Lazy Afternoon Tea For Sarah

Sarah is in town!  From her FB photos, I noticed that she loves taking Afternoon tea.

I told her to come to my house today because I have a surprise for her.

A Lazy Afternoon Tea For Sarah!

I also invited Pinky, Dodai and Dra. Cristina.

It was a simple affair of mini sandwiches...

Cheese pimiento, Spanish sardines, egg salad and ham with cranberry sauce.

Freshly baked Mango Scones.

I just used whipped cream for "effect", no clotted cream available.

Desserts... I just bought!  Hehehehe  I cheated!  Japanese Cheesecake and Japanese Brownies.

I resurrected my old tea box from the pantry.

Dodai asked me what she could bring, I told her miniature desserts but instead, she brought several boxes of assorted danish and croissant!  Thank you!

Pinky brought ice cream but we did not have space in our tummies anymore. Thank you, as well.

Because....

We still had to go to Aristrocat for dinner with our other classmates, Jodie, Janette, Candy and Mylene.

It was nice seeing you again, Sarah!

In And Out Of The Sick Bed

I have not been posting lately because I have been sick.

In and out of the sick bed.  I just have 2 antibiotic tablets left and then I think, I will be okay.

As usual, it started as a head cold, then my Eustachian tubes were blocked.  It was very painful and I had difficulty swallowing.

I went to my ENT, Dr. Eusebio Llamas, at Makati Med.  He is very good.  He gave me prescription for decongestants, ear drops and a standby Rx for antibiotics.

I texted him last Friday to say the pain was really intense, an 8 out 10 kind of pain, so he said I can take the antibiotics already and pain medication. I was also pestering Dra. Cristina about the pain and told her was I was crying already.

The next day, I still had to cook for our family lunch.

Shanghai Fried Rice

And Steamed Spareribs with Black Beans.  (recipe)

My family loved it.

Hermie cooked the rest of our lunch because I was not feeling well.

Later in the afternoon, I attended the homecoming  mass with my classmates and friends.

Dra. Cristina said I should stay in bed to rest and not "escape".

The next day, after a long rest in bed, I escaped again to have dinner with FGM, Billy and Pinky at Texas Roadhouse, Uptown Mall.

As long as I am on pain medication, I could go out.  Plus, since I am dining out, I do not have to cook my food, ergo, it is still considered rest, right?

Hihihi Pilosopo

In the evening I was coughing so hard I decided to take cetirizine!  Dra. Corry heard the quality of my cough the night before so I knew I am already suffering from asthma allergy.

Dra. Cristina and Dr. Llamas  asked me how I knew what was wrong with me.  I told them I diagnosed myself!  Hahahaha My ENT doctor was impressed, though!

When I woke up on Monday morning, I felt so much better!  I could breathe in and out without any difficulty!  It was because of the citirizine I took the night before.

Lunch date with Jing at Ippudo, Uptown!

Tita Jit said I looked slimmer in the picture.  I told her that I could not swallow food the past few days.

But then Jing said while talking to Tita Jit, "Tita, maybe in the picture she looked slimmer but I am sitting across Lia and in person, it does not seem like she lost weight!"

Hahahahaha Judge for yourself!

The next day, my lunch dates were FGM and Tita Menchit at Tenya, Market Market.

Dinner with Shey, Cat and Mona at Ippudo, Uptown.  When my throat is painful, I wrap a scarf around it.

"Welcome back, Ma'am!" Said the waitress at Ippudo!

I really love their Akamara Ramen with very soft noodles.

And sooooo..... Dra. Cristina said I am not a very good patient because I kept on "escaping".

Matigas ang ulo!

Hehehe... I am not denying it.

Thank you, Cristina, for never giving up on me even though you always say, "I give up"!

I need to get well because there are so many activities in the very near future.

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My Friends And Neighbors

I always make time for my friends and neighbors.

Well.... try to make time for them!

It might seem I am not busy but all my moments are accounted for already.

Hahahaha! Get in line if you want to make an appointment.  Kidding! Not!

PD asked me to invite my neighbors to her house for a simple merienda.

Haha! Nothing is ever simple at PD's Pink Wonderland!

"Please invite Cindy, "Shane", "Kay" and "Patricia".

Cindy, Shey, Cat and Tricia.

It was a miscommunication, I thought I told Cindy it was on a Sunday but the last time we talked, I told her it might be on a Monday.  Sorry! My fault! PD said Cindy will be invited this Valentine's!

It was a good thing, the "Moms of Bel-Air 3" were able to sneak away for a few hours for a special and funny bonding moments.

Remember the story of Zodiac and Fudge???????

The night before, after mass at the park, Cindy and I had dinner at Bulgogi brothers, Greenbelt 5.

And the other day, Ramen Nagi and shopping with Dra. Cristina at SM Aura.

See how busy my schedule is???  And in between the eating and the shopping were errands and cooking and baking.

But.... I invest time in my friends and neighbors.  I cultivate the friendship I have with them.

Nobody is ever too busy to catch up with friends.  Even if it is just a quick pow wow, I give time to the people I love.

A Visit To My Dad's Hometown In Legazpi City

My Ate and I were just in Legazpi City last week.

We had some business matters to attend to.  My Dad was born and raised in the province and then went to Ateneo de Manila for college and law school.

We had our picture taken under the street sign: F. Imperial.

My grandfather used to be the Mayor of Legazpi City.  He died when my Dad was still in his teens and I was just 8 when my own father passed on.  We rarely visited his hometown.  We have a few relatives but I do not even know some of my first cousins.

We checked in at Hotel St. Ellis.  It is very near the city center.

Also, walking distance to the newly opened Ayala Mall.

Our first meal was at 1st Colonial at the mall.

Bahay Kubo Salad has all the ingredients from the song... Bahay Kubo!

Pinagat na Laing which I prefer rather than just plain laing.  I find the latter too slimy.

Liempo with Tinapa Fried Rice

Sili Ice Cream Degree of Spiciness #2.

Way back in the days when they did not have Jollibee yet, the popular fast food chain was Graceland.

The have more or less identical menu:

Spaghetti

Cheeseburger

Palabok.

Since the Manila giant fast food outlets have sprung up in the province, Graceland upgraded their looks, more of like a cafe rather than a fast food ambiance.

Dinner was at Choobi-Choobi, Ayala Mall.  It is a franchise from Cebu.

Bulalo Soup

BBQ

Shrimp in a bag.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel at 7:30 p.m.!!!!

Ngek! We were in bed by 8:30!  I felt as though it was almost midnight already!!!

I set the alarm the next day for 7:30 a.m. but I woke up before it rang!!!! JET LAG! Hahahahahaha

Breakfast "buffet" was a simple affair.  I have a very bad rep with the Ka Escapades group, my travel buddies, for giving waiters and room attendants a hard time.

Well.... if I have what I need in front of me then I do not need to ask, right? I do not do it intentionally.  Yaya Hermie would provide me with everything I need before I even ask.

Waiter! May I have fork and spoon, please?

Waiter! May I have a knife, please?

Waiter! May I have iced water please?

Waiter? No ice?

Waiter! May I have ketchup please?  I can't eat my omelette without ketchup.

Waiter? Where is the ketchup?

Ma'am, they are getting it.

Hmmmmm... probably buying at the nearby store?

When it was delivered to my table, I think it was UFC Banana ketchup.  I only eat Jufran, Mafran or Papa Banana ketchup.  I felt so guilty for just getting a pea-sized dollop of ketchup but it was not my brand.

Waiter? Do you have tomato ketchup? (None)

My Ate:

Waiter? May I have juice, please?

Waiter? Can you brew me a fresh cup of coffee please?

Waiter? Can you give me creamer, please?

That was just in the coffee shop.  The night before, I called the operator and said:

Hello? May I have a pitcher of water with ice? (No ice)

Hello? May I borrow a pair of scissors, please?

Later in the evening, Hello? May I have a flat sheet, please?

I do not like to use the comforter because it is very heavy and smells of fabric conditioner which I am allergic to.

What can I do if what I need, I cannot get on my own?

And I always request politely.  I never get angry even if the ketchup took 10 minutes to arrive and my omelette was cold already.

Ate and I did our business in the city hall.  And then we were free to do what we wanted!

A visit to the Albay Cathedral.

Pasalubong buying at Albay Pili Nut Factory.

We rode the jeep around the city and had lunch at Waway's.

I really love their Bicol Express!

Look! No sauce! Just oil and the coconut cream is still whitish! Whenever I cook Bicol express, the cream turns a little bit beige.

Pinangat na laing.

It was a buffet style of eating at Waway's.  I got a little Kare-kare and ginataang pusit.

Notice that my food are not touching each other.

I loved the broth of the Tahong soup.

We went back for second serving of Inihaw na liempo.

Next destination was Pacific mall.  We checked out their grocery.  We love going to supermarkets.  Ate said we should have brought our DTI id!  Hahahahaha .

Back at the hotel to rest.

We did not want to go far for dinner.  Some of the known restaurants were not nearby so we went to Ayala Mall again.  We checked out all the dining options.  We do not want to eat in restaurants that we have in Manila.

But......

We saw a Lotsa Pizza Kiosk!

It is my most favorite pizza brand!  Kuya even loves it ever since he had a taste in Baguio.  It is hard to find a branch near our house.

Double Whammy!

Dessert at 1st Colonial.

Pepino, Melon and Kalamansi ice cream for me.  Loved the Pepino flavor.

Pili, Sili and Coffee ice cream for Ate.

Maybe next time, the good combination would be Sili and Pepino flavor! Hot then cold.

WAHHHHH!!! 8:30 and we were in bed already! Again!

Sometimes, when I get bored I do crazy things.

I was wearing my Uniqlo t-shirt on our first day, then it felt as though it was choking me.  I went to the stationary section of the department store to buy scissors but  the sales lady kindly lent me her pair of scissors and off I went to the fitting room to cut the sleeves of my shirt. (My shorts had drawstings, Ok? Hahahaha My zipper was not unzipped. FYI)

Ahhhh.... now it feels so much better!

It is a cropped top and felt so light and loose... so light and loose that when we were crossing the street it almost flew towards Mayon Volcano because the wind was so strong!!!!

Another crazy, boring moment, I pushed the bed near the air con so the vent would directly hit me.  Of course, the room was a mess already because, LIA WAS HERE!

But then it felt so chilly that I slept with my shawl wrapped around my head and the flannel blanket I brought with me was wrapped around my neck.

Crazy moments but I do not let "bad weather" affect me.

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." (Got this from FB.)

And then on the 3rd day.... it was time to go home to Manila!

Lisa said to get rid of the hat.

I said, No way! I love it! I bought the hat with the matching bag in Jatujak.

I enjoyed my time with my Ate.  She is so funny!

The sun felt really hot on the second day.  It felt as though a laser beam was hitting my back.  When we got home, Ate said she looked like "color laing" and I was "color pinangat"!

Ate said, she would join me again on my next business trip to Legazpi City, the home town and birthplace of my Dad.