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Family Celebrations

Halloween Trick or Treat Tradition

halloween.jpgHalloween Trick or Treat is a tradition that my husband started in our family. As a kid, I never grew up in the Halloween tradition of the Western world but hubby did. Halloween Celebration through the years is a memory that my kids treasure because of the yummy treats and magical costumes. [tag]Halloween[/tag] in the early nineties didn’t reek of commercialized gimmicks from the shopping malls. The kids actually wore scary Halloween costumes. We, the parents contributed to the trick-or-treat-ing activities in our neighborhood.

Yes, happy childhood memories next to Christmas and birthday celebrations. I am not about to stop this tradition just because they are now over twenty years old. The spooky Halloween orange/black decors are up. The pumpkin baskets are displayed on the table. Everything bright and orange-y abounds the house now. And yesterday, I bought a bunch of Halloween candy treats.

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Coming of Age Party

rose_petals.jpg“Do you have rose petals?” The florist sounded a bit too excited when he asked “For your bed?”. I could have smacked the nosy florist but I took everything in stride. “No, it’s for my daughter’s hoity-toity grown-up party”. The nosy florist continued ” Oh she is scattering petals on the stairs”. Maybe this florist asks every customer what they do with their rose petals. He proceeded to narrate how a wife preferred rose petals strewn all over her house, over the thorny rose flower. Enough , enough. I need the petals now. The rose petals will serve as as floral decoration for the party tables. I patiently explained to the florist. For 100 pesos ($2.00) I got a sizeable amount of rose petals.

As usual, the stage mother in me was tasked to procure those rose petals while the daughter basked in the soothing wonders of the beauty salon. Not only is my daughter a creative writer, she is also a creative party events person. I bet she can make a career out of it.

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I remember how Lauren planned her 18th Debut party that was centered around a medieval theme. Even her 18th birthday invitation card exuded words that could make you chuckle. Most of all her debut didn’t cost us an arm and a leg . You will be surprised at the savings as compared to most debutante parties. What is most amazing is that the keyword “18th birthday party“, “18th birthday cake “, “18th debut” is sought most often from Google searches. It is no wonder the Google Adsense income has more than paid us back for the expenses. Isn’t that cool?

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Pinoy Moms Sexy New Look

Hear Ye, All Ye bloggers.

We have a new look over at the Pinoy Moms Network (PMN) which officially launched its ezine format at 12 midnight . With the new look comes new content. As I write this entry, the section editors are still awake at this unholy hour tweaking their entries . This just shows how much labor of love went into this new endeavor. Connie is right in saying that “it’s even misleading to talk about how much blood, sweat and tears went into the transformation of PMN.”

Speaking of Pinoy Moms, I invited a few moms to a small intimate gathering as part of my mini 50th birthday celebration. Thanks Dine, Chats, Lisaflor and Jane for making it knowing you had family affairs to attend to.
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What I love about hosting parties is that I am forced to cook and bake. Ever since the girls went to college, I have relegated the grocery and marketing to my dear husband and merely supervised the daily meals to the household help.

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Dinner and Conversation with the Band of Bloggers

birthday party
I still remember the dinner parties at our house. They were fun and less costly. But, now it seems to be a thing of the past.Juned

It doesn’t have to be that way, Juned. Though technology and urbanization indeed has made things so much more convenient for us, dinners and great conversation should never be a thing of the past. I know it is a bit more laborious to prepare food instead of hiring a caterer. The joy and the fulfillment of doing it out of love makes up for all the work. It’s also one reason I refused my husband’s suggestion to host my birthday party at a fancy restaurant or in a hotel’s banquet hall.

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A Birthday Gift

The day after my birthday, Myrna aka Annamanila treated me out to dinner along with Dine alias Sexy Mom and Chato alias Chateau. (oops correction , it was a treat from all of them)

birthday celebration

As some might know, AnnaManila used to be a former colleague from my last employment which was err…20 years ago, the week that I was about to deliver M. Imagine I haven’t seen her for almost 20 years and we got reunited through my blog. We were not exactly best of friends though. In fact, I feel closer to AnnaManila now that she is a blogger like me. She used to edit my boring research work to pieces and made them exciting to readers. Of course I loved the end-result. I didn’t recognize my writing. Haha.

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What is truly amazing about blogs is the rediscovery of old friendships like Annamanila and developing new friendships like Chato and Dine. You wouldn’t think we just met this year . We laughed and babbled the night away. I really had a blast that friday night.

birthday treat

Oh and look what AnnaManila got for me!

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Birthday Celebration Part 1

50yearoldme.jpgMy 50th birthday started with a cardiac workout at the gym. As I pressed the age setting on the treadmill, I found it a bit strange to press 5-0 on the screen. Later that night as I applied a concealer on the brown spots around my cheekbone, I discern a few fine lines on my face , the sign of wrinkles starting to show. I wear these fine lines like battle scars with a badge of courage. Aging is truly a state of mind. I approach my life with a child-like curiousity , eager to embrace everything life can offer.

I am full of gratitude for all the blessings in my life. Inspite of all the pain, I have transcended beyond it and am now in a state of my new normal life. Part of this new normal is moving to our new home. Together with my birthday celebration, I finally had our house blessed by a seminarian, the representative of our parish priest. I am touched by the life story of Brother Hernan. He also lost a sibling and at the age of 5 years old, he was reared by his grandparents because his parents separated soon after his sibling’s death. Instead of growing up bitter, he chose to be a compassionate brother willing to serve God for the rest of his life. The house blessing was even more meaningful as he spoke of love.

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Breakfast in Bed

breakfast trayRubbing my eyes, I thought I saw him hold a breakfast tray . He says “it’s my wedding anniversary gift for you, dear” as he plants a kiss on my forehead. I smile and thought “My husband is so sweet , romantic and thoughtful”. Then he lays the tray on my lap.

“thank you dear. that’s really so sweet. Wait. I need to take a photo for posterity”

I eagerly wait…for the coffee.

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My daughter is 21 years old

happy birthdayMy beautiful daughter is now 21 years old. A few weeks ago, she envisioned her 21st [tag]birthday[/tag] in our new home. It’s one of the many reasons I moved heaven and earth to finish the renovations at the soonest time possible. A 21st birthday celebration in our new home seemed the best [tag]birthday gift[/tag] for Lauren. Much as I love to prepare fancy dishes on special occasions like this, I opted to cook simple fare at Lauren’s request: pancit canton, lasagna and barbecue. And she added “and a birthday cake baked by you.”.

*Groan*

I know what she meant by birthday cake complete with icing and fancy decorations but I thought it’d be too cumbersome. I have yet to get used to my new kitchen. I settled for something less complicated: blueberry cheescake. Even if our home furnishings are still incomplete and boxes are still unpacked, Lauren still wanted a small lunch party with family and close relatives.

And we managed to pull it off.

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Firecracker Blast Greet our New Year 2007

firecrackers[tag]Happy New Year[/tag] [tag]2007[/tag]. My ears are still ringing from the din of our neighbors merriment. The house across our home were filled with party revelers spewing [tag]firecrackers[/tag] blast and [tag]fireworks[/tag] display starting at 9:00 PM till midnight. It’s been a long time since I’ve inhaled so much toxic smoke considering the village we live is relatively peaceful. Next year, I should remind myself to check in at a hotel to avoid this racket. The street looked like a warzone with debris of the fireworks strewn all over. The firecrackers’ explosion created so much noise I could barely hear anyone beside me for the whole duration. The girls were furious and scared of the noise. I mean , we can take in some noise but these were like total destruction to our eardrums. While taking the video, sparks flew towards our front porch hitting me on my arms. That’s how powerful it was. Listen to this nerve-wracking firecrackers explosion.

Our celebration is so tame compared to our neighbors. Here are videos of our fireworks

1. Serenity fountains,
2. Dancing Dragons
3. Angels in the Sky (mini rockets) and
4. Peacock fountains.

I placed the garden hose beside us just in case the fireworks go haywire.

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