Living a Sugar Free Sweet Life

I never knew I'd be as excited as I was this afternoon when my boy and I reached Enchanted Kingdom. You see, in the five years that we spent living in Santa Rosa City, I've only been in the park twice. The first time was right after we moved in and the last was weeks before we got relocated back to Manila. I guess I really missed Enchanted Kingdom so much that I took so many pictures of the place. Rap and I were lucky to be part of the 50 bloggers who spent Valentine's Day at Enchanted Kingdom. We were brought there to witness the park's Enchanting Hug-a-Palooza event. Too bad my husband had to be on duty in the office today and had to miss all the fun.

We rode the bus provided for us by the Enchanted Kingdom guys and arrived at the park a few minutes before 3 in the afternoon. The heat was unbearable, I tell you, but I wasn't able to resist my boy who pulled me to go and try the rides immediately.
But while our special pink wristbands gave us ride-all-you-can access, I wasn't able to muster enough courage to ride these...


Nevertheless, we enjoyed the bump cars, the Wheel of Fate, Up, Up, and Away, and the mini-train ride before the Hug-a-palooza program started.


We were up in the giant ferris wheel when the lion dancers danced around the park in celebration of Chinese New Year. Belly dancers also wiggled their bodies in one part of the park.


By the time we got off the Wheel of Fate, it was only a couple of minutes before the Hug-a-Palooza program started. So we decided to have snacks and refreshments at the foodcourt using our complimentary Wizard Money.


After our snacks, we chanced upon the other bloggers who were lined up for shots in the photobooth.


The band played lively music to everyone's delight!


At 6 pm, all of the rides were stopped to give everyone the chance to witness the program. Young and old; families and lovers; the EK staff, traditional media men, and us bloggers; were all gathered in front of the stage to witness the incredible feat of having the largest number of people hugging each other all at the same time. The program was hosted by the owner of the park herself with Mr. Tirso Cruz III.


At exactly 7 pm, music was played and it cued the official start of the Hug-a-Palooza. Fireworks lit up the sky, too!


Families with the most number number of members present at the event were given special pins and other prizes. Other park attendees, that means us included, were showered with chocolates and candies. We also got free sampler bottles of Colgate Plax. Before the program ended, it was announced that more than 6,000 people attended the event that day. Therefore, Enchanted Kingdom's aim of bringing families close to each other this Valentine's Day was a success!


It truly was a happy Valentine's Day for me and my boy even when we missed having our Dadijun around. Thanks to Azrael Colladilla and Enchanted Kingdom for giving us a chance to be part of this wonderful feat. By the way, this is just the first as Enchanted Kingdom will be holding Hug-a-Palooza every Valentine's Day starting tonight! Special thanks also goes to Mikco Maiquez of Enchanted Kingdom for taking good care of all of the bloggers who participated in the event.

You can view more of my Enchanting Hug-a-Palooza shots HERE.


Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Read more on this entry...

Malaki ang utang na loob ko sa naka-imbento ng food delivery. Nitong nagdaang Byernes kasi ay ika-10 taong anibersaryo ng kasal namin ng aking kabiyak. Como nga ika-10 taon, nagplano naman ako ng munting salu-salo para sa aming pamilya. Nung una'y binalak namin na kumain sa labas at manood ng sine kasama ng aking anak at biyenan. Kaya nga lang, noong araw na iyon ay kinailangang pumasok ng aking asawa sa trabaho at ginabi na ng todo. Ang pagkain sa labas ay naging sa loob na lang ng bahay. At dahil nga hindi na ako nagluto ng hapunan dahil nga balak naming lumabas, nagpa-deliver na lang ako ng pizza, pasta, at chicken. Bumili naman ang aking kasambahay ng beer at vodka sa kalapit na grocery. Ayun, nakaraos din ang aming munting salu-salo. Nagustuhan pa ng lahat? Oo naman! At sa tingin ko'y mas naging masaya pa kaysa kung kami ay natuloy lumabas.

I am indebt to whoever invented food delivery. Last Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary and we were supposed to celebrate by having dinner in a restaurant and watching a movie. However, my husband had to go to work that day and had to stay late in the office. All our plans of going out were cancelled. I called a restaurant nearby and had pizza, pasta, and fried chicken delivered. My houseboy went to the supermarket nearby to buy a bottle of vodka and some cans of beer. We had dinner as soon as my husband arrived. Did everyone like our celebration? Yes, of course! And I think what we had was even merrier compared to what we could have had if our plan pushed through.

Read more on this entry...

Forgive me if I have been too busy to write new posts in the past week. We celebrated the New Year in Naga City with my husband's side of the family and our schedule was packed to the max. I even got busier upon our return to Manila with the 500+ photos I needed to enhance and upload for the viewing pleasure of relatives and friends from around the globe.

Welcoming the new year in the province was a welcome change. There are less fireworks there and it was an advantage for me since I'm still coughing my lungs out. In fact, we were only the ones who lit up fountains and small firecrackers to the delight of my nephews who came home from the UK. They said that they were too tired of banging pots and pans during New Year's Eve. I, on the other hand, could have banged stainless steel drums to make noise if only I have found some. I prefer banging steel than lighting firecrackers.

How did you celebrate New Year's Eve? I hope you had a good time as we had.

Read more on this entry...

Here's what my houseboy's been busy at for the past few days. Aint it nice? Guess what, everything's made from scrap material. The nipa hut was made with scrap aluminum metal that he picked up from a neighboring construction project and dried grass from the vacant lots here in our village. As you can see, he's still making the other paper maché characters that will complete our Nativity scene. My husband will do the painting of the figures once they're complete. We still have some bottles of poster paint from my son's past projects. The only thing that we bought from the store was the big bottle of white glue that the helper used for the paper maché figures.

Who say's we can't make a humble Belen without buying new materials. Well, we were not planning to make a grand one in the first place so there's no need to spend for expensive industrial supplies. This one's A-OK, don't you think?

Read more on this entry...

Dahil nga sa nag-iisa, basta para sa aking unico hijo, todo suporta ako. Kaya naman noong nakaraang Family Day nila sa paaralan at ang tema ay Halloween, talagang pinaghandaan ko ang kanyang magiging costume. Eto nga at siyang naging isang scarecrow noong araw na iyon. Wala naman kaming binili diyan kundi ang sombrerong tig-trenta pesos lang sa palengke at ang facepaint na ginamit ko sa kanya. Opo, kaming mag-asawa lang ang nag-make-up diyan, hahaha! Capital F for Effort!


Ayan na nga at nag-eensayo sila diyan ng kanyang Daddy sa pagpo-project. May premyo kasi ang may pinaka nakakatakot na Halloween costume. Nasuklian naman ang aming paghihirap at siya ay nanalo bilang Best Little Spook noong araw na iyon.

May nakakakilabot ka bang litrato? Ibahagi mo ito sa amin sa Litratong Pinoy. Sana'mabisita niyo rin ang aking isa pang lahok.

I always make it a point to involve myself in our only child's school activities. During their Halloween-themed Family Day last year, I had a grand time preparing his costume. We dressed him up as a scarecrow buying only a cheap buri hat from the wet market and a set of face paint. My husband and I did the facepainting job.

There he is practicing his scary pose with his daddy. Our efforts did not go to waste as he won the "Best Little Spook" award that day.

Do you have a spooky picture to share? Join us at Litratong Pinoy. Hope you can also visit my other entry.

Read more on this entry...

No, I am not ranting because my husband had to work and my dad's in Boracay that we didn't get to spend Father's Day with them yesterday. Being at home the whole day yesterday just made me think a lot about how other families are spending the day with their respective dads. Some of my plurk pals had lunch or dinner in a special place while the others just cooked up something special to eat at home.

Different strokes for different folks. It's really the thought that counts. In this time of economic recession, being frugal is best. Anyway, most of these holidays are just marketing strategies to urge people to spend and buy gifts for their loved ones. Still, my belief is that one can splurge if he has the resources to do so. Never go way beyond the budget. Who are we to condemn someone who buys, let's say, an expensive motorcycle jack for his dad if he can afford it. In the same way, we should not judge the person who can just afford to give a kiss and a hug to his dad on Father's Day.

Read more on this entry...

My sister and brother-in-law are celebrating their first wedding anniversary tomorrow. My sister, who is a year older than me, called us up today to inform us of a swimming party for the family tomorrow at the village clubhouse in my parents' village. I was half-glad that they thought of celebrating this milestone with the whole family. On the other hand, I would also understand if they set off to some place private.

My sister and brother-in-law has been together since we were in college. I was so elated when they finally decided to get married that I even got myself involved in the preparations for the wedding.

On their special day, I am wishing for more happiness and marital bliss. I also pray that God will guide them every single day like how He did in our marriage. I wish for them to have more financial blessings for them to start investing on assets and investments like health and life insurance policies. (Go ahead brokers, give them your free insurance quotes NOW, hahaha!) Lastly, I am praying for a neice or a nephew from the two of them. So far, the only babies in their home are four-legged creatures with tails! Seriously, I wish them all the best!

Bebs and Uj, welcome to your second year!

Read more on this entry...

My most-awaited phone call has come. Teacher Melba, my son's class adviser, called us up yesterday morning to tell us the good news. Ralph has finally bagged the gold this year. I am so proud and happy of my son. He has managed to go up one step even without my full supervision on his studies.

So on March 30, my son will be awarded the Gold Medal for General Academic Excellence for Grade 2. He will also receive a Gold Medal each for the Math and Computer quiz bees he joined and a Silver Medal each for the Reading Competition and the Search for the Young Environmentalist. We are ecstatic because the entire population of his grade level is around 230 pupils so being Top 1 among that number is not that simple. We will be having a dinner buffet with our relatives on Monday night to celebrate this event. Actually, one of my father's motivation to walk again after his major stroke last December is to be able to attend his grandson's celebration. Yes, my father will be walking and celebrating with us this coming Monday. Isn't God so good?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Melba Rendon, my son's adviser, for supporting him and guiding him to the top. I know that she really made it a point to always assign Ralph as the representative of his class to their quiz bees and extra curricular activities. These helped boost his grades this school year.

We still haven't bought the cable TV satellite that Ralph has requested as a prize but we will for sure since he will be on full scholarship this coming school year.

All the anxiety of waiting for the big news is all over. It's time for me to just rest my back on some of our outdoor cushions by the veranda with a glass of iced tea.

Read more on this entry...

February is obviously the month of school fairs. Most schools celebrate their Foundation Day during the month and it is usually equated with a week-long celebration and school fair. It's Feb Fair in all University of the Philippines campuses nationwide and we went to UP Diliman for Love Rage 3, a rock concert starring the coolest rock bands in town. My husband and I are both UP graduates (I am from UP Manila and UP Diliman and he's from UP Los Baños). It's my first time in 4 years to attend the Feb Fair, the last one was when we went to UP Los Baños.

From my son's school, we went straight to UP Diliman as early as 4 in the afternoon to beat the traffic in C5. We parked in front of Palma Hall near the Sunken Garden where the concert was held. We were not yet allowed to go inside the enclosed area until 6 in the evening so we whiled away the time sitting on the green grass.

When the gates opened, I was like a giddy college student again wanting to get close to the stage to watch "Sugarfree" who was the first band of the night. The band is one of my favorites and I listened to them ever since their first album came out. Ralph was wide-eyed when he reminded me that his sugar free mommy is watching Sugarfree! Woohoo!

Being nostalgic and all, I made it a point that my son got to taste Rodic's Tapsilog. Now, his world has changed and every Tapsilog should taste like Rodics's or else. That's how yummy Rodic's Tapsilog is! We also went around the stalls and bought a UP Centennial shirt for my husband and myself. Last stop was playing in the game booths where my boys had a blast. There were around 40 bands who were scheduled to play during the concert but we only got to watch a few since we had to leave early because of the doctor's appointment the following day.

Once again, we remembered how good our UP days were. There's no other place like it. I may be brainwashing my child this early but I really am hoping that he chooses UP over others. I would like him to experience how it is to be an Iskolar ng Bayan, to be discovering his full potential without the prejudice of others. Only in UP can you do that.

Feel free to view my other Weekend Snapshots here:

Sugar Free Sweet Moments
Meet The Thordies

Read more on this entry...