i just had a beautiful december ^_^

I disappeared from the blogosphere for a couple of weeks to make room for the loveliest holiday season I've had in years.

What made this December extra special are the relatives (on my mother's side) most of whom I haven't seen in a decade or so. They flew in from different places on the globe and we had that rare family reunion. We spent a big, loud Noche Buena together at my aunt's house, and lunch after Christmas at another aunt's house.


It definitely was nice to see my cousins again (most of whom are now a lot ... er, bigger than I remember them to be).

I guess my favorite part was the trip to Vigan. I've always wanted to go since a lot of people have told me it's a picturesque must-see.


But more significantly, Vigan is the hometown of my maternal grandparents. I went with my Hubby, my sister and twenty or so other relatives; my aunt, who is now sort of the clan matriarch, played Group Leader / Tour Guide. This was an informative sort of vacation, the main agenda of which was to get to know more about our ancestry. I loved every bit of it.

The trip also included a stopover at the Capas National Shrine at Tarlac en route. My grandfather was a Death March survivor and a prisoner of war at Camp O'Donnel back in 1942. This stop was for us to remember and appreciate him.

The Monument at Capas, Tarlac

My lolo and his brother's name engraved on the walls of the memorial.

We also had a daytrip around Ilocos Norte and a calesa tour of Vigan.

Interior of Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte.

Citrus-colored Parakeets at Baluarte.

And oh - we capped our nights with riotous Videoke sessions.

The frosting on the whole cake is my new camera. I'm really loving it. It's a lot more capable than the other camera I've been using, and the important part is that it's my own, not something I have to borrow. I took a lot of nice photomementoes and artistic printables.

There have been some ideas tossed regarding another possible reunion for 2011, to be held in Cebu this time. I'm hoping, and looking forward to another colorful December.

girls talk: purple

Being a non-fan of purple, I always thought I didn't have any purple things -but when I went around the house to look for one I realized I had quite a few. I picked the most interesting one for this week's Girls Talk.

This here is a stuffed animal with a bit of sentimental value. It was given to my by the Hubby ten years ago when he was courting (in his words "trying to get to know me better").

It's a Snoopy doll that was distributed at McDonalds to commemorate Peanuts' 50th anniversary. We and a bunch of friends used to have weekly after-church dinners at McDonald's, and the Hubby (formerly known as the Boyfriend) would get me the promo toy if I thought it was cute.

It was very slightly annoying that he kept giving me all these cute-but-useless things, but I thought it was really, awesomely sweet of him.

It's faded a bit and caught a lot of dust, but couldn't get myself to get rid of it yet. I've already thrown away or sold a lot of our unwanted stuff, but Snoopy stays. It's been with me for a decade now, so it might as well stay forever. ^_^

girls talk: a picture i'd rather hide

It's been a while since I last joined Girls Talk (I think my last entry was months ago); since the Hubby has had to do a lot of work at home, I didn't have chunks of time to have the computer to myself.

Well, anyway, today's fun topic is a picture you'd rather hide. And this is mine:


This was taken in the late '80s, when I was nine years old. I was actually looking for my graduation picture with the super-teased hair courtesy of Aqua Net, but I couldn't find it anymore.

First of all, the hair. Spikes were really in those days, okay? And it was a really bad haircut. My mom cut our hair herself to save money, so it's not exactly a parlor-finished look.

Secondly, the teeth. This was before I had braces.

Thirdly, the bushy eyebrows. Thank goodness I learned how to use tweezers in high school.

And fourth, that bug-eyed look I have.

So there! :D


Another cute topic by