What is your Sausage??

I have been busy and yes this is not an excuse for not being able to write!
Maybe because I was pre occupied and I don't want to be pre occupied for another day and so I would like to share something to all of you!

What is the meaning of being persistent?  In our lives we always want to have something, may it be something that we need or something that we just want. 

Being persistent is continuing to do something or try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop.  It is continuing beyond the usual, expected, or normal time; it is not stopping or going away. (Webster)

Well this is what this video will exactly tell you.
Not everything is given to us, sometimes we also have to work for it.



This is just a simple (and yes funny) video but it means a lot to people who understands the real meaning of persistence.  Nowadays, it's rare that we get something for free because we always have to work for it and that's what makes it all worth it! ^_^

In life, we have our own sausages to reach. 
Let us all continue to reach for that sausage and always accepting help as it comes!

Xoxo
 

Fifty is the new Forty, but Forty is the new 18!

Last Saturday (July 12), we celebrated the 50th birthday of our very dear Tita Ninang!

I am very proud to say that the pamangkins and sisters were the ones who facilitated this surprise party for Tita Ninang.  It took us almost three months to discuss all the details and i believe we were successful. 

The surprise party was held at Tita Baby's place in Joel Town, they were also the one who prepared the food. 

When Tita Ninang entered the place, we all sang "Happy Birthday" loudly and she was welcomed with golden flowers. 

We also prepared a registration for all of the guests and they were all cooperative to guess how many candles were there and to write their "Thank You" notes to Tita Ninang. 

Then we asked her to sit in front, with the backdrop that we prepared and balloon pillars. ^_^

We started the program with welcome remarks and headed to have our meal (because this is a surprise party for Tita Ninang, guests waited for her arrival for close to two hours -- yes ganyan namin ka love si Tita Ninang)! 

After the meal we then proceeded with the program.  

50 is the new 18 and thus we didn't miss the 18 roses!! 

Then we had blowing of candles and again we sang our loudest "Happy Birthday"!

We also prepared a powerpoint presentation for Tita Ninang to showcase the people who loves her a lot!

Ofcourse the birthday messages will not be missed.. Headed by Tita Baby! 

The party was also like a reunion. All of the Hernandez family was there and we all wore the special T-Shirt that was given by Tita Ninang! 

The following day (July13) on the exact date of Tita Ninang's birthday they attended a mass and thanked Him for all of the blessings! 

Again, to Tita Ninang Lynley -- thanks for everything and we all love you!! 

Xoxo

Hernandez' Overload!

This is how we do it! Hernandez way!
Love the energy people!!

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

Watch out for the next blog entry for the Golden Girl's birthday celebration.

Xoxo

When in Tagaytay: Bulalo is a Must!

The minute you drive along Tagaytay, you will already see a lot of restaurants offering "Special Bulalo" -- this is because it's their specialty. With Tagaytay's cool weather, a hot bulalo is just the perfect comfort food! 

I am not into beef really, but if I do then it must be really good!  If you want to have a sip of this hot bulalo with it's good bone marrow then Tagaytay will have what you need.  What if you are in a budget?? Then don't fret - I have the perfect place for you to indulge. 

While me and my husband was planning our trip to Tagaytay, we found out that Bulalo is really a must try and then I searched even more and I found out that the best Bulalo with the freshest vegetables can be found at the Mahogany Market. 

How to get there? Visit: 

http://www.cosmotourist.com/travel/d/i/2552699/t/tagaytay/mahogany-market/

When we were making our way to the parking-- we saw a lot of vehicles (SUVs, Cars and others) then I thought "wow, this place is really the place to be! With all of these parokyanos I know we are definitely on the right track!".  When we found our parking, several vendors approached us and gave their items for free taste -- then we headed to the carinderia of our choice! 

It's our first time there so we had no clue on which Carenderia to choose from (since all of them were trying to call us), no one (Sweets, Mama, Papa, Angge) wants to decide and so I just stepped to this one..

Of course we ordered Bulalo, Crispy Pata and Deep fried Tawilis!  

They also had free senoritas at the table (that one is eat all you can).

Then we had Pineapple juice to neutralize the "high blood" haha!! 

Just across the carinderia strip, you will see their wet market with cheap beef!  With this trip we were able to hit 2 birds in one stone.

After almost an hour of eating, wow, we all felt so full and we didn't even finish the Bulalo! We were 5 and the bill was just Php1,300.  It was really good value for money! 

They say: If you travel, you have to eat where the locals eat and that's exactly what we did! 

I will definitely recommend Mahogany Market to my family and friends who will visit Tagaytay for a Bulalo indulgence! 

Xoxo

Villa Escudero

Last June 15 we celebrated two events; the 32nd Wedding Anniversary of my parents and Father's Day for Papa Gary and Papa Nestor.  We all went to Villa Escudero to celebrate and enjoy the entire day. 

Villa Escudero - based from its website - www.villaescudero.com - is a self-contained working coconut plantation and it was founded in the 1880's by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan.  Originally planted to sugarcane, the crop was converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900's.  A pioneering agro-industrialist, he built the country's first working hydroelectric plant to supply his dessicated coconut factory and Villa Escudero, where he and his wife Dona Rosario Adap built in 1929.

Their children opened the estate to the public in 1981.  From its humble beginnings, the resort has become a prime tourist destination for locals, overseas Filipinos and a wide array of foreign visitors to the country.  It has a worldwide reputation as a showcase for the Philippines' rich cultural heritage, offering a beguiling glimpse of its history, cuisine, dress, customs and natural beauty. 

We took their day tour package, which is at Php1,400.00 per person from 8:00am to 5:00pm, then I asked my family if we can make it to Villa by 8am and we all did!  Good for us! 

We met up at the reception area (while waiting for the Fernando Family) and we were given their welcome drinks! 

After paying at the reception, you will be given a ticket for the following: 

1. Museum

2. Carabao Ride

3. Lunch

Then you will be directed to the pathway going to the museum.

This is the walkway..

Outside, it looked like a church but inside it contained history.  

There were a lot of religious items, collection of dolls, antiques, presidential ensembles and a lot more interesting things.  If you love history then you will enjoy the museum, unfortunately for me, I am not a big fan of history.  Though I enjoyed the doll collections from all over the world.

^_^ 

You can't take pictures in the museum so you have to have a good memory.

After the musuem, the next activity was the carabao ride to give you a view of the place and the houses there.  While waiting for 5 minutes.. Still no carabao.

Well I do not want us to waste my time waiting and also there was a long queue to ride the carabao and so we all  decided to ride in this one intead:

One thing is for sure, it's way faster than the carabao.  When we were being toured in the vicinity, we saw the houses of the workers there.  Yes they live inside Villa Escudero. 

Even if we were not able to ride the carabao, we were still able to take a shot with her! Yes her name is "Sexy" - bagay sa akin! 

After that ride, we all then went to the man made falls for our lunch.  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to enter just yet because it was just 10am - thus we were asked to wait.

Again, I do not wish to waste my time waiting and so I asked my sister to go and ride the bamboo raft with me.  

In Villa Escudero, there is a man made lake that is 30 feet deep and one of their activity  aside from fishing was rafting.

It has no time limit, but since I do not want to stay longer under the sun we decided to finish the rafting in 15 minutes.  Louise enjoyed it much!! That's good to know. 

Then we went back to the man made falls to have our buffet lunch!

It's a different experience because you will be eating while your feet is in the water.  The water is coming from the man made falls and it was really a good view.  It felt like you were eating while in a river. 

The buffet was from 11am up to 2pm so you can stay as long as you want and get as many food as you crave for.  We stayed there from 11am - 1pm. 

Of course we can never miss the photo opps in the falls! 

After that we went to the hall to watch their folk dance presentation.  This presentation are only shown during weekends and holidays.  It showcased the history of our dances in the Philippines. 

It was about an hour and a half long and if you really love to dance and you love history you will definitely enjoy it! 

Those who presented were also working in Villa Escudero as receptionists, maintenance and more, the kids are the grand daughters and grandsons of the employees which even made the presentation very special.

After the presentation, we then went for a dip for an hour and then went off! 

Overall, it was a very relaxing day and I would recommend my family and friends to come and visit Villa Escudero one of these days.

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Happy thoughts = Happy Self!

We are living in a world that is full of rants, complaints, anger and a lot more!  It's bowl of mixed emotions and they are half positive and half negative.  

So why do we need to linger on the negativity of the world? Maybe we are thinking of how to make these negative things into a positive one but we should remember that there are a lot more reason to be happy than focusing on the not so good things.  It's our choice and the choices we make determine who we are as a person and it is reflected through our actions and how we relate to our family and friends! 

Plus -- being happy is an instant botox and a cheap one for that matter.  So the choice is yours, if you want to be beautiful inside and out then the answer would be "Happy Thoughts and Happy Actions".

Xoxo

Reminder: Give it back!

Just this afternoon, I took the MRT and I specifically queued up to the women's area in MRT.  There was a male senior citizen lined up as well and he has an arm support on his left arm, he was wearing a face mask and he was walking too slow.  He has one eco bag with I think some documents in it.

When he entered the train, the guard asked the girls (sitting) to let him sit.  I was standing at that time and I was looking at him as he slowly took his seat.

He dropped off at Boni Station - luckily he was able to alight given that he walked too slow.  Just when he was about to reach the hand grills at the platform, a man passed by him and moved his hand away from the grills.  He can't do anything, I felt that he was restless.

It came to me -- how could he be travelling alone? It seemed that he came from a hospital or a clinic and clearly needed medical attention.  I don't know his family's current situation, why it happened but I do not wish to see the same situation again. 

--------------

My simple wake up call is:
"Make sure that I will be there when my parents need my time and attention".

What's your wake up call?

Xoxo