Mom’s Birthday Party – Filipino Style
Posted on October 25, 2009 by Ching under Family, Flickr, Food and Drink.
We all had our nails done on the day of mom’s party. Well, all of us except for Brian. Even dad got his nails done.
The nail tech who came over, Nory (not sure of the spelling), is the official manikyurista of Tabuc. She goes to everyone’s homes to do their nails. For instance, going to Auntie Jessica’s house every couple of weeks and to Mama Iyay’s house every month.
Nail services in the Philippines are pretty inexpensive. My manicure and pedicure cost me less than $2, even after tip. It’s not like a spa mani and pedi but, for the nail tech to actually come to your house and perform the service, that’s huge. That way you don’t have to get your toenails muddy. =)
Earlier that same day, Uncle Wesley came by and gave mom a bouquet of flowers picked from his beautiful garden (which is next to mom and dad’s house). Mom and I thought that was very thoughtful of him.
I’m not sure what kind of flower that it, but it is very pretty.
Brian did a great job of moving the car out of the car port so we could make room for the tables. Auntie Neneng’s car is stick shift and with the steep incline and the narrowness of the carport, it was very tricky. However, Brian managed to move the car out without the use of a rock (I noticed the others, including Cholo who chauffeured us around whenever we used the car, have to do that before they can switch from reverse to drive). This is further proof of Brian’s expert stick shift driving ability. Go, baby!
With the car out of the way, dad was able to clean the tile floor using walis ting-ting (stick broom) and water. The carport doubles as a patio, when there is no car parked. The architecture of mom and dad’s house in Opao is actually really creative and functional. Did I mention that, besides the tile floors, the walls are tiled also? This way you never have to worry about wooden walls rotting or having to get the walls repainted. I think the tile walls withstand the strong rainstorms better than regular walls also. Their house is very well-suited to the local climate.
Later in the afternoon, the soda arrived. Mostly Coke, but there was some Sprite also. In bottles of course.
Coke is the drink of choice in the Philippines. Brian knows this first hand now. Once you cross the Pacific Ocean to the other continent and arrive in the Philippines, Coke tastes like Pepsi (which is our – when I say our, I mean Brian and me – cola of choice here) and Pepsi tastes like bad watered-down cola.
We set up extra tables and chairs around the house. Okay, so someone else set up the tables and chairs for us. We helped a little, though.
There were tables and chairs in the carport/patio and also the front porch. We have a huge extended family so we had to make sure there was enough seating for everyone.
There was so much food that we had a lot of leftovers the next day. Check out FOODIES for pictures of the dishes that were served.
Check out the slide show below for pictures from the party.
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Another Photobook
Posted on October 24, 2009 by Ching under Family, Tips.
I made a photobook of our family. I created this one through Shutterfly.
Click here to view this photo book larger.
If you’re thinking of a holiday gift idea, photobooks are usually a home run.
- Companies that I have used to create photobooks:
- My Publisher
- Blurb
- Mixbook
- Shutterfly
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V: First Look
Posted on October 24, 2009 by Ching under Videos.
Brian and I are super excited about this show. Can’t wait!
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This Little Piggy Went to Tiangge
Posted on October 21, 2009 by Ching under Travel.
I went to the tiangge with mom at least a couple of times. When I say tiangge, I mean the Tanjay public market. That’s where most people buy their meats, fruits, and vegetables. Mom said that Mama Iyay used to take her to the tiangge also when she was younger. Now instead of her and Mama Iyay, her and I are going to the market.
The first time we went, we bought stuff at Tip-Tip Store. We went at like 5 AM (because we were still somewhat messed up as a result of the time difference) and none of the other stores were open. It was rather fortuitous, though, because the owner of Tip-Tip Store Manong Lito is a childhood friend of Tito Rocky, mom’s older brother.
A tobacco vendor at the tiangge…
The freshly slaughtered meat was a little unnerving, but it didn’t keep me from eating pork. That’s true pork love for you. LOL.
I think the funniest part about going to the market was running into the creepy crazy woman who told mom, “Wala kay kalaki!” LOL. She also commented on mom’s “sininang putol” because she thought mom looked partially clothed, I guess. Mom and I busted up laughing. We laughed all the way back to the house.
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All Natural
Posted on October 21, 2009 by Ching under Travel.
Papang Joe rolls his own smokes, so Brian got to try a “natural” cigarette.
It was tobacco grown in the backyard, rolled in a berry leaf pulled off the tree in the front yard. I’m not so sure about this info, but Brian says that is what he was told.
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