World Pyro Olympics in Manila

Went to Pasay City and the Mall of Asia, not for shopping (since the mall was still closed), but for the pyro display. Yup, it was the World Championship of the Pyro Olympics. It started after Christmas, and each night, starting the 26th, 2 competing countries put on a 15-minutes show of fireworks EACH! The 30th was the last day of the competition, so off we trooped to the Esplanade for the show.

BUT GOSH, the traffic going there was terrible! Dan, Jon, me and the kids hitched a ride with Yogi and it took all of 2 hours to travel from Mandaluyong to Roxas Blvd. Though we originally wanted to go into the actual park grounds to get a good view of the fireworks, we were still at Heritage Hotel when the fireworks started! And believe me, the whole Buendia fronting Heritage Hotel became a virtual parking lot. Imagine! People got out of their cars and watched the fireworks so traffic was at a standstill. After the initial show, we all walked up to Blue Wave, met up with Ben, then waited for the next fireworks show to start. When the fireworks started up again, the kids were in awe! Both kids were shouting “Whoa! Ganda!” I don’t know which was more fun to watch, the fireworks display, or the kids’ reactions! :) It truly was a great show and people, both young and old, appreciated the beautiful display lighting up the sky.

Getting home was another matter. After the show, we joined the throngs of thousands (!) and walked. We walked all the way from Blue Wave and the Mall of Asia, to Harrison, took a cab from there, and got home almost 1 a.m.! Surprisingly, no complaints from the kids even with the long walk, as they were still excited about the show. But as soon as we got in the cab, they fell asleep. Another great experience they won’t easily forget.

(I don't think the images here did the event justice. But heck, it was worth trying. You REALLY had to be there.)

Christmas Day celebration

Our family get-together yesterday was such fun! Before lunch of Christmas Day, we were at my aunt’s house in Quezon City. Attended the 11 am mass with the kids, then went back to their house for a hearty lunch. The whole clan (my mom’s siblings and their families) still in the Philippines were in complete attendance. And that it should be, since it’s rare that we get a chance to meet up. Really, it’s just during the holidays season that we all get a chance to get-together and catch up on happenings in each other’s lives.

Being Christmas, it was food galore! Lechon (pork and chicken). Pasta. Chicken Galantina. Grilled Tilapia. Sushi. California maki. Crispy pata. Chili prawns. Lumpiang shanghai. Pancit Palabok. For dessert? Grapes. Leche flan. Putong ube and putong queso. Hot chocolate. Chips & Dip. Goodbye, diet. Goodbye, waistline.

What else did we do Christmas day? Well, out came the board games. As usual! “Scene It” was the newest game we played. Then later on, it was Magic Sing. Hoohoohoo… Funny, but the game version on this microphone was really a lot of laughs. It seems whatever game we decide to play, the Arboleda humor (and competitive nature) is bound to come out.

Oh, and the best part of Christmas Day, especially for the kids, was the gift-giving. My kids, being the youngest in our clan, are always sure to get the best, and most, LOOT! Hahaha! Yup, Christmas is really for the kids.

Our celebrations ended late, as expected! Am sooo glad, today is a holiday. GMA's holiday economics. Woohoohoo! :D

Our next family get-together? New Year’s Day in Parañaque. :)

"Queer" Dessert

Was watching Queer Eye's Thanksgiving special and Kyan shared this recipe for dessert. While one part of me is saying, "Great! As if i needed another recipe for dessert, and add a few more pounds!"... just couldn't resist taking down notes pa rin. Hay. Didn't catch what it's called though. Here are the ingredients:

Grapes
Crushed pineapples (canned)
Marshmallows
Walnuts (chopped)
Whipped cream

Just mix these all up in a bowl, and shove it into the freezer. It's ready to eat in an hour or so. So easy! And surely yummy, too! Actually, if you're on a diet, you can forego the cream. Then that would definitely be a healthy dessert. Enjoy!

Tagaytay in December

Imagine this... The cold Tagaytay air in December... Me, wearing a black (with blue print) spaghetti strap dress, no stockings, and just a black shawl as added protection against the winds. And believe me, the winds were fierce in Tagaytay!

What was i doing in Tagaytay? Attending a wedding! And cold as it was, witnessing two people in love, exchanging vows, was pretty heartwarming. Didn't know i could still be touched watching a wedding.

Another surprise was that i didn't mind the cold. Well, not so much anyway. i think i really have gotten used to cold weather. That, or maybe, seeing two people in love, getting married was what warmed my heart and the rest of me. Ah, love...

I posted some new pics on flickr, but when I checked out my blog, nothing! Awww, I'm disappointed... :(

Party

Date: 13 December 2005
Time: 6 pm. onwards
Place: Le Boulevardier, Intercontinental Manila

Company Christmas party. So what was so special? Well, aside from the fact that it’s my first Christmas with the Company, I still cannot believe that they made me perform! No one was exempted. Grabeeeee... The good thing about it is that EVERYONE did perform. Even our expat bosses. So I had no excuse not to join in.

As early as November, we were racking our brains to decide what we'd do. Sing? Dance? Silent Chorale? Think, think, think! Then when we finally decided, it was time to practice, practice, practice.

So how did we do? I don’t want to say anything except our group “rocked” to Randy Travis’ version of “Jingle Bell Rock”. It was fun, BUT never again… :D

Jingle Bell Rock

Before you ask "why"... Yes, i have been remiss (again!) at posting, and posting lyrics of a popular Christmas song is a great filler! And secondly, there is a special reason why i'm posting the lyrics of Jingle Bell Rock here. It's because this is what we're performing at our Company Christmas party on the 13th! Nyarks...

Well, if you'd like to hear Randy Travis' version and sing to it, the link to the audio file is below. Enjoy! :)

=================================
Randy Travis' version from the album, "A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 2"

Bells on bobtails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighin' song tonight

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun.

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air.

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time it's a swell time
To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and mingle in the jinglin' beat
That's the jingle bell, rock

Spoken: Come on
--- Instrumental ---

Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun.

Spoken: Play it again
--- Instrumental ---

Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air.

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time it's a swell time
To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and mingle in the jinglin' beat
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell, rock

(Spoken)
(Hey, that was great.)
(Can we do it one more time, guys?)

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time it's a swell time
To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and mingle in the jinglin' beat
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell, rock

What a bright time,
It's the right time
Bring it along now
Come on, now

Jingle bell time
It's a swell time...

http://www.santasearch.org/music.asp?PID=2&AudioID=1557