These Days

Neil opened his birthday gift from Daddy 2 weeks before his birthday.  I love this photoset of him working through the wrapping.... Somebody('s daddy) likes Cars! Mater and Mack Fun!

Bon Chon opened its first branch in Manila last year.  I remember there was some buzz surrounding it, at least in the blogs I follow, due to its having been hailed by GQ and Esquire as the best fried chicken in America. My first taste of Bon Chon was in New Jersey, November last year.  Joel and I ordered the mixed spicy and regular chicken for dinner after a long day in NY.  The chicken, at the least, tasted different from the Jollibee, McDo and KFC.  It's more herby and I thought it was pretty good. Bon Chon in New Jersey I finally tasted my first Bon Chon chicken in Manila last Saturday.  I didn't really know what their price range is so I was pleasantly surprised to find rice meals with drinks at P145.  Ok na!   We ordered the drumsticks, chops (chicken breast fillet), fish and bulgogi ricebox meals for takeout.  We ate the food more than an hour later.  I think they really would have tasted better if freshly served, i.e. chi...

Video time!  This is Neil reading at age 3.  The book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle and Bill Martin.   The date should say 2011.  It's already July and I'm still making this mistake. :S

I learned about Pinterest from a few photographer-blogs.  It's an online pin board where you can compile pictures you find interesting on the web.  It keeps the original link so you can always go back to the source.  This is a really cool feature for me because I used to copy pictures, paste them in Word and oftentimes forget to grab the link...  You can also re-pin photos from other people's boards or follow them. My latest board is all about the hippie look.  With some officemates, we're trying to pull together a shoot in August.  I hope it pushes through because my camera needs a workout. =) Let me know if you want to start pinning so I can invite you. =)

Another busy weekend for our family.  We had an appointment Saturday morning for flu vaccinations.  These were subsidized by the company so we took advantage and I registered everyone for shots. Richard met Wyndell (on vacation from the US) at Starbucks first before we all headed for the office. Flu shots at IHG . And some portraits on the colorful wall, too. Then we went to Asian Hospital for Neil's appointment with the dentist early in the afternoon.  We had no pictures there because Richard and I were busy keeping him still.  He doesn't like visits to the dentist.  He started resisting when we were just entering the building. Back at the condo, we took advantage of the hot day and went swimming .  In the evening, Richard and I did groceries at Cash and Carry for this week's needs. Sunday started really, really early.  We attended the 8AM service at Victory Fort .  But first, coffee and donuts for everyone. Then we all drove back ...

On the days and weeks leading up to Neil's birthday, we talked about whether we should give him a party, and where and how many guests to invite... It turned out to be a simple family affair, with a trip to Ark Avilon Zoo and the Ang family joining us for dinner.  Richard and I were on leave from work so we spend a lot of time with Neil. Here are a few more photos from Neil's 3.   Good morning birthday boy!         Eager to go to the zoo! Inside the car Daddy had to do an errand near Robinson's Pioneer so that's where we had lunch. Then we proceeded to Ark Avilon Zoo , after some minutes of wait in the car because Neil was sleeping. Afterwards, we headed home to rest.  The Ang family arrived and joined us for dinner at the condo.  We left the kids with the yayas while the parents went off to catch the Harry Potter premiere.  I felt a little guilty leaving Neil on his birthday but this was a Richard's team...

Richard and I took the day off on July 14 for Neil's birthday.  Between having a party and just spending time with our son, we chose the second.  We took him to Ark Avilon to see the animals.  Our fist visit was in March 2010, before he was two.  It's high time we came back for more close encounters with the animals. Ticket prices: P300 for adults and P200 for children below 3.5 ft. There are large animals in cages located on both sides of the building on the first level (tigers, puma, sun bear, gibbon). Birds Close encounters There are 2 fish tanks also on the first level.  One has koi and the smaller one has the 'doctor fish'.  You can immerse your feet in the water with the doctor fish and they will eat your dead skin cells.  It was my first time to try this and I didn't stay long.  It tickles!=) On the second level are more birds, reptiles, and farm animals that you can feed.  Neil and I fed the hamsters.  One carrot is P...

Another milestone!  Our precious little boy is 3 years old today.  He has blessed our lives so much.  He just makes us happy and thankful.  He makes everything ok, even after not-so-good days at work.  All of life's goodness wrapped up in this little person.  Thank you, God! Happy birthday, Neil Neil! And we're off to celebrate! =)

Neil has a lot of car/train toys.  It's always interesting to me how he arranges them. =) End to end Upside down.  He says they're sleeping (because that's how he sleeps). Side by side Randomness

We tried locating Pan de Amerikana in Marikina yesterday.  The opertive word: tried.  We got lost a few times and just gave up because we had another appointment in the afternoon.  I actually printed out the directions from their multiply site but to no avail (not to scale and wrong N/S orientation)... I couldn't let it go unless I figure out how we could have missed it.  From Google maps, I found out we actually got very close at one point! :( Anyway, for those who may need driving directions to Pan de Amerikana, I hope this map helps you. We might give this place another try, if/when I'm able to convince Richard to go again... Click on the link below so you can zoom in/out based on where you're coming from... http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213370261757120823414.0004a7c334ac2076dd772&msa=0

I really appreciate good service so when I experience one, I make sure to tell people about it.  Today's service award goes to KFC.=) *** I checked the ref and we're missing a critical ingredient for today's planned ulan which is ginataang gulay, the gata!  Toinks!  So we can't cook and need a backup plan for lunch.  I decided to order KFC via http://kfcdelivery.com.ph/ and entered my choices and details online.  The website is very user-friendly --  good layout and easy to navigate. Within 2 minutes of posting my order online, they called to confirm my details.  The girl on the phone committed to delivery time of 30 minutes, I got the food in 20 minutes.  Good job KFC! Actually, I just need to cross 2 streets from the condo to the nearest KFC but I didn't wanna change my clothes and I was watching Neil so ordering was the best option. =) Lunch delivered!  I transferred the soup to a porcelain bowl.  I'm wary of the plastic ...

I first heard about Human Heart Nature products from the blogger community.  They're 100% Philippine made and contain no harmful chemicals.  They also have strong advocacies, including Gawad Kalinga.  Natural, Pinoy-made, cares about the community.  I'm sold! These are the HHN products I bought in the past months - (L-R) Love Minerals eyeshadow, tinted lip balm, hand sanitizer, massage oil, deodorant, feminine wash, shampoo.  Not in picture are the citronella bug spray which I gave to Pang/Mom after the trip to Bohol , and the passion fruit hydrating lotion which I keep in my office drawer. I like all of them, except maybe for the lotion which has an overpowering smell (Midnight Passion).  I would pick another variant next time. It's really cool that they have small size bottles (50ml) which are very convenient for trial purchases and travel kits.  Prices are very reasonable, too.  I bought these products from an officemate, or at Rustans...

I read a book by Max Lucado a long time ago entitled "It's Not About Me."  It's about understanding our purpose here on earth which is to live lives that glorify God. I got the same message from a training last week, albeit in a different context.  I attended the Leadership Fundamentals training at work, along with other people managers.  We went through the personality assessment, discussions and a lot of exercises/applications on the modules covered.  It was 2 days full of practical, readily applicable steps towards being a better leader, and not just a manager.  The gist: leadership is about helping the people being led, how to mentor them not only in their careers but also in their personal lives.  It's about them.  One can and should learn to be a better leader, at the expense of personal comfort, preferences, etc.  If one is not willing to make changes, then he should just remain an individual contributor.  For all of my career in I...

Purple Cow by Seth Godin Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable I first learned about Purple Cow from a few photographer-entrepreneurs that I follow on Google Reader.  I couldn't find it locally so I bought a copy from Ebay US, had it shipped to my sister's address in CA and she shipped it to me.  Long way! I just finished reading it.  Eye-opening, straightforward book about what it takes to succeed in this new economy where almost everything has been invented and old-school advertising are not as effective.  Purple cow simply means being remarkable.  Whatever your business may be, how are you standing out?  Purple cows are easy to spot.  Aside from carving a niche (size is irrelevant), they have very loyal followers referred to by the author as sneezers who will gladly tell others about the product. I highly recommended this book. =)

Two weeks ago was Celebrate Service Week at work.  It's just on its second year but it's already one of the things I truly appreciate about this company.  It's celebrated globally, in all corporate offices and hotels.  It's all about saying Thank You and appreciating the people we work with.  It was a week full of fun activities, themed dress-down days, giveaways, food and good vibes all around.=)  We were reminded to keep the same spirit all the time but having a dedicated week for appreciating people is a good reminder and kickoff for the rest of the year. The dinner at Red Crab was part of the celebrations. We had an awards night to culminate the activities. Our Thank You graffiti wall...

UP is one of my favorite places in the world... I don't get to visit as often as I would like so if there's a good reason to go , I would.  Like yesterday! Em and I joined the Philippine Native Plant Conservation Society, Inc. on a walking tour around UP to get to know native trees.  Assembly area was at the Quezon Hall at 9AM.  Before the tour, there was a short talk about what's native, endemic, etc.  We were shown a picture of UP when it was established and there were no trees at all.  That made me appreciate more all the trees we have on campus now... Who knew so many people were interested? Photo from the PNPCSI Facebook page. There were professors, students, landscape architects, enthusiasts, old and young.  I heard more scientific names in the first hour than the last few years combined.  People were taking notes, too. I loved this  exercise (mental and physical). My key takeaway from the tour: We use a lot of non-native trees in Ph...