Snow World

Pictures below were taken in 2010 years ago while I was still 4 months pregnant with Zoe. We went to Manila for a brief vacation and right after we arrived, we went to MOA (Mall of Asia) to have our lunch together with my cousin who picked us up at the airport and drove us around Manila. Chloe was too excited to see Manila for it was her first time. She told my cousin, her aunt, that she wanted to go to Snow World. Luckily, her aunt was fond of her so her wish was granted. We went to Star City because Snow World was there. Chloe was getting giddy and excitement filled her. Finally, we reached our destination. While paying for our tickets, I read their rules and stated in there was: Pregnant women are not allowed (also those who are asthmatic, etc, etc). But I wanted to see what was inside. Besides, I was only 4 months pregnant. The bulge in my tummy was not even obvious so off I went :D

(P.S. this was originally posted in my old blog sometime in 2012)

 

We were all grinning from ear to ear in these pictures but the truth was, once we got inside, Chloe could not stand the noise. It was as if we were put inside a big freezer of a refrigerator. It was so noisy! Another thing, it was very cold. Of course, that's how we should feel when we go to a place that snows! But my husband commented that what they showed was not an ordinary snow but a blizzard, haha :)

What was funny was that Chloe wanted to get out of the place right away. Her excitement was totally washed out. My cousin who was wearing a mini dress left the place less than 5 minutes. Chloe tried to follow her aunt but I stopped her. I wanted our pictures taken for souvenir. It would be a waste if we in don't have a remembrance, hehe.

 

So you see, we still smiled as if we all enjoyed what we saw. Or maybe I really did enjoy ;-) I only wore slippers but good thing I wore pants. Still, I love how our visit to Snow World turned out to be. At least next time, Chloe will not drag me to go to this place anymore, hehehe... 

Hungry Plate

It was still early for lunch but we were all hungry after a short visit from my children's pediatrician. Since there are so many newly-rise establishments in our city, we tried dining at the The Hungry Plate. I was hesitant at first because I knew it was a fine dining restaurant, meaning, quite expensive compared to our go-to restaurant. But my husband wanted to try it...and the kids were also famished. So, off we went and voila, we were their first customer that day, hehe.

But they have a nice ambiance. Their staff were friendly and accommodating. While waiting for food, they have this area where kids can play so my little one didn't waste her time playing. Their menu was not really that expensive yet not so cheap.

When our lunch was served, we were delighted to see that their good for 4 menu was more than enough for us. And the food tasted good! Overall, we enjoyed our good meal and all were fully sated. It was worth trying in that new resto and we definitely want to go back in there to dine again!

If you want to try this place, visit The Hungry Plate at Corrales St., Cagayan de Oro City.

Oh, I just love their tagline - "We are open when you are Hungry" (",)

Ozamiz City

My family and I used to live in Ozamiz City when I was about 4-5 years old. We lived there for a year then transferred to another place because of my late dad's nature of work. Then we went back to live in there again when I was around 6 years. I was in 1st grade that time, a transferee in the middle of school year. Ozamiz was a very peaceful city, I cannot even see any tricycle but only trisikad passing by the road and private vehicles. Anyway, after a year, we moved to another city and never see that place again... But after 20+ years later, I went back to visit Ozamiz City, but with my eldest daughter and husband. Good thing that I have a friend who lives in there. She let us stay in their guest house and toured us around for I was not familiar with the place anymore. Yet the peacefulness in Ozamiz City remained. See some of our pictures below:
(P.S. my second child was not yet born this time).

 

Ozamiz Tower; With their oldest canyon

What Happened in 2015...

My daughter was feeling down lately because she was a bit pressured where to start. It's her exam week and she was also told to represent her school to compete in a science contest where she was not that ready to compete. She felt she need to study more to be able to bring honor to her school but at the same time, she wanted to give more attention to her studies because she doesn't want to jeopardize her grades. It came to a point that she already break down because she was pressured. Instead of getting irritated, I told her to relax and give importance on her studies. Being chosen to represent her school was already an honor, therefore, I want her focus on her exams especially that she's about to graduate in grade school. True enough she didn't get any place in the contest as she was eliminated. But she didn't go home empty-handed as all those eliminated were given P500 cash as consolation prize.

But the very next day we received a much better news. It uplifted my daughter's spirit when we found out that she was one of those students who passed The Philippine Science High School exams for scholars. Top 10 students from their school took the exam last october 2015 but only 2 of them passed! And out of 22,791 applicants, only 1,355 examinees successfully passed! (http://www.pshs.edu.ph/nce2015/ - Orteza/Caraga). I couldn't be more proud of my daughter. God really works in a mysterious way.

But as to whether we enroll her to that school or not, we will have to find out. My daughter's only 12 years old and never been away from us. But knowing that she will be a scholar and will be provided with stipend, wow, that's something already. That's a HUGE savings. But still, my husband and I need to discuss about it and of course, our daughter's willingness. If she wants to stay with us, the better I think. But everything will matter on her and of course, her safety as well. But still, we want to thank God for blessing us with a smart daughter :-)

(Reposting from 2015) 

The Hollywood Walk of Fame

The picture below was taken a years ago. I was visiting my husband's relatives in Los Angeles, CA and they toured me to one of the famous spots in their place - The Hollywood Walk of Fame.

And then, I found Michael Jackson's star ⭐ =)