Monday, July 07, 2008

stayed in Georgia for the long weekend

i don't know if i can call it lucky since having 3 long weekends here in the US only means i am staying here for too long.. but i'd say that's a lot better than not having any long weekends at all.

my first one, Memorial Day weekend, was spent in Florida. i went to Jacksonville with tina to visit my Ninang Aida. we checked out St. Augustine and we also had a Filipino feast (handaang pinoy kaya overflowing with pinoy food!)!

for my second, the Independence Day weekend, i decided to stay here in Georgia. i need to save some bucks for my 2 California trips and for my pasalubongsss.

vacation mode started when we were invited to have lunch with tasos and rod last thursday - july 3rd. we had greek food at the Veranda Greek Taverna somewhere in Alpharetta Hwy. i loved the Piklia Spreads (all delicious spreads served on a platter with red beets and grilled pita wedges) - the grilled pita wedges was really good. the appetizers (Tiropitakia, Calamari and Spanakopitakia) were equally nice and the sausage, lamb, pork and beef made me really full. i hope we'll get another lunch with them before we fly back home.

for july 4th, edwin, my vacationing friend from Austin, picked me up (and tina) for lunch. he was driving a blue mustang! we were so excited to get in his car and of course to have lunch at Pastis which we heard serves good French cuisine. unfortunately, when we got there, they have posted a sign which says that they will only be open from 5pm onwards for the holiday. we also checked out la strada which serves Italian food but like Pastis, it will only open by 5. crap! we were soooo hungry, no breakfast here! the nearest one we got was wendy's or IHOP. we chose IHOP - and we didn't regret it. after our uber late brunch, we went to starbucks for some coffee and chit-chat. i saw this really cute bearista and i purchased it immediately for my bearista-lover baby, gabriel. believe me, when i saw how happy he was, i know i made the right choice of buying it without thinking too much. edwin dropped us at the apartment a little before 7.

tina, arlyne and i went to Roswell High to see some fireworks around 730. it was ok but not really that impressive. by 11 we were already home.

july 5 started early. i slept around 2 in the morning but had to wake up around 7 to talk to everyone in Las Pinas for my lola's 74th birthday. everyone was around the laptop to see me (still really sleepy). i also told them that only those i see will get pasalubong - imagine my big extended family trying to make their faces seen thru the webcam. hehe.

right after our 1 hour chat, i was already getting ready for our Six Flags White Water adventure! and that was realllllly fun and tiring. i tried out Dragon's Tail and Tornado for a Maximum thrill (chickened out on The Cliffhanger), The Run-A-Way River for Moderate thrill and to get a Mild thrill, we checked out the Tree House Island, The Tidal Wave, The Atlanta Ocean, The Little Hooch River and The 100-meter Splash. The big waves on the Atlanta Ocean was a-ok and the big pail of water on the Tree House kept us coming back!

sunday was rest day.. i really needed one because of my stiff neck - the aftereffect of the Tornado ride. argggh! woke up around 9 but i know i can't make it to the 1030am mass. had brunch then stayed awake in bed until 3pm watching jDorama. edwin arrived a little after 3.. left for mass a little before 5 and had dinner at Pastis after that (glad it's open!). we had calamari, roast chicken, pasta and we tried their dessert sampler - creme brulee, profiteroles and crepes!

now, it's monday morning and i want to go back to bed! *kaya lang working day na pala.. ang bitin bitin naman ng long weekend* arkkkkkks!!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

honeyCoco, Loving You is All I know

I dont understand how the sun keeps shining,
And I dont understand why the seasons change,
And I dont have a clue,
What makes the rivers flow,
Loving You is All I know,

I cant tell you why stars come out in the evening,
And I cant tell you where they go when there gone,
And I dont have a clue, What makes a flower grow,
Loving You is All I know,

I dont know how the world keeps on spinning round,
I dont know why the sky dont come falling down,
I just know that I would die without your touch,
I dont know why the tide, needs to reach the shore,
I just know that I'll need you for, forever more,
Knowing that I guess I know enough,

I cant really say if there is a heaven,
but I feel like it's here when I feel you near me baby,
if angels are real,
They must know how I feel,
Cuz' Loving You Is All I Know

I dont know how the world keeps on spinning round,
I dont know why the sky dont come falling down,
I just know that I would die without your touch,
I dont know why the tide, needs to reach the shore,
I just know that I'll need you for, forever more,
Knowing that I guess I know enough,

I dont understand how the sun keeps on shining,
I dont understand why the seasons change,
I dont have a clue,
What makes the rivers flow,
Loving You is All I know,
Loving You is All I know.

"Loving You is All I Know"
The Pretenders
The Other Sister OST

Friday, June 13, 2008

miswa w/ egg & shrimp w/ tomato ketchup

i've been eating a lot of campbells soup lately and i'm not in the mood to have another one tonight.. not in the mood for nissin ramen or nido soup as well (my *baon* from pinas), which i usually have for substitute.

after work, i decided to drop by Publix Supermarket to look for whatever there is to buy. i got beef for my *beef tapa* and some shrimps that i'll cook in butter and tomato ketchup (recipe from pattie). i also got *patis* and luckily, i saw some somen noodles. yipee, miswa!! i arrived home around 6pm and cooked dinner for myself. my menu: miswa w/ egg and shrimp w/ butter and tomato ketchup. it turned out yummy (for me). tina and kat said that the shrimp was good, so i guess it was really good! i didn't share the miswa, my bowl was empty when they started to have dinner and the other half was already in my *baunan* for tomorrow lunch! hahaha! *damot*

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

no rice, please!

im trying to stay away from rice on weekdays. i usually have soup or wheat bread or mixed vegetables (still no to green, leafy ones) with fish or chicken. but of course, saturdays and sundays are always an exception (especially when you have dried pusit).

*platito yan ha*

*no rice nga, macaroni & cheese naman! haha.. with fish naman e!*

yum yum! dried pusit from the oriental store in florida.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

pool parteeee with mang jose in hotlanta

colored..

black & white..sepia..

we got good underwater shots since tina brought her underwater casing. *pool pa lang ito ha!*

olive garden

jaysa, aika, tina, kat & i had dinner at olive garden last friday. we had a blast! i love pasta so i really enjoyed my food. after we had our soup and bread, we were stuffed already.. and then came the antipasti.. and then our pasta. whew!



we have the option to get either a soup or salad.. of course, i'd take the soup.. and i loved their zuppa toscana

we chose to Create a Sampler Italiano for our antipasti - our choices: calamari, fried mozarella & toasted meat ravioli

my order: cheese ravioli

our table!

thanks to tina & kat for the pictures. i was too busy eating!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

SATC on its opening day

last friday, tina and i went out with tammy to see Sex and the City on its opening day (yes, the opening day - tina's been been waiting for this movie for 4 years, she said). tammy usually leaves the office early and since she lives near the theater, she offered to get tickets for all 3 of us (we expected a lot of people to see this movie so it's better to be sure that we buy tickets way ahead of schedule). earlier that day, i checked out maps.google.com to see where we're going. i don't like getting lost so i made sure i have the map to and from the theater. we left our place at 6:50 and reached AMC Theatre Parkway Pointe 15 at exactly 7:37 (4 minutes behind what google said). we got everything right - no wrong turns! we just had a hard time getting a parking slot.

as expected, the place was packed. tammy arrived 5 minutes before 8. we got 2nd row seats - most were taken or reserved. anyways, i still enjoyed the movie. it made me laugh and i got teary-eyed in some scenes too.


we went to Copeland's for dinner right after the movie. luckily, closing time was 11 and we got in around 1030. i loved their shrimp and tasso pasta (i hope i got that right). yummy! we had some photos taken before we drove back home.



on our way back, we got the first few turns right! but after that, everything was a mess. and so, our supposed to be 37 minute trip was extended to 2 hours. *Namumulto na kami* since we passed by a cemetery and the road is a never-ending Northside DR NW. hahaha. later we realized, we were already downtown. and i know i can't get home without a map. i called my honeyCoco (luckily, it was noon in the philippines) and gave him the street name where we are and i told him to find directions back to Roswell. and yes, we were able to get home in 30 minutes or so after that call. then i realized when we got home that we just really missed a left turn to mt. vernon and there is no *multo* after all - and yes, Northside DR NW is realllllyy long!

***thanks tina for the pix***

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

another weekend in florida part two

as promised, here are more pictures from tina - most of my pictures are in her camera!

ninang's place - pix *agad* when we arrived

oriental store - yey! i got my tuyo in a bottle and dried pusit.. and mongo!

st. augustine

chinese/japanese buffet for dinner - perfect ending for a tiring day

our filipino fiesta on our last day in florida - the lechon kawali was perrrrfect (i bet myCoco is so *inggit*). i also enjoyed the lumpiang shanghai and the fresh lumpia and rice and pansit and desserts (ube, leche flan, cassava, maja blanca AND the ice cream cake from ben & jerry's haha!)