Celebrations
I love you mommy!
Last August, we had Seasons buffet lunch at the Manila Pavilion to celebrate my mom’s 66th birthday for half the price. This is one thing I love about group buying sites. I should say I am one of their frequent buyers of discount vouchers. 
At only P650 per person, which is inclusive of unlimited fruit juices or iced tea and taxes, this is truly a good deal. I will be sharing it in another post as soon as I have the time. 
My mom is not getting any younger, as well as my dad who celebrated his 75th birthday this year. I wish and pray that they live longer so that we can still travel together and enjoy life with us. My mom has gone through so much in her life. We want her to enjoy life as much as she could because she has worked very hard alone to send us – her four children – to school when my dad lost his job when we were still young. He couldn’t find a new job to help my mom to send us to school so my mom worked all by herself and find no time for her daughters. That’s one reason why we had a “not so good” mother-daughter relationship. We were never close to her because of her very hectic work schedule. She didn’t know us well. She never knew if we have our crushes or even boyfriends during our teenage years. We weren’t able to share our secrets and “kilig” moments during those years with her. It is the phase in our lives that we were not able to enjoy and share with her. How I wish I could turn back time for us to share those special teenage memories with her.
But that was the past. Now that all of her daughters have their own families except for my youngest sister who’s still single, things have changed. We know that it is payback time. We have now realized the reasons behind her absence during those times. We are now trying to make up for all those times while there is still time. Though we live in different places – because they live in our house in Cavite and i am in Bulacan with my own family and my two sisters are based abroad – we are trying our best to visit them regularly. When the time comes that we need to change and purchase adult diapers at disposablemedicalexpress.com for them, I would willingly do it. We like them to enjoy life as much as they could. I want her to live a worry-free life because she deserves it.
To my mom, I just want you to know how much your daughters love you. We want you to know that we value your sufferings for us. Your absence helped us to become responsible, strong, and independent individuals. Your absence helped us to strive hard. We want to thank you for what we have become. We owe all of these to you. We want you to know that you’re the best mom for us. No one can ever replace you. We love you so much mom!
Happy Father’s Day Dad!
My siblings and I grew up with a commanding, protective, and strict father. We were never close to him. I feel so envious every time I see people having a close relationship with their dad; to those who can share their secrets with their dad; and to those who can easily talk and discuss everything with their dad. We never experienced those during our childhood and growing up years. I don’t remember myself saying “I love you dad!”, “Goodnight dad!” There was this emptiness I felt inside that longs for a caring father that we wanted him to be. We had our differences and conflicts.
As I grow old, or I must say, as I mature, I have realized that I was wrong. He was a loving and caring father to his 4 daughters. It’s just that he is not that type of person who shows off his affection. He was actually one of the most understanding people I knew. He was the one who understood me during the time we had some issues before I got married.
And now that I have my own family, I now understand them. I now understand why parents are so protective of their children. Now, I am – and I know my dad is – trying to make up for those times. I am doing my very best to make my dad happy. I am now trying to accept his imperfections. We can now easily exchange “I love yous!”
To my dearest Dad, Happy Father’s Day!
I may not be your best daughter and even we had some conflicts before, I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I will try my very best to make you happy for the rest of your life. We know that he is not getting any younger because he is 75-years old. So instead of giving my dad this Famous cigar, we just gave him cash. 
Hyatt Hotel’s Market Café – A pre-anniversary celebration
We were able to avail another Hotel Buffet promo. This time it’s in Hyratt’s Market Café. We were able to avail 3 vouchers for the buffet with unlimited drinks for P995 each (original value is P1650), inclusive of 12% VAT and 10% service charge. Isn’t that great? We availed the promo for me, husband, and my mother-in-law a few days before our wedding anniversary. It was my MIL’s first time to experience hotel buffet and was so overwhelmed with the food selection. Market Café offers Chinese, Japanese, Western, Indian, Korean and Filipino dishes, and desserts. We also tried some of the slot machines at the Casino located just outside the restaurant.
Here’s a view of their buffet:
Chinese Cuisine Station (dimsums and noodles)
Their dimsums are just okay.
Fresh Seafood Station
(no Lobsters and Crabs na katulad sa Sofitel)
Bread and Pizza Station
(Andre enjoyed their garlic bread)
Pasta Station
(they have Alfredo Sauce, Tomato Sauce, and Pesto Sauce – syempre Pasta in Pesto Sauce is our choice )
Japanese Food Station
(sushis, sashimis, and oysters??? – I wonder why the oysters are included here )
Their sushis are just so so and their tempura section is always empty. They do not refill them regularly.
Roast Prime Ribs
The best ribs I have tasted so far. The beef is so tender.
The meat separates from the bone easily and the mushroom gravy tastes soo good.
Dessert Station
(They have a few selections of desserts compared to Sofitel, but I loved their super moist cake.)
Crepe station
(I asked for a mango crepe)
blueberry cheesecake
Halo-halo station
Now, it’s time to eat!
Plate # 1: Vegetarian Pasta
(Andre had two servings of this minus the broccoli ;) )
Plate # 2: a slab of Roast Prime Beef Ribs
with mushroom gravy, fried potatoes, and mashed squash
(I enjoyed this so much! Sarap ng beef, soo tender and tasty.)
Plate # 3: Grilled foods
(blue marlin, lamb, shrimp, squids, and kebab)
The grilled shrimps and grilled tuna are bland. :(
Plate # 4: Tempura
Sabi nga ni Chyng, “walang tempura na hindi masarap!”
But, they have a limited supply of tempura in their station. They do not serve them right away.
Plate # 5: Assorted sushis
This should has been my favorite part, but it failed.
Their maki is just okay. But, I loved their fresh shrimp in vinegar (kilawin na hipon sa atin).
Plate # 6: Dessert
Mango Crepe with their home-made Mango Ice cream. The Ice Cream was not creamy.
While waiting for my hubby and MIL to come back from Casino, I also tried their chocolate cake and blueberry cheesecake. I loved the chocolate cake. I just can’t get some more because I am so full na.
and I also asked the waiter for a brewed coffee.
It was another mouth-watering and gastronomic experience. And hoping for more hotel buffet discount and promos so that it would be more affordable. :D
Happy eating!
Andre made us proud!
Andre made us proud during their recent School’s Recognition Day. He is in the Junior Kinder Level and they were asked to wear their superhero costume. Andre wore a Superman costume that day. Abeth took a leave for this event. Andre’s grandparents as well as Abeth’s cousins and my sister were present that time. All parents are not aware of the awards that will be given to their kids. So, we went there without knowing what Andre will receive. But of course, we are expecting an award. We are expecting that each student will receive special award.
I accompanied Andre in the stage and was surprised that he was given two medals for being the Most Independent and a General Excellence medal. What is really surprising is the certificate indicating that he was a first placer during the recent Spelling Bee contest in their level. It really surprised us and made us so proud of him. He didn’t tell us that he won during the contest. We knew that there is a contest because it was written on their schedule. We thought it was just a plain classroom activity. J So, after the event, we had our lunch together with almost 20 supporters. Then, I bought him the toy that I promised to give him.
You really made us happy and proud Andre. Keep it up! We love you!
Another birthday party!!!
One of the reasons that keep my schedule hectic is celebrations. Recently, my Dad celebrated his 75th birthday and it was a successful one. I will blog about it some other time. The next occasion that we will organize is the 80th birthday of my husband’s grandmother. Yes, another milestone of someone’s life and another occasion with lots of food. Oh, I might need the best weight loss supplement now. The party will be held at her daughter’s house this coming March. We are still preparing the invitations, tarpaulins, souvenirs, and the food menu for the said party. We have decided not to hire a caterer because my in-laws are great cooks. We will just hire waiters and dishwashers. I hope this party will be as successful as my dad’s.
