Dear Gabee

Dear Gabee,

How are you? I am sure you are enjoying your short vacation with Lolo and Lola in Bulacan. Please don’t think about Mom when night falls. I am just here at home. I’m not going anywhere far without you. Remember you had me promise that I should not leave you to go to Viet Nam again? Why, you remember the time Dad and I went away so well. I think it’s because of the Vietnamese costume we gave you as pasalubong. You loved it so, didn’t you? You had requested to wear it to school several times, but I only gave in once. I know, my “kuching”, Mom is such a kill-joy. You can ask Kuya what that means.

You had me worried last night seeing you on FaceTime cry so hard, begging me to fetch you. I wanted to, Gab, to do as you wished because I also miss you. But I doubt whether you really wanted to come home already while Kuya is still there having fun with your cousins. I think you just miss Mom as much as Mom misses you. But, I am not crying. You know why? Because I know you’re fine and having a good time, and making Lolo and Lola happy just by you being there. I know Tita looks forward to going home from work because the house is happier and a lot noisier with you, your Kuya, and your cousins there. Hug and kiss them a lot, Gab.

Oh, I saw your diary! Lola and Tita posted on Instagram what you wrote. You told Diary that you hurt your knee on Day 1, and that you got annoyed with Kuya who wouldn’t stop dancing “Just Dance” on Day 2, and that you dream of becoming a dancer. How about today, Day 3? Tell me what happened. Write every day, and put those pieces of paper in your bag. I know you’re very careful with your stuff, and that’s a very good thing, too. All the stuff that you packed, make sure you bring them home again, together with your Dear-Diary notes, ok?

Tita also posted photos of you eating balut and chips. Balut is nutritious. Chips (or tsitsirya as you call it), you know, are bad, but having them sometimes is okay. Did you thank Tita? Always say thank you, ok?

I went to see your Ninang Anna today. She gave me your early birthday gift. You will love it!

I love you, Gabee. See you soon. Take care not to hurt yourself. I know small wounds do not worry you because you're such a brave girl.

Say hello to Lolo and Lola for me. And hug Kuya for me.

I am excited to hear all your kwento when I see you.

Love much, 

Mom

Cold Weekend-er

Lipa's "bed" weather did not disappoint. The wind was howling during the night. It felt like there was a storm, but the wind lulled this family to sleep until late morning the next day. The kids slept like logs and had to be woken up. 

The weather is great! How I wish we could always wake up to mornings like this. It’s such a treat to not have to use the aircon and even the electric fans the past days. I’ve just read in the morning paper that temperature in Baguio dropped to 8.1 degrees yesterday, the coldest in five years.

I am happy to write my second post for the year in this cold morning weather. I want to share about the weekend getaway my family just had. We drove South from Manila to our favorite weekender spot – to Lipa, Batangas. We go there every so often to visit with friends. On this recent trip, we were really thrilled to have experienced the near-Baguio “brrr” temperature. My kids who sweat easily and do not get to wear their sweaters back home despite cooler temperatures, had to put on extra layers in Lipa.

Upon reaching Lipa, we noticed that the car was registering almost the same temperatures outside and inside, 22 and 21 degrees Celsius. It was awesome! That got us excited as we expected the temperature to drop further into the night. The northeast monsoon or what we know as Amihan did not disappoint us. It got colder indeed. We were out (literally out in an open space) chatting with friends while the kids ran freely at 11pm. I thought that that “brrr” experience compensated for my longing for Baguio last Christmas. And I was very thankful.

I have a soft spot for Lipa. It is my mother’s birth place. We used to visit with relatives back in the 80’s. Our relatives are mostly in Mataas na Kahoy, a place named as such because of its high elevation. I remember going there during fiestas and distinctly remember how cold it was in the barrio/bukid, particularly in the mornings. Some years back, my husband used to frequent Lipa because of work, through which he met what is now his small circle of very select friends. Before, we would even contemplate retiring there when we are old and in our sixties. It’s the weather, the people, and the food that make Lipa a nice place to think about spending our sunset years in. It doesn’t hurt to plan early, you know. Hehe. :-)

When in Lipa, we never miss going to the small restaurant Goto sa Barangay for their Batangas goto and fried murang isaw (cow’s intestines). Their goto is nothing like the usual one I also love to buy from the fast food chain Goto King. It is not rice-based, consisting only of cow’s entrails boiled with onions, garlic and pepper, and served very hot with lots of fresh onion as topping, and fish sauce with calamansi and red chilies (siling labuyo) for the dip. I totally crave for this each time. It’s perfect with steamed rice. One cup is not enough. That yummy, yes!

My super favorite one-of-a-kind Batangas goto, and Garrett's favorite pancit canton. We love it here at Goto sa Barangay, Lipa.

Batangas folks are known for their hospitality. We are lucky to have friends who go out of the way to prepare delicious, mouth-watering dishes for us, like chicharon, sinaing na isda, and mais na gulay. We were treated to dinuguan and grilled fresh pig liver, a pre-taste of the food feast the following day for the town fiesta. We got the best puto (rice cake) from the town of Rosario, to dip in the 'bloody' delicious dinuguan. And to top it all, we had the famous kapeng barako to enjoy before and after meals, in the cold weather. Add to that the laughter and stories shared, and we really had a fun, relaxing weekend. 

L-R (clockwise): Kapeng Barako - Batangas local coffee; grilled liver, fresh from a newly butchered pig; my son Garrett with our host, Jet.

We are a family that likes things and places that are familiar, and so we tend to patronize the same restaurants and hotels. Sometimes I wish we were more adventurous. But then again, we come back to the same vacation spots for a reason, and we go home never disappointed. And so, for this trip, we preferred to stay again at The Suites at Mount Malarayat. It is within the Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club and Residential Estates. There are these Suite Buildings (named after trees – Narra, Yakal, Tanguile, and Kaimito ) with rooms which can be booked online for overnight stay and extended vacation. It’s affordable. Last year, we booked via Agoda and got a standard room for only Php1,800 all in except breakfast. This time we got a bigger room in Kaimito Suites, and the rate was not also bad at Php2,787, net of tax and service charges. Breakfast is extra, but you get your money’s worth at their restaurant with a nice view of the golf course.

Malarayat Golf and Country Club

What the kids look forward to is swimming in the large pool. No matter how cold it was.

Aside from pool, there is a playground where my kids also love to spend time at. The playground is not fancy or big, consisting only of a couple of slides, swings and climbers. It’s nice because there’s lots of greenery. With the sun above and the canopies of trees offering shade, you are sure to go home with lots of beautiful pictures.

I know I am sounding like I am being paid for advertising the Mount Malarayat Country Club. This is not a sponsored post, obviously. I am not a blogger that way (I wish I were though!). But I like to share it with you, just in case you’d be interested, and by now, are mulling a weekender in Lipa. You will not be disappointed, but of course you have to keep your expectations in check, and not compare it with the hotels in Manila or other big cities like Cebu and Davao. The bathrooms are clean. The furniture is run-down, and the beds are not the comfy-soft type of mattress you have at Shangri-La, Holiday Inn, or at whatever your favorite hotel is. But all in all, the package would be worth the price. And the weather until February will surely make it worth the drive.

The drive by the way is very smooth via South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) toll gate. It only took us 1 hour and 30 minutes going home, covering a distance of around 90 kilometers. We left at 6:45pm on a Sunday.

Simple, Fun Vacay in November

The past week was family time. We did go out of town but only to visit with family in Bulacan on the hubby’s All-Saints’-Day birthday. It was the children’s short break from school. Although I would have wanted to take them for a short vacay away from home to discover and explore new places, the week has turned out to be fun and memorable – bonding to the max as we were always together the whole time (well, except for a trip to Divisoria with my sisters, which I could not skip, este, resist).

We had a “staycation” at Bonifacio Global City where the kids enjoyed trips to bookstores, impromptu trick or treating at Bonifacio High Street, and swimming.

For my part, I secretly enjoyed that we had to dine out a number of times. We have discovered a new restaurant that has easily become our new fave – Lugang Café at SM Aura. They serve Taiwanese cuisine. It’s a bit expensive but lucky us, we dined at 50% off on a credit card promotion. 

The kids also loved it at Café Mary Grace where Garrett got to write a short note to the owner, hoping it would end up displayed on one of their tables, inserted under the glass top.

The week has been blissfully packed with bonding – talking, eating, sleeping, swimming, together. And we even managed to squeeze in some biking for the kids. We went to the Quezon City Circle, and were pleasantly surprised by its nice park. I have for so long wanted to take the kids there. It was ages ago since I was there last. The playground is pretty impressive. Check out the pictures.

Of course, there is nothing more precious than time spent with family. The kids, as always, had a blast spending a day with their cousins.

Tomorrow, we go back to our routine, recharged with happy memories. We all caught the cold virus though, must be due to the change in weather and yes, the busy (but FUN) week that was.  

We now await the Holidays. Ho! Ho! Ho!