Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! It's the best time of the year where we have the reason to celebrate with family and friends and given the license to binge out and spoil ourselves to sudden obesity.

It has been a family tradition already to celebrate the Christmas Eve with a Christmas dinner with my cousins and aunts and grandmother (Mom's). This year was not an exception. We headed out to my Tita Rose's house at La Toscana Village in Puan, Davao City with all my cousins and relatives (mother's side). This is the second time that we are celebrating the Christmas family dinner at La Toscana after Tita bought the house and lot last 2007. The house is a decent 3-bedroom type bungalow in a 180-sq. m. lot. Since Tita is working abroad as a nurse, it is only once a year that she gets to visit and tend to the place. That's why for this year, she decided to hire contractors to build a gate around her house which cost her more than 30,000 pesos. It's a wise investment, I must say. It keeps the property secured and safe.

One thing that I look forward to during family gatherings is the food, especially those from my Lola's. My Lola Abon has always been the queen of the 'kusina' for the family. She can cook just any Pinoy dish with such delectable taste and flavor. For Christmas, Lola prepared her own version of 'dinuguan'. I am not really very fond of this dish once but after I tasted Lola's, then it was all history. But I only eat this dish if this is cooked by Lola alone, not even Mama's version or anyone else. The family also had a very flavory broiled chicken which was seasoned and prepared by Aunt Arlene, our dessert chef in the family. Another dish that I always want to have and was present is kilawin.

One thing that will never be missed also during family gatherings is the endless photo sessions. My family is such a cam-whore-bunch, especially my siblings and cousins. Pictures here and there. Faces and poses of all sorts from all corners of the house and the village. Say it and they'll do it. All for the name of a decent picture.

with Tita Rose
 

Cousins strike a pose 

Me and my bro and sises 

Armed with my ever dependable Nikon D60, I hope I made their Christmas happy and picture-y. 

The night faded away with the one thing that will always be present in any family event, the karaoke sessions. We sang our night away with old and new songs with happy hearts and reveled in yet another Christmas Day where we celebrate the wonder and importance of a joyful family with full of love and happiness.

From my family to yours, I wish you a very Merry and Happy Christmas!

Blog-A-New

Whew!

At long last, I have finally found the determination to set up my own blogosphere, my own social cyber life.

I have long wanted to do this but could not find enough personal time to chronicle special life events and my individual thoughts on a lot of things.

That is why it is one of my 2010 New Year personal resolutions to invest a parcel of my personal time to chronicle the things that I do and things that I think of and put them into daily and weekly posts. One thing I realized after a long time is that I always try to look back on how things were before and how things are going right now. It gives me a realistic perspective of my life and assess everything that is happening to me.

This blog will be a written collection of my personal travels, perspectives on different topics like politics, society and lifestyle, and just everything under the sun. 

Feel free to follow me on my life adventures and share with you my thoughts on a myriad of things. I believe in Mohandas Gandhi's mantra: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." So, what better way to start to live life than today. Always Seize the Day. Carpe Diem!