buhay dito. Kumbaga, niraraos lang din ng karamihan sa atin ang pagkain sa labas so masyadong malaki ang PHp95 pesos para ibigay lang (on top of the service charge). And no, hindi dahil balikbayan ako eh dapat generous ako haha. Kasi nga jobless naman ako sa Canada noh, humihingi lang din ako sa asawa ko.

The kuripot side of me was really nanghinayang. Naisip ko sana we ate somewhere else na lang, baka mas nasatisfy pa kami. Namamahalan na rin akong kumain sa mga restos dito sa Pinas, fast food gal lang talaga ako. Feeling ko kasi ordinary lutong-bahay lang naman ang food ng Gerry's.

By the way, I saw this stamped notice at the back of my receipt. Hindi ko mareconcile sa utak ko kung bakit kailangang issurender ang receipt in exchange of a free item. Hindi ba pwedeng ipakita na na lang? What will they do with the returned receipts? Hindi ide-declare?

#LatePost: Nathan's First Halloween (2015)

Halloween is just around the corner and I am so excited. Then I realized that I haven't posted Nathan's first and second Halloween experiences pa pala. Sobrang dami kong kailangang ipost, kailangan lang ng time haha. So please bear with my #LatePosts every now and then.

Anyway, we were in the Philippines on October 31, 2015 and I wasn't happy. Mas masaya kasi syempre ang Trick-or-Treating sa Canada, mas authentic kumbaga. Hindi naman kasi uso ang celebration ng halloween noong kapanahunan ko sa Pinas eh, medyo recent lang sine-celebrate due to western influence. Kung nasa Canada kami, we would have had a lot of fun because I have so many friends there with kids. Sama-sama kaming rarampa at mangongolekta ng M&Ms at Snickers.

I regretted din not getting a nice Halloween costume in Canada before we went home (on July 2015).  Konti lang kasi ang choices sa SM. I didn't look anywhere else kasi SM girl lang talaga ako.

I remember getting Nathan a cute french fries costume which was on sale but he refused to wear it. Nang makita pa lang, nagwala na. Nasayang tuloy, buti na lang Php150 lang. My son wasn't the type to wear anything "bulky" or "weird" so I had to look for something that has a 'normal feel' for him. When I saw this pumpkin outfit, sabi ko pwede na ito. Maiisip niya na sando at pajama lang ang suot niya. Di ko na maalala kung magkano ito pero basta namamahalan ako, parang Php600-700 yata. Eh very simple lang naman ang cut at tela.

No shoes or slippers because he was naiinitan. Mainitin si Canadian boy!

Objectively, Nathan wasn't looking at his best that time. His hair was too long na but we couldn't cut it yet because we were waiting until he turns one (his birthday is November 13). Alam nyo naman, wag daw papagupitan ang bata kapag wala pang isang taon. Sinunod na lang namin kahit hindi naman talaga  kami naniniwala.

Also, three weeks before his first birthday, sinimulan na siyang atakehin ng lamok. Ayan ang dami-dami niyang insect bite marks sa face hay. Talk about timing talaga.

To be honest, hindi ito ang na-envision kong first halloween ng anak ko. I wanted a very fancy costume for him that will match his cute flawless face. Oh well, things do not always go as planned. Pabayaan na nga lang.

We live in the province so we had very little choice on where to celebrate Halloween. In fact, sa SM Marilao nga lang talaga. I know that there are places in Manila that held fancier celebrations (like in hotels, for a price of course) but TanTan was too young then so naisip ko keri na sa SM na lang (saka super trapik pa noh at wala rin kaming kasamang ibang bata). Basta mairaos lang namin ang Halloween.

We were at SM na by the time it opened. Sobrang daming tao. Talagang kinakarir na rin ng Pinoy ang pagti-trick-or-treat.

Some shops were giving out candies. Syempre pinagkakaguluhan. My son was so serious the whole time, nakapa-oblivious sa paligid haha. Mas ako pa at si Ate Lani (our kasambahay who helped me take care of TanTan) ang na-excite haha. First trick-or-treat din kasi namin lol.

There were so many kids who were in costumes, pero marami ring hindi (and I could see envy in their eyes). How I wish all Filipino kids could be whatever they want to be during Halloween. Ang saya kasi nun sa pakiramdam di ba.

 The ambiance at the mall was very festive. Naisip ko, ba't nga ba walang ganito noong bata ako?

Nathan wasn't walking yet so he was in the stroller the whole time.

The lines to the stores that hand out treats were very long. Pinakamadaming tao sa Jollibee, as expected. Hindi na kami pumasok kasi siksikan talaga. Hindi ko na tuloy nalaman kung ano ang meron sa loob haha.

If only Nathan could already recognize candies that time, bibilhan ko na lang siya para mapuno ang basket niya haha.

SM Marilao isn't big at hindi lahat ng stores ay nagbibigay ng candies kaya ilang piraso lang talaga ang makukuha ng kids. Sobrang dami pang bata kaya talagang malaki ang demand sa maliit na supply kaloka.

I seriously had this thought pa nga -- sana bumili ako ng maraming candies tapos umupo ako sa may foodcourt at nagpapila ng mga bata. Pwede kaya yun?

After going to just a few stores, hindi na kami nakigulo. Nag-window shop na lang kami. 

Buti kasama namin si Ate Lani or else hindi ko kakayaning mag-isa.

We got hungry after 1 1/2 hours so we searched for a place to eat. Kaso sa sobrang dami ng tao, wala na halos kaming makainan. We ended up at Wendy's na lang.

Lalong dumami ang tao later that noon. I felt bad for kids who came in late, lalong wala na silang naabutan. If your are going to 'public places' like SM for trick-or-treating, dapat nandun ka na agad pagbukas pa lang.

change-outfit na :)

I know wala pang appreciation ang anak ko sa Halloween that time pero kaya nga may pictures naman. Someday, he will go through all these photographs and and learn that once in his life, he became a little pumpkin. :)

And if you are curious, here's what Nathan took home from his trick-or-treat adventure. Three candies, toink! Awang-awa tuloy ang daddy niya haha. Even his Ninang My felt bad for him that she promised to fill his bag/basket the next time they see each other haha.