Dinner at Carluccio's with December Brides-to-Be

I spent two consecutive dinners with friends from my SFC days last Saturday and Sunday. This post is about the first night which I spent with my former household members at Dubai Mall.

It had been a while since we all got together, and since two of them were getting married this month (one on the 22nd and the other on the 26th), we all agreed to meet up for dinner on the 29th of November.

I met up with Carol and Ivy, the two brides-to-be, before we proceeded to Carluccio’s to wait for the others. There were a lot of diners in the restaurant when we arrived, but fortunately we were attended to right away and we settled in a booth/table where we enjoyed a great view of the Dancing Fountain. Mitch arrived later and she was soon followed by Joanne.

Since Carol had three Entertainer Vouchers, we put all of them to good use by ordering two of each of the following:

Chicken Saltimbocca

Salmon Pesto

Seafood Linguine

waiting for the others

Was the food good? Well, there were five of us and six main meals…and we managed to eat everything. So you can tell we liked what we ate.

It was funny looking at Carol and Ivy and listening to them talk. Both were calm and relaxed, but while Carol was really hands on and very detailed with everything, having accomplished most of what needed to be done, Ivy still had so many things to take care of and decide on…but still she was calm. Unbelievable!

In between, they would ask the three of us how our wedding day went, any advice or small but significant things they needed to do, what happened the days and weeks after getting married, and most importantly…the wedding night. There was one word we told them to remember: "Shameless!" =)

It was a dinner of laughter, memories and advice…and Michael Jackson! Hahaha! Yup, you read right, although of course you’d have probably guessed it wasn’t really him.

Earlier, while the three of us were chatting and waiting for our orders (the two hadn’t arrived yet), someone who dressed and looked like Jacko casually walked in the restaurant with his friends and sat down at a table near us.

MJ is alive?!?!?!

We were hesitant to ask for a picture because although we knew he wasn’t the real thing, we thought it would be fun to get one; on the other hand, he might not want to be disturbed and/or didn’t want to have his picture taken. But when we saw another diner approach him for a picture, we found the guts to approach the King of Pop impersonator who willingly smiled for a couple of photos.

Now that’s a dinner I won’t easily forget! =)

leih's baby shower

Two weeks ago, I received an SMS from Leih inviting me to her baby shower which would be held that Friday. I immediately called her up and this is how our conversation went:

Me: Leih, di ako makakapunta sa shower mo. May MER kami ni Guchi nun. Service team kami.
Leih: Ganon ba? Sige, i-move na lang. Ikaw pa lang naman ang nasasabihan ko eh.
Me: Talaga? Sige, i-resched mo na lang please. The following Friday, pwede ako.
Leih: Ok po. Next Friday na lang. Ikaw na lang magsabi sa mga anakis mo na kapatid ko ha.
Me: Yehey! Walang problema. Akong bahala mag-inform sa kanila. Salamat!

After we ended the conversation, I immediately sent an SMS to my SFC babies to block their schedules for the 28th of June, and the following day I sent a message to all of them. Then I sent a message to Leih asking her for the details of the shower. Apparently, she hadn’t planned anything yet. Just the date, food and venue. In the end, I instantly became the organizer and Leih told me to just coordinate with her former SFC member to assist me. Ayos!

There wasn’t too much to do, though. Just make a picture invitation, create an event on facebook and invite Leih’s family and friends, think of games, and prepare the stuff needed for the games. The couple were simple, so they didn’t need too much decors, although I did print the door sign and photowall just to make the place a bit more festive.  Medyo na-toxic lang ako on the day of the shower because that morning, I had to bake apple muffins (my promise to the preggy lady) because I didn’t have time to do so the night before, then show up for my 11am appointment at UniCare before going to the shower venue which was the apartment of Leih’s sister and her family.

I had originally planned on having just 4 games, but because the guests were enjoying themselves (and after the 4th game, their faces seemed to be waiting for me to tell them what the next game was), I had to instantly think of another one. The first game was Stick the Sperm on the Egg, and we all had a good laugh while watching the blindfolded men stick the sperm (with the daddy-to-be’s face) near the expectant mommy’s face which was shaped like an egg. The next game was “How Big is Mommy’s Belly” which the female guests took part in. The third game was a team effort in figuring out the seven different chocolates used in Dirty Diapers, and the supposed to be last one was a relay where each team had to transfer the most number of cereal balls from a cup via a formula milk scoop to a plate. The really last game was another group activity where the teams had to think of the most number of songs that had the words Babe, Baby, Child or Children in it.

We’re all excited to see Renjith and Leih’s little princess who’ll be coming out next month. Oh no, this means that I’ll be a grandma soon! Hahaha!

pinas trip: the wedding of salme & gracie

The day of Salme and Gracie’s wedding finally arrived on the 23rd of May. Naturally, I was looking forward to this event the entire week because that was the sole reason of my quick vacation to the Philippines. The wedding ceremony was held at the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Shrine and the reception at L’Aquinum Garden in Antipolo. I had no idea where or how to get to those places, but fortunately, my uncle knew. Since I didn’t know anyone at the wedding (except for the bride-to-be), I asked my cousin to go with me. Unfortunately, he got held up with something and only told me 3 hours before we were supposed to leave that he couldn’t make it. Grrrr!!! So, I had no choice but to go alone. I told my uncle that he could join me, pero nahiya sya and opted to just wait, saying bahala na lang sya kung paano nya palilipasin ang oras. Haaay!

food and bonding-filled birthday

I woke up Saturday morning with Hubby and my daughters still sleeping beside me. Since I didn’t have work that day, I just lay in bed, cherishing the early hours of the peace and quiet of the morning. After a while, my youngest stirred and soon she was on her tummy giving me a wide gummy grin. My husband followed shortly, and within a few minutes all of us were wide awake tickling each other and laughing just like the day before. By 7:30am, we started getting ready to go out.

We attended the 9 o’clock mass (celebrating Palm Sunday) at St. Mary’s, then we went to Ansar Gallery to pass away the time and because Yaya Juliet wanted to buy some things. A little after 11am, we headed to Asiana Hotel. I know I gave a not-so-good review about La Mesa here 2 years ago, but a lot of our friends and colleagues still enjoyed themselves, so we decided to try out their brunch.

wild ginger with my babies

Before Joanne left for the Philippines for her wedding, I insisted that we had to get together along with her other sisters from my SFC household. As usual, it was practically another last-minute arrangement and unfortunately, this time Carol was the one who couldn’t come because she had already made plans with her members (and of course Gracie was back in the Philippines since early last year). Mitch suggested for us to try Wild Ginger which is located at Iconic in Deira City Center because she has a 20% discount voucher there, so since none of us had tried it before and it was easily accessible to all of us, that’s where we had our fellowship.

bad night...good night

Last night, hubby and I had our separate night out with our friends. I was with my SFC babies at Pizza Co. and he was with his colleagues at Barrio Fiesta. His dinner ended early (around 7:30pm), because it was their regular dinner out. Mine, on the other hand, ended late because it had been months since the last time we had gotten together and the only reason we did was because Leih had BIG news.

instant fellowship with my sfc babies

Isn’t it funny that when you plan a get-together with your friends in advance, it never happens because not everyone can make it; but when you decide to have it right away, everyone is able to turn up?

Since May of this year, my former SFC members and I have been trying to schedule a fellowship. Because all of them are from different chapters and they have their own activities and responsibilities in SFC, our schedules have always been conflicting. There was practically no day during the week when all of us were available at the same time...until last Monday.

Last Thursday, Carol started the thread asking when and if our fellowship would ever push through. No one confirmed. Then Leih called me on Sunday night with a suggestion for Iftar. I started the thread again, mentioning Leih’s idea and asking for everyone’s availability.

Ces was free any night. My schedule was open except for Friday. Joanne had households on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and her Sunday was already booked. Mitch and Leih weren’t free on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Which left only Monday and Saturday...so Monday night it was. Actually, Leih and Carol already had plans for the night, but of course they loved us that much to cancel their plans (haha!).

We enjoyed a very reasonably priced and filling Iftar at Citymax Hotel, strolled around MOE, and had yummy ice-cream from Cold Stone Creamery (courtesy of Leih as her advance birthday treat)...and not to forget the endless laughter, stories, and countless photos we took almost everywhere we went.

Of course, we were missing Gracie (who had returned to the Philippines last February)...but technically, we were complete.

We kept laughing at how long it had taken us to schedule for this get-together, and all of a sudden, without any planning, we were able to have this fellowship.

It was great to be with all of them again. Even though we had our own lives, it was as if nothing had changed. Our friendship was still there and the bond of sisterhood was still strong. I will always be proud of Leih, Mitch, Ces, Joanne, Carol and Gracie...my SFC babies.