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| "East is East, and West is San Francisco." -- O. Henry |
Life is full of surprises! Just when i thought it would be another ordinary weekend, I got a call late Friday afternoon from my friend Lia asking me if i would like to watch Madonna's concert with her the following day? OMG! Madonna? Of course!
We found our seats which were not really that great as we were positioned on the upper level at the right side of the stage. Though we were closer to the stage, we didn't have an overall view of the big screens and the amazing visuals and there was no element of surprise as we could see what's happening backstage. $90 ++ ticket doesn't get you that much nowadays, huh?! But no complaining from me as my ticket was free.. well not really free 'coz i treated Lia to dinner. The point is, even if i have a thousand dollars it couldn't buy me a ticket at the last minute.heard this song by Plain White T's over the car radio last Thursday while waiting for JCPenney to open its doors. i caught a few of the lyrics and googled it and i was like "what? released in 2010? how come this song didn't get into my radar?!"
so in an attempt to purge myself of the JMraz hangover, i hit the download button and have since been listening and swaying to it. love the beat, makes me happy... wish there are more songs like this.
Still over the moon about Jason Mraz's concert last night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. I've been following his music since 2003 and have been dreaming and wishing for this moment to come.
It's a shame that I missed him when he first visited Manila in 2004 considering that my office building was just a walking distance to his concert venue and I missed him again when he performed in Berkeley in 2009 because my son was too young and we had nobody to watch him.
But not this year. Last night was awesome. He sang his popular old songs which brought me back to those years when his songs were the soundtracks of my life. He talked and sang about caring for the environment and having a sense of community... thanked those who supported marriage equality and encouraged everyone to vote YES on Prop 37 (proper food labeling). And instead of yelling a meaningless "i love you!" he reminded everyone that "you are loved." If you have been following his music, his journal, his photography, his advocacies and charities, then you know what a uniquely inspiring and multi-talented artist he is.
Special thanks to Mae and Cocoy and their 3 adorable girls for spending the night with our son Racrac (he said he had so much fun!) while Fil and i enjoyed a few hours of food, fun and music.
Here's my iPhone recording of him singing "Living in the Moment." Sorry for the poor quality but it is worth watching/listening 'til the very end. It's my favorite song in the album simply because it makes me feel good and positive about life and the things around me.
For those who are not familiar with Jason's songs, here's a few really good ones to listen to. Enjoy!
Before i close a chapter of my life now that my US immigration journey has come to a happy ending, i am posting here my visa, GC and naturalization timelines to guide others who are currently undergoing these processes. Feel free to comment or email me for more questions and clarifications...i'd be very glad to help. 'Coz if not for the faceless bloggers/writers out there whom I have randomly encountered through internet search, i wouldn't have sailed through the entire process smoothly. This is my way of saying thank you to them and paying it forward.
Fiancee Visa (K1)
| Service Center | California Service Center |
| Consulate | Manila, Philippines |
| I-129F Sent> | 02-13-2007 |
| I-129F NOA1 | 02-22-2007 |
| I-129F NOA2 | 05-09-2007 |
| NVC Left | 06-05-2007 |
| Consulate Received | 06-18-2007 |
| Packet 4 Received | 07-31-2007 |
| Interview Date | 09-05-2007 (APPROVED!) |
| Date Filed | 12-18-2007 |
| NOA Date | 12-26-2007 |
| Biometrics Appt. | 01-15-2008 |
| Interview Date | 05-30-2008 (APPROVED!) |
| Greencard Received | 06-11-2008 |
| Date Filed | 06-08-2012 |
| Receipt Notice | 06-13-2012 |
| Biometrics Appt. | 07-26-2012 |
| Interview Date | 09-04-2012 (APPROVED!) |
| Oathtaking Ceremony | 09-18-2012 |
Another happy day. I finally took my oath this afternoon as a citizen of the United States of America at the Campbell Heritage Theater exactly two weeks after my interview. After almost 5 years of being here (4 years as Green Card holder), i have finally applied for citizenship and the entire process from start to finish took me only 3 months. National average processing time is 5 months so no doubt the upcoming elections must have helped lubricate the citizenship machinery.
Last Tuesday, September 4, was my citizenship interview at the USCIS Office in San Jose. Here's pretty much what happened:
First, i was extremely glad when I received the notice to appear for interview at the USCIS San Jose office (along Monterey Road) because it is close to my son's school in Santa Clara and parking is easy and free.
My appointment was at 8:35am so hubby woke up early to get our son ready for school (thankfully, little boy was cooperative) while I get dressed. We dropped him off at school around 7:30am and from there, it took only about 20 minutes for us to get to the USCIS Office in San Jose.
The Notice says not to show up more than 30 minutes before the appointment time so I spent the extra time I have browsing through the interview questions booklet.
By 8:05am I stepped out of the car, hubby wished me luck, and I walked to the building entrance. No long lines...only a couple ahead of me and we breezed through the airport-style security check. I followed the arrow that points to the second floor for the citizenship interview and at the bottom of the stairs i passed through a security officer again who checked my green card, stamped my notice and instructed me to drop it off at a basket provided in the window.
I took the stairs and entered a room with about 20 or more applicants quietly waiting. I approached the counter window and dropped my notice on the basket, sat on the first row and waited. I looked around, they all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts... a few of them reading the citizenship exam guide. I was calm and confident.
A Chinese-looking lady opened the door and called out the name of an applicant who stood and followed her inside. 5 minutes later, a Chinese-looking gentleman opened the door again and called out my name. It took me a few seconds to realize it was my name because he didn't pronounce it right (what else is new?) and I wasn't expecting to be called ahead of all the applicants who came there before me.
I followed the Immigration Officer to his office, took a quick oath to tell the truth, and was asked to be seated.
First, he browsed through my application documents, asked for my birthday and verified some information to check if they are still valid or updated (address, my employer, contact numbers, etc.). He noticed that I checked the item that says "change of name" and asked if i would pursue it. I told him I just wanted to get rid of the "Ma." in my first name which is an abbreviation of Maria. After the Officer explained the name change process, I decided I didn't want to go through that tedious process so what the heck i told him never mind I'll just stick to my original name.
He then noticed the one item i wrote under "any citation by any law enforcement officer" which was when i got pulled over by a police officer in 2009 due to tinted car windows. I detailed what happened that day and he said, smiling, that in some states it is not illegal, only in California. I joked about how I was used to having heavily-tinted car windows back in the Philippines and he said the same thing about his experience in China. No big deal. Some applicants may think the citation too minor to reflect it in the application but I believe there is nothing wrong with writing it down because at the end of the day what matters is your honesty which is the foundation of truth and good character.
The Officer also asked me about my husband and his work and I replied he's still in the same company i put in the form.
After reviewing my application documents, he gave me the reading/writing test. First he instructed me to read a short sentence "Who can vote?" then at the back of that paper he asked me to write "Anyone can vote." Then he pulled out a printed paper with 10 questions in it. I needed to give 6 correct answers to pass. Here are the questions:
- Who is the US Vice-President? Answer: Joe Biden
- Who makes federal laws? Answer: Congress
- What is the highest court in the United States? Answer: Supreme Court
- How many amendments does the Constitution have? Answer: 27
- What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves? Answer: Africans
- Why did the colonists fight the British? Answer: because of high taxes
Whew! That was easy. I answered the first 6 questions correctly so he didn't proceed to ask me
the remaining 4 and wrote 100% on the paper. Then he asked me to check a piece of paper containing my basic information to make sure they are correct (name, birthday, etc.) I believe these are the information they will print on the naturalization certificate. I laughed when I saw my height and told him how I wished I could do something to change it and he laughed too saying he also has his own issue when it comes to height. ;)
After that he took another paper, circled "approved" and "congratulations" and gave it to me. We shook hands, told me that they will schedule my oathtaking as soon as possible and that I should wait for the notice and follow the instructions in it.
He escorted me out his office, picked up a white envelope that says "passport application" just before the exit door and reminded me to fill it up and submit the requirements if i want my passport be processed during the oathtaking ceremony.
And that was it! Super easy! Took only about 10-15 minutes. I was out of the building around 8:45am...overcome with joy and relief. I only have good words to describe the immigration officer - professional, pleasant-looking, very friendly. I wasn't nervous at all during the interview as I am used to talking to strangers and different types of people. I was my usual chatty self.
Hubby and I had breakfast at IHOP to celebrate. Pancakes, french toast, omelette, ham and sausages... it's my first official "American" breakfast! :)
And by the way, after reviewing my previous immigration posts, I found out that my fiancee visa interview back in Manila was on September 5, 2007 which was, in US timezone, September 4, 2007. And now 5 years later, September 4, 2012, is my citizenship interview. Life is indeed full of coincidences!
Click here for more of my immigration experience
Woke up early today to climb Mission Peak with friends. We hit the trailhead at 5:10 AM and reached the top exactly two hours later. We took it nice and slow, stopping a few times to enjoy the view, catch our breath and take pictures. At the top, we had a ball taking our photos while holding the handy US flags we brought with us which we also shared with some of the hikers. What a great way to start the 4th of July!
Happy Birthday America and thank you to the men and women of the military and their families for their service and sacrifice so the rest of us can be safe and enjoy freedom. Home of the Brave, land of the Free.
It's one of those rare Sundays when we had no parties or get-togethers to attend to and i was itching to go out and enjoy the sun. With our last week's trip to Gilroy Gardens still in my mind, we decided to check out Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose. It's a cute little amusement park especially for toddlers. Most of the rides your toddler can go unaccompanied except for the family roller coaster, a mild-thrill two-minute ride just perfect for an over-eager kid (my son) and not-so-eager parent (me) to ride together. Sensing my "fear" while waiting in line, my 4-year old kept saying "it's ok mama...it's gonna be fun!" I survived and like he promised, it was fun!
Not to be missed is Danny the Dragon Ride which slowly goes down the trail with characters from popular kids stories like the three little pigs. We checked out the zoo and the barn but like most kids his age, my son was more interested in the rides and the playground. After about 3 hours we were tired and hungry and sunburned so for our last stop we explored the Bent Bridge just outside the entrance then headed out to get lunch.
Another happy Sunday... it really is fun being a kid! :)
Mother's day, for me, is simply all about spending the day with the fam and having fun so my first thought when hubby asked me where i wanted to go? a kiddie theme park! :)
Just a little over an hour away from Fremont, Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is the perfect place for us to spend the beautiful yet sunny and cool day. They had a mother's day champagne and desserts event which we signed up for but the only thing that both excited and scared me were the kiddie rides hahaha! i'm such a scaredy cat when it comes to that!
Most of the rides Racrac had to take on his own and thankfully i survived the mild to moderate thrill rides. It's a theme park for small kids, ages 2-7, so you won't see too many big kids and teenagers around. Kids older than 7 might get bored in this park especially if they've already been to bigger parks like Disneyland so while your kids are young, better bring them here before they outgrow it.
What i like about this theme park is that all the rides and attractions were built around a beautifully designed landscaped gardens. This means lots of shades while you wait in line, beautiful flowers in bloom and comfortable benches to sit and enjoy the view.
It was a delightful day! My little boy kept saying "happy mother's day mama!... it's your day!" like he really understood it (he wasn't that concerned about mother's day last year) and gave me lots of hugs and kisses sweeter than the chocolate cake we had for dessert. :)
After spending the first two weekends of April with my girlfriends, the weekend that passed was another busy one as we spent it driving around, hanging out and having fun with my husband's relatives. Fil's cousin Sandy and his family spent the last 3 days of their 5-week vacation in the US with us and though short and hurried, we managed to squeeze in a couple of sightseeing trips in Fairfield and Napa Valley.
In Fairfield, we visited Travis Air Force Base and idled the night away at Toto & Chi's house (Toto is also Fil's cousin). In between packing and repacking Sandy's luggages and boxes - making sure they don't exceed the 50-pound limit per box - and feasting on dinner, the boys (Fil, my brother-in-law Frendale, Sandy & Toto) talked about the good old days when they were young and crazy. I've heard the stories many times before but i swear they get funnier and crazier with each telling :)
Saturday we drove to Napa Valley and my son was thrilled to have his cousins with us in the van. They laughed and joked and cheered and sang to my husband's funny Tito-Vic-and-Joey playlist LOL!
We headed straight to our favorite winery Castello di Amorosa not so much for its Italian style wines which we didn't really care about but more so for its 13th-century inspired Tuscan style Castle perfect for picture-taking (think: Facebook!). It's also great that they have an area where kids can color and enjoy their grape juice while mommies/daddies sample the wines at the tasting bar. We had a blast! Especially because all we did was laugh and joke about our drinks. When our server told us the white wine he's pouring on our glasses could be paired with smoked fish, Toto blurted out in our own dialect that it would be perfect for "bulad" or dried salted fish that Filipinos love to eat eventhough it smells like rotten shoes when cooked hahaha! Who knew wine-tasting could be this fun?! By the way if you ever find yourself here and you have next to zero knowledge of wines like me, i highly recommend "Fantasia", a sweet soft sparkling wine, low in alcohol (7%), with bright aromas of cherry, exotic flowers and wild berries. You'll love it!
After touring the castle we stopped by Beringer Vineyards but it was 95 degrees outside and everyone was hungry and tired so we didn't stay long. We ended up having lunch at Jollibee in Vallejo.
We all spent our last night in Fremont...more last-minute shopping and packing, kids running around, the big boys laughing about their crazy past (again!) and me and Chi getting some make-up tutorial and tips from Tetet who, among other things, sidelines as make-up artist back in the Philippines. No way I'm letting Tetet board that plane without her teaching me how to blend my eyeshadow! :)
We had so much fun guys... and we miss you already!
My friend Candy was back attending a conference on nanotechnology (nano what???) in San Francisco this week and we had exactly one full day together before she flew back to Washington State U. She's been here many times before and been to all major go-to places so i decided to bring her to Filoli Gardens in Woodside, CA. She's a sucker for photography and i knew she'd love it there.
Recognized as one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century, Filoli welcomes you to this remarkable 654–acre property including the 36,000 square foot Georgian country house and spectacular 16–acre English Renaissance garden. Filoli was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Mine, a hard-rock gold mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”
Luckily, we were blessed with a beautiful day and, together with my son and Lia, we had fun taking pictures of the colorful flower gardens... a perfect way to officially welcome spring and celebrate its blossoms with two of my bestest friends. Ang saya-saya! :)
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April 4-7, 2012. My April started with a reunion of sorts with highschool classmates Anilee, Jane and Christy. Anilee and Jane live a couple of hours away from each other and together with Jane's hubby Teph & son Basti they drove from Bakersfield, CA to spend a few days with us. Jane's family recently moved from New York to California and it would be our first meeting since our Maryland trip in 2009. Anilee, however, visited me 6 months ago to celebrate my birthday. It would be fun seeing them again!
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Golden Gate Bridge from different angles on a beautiful spring day (no fog at all!) - April 5, 2012 |
A week before our reunion, Jane got sick and had a couple of visits to the ER but despite that was stubbornly determined to go on with the road trip. The weather wasn't also cooperating - the Bay area was soaked in heavy rain (with thunderstorm and hail in some areas) but miraculously the sun showed up on the day they arrived.
The next day we headed to San Francisco hoping for a fogless day so we can take great photos (importante ang pictorial!). If you live in San Francisco or ever been there, you know that your worst enemy in enjoying the view and taking great pictures is the fog. Fortunately for us, the majestic Golden Gate Bridge can be viewed from any angle in high definition ALL DAY.
We crossed the bridge and savored it from different viewpoints, had lunch at the iconic Mel's drive-in, drove down the crookedest street and ended our day at Pier 39 where we met up with another HS classmate Christy who resides in Hercules. Christy and Jane haven't seen each other for 21 years (since highschool graduation) while the last time i saw Christy was in college (mid-90s)... it would be our first time to meet here in the US. Very exciting! The moment we saw each other we exchanged warm embraces and stories as if not a day went by since the last time.
We had early dinner at Bubba Gump while reminiscing the good old days and excitedly babbling about the series of events that all brought us here. Listening to everyone's stories made me realize that just like the famous line from the movie which is the theme of the restaurant, i have to agree that life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get!
Thanks to facebook, we are pretty much updated with each other's present lives so we had less "catching up" and more time to laugh, enjoy the sites and take pictures. Still, a few hours with Christy wasn't enough... i hope to do it again soon!
For now we are truly happy and thankful for the time we had together. Who would have thought that two decades after high school we would all find ourselves reunited here when back in the days we only read about San Francisco through pocketbooks/romance novels and imagined that we were here and knew it very well? Ahhh... life is full of surprises!
Basti also celebrated his 9th birthday last Friday and Anilee and I managed to set-up a yellow-themed party for him while Jane dozed off hehe... Basti has grown so much since the last time I saw him and it's a joy seeing him get along well with my son. Kudos to Jane and Teph for all the patience and hard work, you guys are blessed with a happy healthy smart kid the same way that Basti is blessed to have you in his life.
Finally i have found the time to migrate my food and recipe posts to another website dedicated solely to anything related to food - random kitchen experiments, tried and tested recipes, our favorite family dishes, online recipe finds, restaurant reviews, unforgettable meals, sinful desserts, food presentation, filipino cuisine and more. I don't claim to be an expert in cooking or baking but my newly-found enthusiasm to improve my skills in this department is too big to ignore. As they say, "never too late (or too old) to learn a new skill."
Through the years i have kept recipes from old magazines and handwritten food-stained, torn and faded notes of my go-to recipes. Sometimes when I crave for mama's home cooking I make an overseas call so she could give me step-by-step instructions. More often than not, I stumbled upon a great recipe online and when it's time to make it again, I couldn't recall where i found it. Very frustrating!
But no more fretting now because all these will be in my food blog. I'm doing it for my personal easy access and also to share with my family, friends and random readers. If you don't find me here or in facebook, then you know where i am: in my My Bright Yellow Kitchen.
Let's share the food and the love. See you there!
I couldn't count how many times i've promised myself never to watch this show again! Throughout its entire history, this show has given me nothing but heartaches..from Bo Bice to Adam Lambert to last year's Thia Megia (although i didn't really expect her to win anyway). It's just very frustrating when you have emotionally invested on a contestant, watched him/her perform every week only to be eliminated not because of poor performance but mainly because of popular votes. Fortunately for me i never reached the point of really voting for my favorite...just couldn't imagine seeing my hard-earned money fritter away.
So anyway last night while surfing channels i ended up watching (you guessed it!) American Idol. Last night's show revealed the top 10 and the 3 wild card contestants selected by the judges to make up the top 13. Before watching it the only thing i knew was that there is a Filipino-American contestant who can sing really well and a guy who's a native of San Jose, CA. Now i know their names: Jessica Sanchez and DeAndre Brackensick.
Jessica made it to the top 10 without much drama. She was the first of the girls to be called along with that cute girl Hollie. She's 16 years old from San Diego, CA. I think she looks like the younger and darker version of Sarah Geronimo, an extremely talented and very popular singer/actress in the Philippines.
DeAndre, a 17-year old Oak Grove High School senior in San Jose however, wasn't in the top 10 but was given another chance to fight for his life and made it to the last spot.
Hmmm... will they both make it all the way to the finals? Let's see. And yes, American Idol, you got me hooked again!
We went to see Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 yesterday morning at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. We were there an hour early for the 11am show and had time to leisurely walk around, find our seats, take pictures and feel the stadium go from quiet to excited!
We had VIP floor seating - 4 rows from the stage and i took the aisle seat. I felt proud of myself for booking the seats so close to the stage but my happiness lasted only until 20 minutes before the show when a family of nine (5 adults, 4 kids) took the Row 3 seats and to my disappointment, three big guys sat right in front of me, Racrac and Fil reducing our view to only about 50% :(
But anyway, we enjoyed the show never mind that Racrac sat on my lap almost the whole time so he could see and forget that i had to take pictures and videos in between those big guys ears! hahaha... it wasn't that bad, really, although one lesson learned is to take the lower level bleacher seats next time - not so close to the stage but you have a better overall view.
As for the show, the story was no surprise as i have seen it with Racrac in the theatre/dvd/iPad a million times. The performers skated effortlessly. They made it look so easy it's like they're wearing comfortable sneakers. I love the toy soldiers opening number, the uber cute aliens and funny-looking troll, Woody and Jessie who both performed amazingly well, funny Buzz lightyear in Spanish-mode and of course Barbie, the girl who stole the show. While i find the whole Barbie and Ken segment boring and too long, i have to say that the pair skated beautifully. With their glides, lifts, spins and twists, you'd think during their entire performance that you are watching the olympics.
Overall it was a fun family outing, something you should not miss if Disney on Ice happens to be in your area. The best part of it was watching our little boy burst into laughter every time his favorite characters come onstage and leaving the show with a smile, lots of stories and his overpriced $20 buzz lightyear light-up toy. ^_^
time really flies when you're having fun. wasn't it only yesterday when we celebrated his 3rd birthday in the Philippines? months went by in the blink of an eye and just like that, he's now 4!
we had a fun jumping party last Saturday at Pump It Up! in Union City. Birthday boy wasn't cooperative at first when we entered the play arena. I had no idea what possessed him but he just wouldn't play! The room was filled with happy kids running and jumping around while Racrac sat in one corner. It took about 40 minutes when he finally hopped out of the bench like a totally different person and started playing. :)
kids and adults all had fun... i too "braved" the giant slide and survived hehe... After 80 minutes of play, we moved to the Party Room for some pizza, chicken wings and cake. I ordered a chocolate sheet cake from Goldilocks bakeshop with a Star Wars theme. They don't have that theme cake available at the store but they designed the cake to include all the star wars figurine toys i got from ToysRUs. Racrac loved it! To my delight, birthday boy mingled with his guests, distributed the loot bags himself and cheerfully posed for pictures! My favorite part? In the middle of all the noise and fun he gave me a tight hug and with his sweet happy smile which i know so well he said "thank you mama for this party!" It really, really warmed my heart.
After the party Fil's uncle (i feel so weird calling him uncle 'coz he's younger than me and Fil! LOL) with his wife and 2 kids came to our house. Fil's brother Frendale stayed with us too and treated us to dinner at a thai restaurant here in Fremont. Thanks Dale! and thanks Toto and Chi for celebrating with us...!
But the celebration didn't end there. On the day of his birthday we had a lunch party with his friends at the daycare center. We brought pizza, spaghetti and cake. I cooked the spaghetti myself and baked the cake too! After making 2 dozen cupcakes which i originally planned to put together to make a cake, i changed my mind and decided to make a 9-inch 2-layer round cake instead. I slept a little before 2am and was up again after 4 hours to stack, crumb coat and decorate the cake.
The kids had a lot of fun! Racrac was extremely happy that i stayed with him 'coz i usually just drop him off there before going to work. A couple of times he came to me to say"'thank you mama..." Such a sweet boy! Suddenly all my exhaustion and feeling of lack of sleep were replaced by pride and joy.
His cake was a simple round chocolate cake with chocolate filling and vanilla frosting which i colored sky blue. On top of it is Anakin Skywalker's plastic toy guaranteed to make my little Jedi happy. I couldn't say i'm proud of my cake 'coz i know i could have done better but then it didn't matter anymore after he told me later "i'm proud of my party mama and i'm proud of my cake!"
Happy 4th Birthday baby!!! Mama and Papa love you very, very much!
Last night i made a firm resolve to get my ass back to blogging. If i remember it right, my last post before i went on hiatus was about the Metallica concert i watched in December 2009. Since then i managed to scribble a couple of posts but that's just about it. Maybe because i got hooked with Facebook which is a more convenient way of reconnecting with friends/acquaintances and share one's life, experiences, triumphs and failures...just about anything and everything. It's a quick and easy tool, not as time-consuming or as demanding as maintaining a blog.
With the inescapable new Facebook default profile layout Timeline said to roll out in the next few weeks whether we like it or not, i thought that a better idea than that would be to resurrect my blog and immortalize important events in my life and not worry about anybody tampering with my layout!
This blog is for:
my family and friends to let them know how i value their love, company and friendship...
my son Racrac so he could read and reminisce the fun times (also the tough times) we had together...
my readers who I may not know personally but hope i have made them smile or helped them in any way...
and for myself because this is the place where i think, reflect, share and celebrate!
I am sooo backkkk!!! :)
Note: I'll try to catch up with what i've missed for the past 2 years and post them pre-dated. Don't worry i have my notes and drafts and facebook so i know exactly what happened when and where. That way, events in this blog will be presented in a chronological order.
what a fun weekend i had! a roller-coaster of events and emotions. First the ladies went out Saturday night to sort of start our year with laughs (a bit late but it's still January anyway) and to celebrate Shelle's 40th birthday. We carpooled to Edna's Ichiban Library in South San Francisco, a filipino entertainment business showcasing gay singer-comedians and other wannabee singers who dare go up the stage. it was my 3rd time going there, second time for the other of girls. But it's the birthday girls' first time so she was really in for a big surprise!
and like always, we had a blast! We occupied the front and center table and the entertainers that night - Poka, Rey Kilay, Poyay and Divo - interacted with us many times. Our favorite part is the dancing and we went home craving for more. And did i tell you the food was great too?!
Indeed, laughter is an instant vacation!
For her birthday party which we had the next day - or shall i say a few hours later - i made a 3-layer chocolate cake with mocha buttercream filling and frosting topped with dark chocolate-covered coffee beans and wrapped with bittersweet chocolate lattice. It's my first cake for the year and only the second birthday cake i've ever made in my entire life. ^_^
For the cake recipe, click here.
And the reason why i said "roller-coaster of emotions" is the disappointing loss of the San Francisco 49ers to the New York Giants for the NFL AFC Championship! One more win, just one more win, and we could have earned a trip to the Superbowl! :(((
