..Of Regrets And Decision Making..

"there are things I miss", you said. "But if I didn't have you, I'd miss more"

~David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel

I just finished reading David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary and this line has struck me the most. This was asked by the boyfriend (I assume, as there was really no reference in the book as to whom was speaking at the moment) and for a minute there, it got me thinking: hell yeah, that's exactly what I've been meaning to say but couldn't find the words for!

..and this is not only for my partner, but also for my kids. and for the things I chose and decisions I made. Lastly, for the person I choose to become.

Last night while listening to the radio, the DJ was giving advices to a girl who has gone left the house and her kids behind. She had no qualms about being separated from the kids though. Her only concern was about her hubby of 8 years having a girlfriend at the  moment. I won't comment about this girl but I am sharing today what the DJ said:

"When I make decisions, I always try to see myself 30-40 years from now and think, would I regret doing or not doing this?.." 

As a mom, my life is always riddled with minor and major issues needing quick and final decisions. It can be as simple as changing diaper brands or as big as opening a new business but I find that the end results almost always feel the same. The frustrations, the joy, they are always of the same degree so it is important that in that "quick and final decision making" moments I make sure that I won't ever regret my decision, now, tomorrow or even 30 years from now.

justmereflecting.

Food Stop: LZM Restaurant's Best Fried Fish Ever!

My hubby is a fierce Instagramers so upon seeing Miss Tintin Babao's Bangus post, he was intrigued enough to try the place. That Bangus post has brought us here:

ZLM Restaurant Solenad branch

I was hoping we would visit the Tagaytay branch but we were a little pressed for time so we went to Solenad-Sta. Rosa, Laguna instead. I honestly think I could work as an ambassador  for Solenad as I've been blogging about their place eversince! ZLM Restaurant in Solenad II is just beside Frutti Froyo so it will be hard to miss plus there's always a clamor outside their door - a clamor of families waiting to be seated or served. This alone can tell you how good their food is!

Lucky us we didn't have to wait long. These are what we ordered:

Fried Boneless Bangus 350pesos 

The bangus was so big it could feed 4! ..and yes, that must be the best tasting bangus I've ever tasted. It was not deep-fried crispy but the marinate worked wonders.

Half rice is Php 75, good for 2-3 persons

Beef Kare kare Php430

That's a big bowl of Kare kare too! In this place you get everything supersized! Too bad, no room left for their Bulalo, I heard it's also good. Oh maybe next time? :)

I highly recommend this place, good food, warm, friendly service (even the manager - owner? - gamely went out of the resto just because the little boy cried everytime their eyes meet. lol) This place is, hands down, 5 stars out of 5.

Btw, their Tagaytay branch can be found at Magallanes Square. 

Cheers!

Zagu's Pearl Milk Tea, Discovered!

I sent the hubby yesterday to the nearest Zagu kiosk to fetch me my favorite Mango with crystals. He came home a little distracted so I knew there's something. After a little bit of time passed, he blurted, "meron silang Pearl Milk Tea, masarap kaya yun?"

I quickly did the calculations, slush ice and milk tea plus pearl = hmm.. not bad, so I told him to get us some.

Today he came home with two large Zagus:

Christmas themed top ^_^

Mango and Milk Tea with crystals :)

I just got one sip and the hubby took it away but judging from that single sip, it was good. Not as good as Serenitea's but not too sweet as Chowking's. I just love its slushie texture ♥♥♥! My hubby loved it too ^_^


Cheers!

Travel Stays: Subic Bay Travelers Hotel

Our last Subic trip has brought us to this hotel: Subic Bay Travelers Hotel. It was the last week of September and Subic was not terribly crowded however we were looking for some place else to stay. We were getting a little tired of Bayfront Hotel, our place of choice for the past 3 years, so we decided to do a little scoping of the area for new - and better - temporary crib. lol :)

I'm not really sure if Subic Bay Travelers Hotel is new but their rooms are definitely better - smelled better too (a plus for allergy-prone people like me!)

For background read, Subic Bay Travelers Hotel is located at corner Aguinaldo & Raymundo Streets, Subic Bay, Olangapo. If you are able to spot HOTSHOTS (the diner serving mean flame-grilled burgers), take that little gravel road between the said diner and a salon (a road that we had mistaken for a parking lot). As soon as you take that turn, say hello to Subic Bay Travelers Hotel.

Photo taken from their website

It was raining hard - correction, there was a storm when we visited. lol - so I wasn't able to take exterior shots of the hotel. Here's a closer look, again taken from their website:

Photo taken from their website

Published rates are:

• Deluxe Room Php2,704
• Executive Suite Php4,058

*Inclusive of breakfast for 2

Room Amenities:

• 2 Queen Beds
• 32" LCD TV
• Unlimited FREE Internet Access (WIFI)
• Complimentary coffee setup
• Complimentary Bottled Water
• Full Personal Hygiene Amenities
• In-room safe
• 24 hours reception
• 24 hours Secured Parking Lot
• Hot and Cold Shower

They also have function halls, 2 swimming pools and a gym. Below are some photos I was able to take during our stay there:

was able to comfortably accommodate all 4 of us

Their beds are quite wide so we didn't have the usual problem of where to sleep and who sleeps with whom. Remember there are 4 us of during trips: me, my 6'4 hubby, my 10 year old baby girl and my 1 year old little boy. I, myself, am not skinny so space is really important for us when looking for a place to stay.

flat screen TV and work area

I just love the fact that they included a separate work area since most of the places we stayed at only have a small "dining" table which is not really comfortable to use when working on a lappy. I always end up working on a dresser (what?!.. I need a solid place for my lappy or else I'll have migraine for working in bed with kids jumping up and down on it!)

nothing fancy but it's CLEAN so 2 thumbs up!

other side. see? CLEAN.

My daughter is a poolnut so as soon as we checked in, she itched to jump into the pool

Pools up and down. can't wait to jump in!

Overall, I am giving Subic Bay Travelers Hotel a 4 out of 5 but it can easily be 5 if not for these reasons:

• Poor lighting. For the life of me, I couldn't find the "white" light, only yellow ones. I even went to the extent of inspecting the light bulbs one by one and they were all yellow hence we were bathed with yellow lights day in and day out. :(
• Unstable WIFI connection. The tech guy who assisted us told us that there's someone who was messing up with the lines as the lines were disconnected from whatever. Sorry, I tuned out by that time..
• Limited breakfast selection. ..and not really an impressive selection at that. Choices are: chicken or pork tocino, beef tapa and longganisa (sausage); garlic rice or plain rice; coffee or juice (no iced tea)

Hubby's sausages and eggs. lol XD

 And here are the reasons why I'd still stay with them the next time around:

• Did I say CLEAN?
• Efficient staff, very accommodating and courteous.
• Discounted price when off-peak. We got our room for 2,600 on a Saturday night and 1,600 the following Sunday night. Not bad considering the standard Subic rate of 2,500 per night (of course, depending on the hotel's location)
• Walking distance to our frequented spots particularly Meat Plus

I just hope they will improve their breakfast selection the next time around, say, include an "American" breakfast of bread, jam, bacon or ham, eggs, etc. lol :D

Cheers!

Must Be My Lucky Week! :)

Procrastination is my bestfriend these days so I find myself missing laundry days and delaying appointments especially with those who love missing appointments too. I mean, I would go if they were a little bit eager to go too. lol. It must be the weather.

Anyway, I started my Monday morning the same as any other: iron R's uniform, do a batch of laundry, feed the baby, start writing articles, etc. 

..until I got a wall post from FoFo Kids ^_^

I am Lucky #3! yey!

I rarely win draws but got lucky this time. Thanks FOFO Kids! Can't wait for my swag bag! I'm excited!

btw, do check them out on Facebook. They have the cutest stuffies and beanies for kids and kids-at-heart! 

Then later around 9pm, Likha Laguna commented on this blog that I was featured in I love Laguna Facebook page for my Isdaan sa Calauan post! Of course, I was thrilled to the bone! who wouldn't?! Thanks guys! ^_^

Screenshot of my featured post! Yey - again!

 Yesterday, I was contacted by the hiring manager/recruiter for the job I have been eyeing since Monday. Thank goodness I passed the Evaluation test so I'm onto the next test level. I was told there will be three levels before the final interview. I was sooo nervous I made three trips to the bathroom due to a very queasy stomach so if there will be three of them this week, I suspect I could easily shed 20 pounds - including my innards - by the end of the week! lovely. lol :)

I'm Joining Weekend Blog Follower Caravan # 26 – GFC!

In my attempt to boost my sorry GFC number, I'm joining Mommy Rubz of Rubz Online this week.. and next.. and next.. lol :)

I welcome this week's participants with our WBFC badge:

 

My heartfelt thanks goes to our week's sponsors: Chika Bits and Dens Online

Shempre special mention si Mommy Rubz ^_^

For participants, please don't forget to leave a comment here (welcome post), that you have followed me thru Google Friend Connect. Easier for me to follow you back too :)

Please join us too, if you would like to get more GFC followers! The more, the merrier :) How to join: Weekend Blog Follower Caravan # 26 – GFC

Cheers! :)

Food Stop: Isdaan sa Calauan

Here I am, once again, blogging about food! No need to tell you guys how much my family loves eating yah?

..so the hubby saw photos of the newly-opened Calauan branch of Isdaan just the other night and made plans to go the next day which was yesterday. We already went there last month but the place wasn't serving food yet. The manong guarding the parking area was kind enough to invite us in and see the grounds after seeing my son so enthralled with their gigantic rock monkeys. Unfortunately, it was raining so we politely declined and drove to the next food stop, Palaisdaan. Btw, they are sitting side by side so I smell fierce food battle. I wonder how Palaisdaan would fare.

I begged the hubby to take us there a little early as I would like to take pictures while the sun is still out. As you all know, this blogger is only armed with her phone's camera during expeditions and that darn phone has no flash - curse you Samsung Omnia!

Since we still waited for my daughter to come home from school, we got there at about 5ish. Here's my first photo of the place:

no, this is not the entrance. this is just silly me taking random photos :D

If you're familiar with Isdaan sa Tarlac, this is the South branch, so basically what you find there, you'll find here too. Food is prepared and cooked by Barrio Fiesta so if you are familiar with the place - and their singing cooks and waiters - you will get that here too, the food and the feel. What wowed me though is the ambiance. It's just superb! Like you entered an entirely different side of the planet! Hats off to the one who conceptualized the place!

WARNING: THIS POST HAS LOTS OF PHOTOS!! :)

Isdaan entrance. Me and my two kids :)

DON'T WEAR HEELS! That's a Bamboo walk. lol ;)

That's one big Yamashita Buddha! Bigger than that dinosaur on side :)

Kingkong's never satisfied with just a girl so he got himself two white girls. lol :D

View from our hut. away from that crocodile.

two maidens with plant hairs bathing

view from our hut. ahh.. relaxing ^_^

dine in or dine out. take your pick!

now you know how much to give your musikeros and bangkeros XD

my daughter inside our hut, inspecting the crocodiles

menu is this loooooong @.@

This is our first time here so we were lost as to what to order. The menu being that long didn't help at all. so we chose the "generics". lol. :)

Inihaw na spareribs was late so it didn't get into this photo op

There. on your own. Inihaw na spareribs Php243. Two thumbs up!

Pinukpok na Manok Php276. God, this is sooo good!

ridiculously small but overly priced  Bagong Saing sa Kaldero Php99.50

 

Single-serve Tadtad Mangga Php68

That talanding Manggo Sago (photo op) is Php76. lol :)

One friendly advice though when paying for your food: please take time to examine your receipt over and over again as we got charged with 2 bottles of mineral water when we didn't order those nor were they served. The only sign of water in a glass was that of "tap water" so I'm not sure if they charge those too. We discovered this error days after as my hubby is not really into "reading mode" when stomach-full. Food is good though so you'll definitely come back for more.

After eating, we went to "gala" mode. Roaming the grounds, these are what we found:

Taksyapo!! Vent your anger here :)

Not statues. real, live dancers.

Aha! so that's where you grill our Inihaw na Spareribs!

Play areas in every nook and cranny.

My son chatting with an angry bird

My kids and I with the late Pres. Cory Aquino :)

Spiderman, spotted!

Daungan. very romantic. yihiii :)

Although their food is quite pricey, the overall experience is very nice. They also have souvenir section as well as "pasalubong" section where you can buy Philippine made stuff from nibbles to bags. The ambiance is really nice and very child friendly. To me, it's more like a theme park as you'll enjoy the sights more and the food second. We spent 3 hours inside and the kids had fun! Very nice :)

Cheers! :)