Ristras

one late night after hubby picked me up from work, we decided to treat ourselves. we have been scrimping and saving up for the wedding and the kid's school, that we thought, why not enjoy something new for a change?

while driving along wilson st. (a little short cut from our usual edsa way going home) we chanced upon Ristras along J. Abad Santos st. i read about it when i read Anton's (our awesome planet) and the reviews were quite ok. good thing hubby agreed since we're not fans of mexican food. give us tuna and salmon sashimi anytime!

here's what we ordered:

nachos: got sold with the purple chips! the dips were so-so, i thought it was a specialty but it tasted generic.

quesadillas: didn't expect it to be this huge! but i was really hungry and i finished off 2 traingles. hehe if only we knew we can choose the toppings, we would've avioded the fresh onions, bell peppers and the green leafy stuff on top.

it was really good and filling.

we didn't try the burrito since i told hubby i wasn't in the mood for one and i have a feeling that it will sure give me gas for a week. haha! we didn't expect the size of the burrito. again, it was huge! saw the people next in line order two. one for each of them. but surprisingly, they were able to finish it. grabe!

for sure, we'll come back to ristras and try it out again. :)

ways to keep the marriage interesting

a lot of marriages have gone stale because one or both partners forget to inject some laughter and light moments into their lives. isn't it one of the things that brought you closer to your spouse in the first place? he made you laugh at the silliest jokes, you'd share a private joke with each other, you'd tickle each other silly.

that's why hubby and i never forget to laugh. at each other, at things we do, with the kids and with our friends. laughter is an important part in our relationship. or else we'd die bored.

but sometimes we do forget sometimes and it's good that we get to laugh our hearts out again. especially last night. we were having such a great time. just the two of us. in our own little moment. but here's the thing: i can't remember why and what we were laughing about. all i can remember was we were laughing.

it was such a great feeling. i'm looking forward to more laugh moments with hubby.

little surprises

it was just a typical saturday night. the kids and i were at home waiting for hubby to come home. my bestfriend dropped by. it was a great feeling seeing someone other than the usual family members.

so anyway, as soon as hubby arrived i go the best surprise ever. it was just a regular day, no special occasion but i got the best present ever!

hubby handed me a box of blueberry cheese cake and a big bouquet of flowers. and a card that said:

to the best and hardworking mommy. i love you so much!"

i was fighting off the tears but i'm sure hubby saw how much i appreciated the effort. after all those days that i've been bitchy, whiny and downright tired. this is the best "pambawi" ever. i appreciate more the simple gestures rather than the grand ones. the simple ones are usually from the heart. =)

but the forgetful in me, forgot to take photos, so boo!

sweeter than usual

last night, while hubby and i were taking a break after kyle's simple birthday dinner, hubby suddenly asked out of the blue:

" do you want to do anything this weekend? just the two of us?"

it was a sweet gesture. but i just had to ruin the moment (unintentionally of course) by saying:

"who will take care of kade then?"

if i were in my right mind, i should've said yes in a heartbeat for a little quality time with my hubby after a long time. but he mommy mode just had to kick in.

it was too late to take back what i said but hubby was kind enough to make sure that we will have our quality time soon. at least he now realizes that we both need a break from being parents and from being corporate slaves.

and once in a while we need to bring back the sweetness. *kilig*

now time to schedule that harry potter movie date :D

a father's day post for the best dad of three

i know father's day is a yearly thing and i read my last year's post for hubby. 10 things about him being a dad.

and if i may add:

1. he's not afraid to admit that his fashion sense is going into the direction of daddy-ish. but he still has his days of shorts, sneakers and polo shirts. either way, he's still a hot dad.

2. he's willing to give up his sleeping space and literally sleep like a log so that kyle can sleep and roll as much as he can. with a little complaint here and there, but he's only human.

3. he sacrificed a lot not only for the kids, but for me. and it gives me much more respect for him.

4. he has totally learned to put the kids first before himself and his needs.

5. he still has the proud daddy laugh that is genuine and from the deepest depths of his heart.

the list can go on and on. i'm just happy that my kids are the luckiest kids in the whole world having a daddy like him. he may not be there most of the time, but as i mentioned in the old post, we chose quality over quantity when bonding with the kids.

happy father's day to the best dad my kids could ever have! this is your best year ever with little KX #3 on the way any week now. :)

bring on the cheese

last night, hubby called me up. his voice was a bit depressed. he must be tired from work, i thought. he said he's on his way to pick me up and we need to talk.

uh-oh this is something serious. i hope it's not family related, i thought. as soon as he arrived, he looked forlorn. he started his speech like this:

bear, di ko na kaya to eh. di ko kasi masabi lahat sa iyo kaya sinabi ko na lang kay tigger lahat ng nararamdaman ko. di ko kasi alam kung paano sasabihin sa iyo kaya idinaan ko na lang kay tigger.

huh? tigger? why is a disney character involved?

and then he handed this to me:


can you say cheesy?

we were laughing our heads off with his cheesy lines. kilig factor rating 100/10. perfect score. and totally out of the blue. rare, special and definitely romantic indeed.

why the gesture? because he knows i love tigger, because he knows we have been blessed the past few days, because he knows i've been biting his head off lately about being more of a dad than just the provider to the kids.

and basically, just because.

now, how will i top that? oh yeah, another baby boy for him. haha but seriously, it's so hard to beat this sweetness.

*now basil the plant has a new companion in my cube :D

** and yes hubby did ask me to blog about it. haha

to the best hardworking hubby in the world

a big congratulations on your promotion! good job! the youngest ever to run a sales office for ABI. idol! =)

good job aishi! i know you can do it. prove them all wrong.

all the late nights of going home paid off. i hope this time you get to follow your own schedule and pace. your boys and baby and i are all behind you.

good job aishi!!

His and Hers

Thanks to hubby's connection with the people from Adidas (ex office mates to be exact) we were able to score some rocking sneakers. hubby has about 4 pairs of these and i guess it's about time i have to have one for my own too.

behold, our first his and hers item: sneakers!!

minehubby's

this is one of the lightest sneakers i have ever worn!

WS Memoir Monday #2: Ideal Marriages

For this Week's theme: Ideal Marriages that inspire you

personally i don't have a specific couple whose marriage inspires me. i don't even consider my parent's marriage as ideal or as a benchmark on how we should pattern our marriage. same goes for hubby's parents. i personally think that marriage is and should be a work in progress between two people. like starting out with the same type of clay and it's up to the partners to mold it into whatever they want.

but what i would consider to be part an ideal marriage would be:

1. contstant communication
2. openess
3. trust
4. you bringing out the inner child in your partner
5. you both know when to be serious and when to act all crazy and carefree
6. never ever letting money get in the way of your relationship
7. and of course, having a relationship with god.
8. growing old together and still see each other the way you saw them the first time.
9. accepting the good traits and the bad as one whole package.
10. being good examples to the kids.

this would be the glue that would make it stick. some marriages would opt for an open one, some would even choose to just stay together without any legalities or contracts, as long as they have something that would make their marriage work, then it's good right?

there isn't a perfect marriage really since if there ever was, that marriage would be boring. it's healthy to have quarrels and tampuhan once in a while. it makes the relationship spicer and interesting.

and from the 5 years that hubby and i are together, we're still getting there. these 10 are always in our to do / to be list in marriage.



so i just found a nice photo online of an old couple since #8 on my list is hubby and i growing old and yet staying in love with each other. but with still the usual asaran, away and tampuhan that we signed up for when we decided to get married.

WS Foodie Wednesday #!

this week's running topic of commitment takes on food this time and what better way to share how much you love your spouse through food.

admittedly i am not a domestic goddess and nor do i have the skills in the kitchen. hubby has that covered. his recipes are soul food - to me and most especially the kids. all the food he prepared for the kids were polished off in mere seconds.

here he is preparing his ever famous chili con. (sorry we can't share the recipe. family secret eh) sharing the moment is my best friend. :)


and the finished product:


if you convince us enough, hubby might send some over. hehehe

Kitchen God

hubby, as most of my friends know is the better cook between the two of us. to date, he has his signature dishes that friends rave about and request to have it served during get togethers or if they just crave it.

and as i had pluked over the long weekend, hubby's creamy tuna pasta was a hit at home. as usual.

so how does he do it? simple, it's all in the taste. no measurements at all. call him mr. unconventional chef.

basically, the ingredients are:

garlic, chopped
onions, chopped
pepper. to season
salt, to season
nestle cream, the one in the tetra pack
milk, full cream or non fat. we use nestle milk
cheese, quickmelt preferrably
and century tuna, in vegetable oil.
the tuna's vegetable oil used to saute the garlic and onions.

unfortunately, i don't have the photos to show the creamy goodness that it was. but there's going to be a next time.

at least now, during the holy week, we won't suffer from eating mackarel in glass noodles every good friday. now we have an alternative! yey!

thursday night laughs

last night before we went to bed, hubby and i were discussing our wedding preps for next year. it was a serious conversation which turned downright funny.

hubby: wag na tayo mag reception, chruch na lang ang pag gastusan natin. tapos yung gwon mo saka suit ko rent na lang. haha
me: paano kaya yun? ayos ah.
hubby: madali lang tsaka tipid pa.
me: paano nga?
hubby: after ng reception, mag aabot na lang tayo ng juice at mamon sa mga guests. ok na yun.
me: langya, ang labo nun. (at this point i was laughing my heart out at the thought and the mental image)
me: tapos iaabot natin zesto saka goldilocks mamon.
hubby: pag ninong at ninang, c2 saka ensaymada naman para may distinction. (when he said this, we couldn't stop laughing anymore to the point we were almost crying)
me: oo nga, ganun na lang noh? tipid pa.

but of course, i had to have the last statement:

me: buti na lang joke lang yan noh?

how well do i know hubby

snagged from facebook tags:

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the tv?
ESPN, NBA as long as there's balls. and AFC, we both love watching cooking shows.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
caesar

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
veggies, anything veggies

4. You go out to eat and have a drink; what does he order?
anything that has meat - burger, steak, etc. as for drinks, iced tea, cola or if i allow him to, beer.

5. Where did he go to high School?
xavier

6. What size shoe does he wear?
9 to 9.5

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
i bet basketball jerseys and cars


8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
as long as there aren't a lot of veggies

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
tuna and salmon sashimi! steak with lots of gravy!!

10. What is his favorite cereal?
never saw him eat cereal

11. What would he never wear?
colored underwear,

12. What is his favorite sports team?
this i don't know because i don't pay attention when he and his friends start talking basketball

13. Who did he vote for?
if we were in the US he'd vote for obama, here, never voted.

14. Who is his best friend?
jago, cj, nic, melvin which he'd known since pre school.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
being moody and mataray

16. What is his heritage?
half chinese half pinoy. the only dark chinese boy i ever met. haha mas believable pa ako na chinese kahit hindi eh.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
chocolate decedent cake with caramel sauce on the side.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
basketball, soccer

19. What could he spend hours doing?
sleeping!!!!

20. What is one unique talent he has?
unique? he can pretend to be one mean gay friend. ask colby =)

getting ready for the big day

as some of you know, hubby and i have been planning our church wedding on and off. but by some sheer force, we've been determined more than ever to make sure we do get wed this year. we're not after all those extravagant trimmings that go with the usual weddings. what we want now is a simple celebration with close friends and family only.

first on the agenda is meeting the event planner at the end of this month. the fun part of this one of them is due to give birth in june, a month ahead of me. we've given them our target locations for the church and reception. and starting this week, they'll call up the churches and reception areas to block off or even to just pencil mark the dates for us. we're also attending the wedding expo of martha stewart and hubby has been eyeing some apparel for him and his male entourage. this task would be easier for him since men require just tailored suits versus all the drama we women have to go through in choosing the perfect dress. hubby has to make sure though that the important details such as the motif will be followed when he gets to select the perfect tie to go with the suit

the takoyaki quest has ended

i've been one of those people who have been exposed (and addicted) to takoyaki balls ever since i was kid i fondly remember going to SM Makati usually after mass to do some grocery shopping. while waiting for mom to pay, dad and i would head over to the samurai stall and order ourselves takoyaki balls. either to share or one order each.

all the while i thought this was the authentic one. then discovered this stall when our office was located in robinsons galleria. but i wasn't the same as the one in samurai. it was more of a veggie takoyaki ball.

then, a good friend (hi shar!) revealed a secret. somewhere tucked in makati a jeepney ride away from our house, authentic takoyaki balls are made. i must find this i say and try it out.

and try it out we did!

upon entering the area, we were greeted with a japanese man manning the glorious balls. oh yes my babies i shall taste you soon, i thought. we entered the restaurant, and greeted with more japanese men. a golf game in japanese was showing on the tv.

we proceeded to order. (sorry no photos to share here. :( totally forgot to do so, being excited and all) first off, we ordered the cubic steak which was one of the specials that day, chicken cordon bleu and of course, those lovely takoyaki balls. hubby ordered grape shake while i ordered mango shake.

can i just say that the cubic steak was good! as in really good. they are of course in cubes (duh, cubic steak haha) and the meat was actually soft and melt in your mouth. the steak were resting on potatoes ala hash brown thatwere really good too. for sure hubby and i will order this again when we come back. the chicken cordon bleu on the other hand, was a bit so-so. i couldn't taste the cheese and the ham. and i just foun it odd that it was topped with tomato sauce.

now, do i really have to do a review of the takoyaki balls?

it was the best! among all the others i have tasted, this was indeed the best there is. and as mentioned, all ingredients were authentic - stuff you'd find when you do order one in japan. even hubby who had the shock of his life when he found out that it was made up of octopus bits and not squid. but he actually had more pieces than i did. and yes, he said these balls were much better tasting than the ones he tasted before (galle takoyaki balls).

total bill for this late night dinner cost us around P800.00 which is ok considering we were really satisfied with our food. and for sure we're going to go back and attack those balls and try out the other restos as well.

(hubby got quite disappointed when he found out that they don't serve sashimi or even california maki)

we're definitely going back to hana in little tokyo. :)

want to know more about Hana? check out Kitchen Cow's review HERE

not on these dates...

we don't want another little one anytime soon. maybe in the next 5 years or so. :)

this is to remind hubby that on these dates, off limits. cuddle lang ang pwede. haha

and in this moment i am happy...

i don't need any fancy wedding, a hundred and more guests, an elegant gown, high heeled shoes...
as long as in that moment i know i am with you, nothing else matters...

i am not asking for something grand, just the thought of sealing our love is worth it. and yes, you have to fulfill a promise to my grandma.

mommy takes a back seat on this one

hubby texted this to me last night:

kakatuwa si kyle kanina. hanap ka niya, tapos sabi ko nasa office ka pa, sunduin kita. sabi niya, i want to fetch mommy, come daddy let's ride the car. e sabi ko i'm playing basketball muna. tapos sabi niya, i watch you play basketball then fetch mommy.

it was such a proud daddy moment for him. one, he can converse with kyle properly, two, kyle can express what he wants and can use his logic and thinking in ways that are quite mature and advanced for his age. three, he can speak straight english.

and this moment i fully award to hubby. it's his turn in being a great parent.

PS I Love You

After 10 million years of reading the book, I finally got hold of the movie adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s PS I love You. Initially I planned on watching it alone since from day one, aishi would never watch sappy, tear jerking love stories with me. But last night was different and I was surprised.

I finally set up the laptop on my side of the bed, aishi asked what I’m going to watch. He said he’ll take a look for a good few minutes of the movie then head off to sleep. But wouldn’t you know, he was there beside me from start to finish. With a few side comments on the side. Not necessarily in connection to the movie. But more of a lambing hirit.

At the start of the movie, tears were welling up in my eyes already. It was that good. There were lines that were worth taking note of and remembering forever. Aishi was puzzled why I was crying on certain scenes of the movie. To which I retorted: hindi ka ban a-touch sa sinabi? Hindi ka ba affected sa situation? And to which the answer was, hindi, eh movie lang yan eh.

Fine. Great. So much for a sensitive husband eh?

All in all, I loved the book, and I loved the movie. This one will be in my list of movies to watch over and over again.

And of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without the quotable-quotes:

Gerry : [holding Holly by the shoulders] What do you want? I know what I want, cause I'm holding it in my hands.

Gerry Kennedy: [calms Holly] Every morning I still wake up and the first thing I want to do is to see your face.

Gerry Kennedy: Dear Holly, I don't have much time. I don't mean literally, I mean you're out buying ice cream and you'll be home soon. But I have a feeling this is the last letter, because there is only one thing left to tell you. It isn't to go down memory lane or make you buy a lamp, you can take care of yourself without any help from me. It's to tell you how much you move me, how you changed me. You made me a man, by loving me Holly. And for that, I am eternally grateful... literally. If you can promise me anything, promise me that whenever you're sad, or unsure, or you lose complete faith, that you'll try to see yourself through my eyes. Thank you for the honor of being my wife. I'm a man with no regrets. How lucky am I. You made my life, Holly. But I'm just one chapter in yours. There'll be more. I promise. So here it comes, the big one. Don't be afraid to fall in love again. Watch out for that signal, when life as you know it ends. P.S. I will always love you.

Now let’s all say awww…

Oh and did I mention, Gerard Butler is one hot man. And the accent… *swoon*

Now, I have to get the other books by Cecilia ahern. And she’s just my age… galling!!

LP#12: ITAY

sa oras na kailangan mo ako, anak
andito lang ako
inaabot ang aking kamay
para gumabay sa iyo

hindi mo alam ang lubos na tuwa
sa aking puso
kapag pinagsisilbihan
ko kayo, mga anak

para naman sa tatay ko:

at ganun din ang pakiramdam naming mga anak mo, dada
(kahit na iniwan niyo ako nung nang HK kayo. huhu :P)

maligayang araw ng mga ama sa mga taga LP!