Cute blog award!

Yey! What a cute gift for Valentine's Day from Unikorna of Why I Wake Up Everyday

Thank you for giving this award for my blog Unikorna. :)

And to everyone, I wish you all a:

happy hearts day!

Nanay's 69th Birthday!

Last February 6, 2012 was the birthday of Tita Norma, the mother of my boyfriend, but because everybody has work or classes on that day, her children decided to celebrate it a day in advance which was February 5.

My boyfriend fetched me from my house at around 12:30 pm that day, and we went to the mall first to buy cakes and a gift for Tita Norma or Nanay (as she is lovingly referred to by her grandkids and children).  After our mall trip we went to their house in Marikina.

The grandchildren of Nanay were the ones who prepared the food for the birthday.  We had chicken cordon bleu, fried chicken, lumpiang gulay, and calderetang baka for lunch.  For merienda, we have  mocha chocolate cake, chocolate cake, brazo de mercedes which was my gift for Tita, Catedral which was from Boyet, hotdog with marshmallows and Spaghetti.

I ate too much that day because all the food were really delicious, and I had  sweet treats overload from the cakes.

I had so much fun playing with my boyfriends's nephews and nieces at the village park just in front of their house.  We played in the seesaw and slide, and I feel like a kid again that day.

The highlight of  Nanay's birthday was the surprise gift from Ate(my boyfriend's sister) which was a Cherry tablet.  Nanay loves to play on Ate's Apple Ipad but she have to wait in line because everyone in the house loves to play on it.  Nanay would stay up late playing games on the Ipad, so Ate decided to give a Cherry tablet just for her to play on.  She was so happy when the Ipad was handed to her.

I love being with my boyfriend's family.  They are kind, happy and very loving people!

TIERRA DE MARIA – HAVEN OF MEDITATION AND ENRICHMENT (HOME) IN TAGAYTAY

Haven of Meditation and Enrichment at Tierra De Maria in Tagaytay City is just beside the Picnic Grove. 

The 50 foot image of the Blessed Mary welcomes you as you enter the compound.  It’s not really a huge place but if you want to escape the party atmosphere of Picnic Grove then this is the place to be.

Even if the place has many visitors, everyone observes silence in respect for those people who are reverently praying.

Entrance Fee:  Free, but there are donation boxes where you can place your love offering for the maintenance of the place. 

They charge P5.00 for the use of comfort room, but I can’t say how clean the comfort room is because I didn’t get to use it.

WHAT TO SEE:

1.  The 50 foot image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2.  Garden vine murals depicting the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and of the Stations of the Cross.

3.  The symbolic Wedding of Cana wishing well, beside it is the stand for your lighted candles.

4.  The different images of Our Lady inside the chapel – like the Our Lady of Guadalupe and the replica of the Our Lady of Manaoag.

5.   The huge tile calendars of saints.  On each day of the month there’s a picture and a brief description of the saint who celebrates their feast day on that date.

6.  The fish spa.  I forgot to take the picture of the foot spa.

7.  The viewing deck on the third floor where you can see the Taal volcano and a platform from where you can hold the hand of the 50 foot image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

8.  The birds around the place specially the talkative Myna at the entrance.

WHAT TO DO:

1.  Pray and meditate.

2.  Attend the healing mass every first Saturday of the month.

3.  Write your prayer requests and drop it at the petition box so that other people can pray for you as well.

4.  Take pictures.

5.  Buy pasalubong.  There are some vendors selling yummy goodies inside and outside the compound.

So if ever you are in the vicinity of Tagaytay City, don't forget to drop by this place and pray.   It's a good place to quiet down, and meditate on the love of God.

TAGAYTAY’S PICNIC GROVE

Taal Volcano
my brother's girlfriend failed to adjust the date setting of her camera - the date should be 2012/01/23

My loved ones and I went to Tagaytay City last Chinese New Year – January 23, 2012.

We have been planning to go to Tagaytay City since last year, but we kept on postponing it until it pushed through this month.  It has been ages since I visited this “Little Baguio” of Cavite. 

It’s our first time to commute going to Tagaytay City so my brother and I researched first where to get a ride to the City and how we’re going to go around the places we want to visit.

I was unsure the night before if my boyfriend will be joining us on this trip because our agreement was I was to call him at 5:00 a.m. to wake him up, but knowing how hard it is to wake him up early in the morning, I had doubts whether he can come with us.  Fortunately after more than 15 missed calls, he answered to my 6:30 a.m. call.  By 7:15 a.m. he was eating breakfast at our house already.

We started our trip with a prayer and a blessing from my father.  We never leave for any long trip without prayers after a bad incident last year.

MODE OF TRANSPORTATION:  Bus and Tricycle

We rode the San Agustin Bus with the sign board Nasugbu at the Araneta Center Cubao Bus Station at around 8:00 a.m.  The bus left Quezon City for Tagaytay City 30 minutes after.  One-way ticket to Tagaytay City is P104.00.  The bus transverse through EDSA, Coastal Road, and the long stretch of Emilio Aguinaldo High way that passed the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Dasmarinas, Silang and finally after two hours of travel at Tagaytay City. 

When in Tagaytay, you may ask the conductor to drop you by the jeepney terminal near the Rotunda if you want to ride a jeep to Tagaytay’s favorite places or ride the tricycle just like what we did which was at P20.00 per person.

TAGAYTAY PICNIC GROVE: 

The P20.00 fare per person onboard the tricycle was worth it because Picnic Grove is far from the rotunda where we alighted from the bus.  We passed through retreat houses, restaurants, the Good Shepherd Convent, and the Pink Sisters’ Convent.  I was at awe by the beautiful scenery along the road and in love with the picturesque Taal Volcano.

Entrance fee:  P50.00

We did not rent any cottage while at the Picnic Grove for we planned to just explore the surroundings; I’m sure no one among us would want to stay and be left behind as the others roam through the park.

ACTIVITIES AT THE PICNIC GROVE:

1.  Try the zip line and transverse a 250 meter long cable, suspended 300 feet off the ground at 60 km/hr.

Rate:  P200.00 per person one way and P300 per person two way on weekdays; P300 per person one way and P400.00 per person two way on holidays and weekends.  It comes with a free souvenir picture.

2.   Ride the cable car.  Same rate as the zip line.

3.   Rent a cottage and just sit down and take in the scenery.

Rate:  P100.00 to P250.00 depending on the size.

4.   Eat at the Alamat Restaurant inside the Picnic Grove.

5.   Fly a kite.

6.   Ride a horse.

Rate:  P200.00 per hour

7.   Hike around the eco trail.

8.   Take pictures. J

9.  Buy souvenirs.  There are many souvenir shops around the park.

Thank you, Maricel for posing inside the souvenir shop :)

PLACE RATING AND COMMENT:

We didn’t get to try the zip line and ride the cable car because there’s a long queue of people waiting for their turn.  We just strolled around the place, enjoyed the cool weather,

and looked at the beauty of nature.  Looking at the Taal volcano within the Taal Lake is a sight to behold.  Being in a beautiful place makes you feel grateful to God for the beauty of the surroundings you see and you feel so close to him.

I hope that the administrators of Tagaytay Picnic Grove do something to improve the place.  The cottages need repainting, the comfort rooms need some tidying up and they should do something about the horses because they looked really famished.

Overall, I’d still visit the place because it has the most amazing view of Taal volcano.

Will continue my post on Tierra de Maria here.

Driving Around The Metro

Last Sunday, my boyfriend and I went with his father, mother, sister and nephew to different places around Metro Manila.  We were at Marikina, Tondo and Las Pinas City to accompany my boyfriend's sister to her business transactions.  My boyfriend needed to be there because once her sister leave for Japan again ( she is based there with her family) he would be the one doing the business already.

His sister said to my boyfriend that if he wants to be left behind and just accompany her on some other day it would be okay.  But I insisted that we went with her because we don't have anything plan for the weekend.  And his father said that it would be nice if we could join them so that I could go and see different places.

I on my part was okay with the idea because I don't frequent those places.

Being on a long ride with them was not boring.  There were plenty of things to talk about while on the road, and we had finger foods to munch along the way too.

It was my boyfriend's father who drove, and I was amazed that he knew a lot of short cuts to the places we went through.

Too bad I did not bring my camera with me.  I was unaware that we will be passing by so many historical and beautiful places.

We passed by Binondo Church or the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Jones Bridge, Intramuros, the National Art Gallery,Rizal Park,Quirino Grandstand, Manila Bay and so many monuments.:(

I could have a new set of pictures for these places if I brought my camera.

Rizal monument in Rizal Park

the tamaraw statue in front of the Quirino Grandstand

National Museum - Museum of the Filipino People

National Museum - National Art Gallery

It was tiring to be on the road for five hours but it was still a happy day for me because I got to spend some time with them.

The Second Sunday Of The New Year

The second Sunday of the New Year proved to be a happy day!

The joy started when my brother and I attended mass and worship service at the Quezon City Feast.  It was a heartwarming and  glorious celebration of thanking the Lord for all the blessings in 2011 and praying for abundance in 2012.

My boyfriend had lunch with my family and then we went out to watch "Sherlock Holmes" at Blue Wave.

photo was taken from imdb.com

"Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr in the lead and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. It was a fun movie.  A lot of lines by Holmes were hilarious.  It was a good, entertaining movie.  The loose ends at the end of the movie signals that there will be a third installment of "Sherlock Holmes."

After watching the movie, we went to SM City Marikina to buy a new cellphone. It's actually a late Christmas gift and an early birthday gift for me from my boyfriend.  My phone needs replacement because I accidentally spilled betadine solution on it and because of that the words on the screen on the phone are barely readable.

Okay, I am not really into expensive mobile phone because I am stingy by nature. :)  So even if it's a gift, I've requested that it should not go over the set price. hehehe  Besides, I am not really comfortable with pricey phones because I just commute to work everyday.  Carrying a less priced phone will not attract so much attention from snatchers.  For me the brand does not matter as long as I can text and call. Plus, it should be dual sim because I don't want to bring two phones for my Smart and Globe sim.  I have found a perfect phone for me and it's an Alcatel unit.  My boyfriend was pleased with the purchase and I am grateful that he bought me a new phone.

Now, you might be asking why I have two sims if I am kuripot (stingy).  Well, it's because I used to reload cellphone loads; I can't give up my Globe sim because it got 12,000 free texts that accumulated because of my being a load seller before, and I can't give up my Smart sim because my parents and siblings are on Smart and most of them would asked load from me.

After watching the movie and buying a cellphone, my boyfriend and I had an early dinner at KFC.

It was a happy second Sunday of the year!

Make A Gold Investment Now

It is the start of another year.  One of the resolutions we should all make for this New Year is to take care of our finances.  I know it is hard to save and invest especially now that we are on a financial crisis, but it is important that we make small sacrifices now in order that we will become financially stable in the future.

According to most financial coaches, we should allot at least 10 % of our income for savings and 10 % of our income for investment.  We could invest in business, mutual funds and even in gold.

Gold in the form of gold coins, nuggets or gold paper investment are solid investment because it is not affected by financial crisis.  Over the years, despite wars, stock market crash, inflation, bleak political situations; the price of gold continues to increase.  One can make investment in gold by buying gold through brokers and some even have converted their pension plan or 401k plan to Gold 401k

Like in any other investments, if you want to have a GoldIRA transfer or buy gold coins, you have to be sure that you have made a thorough research and understanding of this investment.  You have to study the pros and cons because it is our hard earned money that we will be investing.

If you want to have a prosperous future, make the necessary financial changes now.  Plan your investment now.

Blessed? Or Stressed?

We are only on the second week of the New Year, but I feel that the year is so old already.  Things have been hectic at work and their were some challenges I need to face personally. I am tempted to complain how this year is turning to be very stressful.  

But I need to stop myself because even if there were many stressful situations at work and at home, I am amazed by God's guidance. His providence is always there to meet my need whether financially or emotionally. So I now wonder were those situations really that stressful or were those circumstances necessary for me to see how God has been faithful to me and for that I am very blessed! :)