Two Nights of Camping

Backyard that is. We recently got our first real tent and to test it before using it in a real campground setting, we decided to do our own camping in a not so spartan setting. It is a Wenger Lugano, a 16' x 10' -2-room tent that supposedly can accommodate up to 8 people although I feel a family of 4 or 5 is just the perfect size for this tent especially when you don't want your place too crowded and you still want to be able to walk around inside. After doing some research on the net and finding out that this tent has the most glowing reviews for tents similar to this at the same price range, it was an easy choice. I also considered Coleman and Eureka but obviously, the Wenger won. It's just so full of features (i.e. an e-port, dirty shoes compartment that can be accessed inside and out, zip-up dividers, large windows, extra D-style door at the side) and so well designed but the most wonderful thing is, it's so fast and easy to set-up. I think I was able to put it up in less than 20 minutes with David and Missy helping me and we were not even rushing. Next time I put it up, it will be even much faster since I already know what to do.

Sleeping there for two nights and the kids staying there for most of the day but still being close to a real home's amenities was not that challenging but we all enjoyed it, never the less. To make sure the kids don't get bored, I put a small TV, included a DVD player and David's Gamecube. Missy got some of her new toys and they were all set. I just gave them a two-way radio to make sure we can easily communicate to each other especially that you can't really guarantee your complete safety even in your own backyard. I even gave them MRE's (meals ready to eat a la military food) for dinner one night to let them feel we're really camping out.

After the 'practice camping' which was how Missy put it, I guess we're ready to use it in the real outdoors. Hopefully we can do it during spring break or summer.

Christmas Day Dinner at the Trepaniers

After last night's Christmas eve dinner at the Freitags, we all went again to the Trepaniers for Christmas day dinner. So much so for trying to diet but a short break won't hurt. I already met my target # of pounds to lose for the month anyway. We brought 'bringhe' or what we call Paella Pampanguena. This is the first time I cooked this dish but I've seen my Mom cook it several times in the past especially when she's with us visiting. After a number of phone calls for some pointers, I plunged in. Although I know for certain what kind of adjustment I need to do next time, it still turned out pretty good.

I was only able to take a few photos and mostly of the kids while waiting for other guests to arrive. My camera battery went dead and then realized I forgot to bring my reserve batteries. I regularly rotate between 3 camera bags depending on the kind of shooting and the equipment I'd like to bring with me but I had left the batteries in the bag I used the day before. Lesson learned. I'll probably post more from Ophine's tiny point and shoot at a later time.


Anyway, it's always a pleasure to spend special occasions with family and friends and we sure enjoyed the evening.

Put your arm around Missy now...not that way!

























Missy striking a pose.

















































Ophine with Gail, Edna's youngest daughter.

Christmas Eve Dinner

After attending the Christmas eve service at CRCC, we proceeded to our friends Homer and Chit Freitag's house for dinner. They just moved middle of this year to Weston. They always celebrate Christmas with their whole clan as Chit have most of her family (3 more sisters) here in South Florida and they don't miss to invite us to be with them. When we don't have any other plans, we usually go and this year was no different. Chit cooked her famous kare-kare and Homer did a chicken dish and also a fish dish. I made Hungarian sausage with lentil soup which is a spicy dish. All the guests brought something to eat and as always, we were so full.

The party always includes a short program emceed by Chit. Most of the kids do a special number and of course some singing, which I believe has become a tradition among Filipinos having parties here in the US.

For some photos...

The hosts.

Nicole and Missy.

With Ryan and David.

Casey or Chelsea? To this day, I still haven't figured out the twins.

Nini's turn with the mic.

Special Video for You

We just finished doing a special dance number (in video!) for all of you ;-). Watch and be entertained. Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! We wish you God's blessings this Christmas and the next year ahead.

Please click HERE to watch the video.

Somerset Holiday Show

We all went to Somerset for the Holiday Show last night. Missy's class together with another class performed 3 numbers and sang 'A Bethlehem Song', 'Feliz Navidad' and 'Celebrations Around the World'. The 3rd graders don't have holiday shows anymore so David didn't have any performance. They all did well and Missy was so excited before the show. They had been practicing for quite some time now and Missy was singing the tunes all the time including doing the actions. Too bad, we forgot to bring her Santa hat which is actually part of the costume. Too late to go back home. Her buddy Sylvette didn't bring one either and they were the only kids who didn't bring theirs. I think they talked about doing this. Ha Ha!


Before the show, inside the classroom

Missy with Kaithleen, a half-Filipina.

With the funny Sylvette

The Show

This Year's Family Portrait

Last Sunday, we had our family portrait session for the year. Sometimes it's easier to schedule other people than 'shooting' your own family. I don't know, I guess we were just more busy than usual especially that Christmas time is here. Ophine just had her finals for her Master's and the two kids, well you know, kids. I was actually planning to do it late November but I was also kind of pushing it a little more since I'm still on a diet and wanted to lose a few more pounds besides I know I can have a 24 hour turnaround including the greeting cards we just had made in Costco.

It's hard for a photographer to do a kind of self-portrait (I was included, so it counts) since I can't see my composition with me in it I had to rely on a TV screen in front of us as we were doing the takes. It was actually not real time as I can only correct/coach the kids, adjust the posing and the level/height of each one after the image was captured. So after making a number of test shots and doing a lot more to capture the best one overall, we came up with this one. I just made several versions on the tone to have a variety.

A Website to Do All Your Travel Bookings

I came across this website that automatically searches 200 travel websites for the best deals including all the big ones such as Expedia, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Hotwire among others.


The website is www.sidestep.com/. Try it and it is really fast and does everything real time. With this, it is easier to get the task done from booking for a flight, getting a rental, hotel, cruises, etc. and you don't need to go to different travel websites one after another just to check which one will give you the best deal. I believe I will try this one for our next travel requirement.

We Got It!

We are now officially landowners in "The Preserve' in Rising Fawn, Georgia. We went to Miami this morning today for the closing on one property, a 2.7 acre lot (Phase 10,#7)that is located in one of the more beautiful places we've been so far. I wrote about it here and here.

So far, we don't have any decision if we're going to move there, build a vacation rental or just use the property as a purely investment vehicle. We're giving ourselves 2 to 3 years to figure that out. With the seller financing we got, the deal was really very good and we're in the process of getting at least one more.

Many of our friends are in the process of getting their own lots and will be closing soon on theirs. Who knows? We might be future neighbors in "The Preserve' as well.

Grand Alumni Homecoming of my HS Batch

I was not able to go home but my high school batch (UP Integrated School, Batch 82) are Silver Jubilarians to this year's Grand Alumni Homecoming which they celebrated last Dec. 8 on our alma mater's school grounds. Based on the posts, photos and videos posted on our batch website and yahoogroups, it was a super success and a very joyous occasion for the people who were there. I'm sure a lot of batchmates poured there time, energy and even heart to make this one a very memorable event for all those who came and that's just not for the batch. Kudos to everyone involved. I sure missed this one.

Here's some video clips posted on the batch blog/website. I especially like the batch homecoming song composed, arranged and sang by a few batchmates who can really do this well. This is my only recourse when I want to reminisce.

At Last...a Bowflex Home Gym

After much time, research and contemplation :-$ (there goes my new lens), I finally decided to get a Bowflex and I got this Xtreme model although not their top of the line Xtreme model. What I like with the Xtreme XTLU as this is called is the small footprint. I believe that compared to the other models, this has the smallest base and I only need a 6'x8' area to work out. Not bad indeed.

I was deciding which kind of home gym to get, whether it's the Gold's gym or Weider Pro brand which has stacked weights and relatively larger than the Xtreme or just some free weights and a bench. Well, I considered safety a lot and even though I was used to using free weights so many years and pounds ago, I just don't want to gamble with it especially when exercising alone. The logical choice was then a 'power rod resistance type' of machine.

Anyway, the Bowflex was delivered Thursday and was packed in 7 boxes of assorted sizes and weights. Two boxes were really banged up and I'm not exaggerating. Thanks to UPS! Even the Styrofoam inside after opening it was reduced to bits and pieces. Fortunately, the Bowflex parts were all intact except for the plastic base that contains the power rods which has a chip. Not worth having it exchanged besides after assembling it, that part was covered up.

Missy's game face!

Assembly took about three hours but I did it all myself without any rush. That was my first workout. I was careful not to make a mistake lest I have to repeat some sub-assembles due to carelessness. The bolts alone were of different lengths and diameters. The same with the washers. There was just one caveat, there was a missing bolt of a particular size which I decided I'll just get from Home Depot. Not a big deal. One component of an assembly was installed the wrong way but it was not hard to figure out so I just reversed it. Man, American manufacturers should really learn poka-yoke (error-proofing) from the Japanese. That's why they're so much ahead in manufacturing capabilities and has almost negligible rejection rate but that's another story.

Anyway, do I need one? You bet I do. So far with diet and exercise which I started to do religiously (again!) since 2nd week of September, I've already lost 50 lbs. The only exercise machine I use was our Pro-Form stationary bike which I got probably 8 years ago and became a sort of ugly house decor and sometimes hanger rack. I'm at the point I need a machine to tone the muscles so to speak. Not to bulk up but more on conditioning and strengthening. I tried the Bowflex before in one of the Sears stores and I immediately liked it. After testing it again since I still have to make my own program, I realized this was a great buy and will certainly work to get the results I wanted considering every required variable is met.

The machine itself can be used to perform at least 65 exercises. The one I got included the leg extension assembly and the optional 310 lb. upgrade. Basic is only 210 lbs. of power rod resistance and can be upgraded up to 410 lbs. The good news is that I got this for about 50% off the retail price of Amazon.com with the upgrades and that included the shipping fee through one of Ebay's merchants. The kids seemed to like it too.

David is too serious here.