an update on life

` I finally finished my P365 for February and I personally think it didn't come out as nice as I wanted it to be to make up for an average Jan outcome. Been so forgetful (and slightly lazy) on some days that I end up settling for a badly lit photo with bad quality. It really is so hard to get a photo on those nothing days when all you do is sleep, work and eat. But I'm honestly still glad I haven't stopped, because there was a point in Feb that I almost gave in to my laziness. I'm moving on to March!
Here are some good photos from Feb.

February 2, 2012

February 3, 2012

February 8, 2012

`I really am a fan of close-up shots, so if you're an FB friend or an Instagram follower, you'll probably notice that most of my photos are close-ups. I don't know why, I guess I just find it more appealing when small details are somewhat magnified. But for my March I'm hoping for shots with more variety in size.

`We're making the move! My parents finally found a house.

`My Facebook and Y! mail were hacked into the other day. I got my FB back, luckily. My mail, no. I'm sorry, but I can't seem to get over the fact that my most important email account is gone. I tried retrieving it by answering my secret questions, but apparently the hacker changed my answers as well. I googled all night trying to find a way to get it back, and I found a few people with the same problem. Some of them got their accounts back, but that was years ago. I tried what they did but unfortunately Y! can no longer be contacted, and they tried to make available on the site all the possible solutions to the questions you may have with your account, and it is up to you to find the one to solve your problem. Now my account is gone. All my old emails and photos were there, as well as my high school and majority of my college life. That account is what I used for all my academic Yahoo Groups, so now I'm not getting any mail. So frustrating.

No one knows my password and I haven't used a public computer in months, so I don't think I carelessly left my account on. Some of my friends have been getting emails about someone trying to change their passwords, but luckily they got a text from Yahoo warning them of it (I guess I didn't give my cell number when I signed up, huhu). So keep your accounts private and difficult to hack into to the maximum level! It's just an account, but once it's gone, you'll realize how important it actually is. I did!

little momo

Say haro to our new little Momo. Initially my mom said no to getting a new dog, but my dad couldn't resist so he snuck in this little badoggy in the driver's room. Beautiful little thing with big paws, a big head and soft, velvet like hair. Once my mom saw him, she couldn't say no. Welcome, little Momo!

xavier

A few months ago I had a post about our black Lab Ben passing away. It's so unfortunate that today I make a new one for Xavier, our first Labrador. He had an operation the other day because we found out he had stones. Unfortunately his wound didn't heal well, and a day or two after the operation, Xavier died. 

Xavier is probably the second to Jako, as it was only Xavier and Jako that ever got the chance to live with us inside the house. It was when we moved to Hillsborough, got more dogs and Xavier got bigger that we had to let him stay outside with the other Labs. 

Everyday, Jako, Ben, Xavier, his brother Julio, and daughter Isa would roam around the garden and lanai area, jumping and running around. But Xavier was always the calm one, seated quietly in one corner. When the other dogs would pester him, he'd just always walk away and move location. And unlike our other Labs who would playfully run towards us or at the sight of any person, Xavier would simply look, and actually know the people he's looking at. And that's when he would slowly start walking towards our direction. Just like my dad said, Xavier was the most different one. "He was the most reserved. Loyal, and obedient. He knew his place." 

Now, it's only Julio, Isa and Jako around. And it pains all of us at home to see that Xavier is no longer one of the dogs hanging around the lanai and garden. 

Ben and Jako meet for the first time.

Xavier and Jako napping in front of the fan in our old house.

Xavier's first day with us at our old house in Yakal. 

The day we got Xavier

The last photo I took of Xavier, just a few weeks ago. 

We have a magnet on our ref that says, "A house is not a home without a dog." And indeed it isn't, for us. We've never had a dogless house, and we have given homes to 2 German Shepherds, a Rotweiller, a Golden Retriever, 4 Labs and a pug. But never before did we get attached to our dogs the way we are attached to them now, and seeing them go one by one really is heartbreaking. 

My dad says in his FB post on Xavier, "It's hard to have beautiful loyal dogs. It's expensive, and emotionally draining." 

And it really is. 

bulgogi brothers

Ever since my sister mentioned her craving for Korean food last week, I couldn't help but start craving for it as well. I kept picturing Kimchi, Bulgogi, Samgyeopsal, Chapchae, spicy soup and all the other side dishes, and it really got me wanting some Korean. I think it has become the second to Japanese cuisine because I have grown to actually crave for it. Yesterday, I got lucky and was finally able to satisfy the Korean craving! What made it better was that it was in a Korean restaurant whose food pictures posted outside its walls before the opening taunted me to try it out. Bulgogi Brothers is finally open!

Located at the ground floor of the newest area of Town, beside Wee Nam Kee. 

Bulgogi Brothers Special (good for 3-4 persons at P900)

My favorite! This unlimited side dish salad is so good. So glad I got some to take home!

When you order Sake, they make you pick a cup from that tray of multi-colored cups. The cup color you pick says something about your personality which you can read upon lifting your pick.

Loved it! Good food and good service. I ate there with Anton and his dad and we only ordered one Bulgogi Brothers Special because we were three and the dish was pretty big (we didn't even finish it), then we just kept getting refills of that salad because it was too good. Before our meal ended, we saw the table beside ours (filled with Koreans) order a bottle of Sake that came with the tray of cups and a nice pitcher, so we decided to try it out. Yuummyy. 

The service was real good too actually. Our server and the restaurant manager were so knowledgable and accommodating, which I really liked because it's nice to talk to servers who know more than what's just on the menu, plus it really encourages me to go back. And because they accidentally charged us for the salad (which is suppose to be complimentary and unlimited), they took down one rice order to make up for the inconvenience. Nice!

Try it out! My first Bulgogi Brothers experience was real good, and I'm hoping I get to go back soon and try out the other dishes. It just opened in Town so expect the place to be quite full. Good food at good prices and good service all in one!

v-day

Belated happy Valentine's to everyone! In as much as the holiday is somewhat characterized by two adjectives that we all try to avoid being--cliche and cheesy--I still love V-day! I love seeing couples, I love seeing flowers, I love seeing chocolates, I love seeing people out in restaurants (but hate the traffic and wait), I love seeing mommies and daddies on dates, I love seeing singles getting together. No matter how much V-day makes some feel loved or #foreveralone, it still gets people together to celebrate ♥, whether it is love for a man or woman, a job, friends, family or alcohol. Even for the love of celebrations!

So here's how I spent mine:

A pre-Valentine dinner on the 12th with the family, lola, and our plus ones, all prepared by my mom.

  

Appetizers

Dinner

the attendees missing Jim and my dad (taking the photo)

On the 14th, I had my V-day Shabu lunch with my parents and relatives tita Nini and Chanti who are visiting from the States.

And for my V-day dinner, I spent it with Anton. Unfortunately the little pictures that I took were bad since we were eating in his garden so it was dark, and the flash sort of made the picture come out too exposed. So no dinner photo :( 

After dinner, we headed to TJ's in Westgate to get a drink, then went to Sam's house to have some drinks with couples, while all the single friends were partying at Skye! 

photo from Isa Escano

So that's how I spent my V-day. I hope everyone else had a good and hearty one!

17th hot air balloon festival

Two hours and thirty minutes after arriving from Mamma Mia, I was ready to head out again. My dad and two of his friends planned on going to the 17th Hot Air Balloon festival and had extra tickets, so my sister and I decided to join them. We went to Clark with 5 tickets, and the possibility of getting into the launching grounds, but unfortunately there were only 3 passes to enter the grounds, so my sister and I didn't have a choice but to watch from behind the fence with everyone else. It wasn't so bad, and was actually slightly more convenient than when I watched last year because not as much went to watch on a weekday. We sat by the fence and waited in the cold (SO cold) for about 2-3 hours until the setting up started at 6:00AM. 

Here are some of the photos I took using the Canon 7D. 

Spot the cake!

Ms. Daisy on the left

vikings x mama mia

In celebration of 2 birthdays and an anniversary, the family went to the Vikings buffet in MOA and watched Mamma Mia last night. It was my second time at Vikings, and despite a few negative feedbacks about the place, it still really never fails to get me excited and satisfied. The quality and quantity of the food (at good prices) always get me leaving the place with a happy tummy, and eventually craving for more.

If i'm not mistaken, it's about P800 per head on weekdays, and P1, 200 on weekends. They have a wide variety of choices: Japanese, Chinese, Italian, sea foods, shabu-shabu, steaks, lamb, drinks (beer, all kinds of juices, tea, coffee). And for dessert: cakes, cookies, fruits, fondue, ice cream, yogurt, halo-halo and more. Not bad for the amount of delicious food they offer! Plus the place is clean and has a sort of fancy look to it. Really worth visiting!

After going through some of the photos I took last night, I can't help but crave again for Japanese food, that spinach dip and rare lamb. Super yummm-eeee. Here are a few pictures:

My first plate out of.. a few more others.

My forever favorite: Ube ice cream with mallows and sprinkles.

After that 5:30PM meal (yeah, we started eating by the time the place opened), we had to rush to our Mamma Mia showing that was at 8:00PM (which we were able to get to on time despite the bad traffic outside CCP).

I love Mamma Mia the movie and I love the soundtrack, so I really was so excited to watch. And when I finally did, i loved it. The characters they got for the musical were so similar to the ones in the movie, so the whole time I couldn't help but put Meryl Streep's face on Sophie's mom and Pierce Brosnan's face on one of the dad's. I loved the costumes and the singing and dancing and everything. Very similar to the movie talaga, with the men in flippers and the order and setting of where the songs were sung and danced. The musical just had about two additional songs and dances, hot men (hot men from UK), and a touch of humour in their presentation. The best part of it all was in the end, when the cast sings and dances to the Abba hits, and when the audience join in the singing and dancing as well. It was great! So if you think you can still catch a showing before the UK production leaves, GO FOR IT!

ps. sorry for another food-filled post. I love taking pictures of my favorite food!