Still here, but . . .

Gorgeously . . .

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Immensely Tied Up

. . . with stuff here and there. Time ticks hastily that days and weeks have already gone by. It is the month of November now and soon enough, another year had passed as we all face a new calendar term.

Been so busy these past weeks. I will try to update as soon and as often as I can.

Hope you all are doing great!

Gorgeously . . .

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Our 2-in-1 Celebration . . . Deuxième Partie

This post is way, way behind from it's contemporary that was posted HERE.

On with the continuation . . .

When we were done with Q1, we walked along Surfer's Paradise and looked into flagship stores for another birthday gift. I still could not decide on what I want so we'll come back some other time. We walked around for some more to pass up time and took some pics.

Update: I still could not make up my mind with what I want; so the Husband can still keep the moolah for my birthday present! LOL!

Then we decided to head down to Marriott Hotel for our dinner reservations at Benihana. I am a big fan of Teppanyaki that's why I chose to go there.

We were about half an hour early so we waited at their seating room. It was only the 3 of us, so surely we'll be placed with another group to complete 1 Teppanyaki table.

This is Alvin, our Filipino chef, confirming our orders.

I was so engrossed with our Chef's show that I only got a few shots.

This was Benihana's famous 'volcano' . . .

Their version of a rice cake and a Father's Day greeting . . .

Chef Alvin's 'Thank You' note . . .

And a souvenir photo with him . . .

Our Little Prince loved the Teppanyaki show, every bit of it! The other group in the table was fascinated by the Filipino Chef's humor. They laughed at his every witty jokes.

I have only been at 3 Benihanas: London, Dubai and at the Gold Coast. The best one I had was in Dubai, with a Filipino chef as well. I was of course with B and Kaiden plus some friends. We could not stop laughing from the moment the chef introduced himself till he left our table. He was so funny that the Husband could not help but laugh even when it was a Tagalog joke.

Anyways, Kaiden got introduced to eating crispy prawn tails. He actually liked it! He thought it was so cool when the chef made him catch prawns with his mouth. He did not catch any so Chef Alvin just gave him lots of it. B and I could not finish what was in our plate because we were so full. There won't be enough space for dessert. But we left very happy and satisfied with the service. A nice teppanyaki experience here in Australia.

Over all, it was a good Sunday being with the 2 most important men in my life!

It was a memorable Father's Day . . .

And a lovely Birthday!

Gorgeously . . .

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The Husband's Going Away Surprise

We became a fan of Hustle when we lived in Latvia. The cable company we got airs British shows and that was where we got to watch HUSTLE. It is a TV series about a very witty and street-smart con artists who always get away with their great deception. Their tricks were really good!

The viewing stopped when we moved back here in Australia. Then B searched online where we can get the DVD of the said series. ABC shops sells it. But getting the DVDs always slips our minds whenever we pass by any ABC shop. So that was that.

Then I got a package with an ABC sticker on it . . .

Please look closely at my loving Husband's message . . .
It says: "Honey, you enjoy watching these. Love, Asawa Mo"

It indeed was a great surprise! He said he had been waiting for these for a long time because ABC doesn't have the Season 4 yet, so it took quite some time for them to send it. I already started watching it and I love it!

Season 5 started early this year and Season 6 will be shown probably by next year. Can't wait to finish it all and grab the next season's DVD! It's just that some characters were replaced. I personally think that the original is always the best. But I love the show and will keep on watching it!

Thanks HON! How I wish we can watch these together!

Gorgeously . . .

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I Am A Single Parent

. . . for a few months; not just a couple of weeks, but months! Yes, my hardworking Husband is off again to another continent! As I stay behind to be with our Pre-Schooler.























Us being away this time will be a challenging one. The longest we have been apart was just several weeks when B goes away on business trips or when Kaiden and I head home to the Philippines, which the most is about 5 weeks. Now we won't be seeing each other for a number of months.

I'm gonna be sort of handling stuff here on my own, which I am not used to. Other than the usual homemaker duties, B does almost everything for me. I never worry about anything because he always make sure things get done. (I'm spoiled, right?!!!! LOL!) He will pay our bills online, a gardener will come to mow the yard and keep it clean and most things will be taken care off, thankfully!

It has been almost 2 weeks since the Husband's flight and the Little One and I seems to be managing pretty fine. B calls all the time so I don't really feel alone. And we have been out everyday during Kaiden's spring break. I was actually getting good on driving around here on my own. Yes, I have my trusted SatNav and I still go the wrong way, but I somehow find my way back and get to our destination in one piece! Kaiden and I always have a laugh when I do a different turn to what the lady in the SatNav is saying. One learns at one's mistakes! I might be feeling it hard now that our Boy is back to school. Hu!Hu!Hu!

So it is just Kaiden and me yet again . . .

Oh well, wish us luck!

Gorgeously . . .

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Our 2-in-1 Celebration . . . Première Partie

First of all, I want to thank you guys for those lovely birthday messages! I feel special! LOL! Pardon me if I haven't been able to visit any blogs for days now because a lot had been going on. We are always on the go, and out everyday that I hardly had time to have a long sit and be with my laptop. But here I am now!

Anyways, my 'Day' 2 Thursdays ago was nothing special. We just had a simple dinner here at home with some relatives. Our special celebration will be on that weekend.

And since Father's Day here was last, last Sunday, we decided to celebrate my Birthday and Father's Day all together!

Father's Day: Being the good wifey that I am, I treated the Husband with my specialty; a McDonald's drive thru breakfast! I know, my bad! I could never surprise him in the morning because he gets up waaay too early than me, and yes, I am a sleepy head! We had people here early that morning so I thought I'll just treat everybody to a breakfast from Macca.

The Husband, the Son and I left the house around lunch time and drove to the Gold Coast.

We went up to the Q1 Observation Deck at Surfer's Paradise. Q1 is the world's tallest residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere. One can see a stunning 360 degree view of the Gold Coast. Admission Fee for Adult is AU$19.00 and AU$11.00 for Child.

QDeck has one of the World's fastest elevators taking you from the ground to Level 77 in just 43 seconds! The Boy loved it when we were going up fast! That speedy elevator reminded me of the time we did a photo shoot for the Taipei 101's book back in 2004, when the building was still on its finishing stages. Kaiden was only 5 months old. Taipei 101 had the world's fastest elevator then, I guess until now. It was cool how they dim the light to total darkness then a galaxy-like feature shines above that makes you feel like you're in outer space as the elevator shoots you up to level 100! Stop . . . talking about Q1 now!







This is the spectacular view of the Gold Coast that goes on as far as the eyes can see!


This is the QBar . . .


And the food and drinks we had . . .





The Little One loved running around looking at every side. We stayed there for a long time just appreciating the gorgeous view. It was a good afternoon being together as a family, up high as 230 metres above sea level in one of Australia's landmarks!




I will have to end this post here, as it is already quite long. The continuation of our double celebration to follow . . .

Gorgeously . . .

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My Special Day!

"We know we're getting old when the only thing we want
for our birthday is not to be reminded of it!"

Gorgeously . . .

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The Chapel

This quaint little House of Prayer that is tucked inside the Philippine Navy camp in Fort Bonifacio, has been one of my comfort zone as I was growing up. Both my parents are involve in the church so we (me and my siblings) grew up participating at church's activities. You may not believe it, but I was once part of a choir! Ahem . . . Ahem . . . LOL!

When my sisters and I were kids, we played an angel during Easter Sunday re-enactment of the Resurrection, angels during the Santacruzan in celebration of Flores de Mayo, and even became one of the sagala!

Aside from growing up in a Catholic school, it was in this church where I learned a lot not only about Catholic faith, but about life in general. This is where I had my first walk as a flower girl and my first walk as a bride's maid/maid-of-honor. But not as a bride though. That's another story. Our family had shared a lot with this little military chapel. This is where we had my beloved brother's funeral.

When I got married and started living overseas, I still go to this church when I'm in town. Till the government harshly kicked out the retired military personnel and their families out of the houses that most have been living in for more than 30 years! My Father included! You must have watched/read/heard about the humiliating eviction that happened at the Philippine Navy Village 3 years ago. That was sooo bad! My parents got so depressed that time and tried to keep it from us. Well, that is another story as well.

Anyways, for the few times that we visited our old house in Fort Bonifacio, I did not get to stop at the church. So I made sure to purposely visit the chapel during my last Manila trip. I just want to see what it looks like now since I haven't been in it for a long time.

Oh, the chapel did changed a lot over the years! The doors and seats were the same, but the interior and the altar were different now. The ceilings got higher and it is now air conditioned!

It felt so good being inside it again, had that same feeling when I was small. That same feeling of warmth and security. We just could not stay long because we were running late. We went there on the eve of our flight back here and we had dinner reservation. But that few minutes were enough for me.

Couldn't go without a souvenir photo of me! Feels great to look back at where I came from, for it moulded me to what I am right now!

Gorgeously . . .

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