Here We Go Again

I have to ‘fess up. Neglecting this blog is not intentional. The Holidays is a very busy time of the year and with everything that goes into the preparation for Christmas in one’s plate, at least one of the items in one’s tasks is to suffer. Unfortunately, it’s this blog.

I supposed that putting my thoughts into words require more time than I have right now. But here’s what’s been happening and what I’ve been thinking lately:

· The Christmas tree came up later than I wanted or planned. But it’s up and so far thankfully the cats show no interest at all in the glittery balls hanging and whatnots connected with the tree. As a matter of fact, when I was trimming the tree, Emma was sitting at the stairs landing content at snoopervising me from a distance, while Buster was nearby but aside from sniffing each and every ornament that got picked he was a model of good behavior. Moreover, we have not had any ornament casualty yet.

· We have had a series of storms, some carrying heavy downpour and packing strong winds. Scary. The cats, especially Buster, get spooked when the winds howled. He’s been sleeping close to his mama lately, sometimes even taking catpapa’s spot in the bed.

· I missed the Parol Festival or Parade again this year. I was reminded by a fellow blogger about it but the date coincided with our annual Tenderloin project. This would be the 3rd year in a row where we stuff Christmas sacks for the people at Open Cathedral. Open Cathedral is a project our reverend actively participates in. So every year we get together on a Saturday night, after collecting items to be put into the sacks all month long, to put together these gifts for the homeless of the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. Items collected are socks, scarves, mittens, toiletries, ponchos/umbrellas, etc. In addition we also make home-made Christmas cards, which I participated in this year. I usually just go around taking pictures and running around as a go-for girl. This year I sat on the craft table and found out that there was a little girl inside of me that still enjoyed making paper crafts. I thoroughly enjoyed it. On another table a group prepared sandwiches for bagged lunch that were also distributed the following Sunday after service. Then there’s another table that threaded cross for necklace. Since we have a large number of people who came to volunteer (the activity is advertised in the local magazine), we were able to finish quite early. Thus the fun singalong while our choir director tickled the ivory got underway earlier than usual and longer than normal. It was such a fun night. The remarkable thing about this is we have a Muslim family that is friends with the church and came for a second year in a row. It’s really nice to see Muslim family singing Christmas carols side by side with Christian brothers and sisters. A group of us, excluding the hubs and I, went to the Open Cathedral in the city on Sunday afternoon to attend mass and distribute the goodies. We were too tired to go to the city and had too many errands to run.

· In the midst of all the chaos of rain, shopping, and traffic, we managed to watch The Mockingjay Part 1. That just goes to show you that if there’s a will, there’s definitely a way. What can I say I’m already invested in this series and I love J. Law.

· So I was on Facebook one night and saw a posting by hubs ex-coworker and so I commented and the next thing I knew we were having dinner at a little hole in the wall in Albany, near Berkeley, at a burrito shop that sells burrito with Middle Eastern flavor. The Hot Shop in San Pablo Avenue corner Solano Avenue makes flavorful and reasonably priced burritos. They were so good. Talk about things moving fast, I think we’re going out of town together very soon, as we both bought a voucher for a cabin stay near Sequoia National Park.

· Last night I finished wrapping presents. Hopefully, that’s the end of it, although I know there’s a few that may or may not need wrapping.

· The Golden State Warriors, the local basketball team, is doing fantastic this season yet. We have been following them for years now and the excitement is rising exponentially this season.

· My goal before the Season ends is to get a decent Christmas/Holiday picture with the hubs and the cats, good enough to put on the cards next year.

Off The Cuff

Did you know my childhood did not include a Santa Claus? Nope I did not know him until I probably was 11 years old and I only knew of him because he graced the Christmas cards that we were to exchange with our classmates. By the time I got to know the "existence" of the bearded one, I was too old to believe. After all, he was supposed to know where every child was at Christmas eve and drop off presents at their homes. So for the past 11 years, I did not get any presents and so I was never going to believe anyway. I didn't get presents for Christmas. None of my neighbors and playmates did either. All we got is new dress and shoes (hopefully) for church service.

I am trying to remember a memorable Christmas for me. I cannot. There didn't seem any one that tower above the rest.

First off my entire childhood was kind of weird. I think it is. We lived in one compound, our house was in the front. Behind ours is my oldest brother's house where he and his family lived. And bringing up the rear is brother #3's house where he and his family lived. So we were together all the time. My playmates were my nieces and nephews.

My father was ill when I was born. My mother said he was already ill when I was conceived, which accounted for my sickly childhood. He contracted tuberculosis in the army. He battled the disease for a long time until his death when I was 17 years old.

So my father's health was always in the back of my mother's mind. We never traveled, because he was not healthy enough to do that. He was homebound, not bed bound thank heavens. But he was always sick. Thankfully, none of us had contracted tuberculosis, considering it's a communicable disease.

Thus Christmas was a simple affair. I thought my mother's poor upbringing did not allow her to experience any kind of Christmas. To her the pinnacle of Christmas celebration is to have a potful of steamy hot nilagang baka (boiled beef soup), a leg of ham cooked in 7-up, and a queso de bola (gouda). Sometimes, just to make the celebration go overboard, a bowl of fruit salad is on the table. Other times, it's spaghetti.

All these food on the table gave everyone a big smile and made our hearts sing, not to mention or stomachs very happy.

And so there was nothing pretty special about our celebrations. We did not decorate our house except for a parol. We did not have a Christmas tree until the very last Christmas before I left for California. I don't know where we got it, but I decorated a table top green fake Christmas tree and wore that dreadful pink lace eyelet straight dress (that I thought then was sooo elegant) at church, that made me look 20 years older than I was. I really don't have fashion sense even then.

Now that we're all here in California, each decorate his/her house and we follow the American tradition. We gather at one sibling's house for Christmas lunch, which is in reality a whole day's affair. It's potluck so the host doesn't get that much burdened. This year it's my year to host. I have my menu all written down. The hubby had made minor adjustments, especially to the dishes he would create.

I know someday there's one Christmas that will stand out, but for now, I am really happy with the simple way we celebrate Christmas. Then and now, we always, always go to church on Christmas Eve before all the eating can commence.

Happy Christmas everybody!

A week before Christmas

A week to go before Christmas and I find my energy level for the Holidays a bit down. Likewise my enthusiasm meter shows it's way down. I don't know what happens to me during this time of the year. I cannot seem to summon up enough energy, enough excitement, the same eagerness I once had for this holiday.

As our family had been doing for a few years now, what with the original nieces and nephews all grown and some have little kiddies of their own, we now only buy one present with a set price (usually $10) that would hopefully be gender neutral which we would number and then we'd pick out a number and we'd get the present with the corresponding number (like a white elephant thingy). Now if you pick the one you brought, you could pick another number. This way we can all cut down the cost of Christmas. Our family is big, and if we continued doing what we were doing before (buying each and everyone a present) well, it's crazy expensive. And completely unnecessary expenses, I might add. We all agreed that the adults (which now outnumber the kids) don't actually need anything, don't require presents at Christmas. So we all only buy one present, however, all the kids under 12 still get presents from everyone. After all Christmas presents are for kiddies, right?

That being said, trips to the stores/mall have been curtailed in half, or even less, especially since we almost always pick something up from the store all year round, or hit the buy button on websites for deals we see.

Be that as it may, I still found myself at the stores this weekend, the horror! I was slated to pick up some clothes for moi. I don't normally shop much for clothes except that I had budgeted some money for clothes from my vacation fund. I had found some pants, work pants, that I kinda like, but when I saw the long line at the cashier, I didn't hesitate to leave them behind and march out of the store. Long lines and shopping chaos give me headache.

Also this weekend, our 2nd annual project for the homeless in the city went underway. On Saturday we filled Christmas sacks filled with goodies from toiletries to food and bible. The evening also consisted of dinner and caroling. A fun time. Sunday was when the gift sacks were distributed; however, we didn't go with the group to distribute. We had other things to do.

We had a heavy heart all weekend long, helping friends with relationship woes. It's really hard to keep a relationship going. It's true love is not enough to keep it going. So many little things required for a partnership to bloom and thrive and grow, things like respect, compassion, romance, trust, etc. It's hard when you are friends with both of them. It would be easier if you are friends with just one of them, then your focus and support is with the friend. The hubby and I were on call and we've been fielding calls all weekend long. I pray that they can find a solution that is right for both of them. It makes me sad to see a relationship crumble, especially when you don't see the crack forming right before your very eyes. You only become aware there's trouble when the whole darn building collapses. That's what happened here. The hubs and I look at each other in disbelief. We had NO clue at all.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!

How was your Christmas? Ate too much? Partied like it was 1999?

It's a pity that another Christmas came and went and I haven't had enough time to enjoy it. Every single year I tell myself that come Christmas I'd make time to just soak in the atmosphere, delight in the joyous season and basically just enjoy the season.

This year however the timing of December 25 was quite difficult to maneuver whatever fun I had in mind. Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday. In between two working days. I never had the foresight to take days off before or after the day or both. Also I just took off 11 days at the end of November into early December, that I thought it wouldn't look good on my work record to take days off for Christmas.

And so I never got to enjoy the season again. While the shopping part is well taken care of well in advance, the other logistics related to celebrating this most festive occasion needs more planning and fine tuning.

I have not driven around the neighborhood and watched the yards decorated with wonderful and colorful Christmas lights and scenes.

So next year through God's grace, I intend to take a week off during Christmas time. I fully intend to enjoy the birth of Christ.

Happy New Year.

Twas a rainy weekend.

My favorite thing in the world is a rainy and cold weekend where I could spend the day curled up in bed or in the couch watching tv or reading a book or both with both cats in my lap.

The past weekend was rainy and cold, super cold for this California resident. Nonetheless I had to run some errands. No lazing about in the house watching Pride and Prejudice for the nth time.

Saturday started with a trip to the vet for Emma, who had a follow-up after her emergency visit the past Sunday. I found this clinic that's not too far from us that people on Yelp seem to regard highly. So I chose this clinic and made appointments. Unfortunately on Saturday Emma's records from her emergency visit were not faxed over to the clinic despite my phone call requesting said records to be faxed ASAP to the new vet.

Thus, Emma's visit was somewhat limited to physical examinations. The vet examined her thoroughly and talked us through the possibilities of Emma having stones versus just having UTI, if that is what she have so far.

In the end, the vet wrote script for another round of general antibiotics, since Emma was responding positively to the first round. I raised concern about back-to-back dosage, but the vet assured me that it's okay and normal for pets to take antibiotics longer than the humans do.

Upon returning home, mom and I went on in the rain to run her regular Saturday errands, which consists of eating outside (Chow King that time) and getting some supplies (food).

It was gloomy all day so it got dark way too soon. When we got home from the errands, it was very late afternoon and time to just laze about the bedroom with the tv on and the laptop on my lap and the cats bodies touching my legs as they slept.
Sunday again was busy. I really wanted to skip church at least one Sunday, but well I didn't. We got out of church nearly noon and decided to drive to Napa just in case there are still any fall colors left to photograph. Last year we hit paydirt when we drove out to Napa the day after Thanksgiving and saw the valley gorgeously donning fall colors. I knew this time it was a lost cause but the hubby was adamant. I reasoned that it had been raining all week to begin with and add the fact that it's late in the season to still have colors. But he was unyielding.

The trip was originally planned with another couple, so he rang them up as we were leaving church. However, they weren't in the mood to go out for a drive. Who could blame them, the weather called for cuddling by the fire, with some football on tv.
And so we drove out to Napa and no fall colors, just as I expected. But we managed to stumble upon Bouchon bakery and the Marketplace shopping complex just across from it. We explored the Marketplace first hoping there was some eats and coffee to be had, but the no food stalls, only stores selling clothing.

So we crossed the street to Bouchon and entered the crowded little place, got some coffee and yummy pastry to go. We drove out farther until we didn't want to go any further at all.

We turned back and spotted some vineyards still carrying some fall colors so we stopped to photograph them in the rain.

Leaving Napa, we drove out to our next destination for the day, in Alameda, where our department Christmas Party was being held. It's amazing that I've lived here for 2 decades and still haven't been in this part of the Bay Area. It's lovely and we showed up at the party, took photos, ate and drank, and stayed for a bit, then said goodbye.

The day was not over yet for us because we had some shopping to do. We were supposed to go to 2 different stores, but after going to Costco where we got the bulk of our items, we decided not to go to the second store. It was late after all, I was hungry and tired and cold.

This weekend, we'll be having our family Christmas lunch. I suggested the date because Christmas day is Tuesday and we have no vacation before or after the day, it would be difficult to stay up late :)

I got my Christmas gift from hubby. We both picked it up at Costco last Sunday. It was the same one that I said in the previous post that I'm not getting for Christmas. I actually got it.

Hope your Christmas celebration is filled with love from family and friends.

Almost Christmas

So it's just a week before Christmas, basically. Are you ready? Are your gifts wrapped? Or not done with the shopping part yet?

Apart from the hubs swinging by the drug store yesterday to get the boxes of chocolates on sale for the mailman and the garbage man, we have not done a single shopping trip yet.

Despite this, I only need to pick up a few gifts. This is the good thing about shopping early. I shop all throughout the year for great deals and stock 'em up in the garage. Come Holiday Season, we open the box full of goodies, which are clearly marked with names btw, so that it's just pull out of the box and into a gift bag, slap some tag and voila, ready to gift. Less fuss, doncha think?

Still, I'm nervous about going to the store this late in the season. I've learned from past mistakes you see. I just hope this year, many people have completed their shopping and the stores wouldn't be too crowded. If there's one thing that ruins the holiday cheer for me is the crowded store.

Anyway, my gifting has been toned down every year. Not only is this saving me a good deal, but it is also helping my recipients lessen their clutter. You know the people I give to are my family. For all intents and purposes, they have everything they need. I give what they need, not what they want. Although if what they want falls within budget, I give that too. I don't want to give them something that would just gather dust somewhere in their house.

Since I feel that they have nothing they need materially, I can take liberties with some crazy gifts sometimes. But I always give out practical gifts anyway. Household things that I myself would want to keep.

I started bagging some gifts a couple of nights ago, so our tree doesn't look empty anymore. It will definitely have less gifts underneath it than years past, because well I don't whimsically just shop anymore.

As for parties, my company is giving one this year. Actually, it's my manager who's giving a party outside of work and we'll drop by for an hour or two just to show up.

Tonight our friend from church is having a surprise party at Chevy's for his 75th. A big treat from his son, whom I never met. But the b/day boy and his wife are friends of ours from church and we're just pleased that we were invited. No matter what people say about Chevy's and my dislike for chain restaurants in general, I like Chevy's especially the mango margarita. But I won't be having that tonite, as I will be driving home. I'm meeting the hubby at the restaurant tonight. We'd be there straight from work.

Our family made tentative Christmas luncheon plans, but I need to get in touch with everyone to finalize such plans.

I am hoping that I can do a little baking for the Holidays. I'm thinking either scones or lemon bars.

Ham for Christmas? Seems like a no-brainer. However, I'm leaning towards turkey. Didn't get enough turkey on Thanksgiving.

Futile to think I'd still get to see Breaking Dawn in the cinema. Gotta wait for the DVD, sigh!

Throughly enjoyed SKYFALL last week. It may easily be my most favorite Bond movie of all time.

Saw THE VOW on DVD. I can't help but fall for Channing Tatum, what a hunk!

I wonder if I'd get the Giants DVD package for Christmas? Wonder no more - I'm definitely NOT getting it!

Emma's (my cat) recent medical worries had put a damper on the Holiday cheer. Taking her to the vet this weekend, hoping that no surgery would be required to remove the stones that showed up in the tests when we took her to emergency hospital last Sunday.

Do not have the excitement to listen to carols this year.

Three-Day Weekend is Over

The three-day weekend, aka Christmas Holiday, is over and here's how I spent it:

• We spent Saturday cooking and vacumming the house, even though I wasn't expecting anyone. 
• Attended a little party at a friend's house.  While sipping wine and munching on delicious cheese we were talking about the woeful state of our city's economy and the blunders our city managers have made regarding some projects.  Boy did I feel so adult that time :)
• Immediately after leaving the party, went to church so I could set up the altar for the 9 pm mass.
• Attended the 9 pm mass.
• Took mother (with hubby) to the 11:30 pm Carols and 12 midnite Catholic service.
• Sunday started with a mass at 9:30 am.  Hubby said we're all massed out for Christmas :)
• Went to brother's house for our annual family Christmas luncheon.  Sadly, there were no shows.  How I hate that :(
• Monday came and we went to drop off presents and some ham and nilaga to our Vietnamese friends.
• Went shopping.  Didn't hit the jackpot as we did last year.  Not many things were on sale this year, or did we just start very late in the day and the shelves were nearly empty.
• Stopped at Trader Joe's hoping we'd find a stollen.  We always have stollen for Christmas since we got married.  We have it for breakfast on the 24th.  Not this year as we forgot to buy it, because we didn't go to Cost Plus.  But they didn't have it anymore.
• Ate nilage for dinner while watching our Netflix rental the ZOOKEEPER.

Now am back to work and we're all fogged up here.  Once the fog burns out later, we'd see a high of 60F, which is really really good for this time of the year.

Thank You Kayni!

Blog pal Kayni proposed an exchange gift and I was one of those who responded to her proposal.  Last week, I received a wonderful package from her and a Christmas card also.  I know I'm not supposed to open it before Christmas, but I couldn't wait any longer.  The minute I opened the package, my little cat Emma zoomed in on the mousie toys. I don't know why she went crazy tearing up the packaging. I was thinking maybe it was spritzed with catnip.  I enjoyed watching her and neither I nor the hubby remembered to capture her joy at getting her mousie.  No video nor images, tsk!

Lookie here what I got:

My loot - not including the cat toys.

I fell head over heels with the artwork of the journal cover. I wonder if it's a copy of a famous painting, anyone knows?

Fancy and whimsical is the design, love it.

This I'm saving for Christmas!!!!

Thank you again, Kayni.

My Favorite Movies of the Season

This season is one of the most hectic in the entire year.  Shopping here and there, Christmas parties everywhere. 

In order to restore my sanity, I lean on my old reliables to rejuvenate me.  My old reliable movies that is.  Every Christmas season, networks are filling their slots with holiday movies as the regular shows take a break. 

Here are my favorite Holiday movies of all time, in no particular order:

HOME ALONE:

The last movie I watched in the Philippines before I migrated.  My bff and I watched it in Ali Mall and we halfheartedly watched it.  We were mostly chatting, making the most of our last moments together. 

Every Christmas time, I welcome Kevin to my household like a long lost relative.  Super funny, as I'm sure you all know and agree.

THE SANTA CLAUSE

One of my favorites for a reason: Tim Allen.  I love Tim Allen in his HOME IMPROVEMENT days.  I have not outgrown this family oriented flick.  The little boy who played Tim Allen's son is oh so cute. 

A CHRISTMAS STORY

Wouldn't be Christmas without it.  A mainstay in Holiday fun. 

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

I love, love, love Sandra Bullock in this quintessential chick flick.  I know it's not necessarily marketed as a Holiday movie, but it's set during the Christmas season. 

I'm cuddling with the kitties this weekend hoping one of these movies is on the tube.

So what are you favorite Holiday movies?

It Feels Like Christmas

My Christmas tree is up and I joyfully completed the task on Saturday after Thanksgiving. What is more amazing about that is I did it by myself. I am growing up hahaha!

I found so much joy putting up the tree this weekend that I took the least amount of time necessary to get it up and lighted. You see I am a master at procrastination. My style is minimalistic so my ratio of green to ornament is heavily in favor of the green tree. I know my mother’s style is the opposite and she may still comment on my very minimalistic approach, but for now she keeps mum.

This year I have used my red ball ornament. I’m still trying to get as much use from my old ornaments as I could. But the tree that I have right now is a new one. I gave my old tree away to Salvation Army. I use plastic tree versus real one. I love the smell of the real tree, but disposing it is so much hassle that I have never purchased a live one again.

Likewise the garlands are already decorating the banister in my staircase, they’re lit up as well. That’s about the extent of my decoration so far. I have yard decors that would have to wait for this weekend to be put up.

And speaking of Christmas, blogger pal Kayni broached up the idea of x-change gifts. I know this may cause a little wrinkle in the blog world as I passed the chance to play x-change gifts with Princessa Musang this year and said yes to Kayni. I’ll make it up to my other blogger pal some day.

Here’s my list for Kayni’s Christmas party:

Something you can use everyday: Cutesy journal

Something cute: Anything Sanrio/Hello Kitty

Something light or small: Kitty ornament or kitty item

Something fancy: Fancy (fashion) earrings

Something sweet: Dark chocolate bar

Favorite colors: Pink, yellow

Something you really need: Small wallet

Something you collect: Pressed pennies, postcards, ref magnets

If you have one wish, what would it be: Is this about world peace or totally selfish answers? I want to have one 5 x 8 print of your most favorite picture that you took. I’ll frame it and put it up on my wall.

I hope to get Kayni's response to these questions/lines soon so I can start shopping.

Happy Christmas everyone! I know too soon right?

After Christmas Post

12 days had passed since my last post. You know why, right? You know why a lot of bloggers had not had a new post in a few days, me included. Well the preparations for the Holidays had gotten in the way of some blogging.

Well, what have I got to report during this 12-day absence from blogging? For one we have had a lot of rainy days - continuously raining for a week, stopped for a day then wet all day Christmas. What can I say but thank heavens it seems like no drought situation next summer. We will have enough water to get us through a dry California summer.

I have enjoyed shopping this year. Must be the fact that I started last year during the after-Christmas sales so I was already ahead by the time the season of shopping came around. Plus, there weren't as much shoppers as in the past so I really didn't have to wait in line to pay for my purchases. You know those long lines really zap the energy out of me - and the cheery spirit too.

Again, I hit the stores this year on the day after Christmas and was able to snag great deals at Sears for next year's holiday gift giving. I buy stuff that I like a lot so that when these items don't go to the intended receiver, I would enjoy the items myself, a bit selfish don't you think? But honestly, I think anyone would love what I already had boxed up in the garage for my loved ones' 2011 Christmas gifts.

Have I mentioned that it was my turn to host the family's Christmas lunch this year? A number of family members were absent but there was a big turnout so it the food wasn't wasted. To-go boxes for everyone too - hubs and I don't have to eat all the left-overs, yay!

Our lunches are always pot luck, but as the host house we had to fix more dishes to be served. My mother shouldered the lechon - wouldn't be a celebration unless there's a lechon, that's what she believed. But since she was paying, I let her get her way :)

We made pancit bihon, Laotian salad, pesto pasta, basmati rice with green peas, italian style sauteed brussel sprouts, spiral ham, beef curry, lasagna. We put out veggie platter with dip, and cheese and crackers. For desserts we made Crema de Catalunya - a custard like dessert, and ambrosia.

Our family brought roast beef, lengua, dinuguan, green salad with chili dressing (really good combination), baked trout, and a cakey dessert that I would have to show you later on.

All in all the lunch was fun. Two dogs were in attendance, I was expecting four. But the presence of the bigger dog, Max, my brother's little darling mutt had spooked my dear Buster that he and his big sister Emma stayed the entire day inside our room upstairs. At night when almost every one left, especially the dogs, we were able to coax them to come downstairs and say hi to the ones left behind playing cards.

There was sniffing - a lot of sniffing. They sniffed the entire downstairs living area and garage too. Then and only then they calmed down and joined us on the couch in the family room where we were rewatching 2012, the movie, not a very Christmassy movie.

Well, how's that for a report. I hoped you all had a safe and happy celebrations.

Moral Support

I was out sick last week for two days. Nothing serious, just seasonal stuff I guess. I was feeling run-down, must be due to the chaotic tone of the Holidays where people spread themselves too thin around this time taking on more than they can handle. I was one of those I suppose.


On my first day in bed, Emma was my companion. Both cats stayed in bed with me, but Emma was the one beside me the whole time as I rested in bed and watched Twilight and New Moon - again!


On the second day, it was Buster who kept me company as I felt a whole lot better and vegitated instead on the couch instead of the bedroom. There Buster kept me company as I watched via Netflix watch instantly the first season of PRISON BREAK. It was nice reliving those episodes again. I also realized that I did not see the first 4 or 5 episodes of Prison Break, how could that be?

Anyway, I returned back to work after getting my lab test results and all I needed is to pop some vitamins, good.

And how could it be that with the more you check off names of your Christmas list the longer it gets? I was out and about again this weekend picking up more and more for more and more people. I am getting bankrupt :)

Regardless, I am going to enjoy this Holiday Season.

Being Anonymous

I like being anonymous on cyberspace. I don't think any of my friends know I blog. Once upon a time I did tell a few to take a peek at my blogs - I don't think they did -  and encouraged one or two who are terrific writers to write/put out a blog of their own. I thought they were wasting their talent by not sharing their written thoughts. I was very lucky in the past when they would write me kilometric letters. And when the letters stopped coming I thought it would be to my best interest if they would write. Unfortunately, they didn't blog or maybe I just didn't get an invite to read their thoughts, if they did put out a blog.

Anyway, this isn't where this post is supposed to go when I first typed the first sentence of this post.  But it definitely took a life of its own. 

So aside from being an closet blogger to my real friends, I am also a ghost or lurker to some fabulous blogs around cyberspace.  A few of them I added to my links and still others I continue to read without them knowing.  Some day I will tell you which blogs I frequent. 

In the mean time, I'd be happy to report that my tree is finally up.  I haven't taken a picture of it yet.  I don't know how long it will remain up as my kitties are so fascinated by the rounded ball of shimmer and glitter hanging on the tree that I spent the rest of the weekend shooing them away from and under the tree. 

We also have been getting some rain.  On Sunday, there was a downpour and I got wet going to the cinema to finally watch Harry Potter.  I know, I know.  But I love to watch movies when there is no crowd to spoil my fun.  Thankfully after 3 weeks of running, the crowd has finally thinned out at Harry Potter.

Wasn't that just a marvelous 2 hours  of Harry Potter?  I'm almost sad that it's ending.  Would it be too much to hope that JK Rowlings find the inspiration to continue the story with the next generation of Potters and Weasleys?  Fingers crossed.

Also I would like to share with you a fine fine deal of a sale I got on Thanksgiving weekend.  We went to Borders bookstore to collect the free latte (coupon via newspaper) and browse at the books.  But lo and behold I saw a display of some older dvds on sale for $7.  Included on the $7 display case were Twilight and New Moon, both of which are the 2-dvd package.  Can you believe my luck.  So last night after enjoying some Potter, I came home and put on Twilight and giggle like a teenager.  Nothing like being silly on a rainy night.

Thirteen More Reasons To Be Grateful For

I did it again! I started something and did not finish it on time. What you ask? I started to jot down my daily thanks and I stopped at November 17. My excuse had to be the many demands on my time during this Holiday Season.

Allow me to complete the list:

I am thankful for:

1. The deep fryer that went on sale 2 weeks before Thanksgiving.

2. The turkey that we deep fried on that deep fryer.

3. The gorgeous cold Thanksgiving day.

4. Spending the day with friend and family, eating and drinking.

5. Attending my first Charles Dickens Christmas Fair at Cow Palace - a real treat for an anglophile like me.

6. Long scenic drive to the central coast.

7. The picturesque town of Cambria.

8. Spectacular sunset at Cambria.

9. Superb dinner at Robin's in Cambria and lovely dinner at Manta Ray in San Simeon.

10. Wonderful service at Robin's in Cambria and Manta Ray in San Simeon.

11. Patricia/Prativa at Quality Inn in San Simeon.

12. Chance to revisit Hearst Castle.

13. Nature sighting in San Simeon.

14. Walking on the almost empty beach in San Simeon.

There I even have one bonus item to be thankful for. Needless to say there have been many many small things to be thankful for and I hope that I would be mindful of all my blessings from now on.

SHOPPING

Did you go shopping for Christmas yet?

I stayed home on Black Friday. I was too afraid to leave the house and face the mob aka hardcore shoppers.

Hit the mall and stores on Saturday. Was shocked to see the mall nearly empty. Not really a sight I expected given the fact that most of the items were on sale, and I was told that the same deals that could be had on Black Friday was available to shoppers on Saturday. So I completed *fingers crossed* my shopping list.

Last night, we visited our garage. Since we dumped a lot of boxes there when we moved 1.5 years ago, I was too scared to go there (kidding). I have most of my belongings still boxed. I may never get to see my DVD collection ever again - they are in one of the unmarked boxes in the garage.

But last night we went there. Husband knew which boxes contained our Holiday gifts - the ones we bought last year. I find shopping after Christmas more productive. We buy gifts/items that do not expire - like massager, or small appliances, and store them away for the next Christmas.

And boy was I suprised at what the boxes contained. We may have completed our list by the contents of the boxes. So glad we shopped one year early for this Christmas!

The tree however has to be put up today or tomorrow. I can't wait to have the tree up. BUT, I don't know how our little cats would react to the glittery shiny balls and ornaments or the flickering lights around it. I'm afraid that one day I'd come from work and see a big mess where our tree used to be :)

How about you, have you put up your tree and other decorations yet?

Are you excited by the upcoming parties and get togethers and all the eating?

Today is Ash Wednesday

And I still haven't boxed up all my Christmas decors yet. Whatever happened to the time between Christmas and Lent? Where did it go?

No Vietnamese Sandwiches for Christmas

What spurred my previous post about serving those crunchilicious Vietnamese sandwiches for Christmas eve dinner was a free sandwich courtesy of one doctor. As soon as I smelled the tasty bread, I knew it had been long since this goody has touched my lips and mouth.

Anyway enough about that. I did not serve it. My husband, who is the main chef of the family, made steaks, fingerling potatoes, and Brussels sprouts and mushrooms. Quiche was our appetizer. We did not have time to have any dessert at all as we hurried to the Midnight Mass service.

Christmas Day luncheon was at my sis-in-law's and bro's house. Our contribution to the potluck was roast herbed pork loin with fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, jazzed up Mac-n-cheese, meat torta (meat omelette), and for desserts we brought Crema de Catalunya, which was a big hit. Yay for husband.

Need I say I got stuffed at the dessert table. It's not what you think. It's the rice cakes that did me in. I am ordinarily not a fan of Filipino kakanins, but that day we chatted around the desserts table and guess what? I had my fill at palitaw and suman sa ibos. I can't remember what else was on the other table, but the suman was outstanding.

How was your Christmas eating?

The Way It was

At least a week before Christmas, mom and I would hie off to the provincial capital (where the "big" grocery stores are located) to buy the whole leg of pig (jamon) and queso de bola, that would be the star of our Noche Buena table. I would watch my mother start prepping the cooking around noontime on the eve. The leg would be too big for our stove, so we would cook outside in the backyard by putting stones and cooking with firewood. My mother would bring out her big cooking vessel (much like a big wok) to cook the jamon. I don't remember exactly how she cooked the jamon, but a bottle of 7-up was her secret ingredient.

While the jamon was taking it's sweet time cooking, Mom would start slicing and dicing for nilagang baka, another mainstay in our table. We were then encouraged to take a long nap, as we need to be up all night long.

In our small town, there is one Catholic church. The church services the entire town, which consists of 44 barangays. You could imagine that the church would be crowded on midnight mass service. And because my mother (the devout Catholic) wanted to always sit near the front, that meant we had to be outside the church before it opens to the public around 10 pm, or something. The mass always began at 11 pm and ended at midnight, exactly midnight when the church bells ring rapturously to signal Christmas day. Every year, I remember we had to be out the door by 9 pm. Yes that early!!!!! We live two blocks away from church, but mom needed the security of knowing she gets the prime seat by coming way too early. Oftentimes, we would be the first waiting outside the dark church yard. Some years, we would find people already waiting.

Our midnight mass service is the best that I had ever. It was solemn, despite the crowd. And the choir (which I was a part of for a few years) always managed to give the performance of the year at that service. As I look back, I remember I always felt spiritually nourished after this service.

Back home, we would gather on the table with mom slicing the ham and queso de bola very thinly and we make ham and cheese sandwich with pandesal. We have a bowl of nilagang baka with it and a cup of hot cocoa. That was our Noche Buena every year. Some years we would make buko salad and/or chicken sandwich.

That was how we celebrate our Christmas Noche Buena.

I Woke Up To A White Backyard

With our freezing temps, I awoke to find my backyard white from snow dusting overnight. I know that the temps have fallen and have been around the 40s for a couple of days now, but the warmth inside the house make me forget how cold it could get outside overnight.

So you could imagine my delight to find the backyard whitish as I munch on my pork bun breakfast. I immediately ran up to the room to grab the camera and woke my sleeping husband in the process. I told him, come down see the snow dust.

I took some photos and wondered if the front yard also look whitish. The front yard gets the early morning sun so there wasn't any sign that there was dusting on the ground, but the cars are all covered with a light layer of ice.

It was 37F as I drove off to work today. The temp is not going any higher than mid 40s today. I love it!

And here are more reasons why I love this season:

• wearing coats, jackets, sweaters, and boots is fun.
• seeing my breath in the morning
• smell of wood burning
• trimming the tree and watching it all lit up in a dark living room
• driving around town to watch houses all decorated with lights and wreaths and front yards using way too much electricity :)
• shopping malls are especially gorgeous with all the decor
• seasonal coffee drinks
• getting together with family over meals
• sending and receiving x'mas card
• after x'mas sale!!!!!!!

What do you love about this season?

It's Monday and It's Freezing

..........but that's no excuse for an unproductive weekend.

There were so many things I wanted to accomplish over the weekend. And today I look back on the weekend and I felt like none of the things I wanted to do was ever done. Instead I the things/stuff I did, places I went were not on my plans.

I don't even want to know how many days to go before Christmas, I'll just panic more.

I still haven't addressed the Christmas cards, let alone mail them so they can reach their destinations on time.

Anyway, does anybody else still send Christmas cards via snail mail?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

....in my house. I have finally put up the tree last night. Why finally? After all it's only December 3rd today. Well you see that is quite late in my standards. The tree is normally up immediately after Thanksgiving. But this year as you know is different from the previous years as I wasn't around on Turkey Day.

I have a plastic tree. You heard that right. I don't mind having a fake tree. In fact I prefer it to the real pine tree. Wait, hear my reason/s. Who doesn't love the smell of pine inside the house? However, disposing of the said tree after the holidays is a bit of a hassle. I often forget the date I am supposed to put my tree on the curb for pick up. And dragging the thing out in the curb is not an activity I wanted to do every year.

Moreover, the real tree sheds. The needles are all over the floor. I am always thinking about it catching fire or something. The tree dries out quickly around here since our temps don't fall that much. And add the heater to the mix, it's really harder to keep the real tree.

Besides, driving around different lots to find the perfect tree is in itself a hassle. Yap, I don't need the extra stress this season. I have enough stress as it is with shopping, menu prep, decorating, getting the cards mailed on time, etc.

And so a few years ago, I went out and bought me a fake tree that came with its own lights. This year however, we found out that most of the lights have burned out. On Tuesday, we dug the box containing the tree from the garage, set it up and learned about all the burned out lights. Wednesday, we went to three different places to find both a twinkling and singing lights. Many years ago we had the lights that once turned on not only blinks but sang as well. We couldn't find those anymore, so we settled for the twinkling lights.

With the ornaments we have for many years, I have the tree up and lit. I am happy.

Yet, the wreath I have on my front door needs upgrade. It's far too small for the door, and way too plain I thought. I hope I have enough change in my pocket to afford one. Maybe I should make a visit to Michael's for a new wreath.

Hope your Christmas preparations are filled with joyous merriment.