29 December, 2011

Valentines Day

Christmas Day is over, New Year’s celebration is in 2 days. Two more months and it’s Valentine’s Day. Have you bought gifts for your loved ones for this coming Valentine's day already? I haven't yet but I'm planning to hit the mall when prices go down after the Christmas holiday.

valentines shopping

I really don’t like to go shopping when the mall is so full of shoppers also. And I don’t like last minute shopping. Better to buy those gifts early. I ought to make my list already.

Thankful

Why_God

Instead of asking "WHY?", we should instead be thankful. God gives us more than what we ask for and more than what we deserve.

28 December, 2011

This is how I dance

Saw this on somebody’s wall while checking my Facebook account.

how i dance

So funny! There should be another one about “singing”.

Noche Buena Feast

Noche Buena is one of the many Christmas traditions that our family practices every year. Not a single Christmas eve passes by without doing this yearly tradition. At the strike of midnight on Christmas, the kids are woken up to check their Christmas socks for gifts from Santa. More gifts are also under the Christmas tree for the kids and adults to unwrap. The adults take turn in singing their favorite songs on the Karaoke machine or play Bingo. More family games are done while feasting on the sumptuous meal laid out on the dining table, right after saying grace.

noche buena

our Christmas dinner
forgot to take out cake and salad from the ref
siomai - gone in 50 seconds

But before the Noche Buena feast, preparing for it is very tiring and stressful. The gifts are bought two months before the celebration. It’s purposely done that way, bought way ahead of the December month, to save on the high prices that shots up during the holiday season and to avoid the Christmas rush. 

Next on the to-do list are the clothes. We have a theme-color every year for Noche Buena and the Media Noche, New Year family dinner, as well. For the Christmas dinner, most of the time, we usually wear red, green or red and green - the Christmas colors. The next year’s “color of the year” is usually the theme-color for the New Year dinner.

A small family meeting is done for the planning of what to prepare for Christmas dinner. Usually with a bottle of wine, and sometimes non-alcoholic “wine”, and chips. A list of the menu is then done, as well as the list of the ingredients that needs to be bought a day before the Christmas dinner.

champagne

The day before Christmas. The morning of December 24 is done visiting the grocery store to buy the ingredients needed for Christmas dinner. Last minute buying of gifts is also squeezed in on the schedule. After the usual dinner, kids then prepare Santas cookie and milk, put it under the tree then they got tucked in bed at around 8 pm. Excited kids, read: my son, begin snoring at 10 pm or 11 pm already.

Before midnight, someone has to take a big bite on the cookie and drink some of the milk. When midnight strikes, the happy chaos begins.

cough and allergy season

December is not just Christmas season on my side of the world. It is also the time when cough, cold and allergies zap out the energy out of even the most energetic people. If you already have the symptoms, here are some ways to zap them out of your system right away.

- Visit your doctor at the first sign of symptoms.
- Gargle with salt water to sooth sore throat.
- Double up your dose of vitamin C.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid sweet and cold food.
- Keep warm.
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep.
- Rest, rest and more rest.

cough cold allergy season

To prevent the spread to people around you

- Always cover you mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough.
- Avoid crowded places and too much contact with people.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water.

19 December, 2011

Ironing day

Sunday night, right after I tuck RJ to bed and he's already sound asleep, is when I iron all the newly washed clothes needed for that week. I used to iron our clothes as-needed. But because of the high electric rate, ridiculously high compared with other Asian countries, I now try to iron our clothes once a week. I have this foldable ironing board, as huge and look like a snow board, that fits well on the side of the cabinet in our small condominium space.

DSCN3806

There's no significant decrease in our electric bill but a few peso decrease is good enough saving that can be used for the next month's utilities.
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