My husband and I decided to have very simple Christmas dishes. Since, there's only just the two of us, we prepared something that's just enough for two people. We had hot and spicy fried chicken, pan grilled Norwegian Salmon and pasta spaghetti with an additional white sauce on top. We then bought our all time favorite leche flan from Goldilocks. For a price of P140, once can already enjoy it's creamy and milky taste!

For our drinks, we just had a soda (Coke). Wine will be part of our meal this coming New Year.

And to make our table set-up more creative, I made a Santa-like suit casing for our spoon and fork. Thanks to my ever supportive husband for taking the pictures.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Last December 7, 2013 was one of the best days I have this year. A friend of mine invited me to attend to an event for kids organized by her other friend. These kids are not homeless but some of them were unfortunate enough not to go to school. The party is for them to have fun.

Since it's Christmas season, we decided to prepare gifts. We were told that the activity will be at St. John Monastery. The place was a bit isolated from the city but it's really worth it. Many volunteers came too.  It was so much fun to be with kids. We had a prayer session, story-telling time and games. They then enjoyed a delicious meal prepared for them by the monks and nuns from the monastery: burger, juice, banana, hotdog with mallow, banana and cupcake.

When they finally receive their gifts, they were so happy! Those smiles are just rewarding. God bless these kids. I am so glad to be a part of this.

* THE RUINS, the Taj Mahal of Negros
   One of Negros Occidental's historical landmarks

   Talisay City, Philippines

I've always wondered why so many people raved about The Ruins. Now, I understand. Not only that it has interesting history but the mansion is just a magnificent sight to see! You can't help but just admire the beauty of the whole place. If you admire stonework, landscaping, gardening and historical places, then this is going to be the right place.  Obviously, we took pictures as many as we could. ^_^

The Ruins

So what do we expect after a 30 minute ascending and rough ride going to Balanan Lake? 

Well, going to the lake is about 10 kilometers from the Siaton national highway. We had a personal motorcycle ride each from a family friend so we didn't have to worry on how to get there. Going up, I admit, was a bit stressful because of the underdeveloped road but the beautiful scenic view makes you forget all that. From the highway to the  the lake displays a lot of green fields making that strenuous ride worthwhile.

The entrance fee to Lake Balanan is 50 pesos. It's a bit costly I guess, but believe me it's worth it! Their facilities include swimming pools, lodging houses and native designed restaurant. They also have activities in store for the guests.  The banca/boat ride cost 100 pesos per hour, with a seating capacity of 8 persons including the two guides.  The boat will take you to Balanan falls. I think the falls is beautiful in its own way. It's small one but rather captivating. They also have bamboo floating cottage/lake raft but unfortunately, it was on repair that time. Other activities includes zip line, kayaking and just mainly hiking and enjoy the fresh mountain air and beautiful view of the lake.