I’m coming up for air!  Inhale.  Exhale.  Inhale.  Exhale.  I needed that.  It’s been crazy around here since Friday.  This is my breathing time.  It’s a good kind of crazy by the way, at least, for the most part. 

One day, for us, was never enough to celebrate special occasions.  Take Abby’s birthday, for example.  She turned four last Sunday, but we started celebrating, albeit informally, as early as Saturday.  Then there was the whole day of Sunday.  Abby continued to celebrate her birthday in school yesterday, and today.  It’s a little complicated.  She belongs to a class where all of the kids attend school for only half of the day.  The thing is, some kids, like Abby, go to school from Monday to Friday.  A few only attend classes on M-W-F and some, T-TH.  I thought it only fair to bring cupcakes for the T-TH group, too!  That left me tired and sleep deprived.  Not complaining!

You probably think we’re done.  Well, not just yet.  Abby will have a small party for her classmates and our close friends (more like family really) this coming Saturday.  And guess where we’ll be on Sunday.  Did I hear somebody say Sea World?  You got that right!  It’s August.  We haven’t been to Sea World this month yet.  Shamu must miss us already.  Hee hee.  We’re really going there purposely to see the Backyardigans.  We missed Dora a few months ago and we’re determined not to miss the Backyardigans this time!

As soon as I can will myself to think and type cohesively, I’ll fill you in on Abby’s week-long birthday celebration.  Come to think of it, it was only a 3-day celebration last year!  Oh well.  We’re crazy like that.  For now, I leave you with some food from Abby’s birthday dinner. ;)  Enjoy!

Crisypy Noodles with Shrimp for long life (bought from First Chinese BBQ)

Roast (Whole) Duck…cardiac delight, anyone?  Yumm! (Also from First Chinese BBQ)

Baked Chicken Drumsticks (by my dear friend, Bet)

 

No-bake Oreo Cheesecake (by Abby’s Ate Winona - Bet’s 12 yr. old niece)

And to complete the spread, a birthday cake from H-E-B.  I know, it’s small.  But don’t worry, we’ll have a bigger one for Saturday. :) 

Drinks?  Tubig na lang, ha.  Sodas are bad for you and juice, unless freshly-squeezed, has a lot of sugar, too. 

I’ll be back faster than you can say Litratong Pinoy.  Hee hee.  Cheers y’all!

We love you….

More than you’ll ever know…

More than we’ll ever be able to show…

Happy 4th birthday, Sweetie! 

Love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy and Mommy

O, tukso, layuan mo ako! 

It’s a little too late for me to be saying that now.  I’ve already given in.  *sigh*  What can I do, Tax-Free Weekend, only comes around once a year!  Hee hee!  Yes, shopping is THE temptation I was referring to.  What else is there?  Did you think otherwise?  And as if tax free shopping isn’t enough of a temptation, stores are having sales at the same.  My favorite department store, Macy’s, for instance, is holding a One Day Sale tomorrow, and a preview day today, with extended store hours from 8am to 12mn.  Not only that, they have this thing called “Morning Specials” where there are super duper extra discounts from 8am-1pm!  Argh!  Well, “Weee!” is more like it, at least for me, and “Uh-oh!” and  ”Woe!”  for Hubby.

You could probably already guess where I was between 9am and 11:30am today.  It’s very rarely that I go anywhere by myself.  Aahhh, the wonders that shopping can do.  It’s so, uhm, empowering!  Hee hee.  I would have shopped longer had not my school drop-off and pick-up duties gotten in the way.  But no worries, we’ll be hitting the mall again in a few minutes and then there’s still tomorrow. ;)  Kawawa naman ang asawa’t anak ko kung di sila makakabili.  Hahaha!

I’m very pleased with my morning loots.  I got an 8-piece Bed-in-a-Bag at 60% off and a set of down comforter and pillows for Hubby and me.  See?  It’s not all for me!  Hubby has something to gain in all this, too! ;)  I had to leave the Bed and Bath department right away or else, I would have gone home with 3 new sets of beddings.  Hee hee.

And for myself, I bought 12 items of clothing for only $60.00!  Nice, ei?  You’d think I shopped at the kids’ department of Target again.  Not that I do that all the time. :P  The exciting thing is that out of the 12 articles, 4 are designer bottoms, which I got for less than $10!  *takes a bow* 

Oops, I’d tell you more about my shopping spree.  But Hubby’s work hours are finally over.  Time to hit the mall! 

Have a great weekend!  I already had a very good start plus, Abby will turn 4 on Sunday!  :)  We have a packed and exciting weekend ahead of us.  Cheers!

Napakadali para sa akin ang “Liwaliw” na tema ng Litratong Pinoy para sa linggong ito.  Kung pagliliwaliw rin lang naman ang pag-uusapn, ay naku, batikan ang aking pamilya riyan!  :D  Kung noo’y namomroblema ako dahil wala akong larawang mailahok, ngayon nama’y sa dami, hindi ko alam kung ano ang aking isasali!

Sa pagbabakasyon namin sa California noong nakaraang buwan, nagkaroon kami ng pagkakataong makapagliwaliw sa Palisades Park sa Sta. Monica.  Ang kahabaan nito’y kinatatayuan ng mga nagtataasang balingkinitang puno.

Maraming tao ang tulad naming nagliliwaliw rin.  Ang iba’y nagjajogging at ang iba nama’y matahimik na nakaupo sa mga bangko habang nagbabasa ng aklat. 

Sa may damuhang kinauupuan namin ni Abby at ng aking mga pamangking si Maddie at Mason, may mga taong nageehersisyo kasama ang isang “private trainer”.  Marami-rami kaming nakitang taong nageehersisyo!

Ano ang pinagmamasdan nila?

Nasa larawan si Abby, ang aking mga pamangking, ang aking Tita at ang mamang nagmamatiyag sa di kalayuan ay aking Tito.

Ito, ang dalampasigan! 

Kaya kong magtagal ng ilang oras sa lugar na ito para makapagbasa, magmuni-muni o manood lamang ng palo ng alon sa buhangin.  Ika nga nila sa Ingles, “This is the life!”

Ang dami naming larawan dito.  E kasi naman, malayu-layo ang dagat sa tinitirahan namin!  Parang ngayon lang kami ulit nakakita ng dagat! 

At ito ang kuha ng aming mapagliwaliw na pamilya.

Pagliliwaliw naman kasama ang mga Mustangs ng Las Colinas ang isa ko pang lahok para sa LP.

Magandang Huwebes sa lahat!

See, part II didn’t take too long to write (type…whatever!)!  The first part is here.

10 August 2008

While browsing the Hampton Inn’s guest guide, I found out that there’s an interesting must-see attraction not too far from the hotel, The Mustangs of Las Colinas.  I googled it right away and true enough, it’s a place we’d most definitely love to see.  Located at the William Square Plaza, The Mustangs of Las Colinas are the biggest equestrian sculptures in the world.  It is a breathtaking display of 9 wild mustangs in bronze, running across a granite stream. 

I took a lot of photos.  Here’s a slideshow of some of them:

After we had our fill of photos with the Mustangs, we braved the harsh summer heat and drove off to the Dallas Arboretum. It was December last year when we first visited the Arboretum’s beautiful gardens, a visit made more unforgettable by the fact that my Mom was with us. I was hoping to take plenty of flower pics, more than I did last winter. There are more flowers all right, but spring probably is still the best time to visit, when the weather is more bearable and even more flowers are in bloom. After about an hour to an hour-and-a-half of heat-stroke inducing walk around the gardens, we decided it was time to drive home. I was happy with what few photos I was able to bring home with me, and as an added bonus, I left the Arboretum with a headache. Weeee!

I reserved a few pics for upcoming Litratong Pinoy themes. I’ve been recycling photos way too much already.:D

That’s it for our weekend. I hope you had a great one as well. That’s two posts in one day, a rarity on this site, but fairly common in my working blogs.

Have a most wonderful week! Cheers!