Chinese Cuisine for a Change

Wednesday, September 22, 2010


That afternoon, I hurried home from our PIR (Program Implementation Review) at the CHO, so I could swap my office stuff for exercise gear. I made it to the lagoon before the DH did...and since he was still limping from his foot sprain (from judo), he wouldn't be walking, much less, jog with me. As I started on my warm up routine, I noticed that the full-moon had already risen over the tree-tops. I always bring my camera, so I pulled it out of my bag to snap a photo of the beautiful moon-rise. But my poor point&shoot was just too puny! I tried darkening the sky in Ps, but all i got was a tiny, barely discernible whitish dot just peeking over the dark trees. Did NOT do justice to the enormous and gorgeous moon-rise at all. If I had an DSLR, djo think I'd have gotten a prettier pic? (hint,hint)

Still, I was happy to stop mid-stretch to take in the moon-rise! And I was doubly glad I did take the time to enjoy it, since I didn't see its pretty face again the rest of the night because of the heavy clouds!

I tweaked my 30 min work-out by adding some sprints into my previously pure-walking routine. After warm-up, I brisk-walked 3 circuits (10mins total)..and then spiked each circuit by sprinting down  both widths of the lagoon for another 3 circuits...and finished it up with another trio of walking. 

I used to be a sprinter in high school and college, but its been so long since I broke out into a run in recent years...and the exhilaration was amazing! I didn't realize how I'v missed the heart-thumping rush of flat-out sprinting...and the crushing breathlessness that quickly followed, lol!! I took me a while to regulate my panting before I had to sprint again...but I'm hopeful it won't be as bad on my next tries.

And in subsequent weeks I plan to sprint the lengths and walk the widths. And slowly build up to substituting the walking parts with jogging parts...but still interspersed with sprints coz the DH says it'll burn more calories in the shorter possible time, plus I love doing them anyhow!

My poor limping DH arrived mid-work-out and did some sit-ups and stuff on the bench he had staked out. Never one to sit on his bum for long, he spied the climbing frame in the playground section and decided to do some pull-ups on them...and was happily surprised to find that it worked a different set of muscles from the regular exercises he does at gym. The next time we're there, I'll have to remember to take a photo of this big bulky guy on the kiddie-frames, hehe!

Between his forays into the playground, he helped me do my tricep dips and calf raises on the stone bench. I'm so lucky to have my own personal trainer *grin*

He saw an acquaintance of his from the local heavy-metal crowd who was also out walking and they chatted a bit...while I anchored my feet under the DH's thighs so I could do some crunches. I know I could have managed more but the stone bench was really biting into my spine, ouch! Padding the bench with an extra shirt didn't help much so I gave that up...and just finished my work-out with more stretches and cool down.

After waving goodbye to his friend, we had to figure out where to eat.:) We decided on this chinese resto just a stone's throw from the lagoon. I must have been still drunk on adrenaline and water because I wasn't as hungry as I expected after a work-out...so the DH did the ordering for us.

The warm tea was a refreshing start to dinner...

He ordered the roasting combo (clockwise from the top) : peking duck, pork asado,  steamed chicken, the orange squid slices, century eggs, and seaweeds in the middle. I'm not a huge fan of poultry, so save for a slice or two of the meats, I just had the seaweeds and century eggs (LOVED them). Ordinarily I'm a seafood kind of gal, and while the squid was a tad bland and rubbery for me...but I still managed to put a majority of them away, hehe!

Our waiter spooning out steaming bowls of hot & sour soup for us.

The DH digging into his soup

Dinner at a Chinese resto is not complete without "flied lice", I mean Fried Rice! :)

Still trying to be "healthy", the DH ordered some veggies: Mushrooms and Bokchoy...which I ate a lot of too.

We didn't really finish the whole spread, we took the left-over mushrooms and soup home. True, we had a filling dinner but we weren't as guilt-ridden than if we'd gone to eat-all-you-can mongolian dinner instead!

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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Today is my FIL's 69th birthday...which he shares with our classmate Mae Beth (MBJ). 

The DH called me earlier to say TVI was inviting us to dinner at L'Sea and that he was coming home so he can change before dinner. I still had PIR that day (still no clinic) and I was able to present for REDCOP. I decided to do away with numbers since almost everybody tunes out once you start spouting them anyhow. Besides, our program doesn't really have targets in the technical sense of the word, and I wanted to just show the photos I collected from the activities we've done for the past year so I made a movie instead. :)

Since we didn't have a PIR last year, I belatedly had to make a second movie for the 2009 activities too...but I didn't have time to make a lot of effects or flourishes on it. Plus I didn't have time to find all the individual photos, so i just found the scrap pages I made way back when i didn't have Ps...or the experience!! The embarrassingly amateurish pages was painful for me to watch, but apparently the others didn't see anything amiss, haha! But no way I'm posting that here, lol!

Maybe when the next PIR comes around, I'd already know how to use animation for my report....talk about ambition huh?! :)

I went home to wait for the DH to come home. I had noticed a mildly pruritic rash on my upper chest, so I took a quick shower to cool off and popped an anti-allergy pill. I didn't mean to but I conked out on the sofa while I was checking my mail, and woke to the DH asking me to change so we could leave. I was sorely tempted to beg off since i was still so fuzzy (it wasn't from the pill either, coz it was the non-sedative type that I took). But after I had changed and prettied up, i felt so much better. We were uncharacteristically late but we got there just as they were settling down to dinner.

Tito Rex (TVI's cousin), TVI, Manong Elmer, the husband of Ciony 

Tito Rex took this shot while we were smiling for TVI's camera.

our cousin-in-law Malou & my SIL Arlene

Here's TVI with the Legaspi branch: Anoy Nene L., Anoy Bill L., his girlfriend Ditas and Manang Judy L

With the older set: Lola Harriette (she's so groovy, we call her Lola H), Tita Suzette, Tita Inday and Tito Tony.

Lola H, who is now in her mid-80's, was the obstetrician who delivered the DH! We used to visit her a lot in the past to bring her flowers (what else can you give someone who has everything?)...where we noticed that she would always feed us cake, ice cream and soda every single visit! Her ref is never without a cake delivered from Calea, a popular pastry and coffee shop. Now that the DH and I have taken up walking at the lagoon, we're thinking of dropping by at her house that's just nearby. But the prospect of being plied with cake, ice cream and soda (after a work-out, too) is deterring us, lol! We still haven't figured a diplomatic way to decline all that sweet stuff from Lola H! Maybe when we do, we'll be able to drop by then...!

Raji (Tito Tony and Tita Inday's eldest son), Crem (the 3rd Legaspi brother), Anoy Ricky and the DH

Malou, Arlene, Love2,(Raji's younger sister), and Tita Ning2 (TVI's younger sister)

TVI opening the first of his presents. This was a shirt from Lola H.

Another shirt from Tito Rex (and Tita Ann)

Ciony just had a couple of breast cysts taken out last week. Poor Manong Elmer spent the entire time she was in the OR trekking up and down the hospital corridors...and then declaring that he was exhausted as soon as Ciony came out! :)

TVI with the apo's : CJ, Kyla and Isa

All the girls together: Love2, Ciony, Malou, Moi, Arlene, Ditas, Nang Judy and Tita Ning2

Arlene thought the idea was to "not smile"...obviously everybody around her got a different memo, LOL!

This one was with the Birthday "Boy" (TVI's nickname)...or should we say "Play-Boy"? :)

TVI with Tita Ning

Charlie's Angels, plus 1!

I just had to join my kooky gang! :)

The DH with pretty Kyla...who has the most gorgeous translucent skin I know! I've collected a lot of shots like these through the years...I should collect them and put them in a single post soon. 

Manang Judy wanted a change of background, so we moved to the doorway, hehe! Poor Arlene, Malou squished her to the window!

And so Arlene needed to stretch her back!

More of the girls. These shots were patiently taken by Anoy Ricky. Love Arlene's laugh here!

This is our "aquarium" shot: 

#1: Judy

#2: me

#3: Malou

#4 : Arlene & Ditas which makes them a Buy1-Take1 deal: BONUS!

Just wondering what it makes TVI (in the background)?

Still another shot of us, now without the B-day Boy behind us...

TVI with the hugely popular "69" bottle.

Manang Judy wanted a shot with the bottle too, she says its her birth-year

Malou: no significance, at all...she just wanted her picture taken, lol!

I was too busy taking photos of others, I belatedly found I didn't have a shot of the DH & I. This is my mate with his fake-boozer look!

And after he sobered up (2 seconds later), LOL!

The power couple behind the AZATRI brand of tshirts and souvenir items, available at the Negros showroom (ANP) and in over 25 outlets in Bacolod and Silay. Remember:"Don't leave the Islands without them"! 

Maam & Sir

Manang Judy is Assistant to the Father President at UNO-R, aside from her teaching duties at the English Department

while Anoy Nene is officially the Dean of Student Affairs, also at UNO-R, and un-officially the school's herpetologist, because all the rescued reptiles on campus end up in his office, brr!

Long after everybody has left the resto, we're still at it: using the decor for more crazy shots. For the sake of our "head-dresses", our knees and thighs endured some excruciatingly painful moments here!

We all re-located to Calea where both desserts and smiles were sweet:

CJ, Love2, Malou, Kyla and Isa

My camera conked out soon after I took this shot...but Malou and Arlene had a blast thinking up more funny shots using the various lamp-shades and chandeliers while enjoying dessert. They used Anoy Ricky's camera, so maybe they'll post photos of those soon.

It was great hanging out with family again. We're always so busy with our own lives, so it's always nice to re-connect once in a while. :)

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Arnel and his gang have finished Tilda's new house and lot...so I'll be posting the before and after shots soon.

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The DH wants us to watch a movie together, so I'll be signing off now. Talk to you again soon. A bientot!