These Days

After the visit to Paradizoo , we had lunch at a nondescript roadside restaurant (this was the part we did not plan!) then drove to Residence Inn.  We were there just in time to catch the animal show.  Neil was the first volunteer and he had a close encounter with a cockatoo.  Richard volunteered as well.  We waited for other people to step in but nobody else seemed to be interested so off he went.=) Residence Inn is not very expansive and there were just a few animals to see. Caught in the act of devouring a rabbit. The highlight for us would be the zipline and cable car rides.  These were part of the Metrodeal vouchers and we all got to enjoy being up in the air for a few seconds. Richard opted to take the cable car so he can take all our bags. Neil and I did the tandem zipline.  He enjoyed this a lot.  After our turn, he repeatedly said "I want one more time!" Fun day in Tagaytay!

Paradizoo Mendez, Cavite March 23, 2013 I bought Metrodeal vouchers for Paradizoo and Residence Inn a few weeks ago.  It expires March 31 and we thought this was the perfect time to use it, a post-graduation celebration for Neil.  We left Makati before 9AM and arrived in Paradizoo after 11AM, after a bit of getting lost. Paradizoo has many areas - butterfly farm, bee farm, goat farm, egg-laying chicken farm, flower garden, vegetable garden and activities like horseback riding and bird feeding.  That sounds like a lot but you can see the whole place at a relaxed pace in less than 2 hours. Some of the animals.  The cow (bottom left) has 5 legs and that's an albino carabao on the right. They will demonstrate how to milk a cow.  Em-em and I tried it.  And we bought and drank the goat's milk they sold.  It was good! Bird feeding.  These birds are accustomed to humans.  You just extend your arms and they would fly towar...

Senior Nursery Moving-Up Program March 20, 2013 PhilAm Life Theater, Manila My little graduate getting ready to march Getting his diploma Bow! Performing the alma mater song Performance Final song "You'll Be In My Heart" We did not do a proper celebration after the program because we had to rush home as I needed to be in a meeting by 2PM.  The trip to Tagaytay the following Saturday was our post-event celebration.  Post coming up!

Today is March 27 and I am most thankful for Rich.  Happy birthday, Daddy!  I thought I would share some things you may not know about my best friend: NBA fan.  He watches the games, reads articles on nba.com, knows player and team stats and plays the video game.   A learner who likes to research random things on the web. Would willingly give you (me!) the last bit of his food pag hiningi ko, kahit gusto nya rin.   Takes Neil to appointments by himself just so I could take my nap. Picks me up from work even if it's just across the street. Enjoys going to the toy store, with or without Neil.=) Has the energy to match a 4 year old. Buys for quality. Decisive and bold when it comes to the big things. Prays and believes. And he is funny, too.  It maybe does not look like it with a face like below but that's just because he does not like me to take solo pictures of him.  Hehe... Peace, daddy!

One interesting thing about my family/relatives is that there are a lot of us with the same/adjoining birthdays.  Em's birthday is 2 days before mine.  I have a cousin with the same birthday as me and another cousin the following day.  It was Mommy's birthday yesterday and Luke's today.   And so many other examples!   Luke is 4 months older than Neil.  We met him for the first time in 2010 before Neil turned 2.  That seems like a very long time ago considering how much the boys have grown.  Luke is sweet, funny and smart! Luke at 2 Luke and Neil in matching swimwear. I visited Nang Lani and family in March last year. Neil and Tita

Happy birthday, Mommy! We love you very much. =) The topic in church 2 weeks ago was on compassion.  After hearing that preaching, I thought about my parents and how they embody compassion.  They have helped people in many ways.  We've had so many working students live with us over the years, that my parents have supported through hich school and college.  Now they're very involved in this seaside community in Iligan.  Papang owns a fishing boat that someone uses for livelihood and Mommy regularly meets with the women for Bible study.  They know many of the families, having spent time with them for years.  It is not giving that ends with material things but also investing time to build relationships with the families.  We shared some food with them after Christmas last year and I saw how close the families are to my parents... Papang and Mommy -- the best examples of generosity, compassion and just plain being good people....

I attended Chinkee Tan's talk entitled Till Debt Do Us Part on March 8 at the Makati Sports Club.  The venue is within walking distance from the office and there was a great deal on the fee (pay P350 and you also get the book priced at P400) that I immediately planned to go.  I also forwarded the invitation to my officemates and 4 of us ended up going. If you haven't heard Chinkee before, he's a really funny speaker and he gets to the bottom of the modern-day Pinoys financial concerns in very simple terms.  That is not to say the the message was fluffy.  On the contrary, it was smart and practical and you leave the room feeling "disturbed" and inspired at the same time. Below are my notes from that night, digitized on the iPad.=) My key takeaways on saving/investing from that night -- start small, start now, start where you are.  Financial management is also stewardship, and having more than enough equips us to also bless others.