Tita Papot's Birthday

I wanted my beloved tita's birthday to be extra special, but I didn't have enough time and resources to prepare. So I baked her a cake instead.

A lemon chiffon cake made with lots of love :)

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Sugar syrup...

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... + egg whites and cream of tartar...

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... = white icing.

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White icing + lemon chiffon cake = my favorite cake and icing combo.

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Piping orange decor on the cake's edges.

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Look at Alyannah munching away on the cake crumbs! Ganyan din ako when I was her age. I'd watch my mom while she makes her cakes then I'd eat all the scraps. Including the icing!

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Serious naman. I wonder what she's thinking. I hope that she will learn how to bake when she grows up.

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Here's my creation! This was my first time to bake again after ten months so I still needed a lot of practice :)

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With the cake ready, we drove to Lolo Pete's house in Taguig. I was excited to see my tita and my cousins. Aly couldn't wait to see her ate Gabbi too. Kaya lang, when we got there, nag-Christmas shopping sila. Pffft...

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Buti na lang kuya Moe was there. He's such a nice kuya to Alyannah. I remember one time when Yan fell in my mom's garden, he was the first one to help her. When she was crying, he was stroking her back. When he heard me and his mom laugh about the incident (Yan wasn't really hurt, but she cried sooo loud as if she broke her ankle and we found it really funny), he got mad at us and told us not to laugh at Yan. We asked him why he got mad, and he said, "mabait talaga ko sa mga baby". To which, Yan instantly responded, "I'm not a baby anymore. I'm a big girl!" Kuya Moe is always nice to Yan even if she's masungit to him sometimes.

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Finally, dumating na sila. Just in time for dinner. Yey!

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Ate Gabbi had pasalubong for Aly.

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Jofe, gutom ka na?

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Mick: ako, oo.

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Kokoy, san ba kayo nagpunta at ang tagal nyo?

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The Ignacio-Manalo boys.

My cousins Chig and Kokoy, and my brothers Mick and Jofe. We all have the same middle name and surname because our daddies, who are brothers, married our mommies, who are sisters. That's why we're superclose. Isn't that cool?

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The kulits. Aly with her cousins.

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Chowtime!

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The Ignacio Family.

Standing, left to right: Me, Chig, Kokoy, tito Jun, Gab, Jofe, tita Papot, Mick.

Seated, left to right: Aly, mommy, daddy, big Moe.

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Happy birthday, tita Paps! May all your wishes come true! We love you!

Alyannah's Kidcore Reunion

Alyannah missed her NSIS Christmas Program and Year-end party because we left for the Philippines early. I told her it's ok, because she will be joining the Kidcore Christmas party anyway.

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So I bought her a nice dress and I made sure that I will wear a shirt that matches her dress. I wrapped all her gifts and placed them in a bag so I won't forget. I was well prepared -- except for one thing: my dear daughter's tantrum.

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Everything was going smoothly even if we arrived at the party late. We missed the program, but when we got there, Aly was thrilled to see her classmates and vice versa. She was eating spaghetti and ice cream together with her friends. They were playing and running all over the place. We were all happy making chika and everything. Then, it happened: my daughter's mood suddenly turned sour. She doesn't want to play with her friends anymore, she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't want to have her picture taken...she just wants to stay with her lola Aple. Aaarrgghhh!!! I don't know how it happened, why it happened...I was just too frustrated and disappointed that she chose this day, of all days, to throw a tantrum.

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Looking back, I remember two things that happened before she lost her mood. First, she tripped on the stage. As in "BLAG!" then I saw her on the floor. She didn't cry and she didn't hurt herself naman. Yung ego lang nya ang nasaktan. Hehe! Second, her classmates performed their Christmas number for tita Carmen. So while all her classmates were singing on stage, she was the only kid left sitting with the adults. So nawala sya sa mood, either because nadapa sya or because she felt bad na hindi sya kasama sa stage. Tuloy, parang ako yung may reunion because I was really happy to see the Kidcore mommies and teachers again.

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Anyway, I was able to force my daughter to have her picture taken before we left the party. I felt really bad that we had to leave right away, but Alyannah wasn't in the mood anymore. Hay...

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With Andree, Andree's lola and Lolo Aple.

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With Kristine.

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Did you notice how she looked in the photos? Ganyan sya pag wala na sya sa mood. Also she didn't want to have her photo taken without her Lola Aple.

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Hopefully, there will be no more tantrums next year.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and My New Baking Assistant

When I came home, mom told me that there was a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips in her ref waiting for me. I love baking in my mom's house because it's super easy! First, she has a KitchenAid Mixer so I can cream, mix, whip anything with zero effort. Ooohh, the KitchenAid Mixer really is my dream gadget. I wish I had a bigger kitchen here so I can buy my own. Anyway, I digress. Second, my mom's helper, ate Gelyn is there to help me clean up. And third, just last December, I had a new assistant. Hehe! My little brother, Jofe, helped me bake cookies.

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Okay, so he's not so little anymore. He's way taller than me. But he's still my favorite 2nd brother. Heehee!

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My assistant has his own assistant -- ay, usisera lang pala!

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Let's see Jofe in action...

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She can't wait to taste the cookies.

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Guarding the cookies closely in case somebody (tito Mick) gets to them first. Haha!

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Sandali na lang...

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...yey! Luto na sa wakas! Wait, what's that thing in the background?

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Ayun...si Aly pala! At naka buena mano na! Teka, parang may mga naka-bantay pa sa likod...

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...aba, may panel of judges pa! Haha! My One and Only and my Favorite 1st Brother look happy. I guess they liked the cookies!

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They look yummy indeed!

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Great job, Jofe! Not bad for a first-time baker :)

Our First Visitors for 2009

Galera, May 2007

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I received a message from my bestfriend Ria thru gmail chat yesterday morning:

Ria: kung pupunta kami BKK, susunduin mo ba kami sa airport at ihahatid? at will you let us stay in your place?

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Me: ofcourse i will let you stay in our place! anobeh? and i can pick you up. ilan ba kayo?

Ria: kami lang ni kerwin. yehey. ayusin lang namin leaves namin.

Me: yey!!! kelan nyo balak? excited na ko :)

Ria: wait lang. basta. soon.

When she said soon, I was thinking maybe March for her birthday, or April for Holy week. So she kept me in suspense the whole morning. Then, later in the afternoon, we were able to chat again. She told me that she was booking their tickets already. Oooohh! Moments later, she confirmed. They will be here on 14-17 February!! Woohoo!!!

Double date daw kami sa Valentine's Day. Just like our Galera trip...

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a Eeww...cheesy. Hehe!

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Anyway, I'm super excited! I started making a short list of places that we can go to. I was also planning to cruise the Chao Phraya River and now may kasama na ko.

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AC Christmas Party 2008

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To Ri and Kerwin: Have a safe trip and we'll see you soon!

Summer is here!

I can feel the heat. Yeah, summer has arrived indeed.
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The cool and breezy mornings that we've been waking up to in the past couple of weeks have become warm and foggy. The foggy mornings are gone and now the weather is hot and sticky. Ugh. Ok lang sana if it's warm and windy. But no, it's hot, sticky and sweaty.

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I don't like this kind of weather because now it takes longer for my laundry to dry. So now I'm seriously considering using the dryer at the laundry place downstairs, but for Thb100 per load? Maybe I should try it first.

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How are things there back home? Mainit na rin ba?

Christmas in Bangkok

Before we proceed with my kwento about our vacation, let's talk about Christmas in Bangkok first. Christmas is not really a Thai holiday, but they still decorate the malls and buildings for the sake of the foreigners. I must say, they really go all out with the decor. Bongga sya in fairness. That's why I want to share these photos with you.

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Emporium. These were taken using my dad's new Sony camera (naks!) last November.

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Ang laki ng snowman! Teka, parang may kulang yata...

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...that's more like it! Para mas realistic yung kuha.

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The gingerbread house.

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Central World Mall. These were taken a day before our flight to Manila.

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A for Alyannah.

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Ang laki ng christmas tree!!

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Next stop: Siam Paragon.

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Ang laki ng christmas balls!!

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And our last stop: Oakwood.
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