Ibyang
Ibyang

Cherished Memories

Happy Australia Day!

It’s my first time to celebrate Australia Day as an Australian this year. My Husband and I stayed indoors today but we had sausages (for the first time at home) for lunch to honor the day.

Last week, we had a relaxing short summer/anniversary/birthday getaway. For a change, we decided to chose country areas to explore instead of a city where we usually end up exhausted from lots of walking around and shopping.


This recent 3-day road trip was a myriad of breathtaking sceneries: luscious forests, desert-like beaches at a park (take note: it was a park with a beach with desert-like sand! see photo above), pretty lighthouses and beautiful beaches.



It was such a great experience as we learned more beautiful places in this country–and there’s still a lot! So we’ll take it one travel at a time.
I’ll share more about the things we saw during our travel soon (I’m currently busy watching the Australian Open). In the meantime, I wish everyone had a fun-filled and safe Australia Day. To the rest of the world, hope you’re having a great week! Smile!
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Wedding Ninang at 32 :)

Here I am, three days before 2010 and I’ve just attended a civil wedding of a friend.

The best part was, she asked me to become a witness, as in I-signed-on their-wedding-certificate kind of witness. If this happened in the Phils, I’m a “Ninang”. I couldn’t be happier. I can’t believe I would be a wedding ninang this early but I don’t mind being one to friend. It’s actually an honor. And wouldn’t it be nice to travel the world of married life with my “inaanaks”?

The wedding was the simplest of all weddings I’ve attended. But it was the most pure, unpretentious and beautiful wedding I’ve been a part of. Very rarely that I cry during weddings, but with this one, I admit that I was teary-eyed during the exchange of vows.

It was a very private ceremony so I cannot share any other photos such as this cheeky photo of mine here. Maybe someday I will. For now, I’m just happy to share with you one of the happiest moments of my life.

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Christmas Gastronomic Favorites and Discoveries

The season of Christmas will never ever be complete without food on the table. It is usually at this time that I get to eat my favorite holiday treats and also get to discovery new gastronomic delights.

Let’s start with Noche Buena/Birthday dinner of my Tita Bess. Part of our family’s tradition is having dinner on the 24th at their place coz other than celebrating her birthday, it is also where our clan and our clan’s friends gather around to wish everyone a merry Christmas. It is at this event that the buffet table overflows with sooooo much food because every family brings a dish or two to share with everyone. This year, Chris and I brought Creamy Baked Potato and Brownies.

Christmas ain’t Christmas without my Tita Bess’ famous Ham. She usually cooks this whenever they have birthday parties at home and everytime that happens, this delicious home-cooked Ham of hers always make me remember of Christmas. This is my best favorite of all the Christmas treats–tender, moist, just the right sweetness.

This year, my Grandma cooked one of my Christmas favorites—the Hamonado!!!! It’s been awhile since I’ve had this for Christmas. Hamonado is a favorite of mine because this dish reminds me of Christmas spent in our Taytay home. My mom and my Grandma cooks the perfect Hamonado ever.

Two gastronomic discoveries on the 24th were the Baked Salmon in Tomato and Sansrival.

The Baked Salmon in Tomato dish is perfect for parties–delicious, healthy and very easy to prepare.

One of our family friends brought this massive Sansrival cake that measures about 15×4 inches. A very different Sansrival as it was made in merengue, hence, the thickness. Made by a Filipino pastry chef, this dessert is a wonderful treat to guests–sweet, buttery, crunchy and nuttty.

After the party at my tita’s place, we went home and invited our friends to join us for Noche Buena.

This year, my Husband and I had a more simple Christmas table at home when the clock struck midnight. We decided to cook Penne Boscaiola (a pasta dish, Husband requested for white pasta) and bake Brownies for dessert and that was it. I made sure that we had Champange (not wine)–I wanted bubblies this year–more festive and celebratory. Very different from last year’s buffet table. The reason being was that our Christmas calendar’s busy–we had been invited to a couple of parties and so it is only at home that we get to rest our tummies from all the eating.

Christmas day, we attended a birthday party and just look at buffet table! It is at this party that I got to eat Morcon and Lechon!!!! Yummy to the max. No photos of the Lechon though, Husband and I were so busy eating.

Post-Christmas:

On Sunday, we attended another party at Mounties–a great buffet discovery!!! This is so far the best buffet (a.k.a. All-you-can-eat) we’ve eaten. Wide range of selection, delicious food, good presentation and ambience.

Yesterday’s visit at our friends’ home, we were served a pasta dish called Festive Fusili and cheese called Halloumi Bites. A great discovery because it is not only delicious but very easy to prepare. Our host told us too that the Festive Fusili had Vodka (yes, the alcoholic drink) as an ingredient and all I said was “You got me at Vodka!” hehehe. And the Halloumi Bites, which went well with the Festive Fusili, is cheese so that’s enough reason for me to love it.

What about you? What Christmas gastronomic favorites and discoveries have you eaten this season?
With all the eating, I’m gaining pounds by the second! But then, happiness is eating and sharing food with loved ones during this season, isn’t it?
Personal note: To everyone who greeted (via phone, snail mail, email and messages thru FB, twitter, plurk and multiply) and gave gifts, thank you very much!!!! May the spirit of Christmas be always in our hearts, not just this season but everday and always.

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She’s Getting Married

She’s one of my best friends in the world. We’ve been friends since she “stalked” me during our sophomore year in college. The better word really was she reached out to me and I’m lucky she did. She was and is always a breath of fresh air when I’m need of a better perspective.
I remember days when we didn’t have school. My parents would drop me off at her place in the wee hours of the morning (they were on their way to work). I’d go straight to her room and she’d still be asleep so I’d lie beside her and sleep too. When we wake up, we’d talk for an hour or two (we never seem to run out of things to talk to) and dial numbers on the phone, inviting our other friends to hang out with us. Sometimes, we get up right away if we feel like going to the mall and shop. Simple, uncomplicated times of our lives.

I remember days and nights we’d talk of boys and love and how it affects our lives. Sometimes, there were tears. Oftentimes, we’d laugh it off as we recall some of the silly things we’d do for the sake of saving love. Now that we’re grown-ups, we know that things happen for a reason…and that things happen for the better.

I remember her following her dreams to Australia and a few months after she arrived here, I visited her. Best times of our lives. Because of her, living in Sydney seemed less intimidating. I believe that one of the reasons why my migration materialized was because we were meant to be in one place. We are sisters and we are to look after each other.

I remember that we are always just a phone call or email away and we will come running just to be there for each other.

I remember that we always celebrate our happy milestones. She taught me that even the tiniest achievement should be celebrated and so we do.

I remember that before one of us goes out of the country, we make time to see each other. It’s one of our rituals and we have no plans of breaking it. That’s why last Saturday, I had to see her and bid her a happy and safe travel.

I remember receiving her email saying that the love of her life proposed! I am one of the happiest persons to know that she’s getting married. My bestfriend’s getting married. And I couldn’t be happier for her.

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Musical: Mamma Mia!

If I were to initially comment on my take on Mamma Mia! (The Musical), I would simply sing this line to you:

Mamma Mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?

Since experiencing the zest of “Mamma Mia!” last month, I’ve been raving on how great the show is and how it’s such an unforgettable experience. Definitely worth anyone’s time and money.

This is a dream come true for me. Since I’ve migrated here in 2005, I’ve always wished that they’ll show Mamma Mia! in Sydney again for my sake (hehe). When they made a movie of this musical, I watched it in the cinemas alone and when the DVD was released, I bought it to share the experience with the Husband. He loved the movie and I promised him we would see the musical if ever we get a chance, whether it was here or in another part of the world.

After watching Mamma Mia! The Movie a thousand times and after playing the CD soundtrack inside our car everytime we’re on a roadtrip (yes, that’s how much we loved it), the universe has finally conspired to make our dream come true. Mamma Mia! is celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary in Sydney!!!!!

To-date, this is the most entertaining and funnest theatrical experience for me and the Husband. Here are the reasons why:

The storyline and the songs. Those ABBA hits became the foundation of a story which anyone can easily relate to: a wedding, a reunion of friends, finding one’s self, a lover coming back to your life, giving second chances. If you’ve ever been inlove or had great friends, this will surely warm your heart as you hear melodies of “Dancing Queen”, “Chiquitita” or “The Winner Takes it All” come to life infront of you. Note: There are more songs in the musical compared the movie.

The actors. The cast has the funniest leads and ensemble I’ve ever seen. My favorite is Anne Wood who played Donna Sheridan and Jennifer Vuletic who played Tanya, one of the Dynamos. They were both funny, beautiful and acted really well. The cast sang every song beautifully and they danced really really good.

The choreography. Each production number will make you want to dance as the choreography is highly energetic. My favorite from all the production numbers is “Voulez-vous”.

The fun costumes that complimented the lighting. Very modest set but they made sure that lighting was great and the costumes were fun and sparkly.

A mini-concert by the end of the show. An encore that’s sort of a mini ABBA concert with the lead players disappearing just long enough to come back in eye-popping, deliciously colorful costumes that made the audience get on their feet and dance!!!! Yes, I was one of those that danced while they sang “Mamma Mia!”, “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo”. It was such a fabulous experience. I loved it! I never wanted the experience to end–that’s how good it was.

For anyone who’s in Sydney right now, I recommend you watch and experience this musical. Bring your husband, I assure you he will enjoy it too. Or go with your girlfriends and you will surely have lots of fun.

Mamma Mia! will make you sing, cry, laugh and dance. A must-see for everyone.

This will run til February 2010. Buy your tickets now via Ticketmaster.

Trivia Time:

(b) The most touching part of the story was when Donna (the mom) helped Sophie get ready for the wedding. Donna sang “Slipping Through My Fingers”. For anyone who’s a mother or a daughter, I’m sure this will warm your heart.

(c) Since Chris and I were in such a festive mood that night, all because we are having so much fun, Chris brought me a “Super Trouper” Daiquiri in a flashing glass (which you can take home) during intermission. In honor of the musical, they named the daiquiris after ABBA’s song titles.

(d) Given a chance, another time or place perhaps, I will watch and experience this musical again.
 
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