Pete's Place MOA

We wen't to MOA to celebrate the arrival of a good friend. He wanted to hear band music and since we tag along the children, MOA seems to be the only place to go.  It was a rainy sunday evening so the seaside boulevard is not the usual fare of entertainment you see on weekends.  

The only place that night with a live band performing is at Pete's Place so we decided to try it. These are what we ordered:

I like the crispy pata best. The others were just so-so to me.  I enjoyed the music and the band but it rained so we transferred inside.  It's been a long time since we went out so it's a fun night over all.

Christmas in June!

You know what they say about unexpected gifts? Yes, i got one today. A scented rosary from the Shrine of Our Lady Of Fatima, in Portugal by a family friend.  

It is not the first religious article that i received as a gift but it certainly is the first outside of the country. But regardless, i am just happy to receive coming home gifts especially so since it's so unexpected.  And here's another one..

Mabuhay Miles Redemption Has Gotten Difficult.

My first ever credit card was an HSBC Mabuhay Miles.  The reason being that i liked the idea of getting free mileage for my purchases.  For a very long time, i was very satisfied with HSBC and Mabuhay Miles because i was able to redeem without a hassle.  Just recently however, i got a communication from HSBC informing me that mabuhay miles will only be earned for platinum holders and that i should exchanged my unredeemed points for miles or other award items.  I was sorry to hear that but then who get's sad about those things right? Credit cards are not even necessary.

Anyway, since i have free miles i decided to redeem it for a flight to Cagayan de Oro.  I called up the mabuhay hotline 2 weeks ago to inquire and the one who answered was very accomodating and informed me that their office has transferred to Petron MegaPlaza and that my ticket will be issued by Pal express. Since i am not going to be the passenger, i needed to go there personally or have a signed redemption form and gave it to my representative. So i went there monday last week taking the mrt during lunch hour so that i will be able to reach them around 1pm.  I work at Tektite, Ortigas by the way so getting to Petron Mega Plaza in Makati was such a big deal for me.  I waited for about 30 minutes or more until my number was called only to be told that they needed to verify if there is a pal express flight available for the particular date i wanted. The only thing is that the pal express attendant has just taken their lunch break and that i have to wait some more.  I decided to just come back on saturday since they are open from 8 to 12 in the morning.

Saturday came and i arrived at PAL office at Petron Megaplaza just around 9 am. Again, i waited for 30 minutes even when there was only 2 before me being entertained. There were lots of service counters on attendance but only two are entertaining guests, apparently because it's what their system currently allows. I was told that they are in transition and that they are addressing the problem. Anyway, when it came to be my time to be entertained i was told that Pal Express no longer has a representative there and that they are holding office at Charter House in Legaspi Village. It's a good thing it's a saturday and that my car has gps installed else it would have been so much more frustrating.

I was able to find Charter House and then again i waited some more only to be told that there were no longer free slots for mabuhay milers on those dates from july 22 onwards. The earliest would already be in august. Normally a flight to cdo will only take 6,500 miles for regular flights. The service counter said i could still take the flight i wanted but that i have to shell out more miles 9,750.  This is the one thing that I didn't understand.  If they said, that all seats were taken i would have let it go. But then i was told that, there are no more seats for mabuhay milers and then later on backtrack on what he said and tells me that there is but its in exchange for higher miles? Can you not make it easier for us Pal Express? I get the feeling that customer service is not the primary concern for PAL and PAL Express.  So disappointing, and to think that it's been several months already since they've merged.

Yellow Bells

I like houses with flowers growing all around but i always liked yellowbells best.  They don't require much care, just give them a space to breath and they give you these flowers in abundance.  Somehow, they are such happy flowers.

Basic Garden Trellis

We planted potatoes a few months back and it started growing already and the husband told me to have another garden trellis just like the ones he did for the grapes.  With the help of my cousin and his nephew, they were able to do this all under Php 2,000.00 using coconut lumber.

I should warn you though that with the length of the trellis and the height, the coconut lumber was not sturdy enough so we needed additional support with the existing laundry bar, and tied it in the front posts.

Fashion Finds

Dressing up need not be expensive.  I found this blue straight cut dress with a bit of flair at the bottom in a nearby ukay-ukay store for only Php50. I like that it hides the fat on my waistline and i look slim. For a bit of color, i used a thin red belt from SM Megamall which costs Php119. The gold watch is a BCBG Max Azria Mother's Day gift from my husband last 2011.

R's

Discovering Woodcraft and Bricks

I saw this classic woodcraft assembly kit at Japan Items at SM Megamall and decided to buy it.

To my joy, The kids found it entertaining so i decided to buy small bricks kit assembly as a starter since i didn't see any more of the woodcraft kind.  To my amazement still, they managed to stay away from the computer and the iPad to assemble the bricks. These are the results:

It costs Php99 per box and i bought 3.

So My Ultimate Comfort Food is...

 home-made champorado. This simple food brings to mind childhood memories of warmth, love, security, that comforts and transports me back home.  My parents are simple, hardworking people. Ever since I can remember, they always woke up early everyday around 3 in the morning to open our store at the public market. Even so, father goes back home when they already finished setting up our stocks and cook champorado.

Now that I already have 3 children of my own, i started the tradition of having champorado on weekends and holidays. My mother buys the cacao beans and my father turns it into tablea which they then send it to me here in manila. I still have to ask around where i can buy cacao beans here and produce my own tablea. Tried the commercial tablea and somehow, i haven't discovered a brand that's pure and similar to the ones my parents make. 

Today being Philippine Independence Day, we are starting the celebration with our home-made champorado and wishes everyone all the comforts of being free brings!