my CHRISTmas wish list

Time flies so fast. Another Christmas is near and of course gift giving is expected. I started my Christmas gift shopping earlier but I still need to get some stuff for our aunties ... keeping my fingers cross that I find something nice within the budget I set. Well to those who are planning to give me some gifts for this season of giving... I have listed the things I want... hehehe.. The list is really for wants more than needs!

1.I want to continue my promise to buy two books per payday. I just got one last month and haven't seen any book I wanted to buy this month. So to continue with my promise I need the moolah to do that... The Fully Booked Gift card is a good way to do it.... So friends..... you know what I majorly want!

2.
I learned about blog2print online... I have documented our wedding preparations from the beginning to the end. Having it in print will make it just awesome. Unfortunately, if I have it printed in color and with the hard bound cover, it will cost around $80-100! Any generous friends out there! hehehehe

3.

This is a handheld emulsifier... I want want to make soup and blend stuff... You can get me a blender as well. Hehehehe.. This will really help with the dieting!

4. One more gift that I want is a membership from Fitness First or any gym out there. Like the one being offered at Deal Grocer... https://www.dealgrocer.com/product/17-1-month-membership-3-personal-training ... hehehehe

5. Lastly, I want is a Samsung Tab.. There is no explanation why I want one! The features of the phone itself tell why I want one!

The list can go on but this is the one that I can think so far! Hehehehe

w@w CHRISTmas party ... Fun .... Fun.. fun...

This time last year we attended the same Christmas party, we had fun last year but this year is better. I guess because we celebrated the party with friends and not just mere online buddies. The W@w Christmas party is something that I have been looking for this year. I already filed my leave last August, wishing and hoping that it will be set on the day after Thanksgiving, since it fell on the same day last year. Luckily, it did fall on Black Friday.

The party was at The Pergola Events Place situated in the Boom na Boom complex. It was set at 6:30 PM. The traffic going to the venue was really really bad! It took us about an hour to get there coming from SM Manila. If you know Manila, you know that the distance is not that far!!!! It was not even a payday Friday for crying out loud! The traffic jam faded as Ayeth, one of my w@w sisters, tell her stories about hmmmm... about.... about... hehehehe..... Christian sat quietly in the front listening!

When we got to the venue, some sisters were there already. Fei and Beej were there already. We took our seats and then go around the venue. Took our photo booth pictures and checked out the gowns to be given away. Some of the other close sisters arrived -- Kristell, Che, Elaine, Shens, Mafeth, Tin, everyone. It was fun to be seating with friends.

The program started at around 8 PM. Francis Day was this year's emcee. The suppliers were there as well. The top 10 suppliers of the year were present except for Ms. Chi of Once a Bride since Fei told us that she has a wedding that day. The yearly Christmas party of W@W is also the time when the Top Supplier of the Year is announced so everybody that night was making guesses of who will take home the much coveted trophy.

Before the announcement was made, dinner started after a few games. The food was abundant specially the dessert... love love love the red velvet cake... The mongolian bbq was good also! Missed the mongolian bbq from the canteen at UP. hahahaha... Josiah's provided the food and the dessert bar was from Joy San Gabriel.... the cupcakes too.. love it!

There was an on-the-spot caricature... it was fun to have our faces drawn in an instant! We got a few prices as well.. nothing major though unlike last year where I won an engagement ring from Vgem. Hahahaha... The party was really great and so much fun. Christian cannot stop saying that he enjoyed the party so much and it was better than last year. He was also asking if we will be able to attend the party next year! hahahaha... Calling Ms. Benz.. pwede pa ba?

the circle of friends with ms. benz and her lovely daughter Kite

winner of supplier of the year 2010 --- Elmer of Rejectkrew
i dreamt of this scene around the last week of October! i told some w@w sisters about it... watching the video of the announcement of the winner made me shiver!

me & xtian with one of our videographers... Chug Cadiogan, one of the top 10 suppliers of the year! hehehehe

inom inom inom!!! hahahahha

Christian did not want to waste the opportunity to have his photo taken with the Supplier of the Year... hahahahha! Rock On!

our table mates! the noisiest table of all .. hahahaha

more pictures.... posing posing!

this time with paul and ayvih... love love love these guys!
pero di pa rin naging totoo ang wish kong magkapicture kami ni xtian with the whole pv team!

posing again!

with all the other w@w couples
Xmas party 2010!!!!

It is definitely true.. once a w@W always a w@w.... I learned a lot from the group during my wedding preparations but I gained more than knowledge about the wedding industry.... I gained friends who will be friends forever!

pager.. beeper... vibrate mode! hahahaha

My sister was looking for my college class cards in my old study table to look at my grades since I was boasting that I have better grades than her during my first year in college... when she stumbled upon this chunky but cutie piece of old technology. She knew that it was a pager because she saw the same contraption from Grey's Anatomy. She however does not know how it works.

We tried to put a triple A battery on my old pager... Voila.. it still works! hahahaha... with the yellow backlight on.. the tones working... it have the "Under the Sea" melody! Alarms working. It was too bad the messages were not saved.. well it has been near a decade since the last time I used it! I told her how the messages comes out... how it scrolls ... and that she can control how fast the scrolling will be. My mom told her on how she will message me by calling the number.. and an operator will answer and type in the message to my pager number! Hahahaha... Classic!!!!

Gosh... technology do upgrade sooo fast! I had my pager during my 2nd year in college... Got a SMS abled phone by 4th year... Load was sooo expensive then but text messages were free but who to text back then? hehehehe Hayyy

my old old old pager.. scratches all over it and still has the YFC sticker!

Infopage was my provider... 127.127.127... pager number please.. hahahaha

the w@w primer.. still having the wedding preps bug

I do not usually wake up early anymore... I sleep almost all day until 4 or 5 pm but today is different. On my way to the washroom at around noon today, I noticed a bright pink package pouch... Hmmmm.... On my way back to our room, I checked it out and it had my name on it... Liberty Palomo-Quiambao... I really love it when someone uses my hyphenated name. I have a feeling what is inside, since I have been reading about it in the weddingsatwork.com egroups...

My gut feeling did not disappoint me. Inside is a copy of the 2010 W@w Wedding Primer! Hehehehe.. My 2009 copy is really really trashy.. since I read it over and over again during our wedding preps.

Yebah... I just love how some people address my preferred surname!

Nice envelope with the bride & groom logo of w@w

Sweet sweet sweet....

Upon reading this one... I immediately opened the primer and browsed every page looking for our names!

Yebah.. page 66... this quote is in memory of something I wrote on my friendster blog before.. imagine friendster blog.. hahahaha

Many many thanks to Ms. Benz and Sir John for creating w@w and for the primer. It is definitely an honor to have my name printed on something special.... I guess w@w will always be part of me.

Celebrating 6 months!

10.17.2010 --- We were never the mushy couple who would celebrate our monthsary during our earlier years as a couple. Well, Xtian was never mushy and I guess he will never be. However, just to make a change, we decided to celebrate our 6th month as hubby and wifey!

To start of the day, I got myself a new pair of eyeglasses from SM Centerpoint and waited for less than a hour to get it... voila new glasses! clear and shiny! After that, we were off to Pope Pius XII Catholic Center.... the place where our history began. We attended the noon mass. We just love hearing mass there since it is really quiet and solemn. It is not jam packed with people and there is airconditioning. If only it is more accessible to public transport, I guess we will opt to hear mass at the church every Sunday.

After the church, we went straight to Pearl Garden Hotel.... hehehee.. yes we went back to our reception venue. Spent the night and just drink... cuddle and had a good night sleep. We just reminisce the wedding day and how fast time flies. Sooner than we know it, we were talking about what to do for our anniversary... hahahaha!!!

The sisters preparing the church.. i guess there is a wedding at 2PM. They allow Sunday weddings!

A shot for prosperity's sake! Nice glasses right?

Crazy crazy Forever 21 sale!

Last 16 October 2010, me, my mom and Andie headed off to SM Megamall to check out the Forever 21 sale. We were supposed to meet up with Sharleen but some changes happened so she was left out.

We arrived at SM Megamall around 11AM. We went straight to Forever 21. My sister kept on saying that she needs to go to St. Francis Square afterward to get some clothes for herself. When we got to the shop... OMG! There are people around... Ladies, women, young girls... grabbing clothes, going through the racks... it was crazy. I have been to 3-day sales and I expected it to be full of people but I haven't seen anything like it. It was chaotic! People were already fitting the clothes right there and then since the line for the fitting rooms was crazy!

We spent a good two hours I guess inside the store. I got myself a new pair of jeans. My mom got herself two pair of pants. My sister.. Hmm... I don't know how many stuff she got. We got my sisterette a really nice romper... a couple of spandex shirts. The sale is worth it if you will be buying sooooooo many stuff since it was 10% off on all regularly priced items but if you went there to buy just an item or two... forget it! I think I save a near 1000 pesos on all the things I got. Not bad!

This is the crazy crazy line for the cashier! Can you see the end of it?

Ahem.. ahem... mama.. enough with the picking.... overbudget already!

see how the line of heads turns... that is almost the end of the line!

----- Honor and excellence ---

This is a long overdue blog entry. I am always at awe with professors and instructors from UP.. either their from Diliman, Los Banos, Mindanao, Visayas, Baguio, or anywhere. I have deep respect with them since teaching is so hard plus the low pay. Last October 5, 2010, Prof. Winnie Monsod conducted her last lecture for her economics class. I did not have any econ subjects back in UP but Prof. Winnie is a famous professor of the university because of her appearances on television. I can only remember entering one of classes during my campaign for the University Student Council position way way way back in 2000.

Her lecture is more on the pride of being a UP student... of being a UP Diliman student. She mentioned about being the cream of crop amongst the thousands who took the UPCAT and of course, she stressed on the importance of giving back to society. I actually cried while watching the video. Prof. Monsod's words hit me hard. I am a passionate student leader and I can say a true Maroon blooded student in my college days. I don't know where that person is now. I guess when you grow older, you somewhat lose the zeal and the open eye to society's needs. Instead the zeal is overshadowed by responsibilities to oneself and to one's family. It might be a selfish thing to think about but some chose to survive and flourish to one's benefits. I am guilty! I originally wanted to teach and give back to the university that I loved but I guess the need to earn more chickened me out! I know my time will come to pay back the taxpayers the paid for my tuition.

As for now, I am just happy that I got married before Prof. Monsod's passing. She will not be pulling my leg during my honeymoon! Hehehehe!!!

Honor and Excellence (Prof. Monsod's last lecture to her class)
- Watch more Funny Videos at Vodpod.

Facebook.. FB... Falaging Bago

One of the reasons why most people connect to the internet nowadays is because of Facebook... simply coined as FB. Filipinos for one are suckers for social networking sites... the former sites were Friendster, MySpace, Multiply..hmmm the list goes on....

But let's focus on FB... for a number of months recently the Admin of Facebook keeps on changing the look of the site also the features. There was the issue of the new look of the layout that many people reacted to. They also added security features for stalkers to be kept at bay.. as if I have stalkers! hahahaha... However, one feature caught my eye today after Michelle aka Mike, posted on her shoutout about it.

Here it is!
For new friend requests, they change the selection "Ignore" with "Not Now." I was puzzled why. Well in the first place, "Ignore" is a harsh word. It has a negative connotation unlike "Not Now." "Not Now" gives one an option to put the request on hold while "Ignore" totally shuts the request out! Hahahaha... Maybe they changed it because I might be able to realized that I want to add the person in the near future!

One way or the other, FB is just like other social networking sites.. trying their best to provide the best to cater to the likes of everyone. They will never know when they will suffer the fate that Friendster had a few years back! hehehehe

septemBER... BEr ber ber months

September 1 marks the start of the Christmas season for Filipinos. BER months start the colder nights and early mornings! It is also the start of the countdown to Christmas day! You can already hear the non-stop playing of Christmas songs on the radio and people singing or humming Christmas carols! It may sound weird but that is how Filipinos are.

I am very much looking forward to this Christmas since it will be our first Christmas as husband and wife. We celebrated the season of giving like a married couple before. We schedule where we need to be on Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Year's Eve and New Year's day. I guess we will be doing it the same for this year. My and my sister are already planning something for New Year's Eve and I am really excited about it.

Also, I am browsing for Christmas gifts. I have made a list of the people I need to give gifts to! Oh gosh... the list still stays the same but the things to give is getting harder! The kids are no longer kids... the older folks might be expecting the same gifts that I give every year! Oh well time to be creative and innovative! Something useful or edible is the preference... Enough with the lotions and other stuff to personal care! Hehehehe

Good luck to me!

Kanin Club --- Paseo de Sta. Rosa

With the bad customer service from Canyon Cove, we hurriedly checked out the next day after eating a very bad tasting breakfast from the hotel's buffet. We headed to Sta. Rosa after getting pasalubong from Tagaytay. We aimed to eat our lunch at Kanin Club to compensate the bad experience that we had from Canyon Cove.

It was a full house at Kanin Club. We have to wait for us to be seated. We took this moment to go around the depot outlets -- Nike, Speedo, United Colors of Benetton... did not have the chance to go around and check out All Flip Flops and Adidas. I found a very good deal for a pair of board shorts at Speedo for less than 1000 pesos... and the Nike shoes is less than 3000 pesos. I told the guys that we need to go back to this place before we head off on our next outing to Boracay on November.... hehehehe!

When we got seated inside the restaurant, we ordered all the food we wanted and bottomless iced tea to quench our thirst and get rid of the hot sweats! We ate till our hearts and stomachs content. The cripy dinuguan was a winner. Crunchy crunchy crunchy.. the fish was good and spicy... I don't know.. I have this thing for spicy food nowadays! It was food heaven.

more than 2 months married!

Yebah.. Kanin Club!

Halo halo turon!

Matt thinking if he will eat the remaining piece!

To cap off the day, we tried the halo halo turon ala mode... It was really halo halo since it had the beans, macapuno, ube and banana plus langka and of course, the ice cream that topped it all. We have to share dessert since we have no more room in our stomachs. LOL! The trip to Kanin Club made our outing worth it aside from sharing the weekend with good friends!

Canyon Cover -- never again unless....

After having the very nice brunch at Kainan sa Dalampasigan and after asking directions, we headed off to Canyon Cove. The place looks promising expect for the unfinished constructions of the condominium buildings near the entrance. We had a blast playing with the guard as Matt talked to him in English with a southern accent... We tested if we will be able to enter the premises smoothly... and we did.. no questions asked! Hahahaha....

We parked the car and went to the lobby. The attendants did not bother to check our bags. I was actually hoping that they don't because I have some bags of chips stashed in our bag. I have read from reviews that they are strict with bringing in food in the hotel. At the counter, Butch, Gerie and Matt checked on our reservations and settled the bill. My gawd... it was soooo hot in the lobby... they are currently renovating that section of the hotel and no airconditioning. We requested if we can check in earlier but the lady at the counter informed us that the rooms are still occupied but in a matter of minutes they said that we can check in already... Hmmmm.. weird. We were happy that we can check in since I am really itching to take a shower! I have the same clothes from the night before!

We got to our rooms... no one assisted or even showed us where the freaking rooms were at. Inside the room, there is nothing exciting about it.. No umppphhh factor. The rooms from Pearl Garden Hotel are way better that the one at Canyon Cove and they charged twice the price! The floor felt dusty... even the bathroom floor was dusty... The airconditioning in the room was bad as well. Good thing, I have my trusty Coffee Bean Swirl card so we can leave it in the card slot to kept the airconditioning open even we were outside the room.

After my much needed shower, we went out to explore the hotel grounds... the pool was nice... there was a restaurant... the beach was ok but not as clear as we expected it to be. We decided to take our naps first before swimming... I was really hoping to take a swim at the beach but Christian was really tired from our night shifts so I gave in to his request to sleep. Boohoo...

We decided to meet up at 4pm to get at least 2 hours of rest... I was so excited that I have to wake up Christian... I was jumping on the bed (poor bed!).... Telling him to hurry up. Even though it was pouring outside.. I told him we have to hit the pool... I don't want to waste time! Hahahaha... We gathered in one of the cabanas and of course, Butch ordered food to eat. The set meal was expensive... 375 pesos! We tried it though thinking that it will be worth it. Then came the food... it looked like food from the local canteen! Gosh ... not worthy of 375 pesos! It was bland... the rice was hard... and the serving is really small... Not worth it! I just enjoyed my swim.

busy checking in...

the hot lobby

posing for pictures as they fix the bill hehehehe...


more picture taking...

view of the beach from the balcony

the hotel.. see the renovations going on the top floor

strolling around!

The place is going to waste with bad customer service. I have read so many bad reviews about it and I thought that they learned from it. We were joking during our whole stay that we need to present a proposal for customer service training of their staff. The location is nice and people are getting turned off by the bad bad customer service.

Fastfood alternative in Nasugbu, Batangas - Kainan sa Dalampasigan

06.26.2010 - Nasugbu, Batangas... We went on a trip to Canyon Cove with our usual out of town buddies --- my UP Solair (School of Labor and Industrial Relations) friends... a.k.a. Ninong Butch, Ninang Gerie, her husband Red and Matt. We have been sharing this tradition of going out of town every year and 2010 will be the 4th year of this tradition. We were planned to go to Coron, Palawan but due to our conflicting schedules and restricted budget it never pushed through. It is good that we had time to go to Batangas... just to keep our tradition alive!

On our way to Canyon Cove, we came across the signage of this restaurant -- "Kainan sa Dalampasigan" in English ... Eatery by the Sea... My friend said that he heard good reviews about this place. So off we went to look for it. When we got to the place, it was stunning... very different. I was expecting somewhat like a nipa hut setting by the beach but there is no beach just vines and fountain.

When we got inside it was really really cool... An open restaurant that can accommodate more than a hundred people, high ceiling with rustic fans and lights, lush greens around and a man-made waterfalls to boast. The place is really something different. Something that is not fastfood! Hahahaha...

Really long table with benches... i love love this style of dining.. very homey feel..

cool antique lights and ceiling fan

the long patio of the restaurant

man made waterfalls... love the song of flowing water

Xtian feeling sleepy.. he ate a big breakfast at Mcdonald's before the trip..
not looking forward to the food here i guess.

the lady's washroom... very eerie ... LOL!

plain menu card

reasonably priced food selection

Bilao sa Dalampasigan -- full of fried pork belly, mango & tomato with bagoong,
baked mussels, buttered shrimps

me & ninang gerie... hehehe.. ninang talaga!

the place has been given good reviews on different magazines...
this one is for the architectural whatever... hehehehe

Overall, the place is really something that is worth to visit in the area. A very good alternative to the fastfood joints along the highway. The service is fast and the food is a good value for your money. The only problem that we have is that the mosquitoes that kept on biting us as we enjoy our brunch.