Mahjong

It’s called by many names; Ma Jong, Mah Jong, Majiang or simply Mahjong, it is one of the many games we have adapted from the Chinese. I never really understood how a bunch of tiles with weird markings could be understood, much less played. Thanks to an extended weekend, it was only yesterday did I finally learn how to play the game.

Book releases

Soo many books out I haven't had time to follow up on them. I've never thought I would be that busy!
Well, to help me remind myself about the releases, I decided to post them here and maybe create a calendar so I can keep up with it. Although, it's quite useless when your bookstore isn't always updated. Here's a list of a few of my favorite authors and their release dates this 2010.

New releases:
April 27, 2010
Into the Dark (all of the ebooks combined + bonus Lord material) by Gena Showalter
Kiss of Death (Morganville Vampires, Book 8) by Rachel Caine
Lover Mine (John Matthew's Story) by J.R. Ward
Burned (House of Night Series) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Flowers

I was at Dangwa the other day to get suppliers for my flowers. I heard they give great prices for the flower arrangements and I seriously need affordable flowers. I’m trying to keep within the wedding budget, but man, is it hard! To start with, you need to have about 100k to pull off a DECENT wedding party with no more than 50 guests. No wonder my h2b keeps hinting on getting a civil ceremony. But, what I learned is that, you can actually pull off a great wedding with limited funds! You just have to do your research and you must be open to everything. You have to figure out what your priorities are and what’s important to you before you start planning.

 

Here are pics of my bridal bouquet mock up. A dozen purple carnations with hypericum (did i spell that right?) berries, but I think I want baby's breath instead and probably white ribbons. The actual bouquet will be two dozen.

summer swimming

It’s great to get out of the city once in a while. This past Holy Week we were able to visit our home town in Zambales. Initially, I was reluctant to go because I didn’t want to leave my dogs in a kennel for even a couple of days. So, we decided to bring them along. All of them. All 8 of them! Well, they’re not all my dogs, only 4. The other 4 were my sister’s. So we had 2 mini pins, 5 shih tzus and 1 lab puppy. They were all so well behaved during the travel that I kept giving them extra treats! We were able to go swimming during the trip too.

Food tasting

We went back to Tagaytay for the food tasting at the Steakhouse. On the way there we had to swing by Brother’s Burger at Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, because I was sooo hungry! Eat a burger before a food tasting? I know! What was I thinking? Anyhoo, when we got to the Steakhouse, Sieg and I were not disappointed with the food. The salad, Sliced Lyoner Sausages with Pickles, was great! It had olives (which is always a big plus for me). The soup, Cream of Potato and Leeks, was creamy, yet light. They even gave us extra croutons, how nice. The entrée they served was Roast Caraway Pork on Braised Cabbage; at first I thought the meat would be tough and rubbery, on the contrary, it was nice and tender and very flavorful! Almost as tender as the Lengua Estofado which they also served. Sieg, with his love of Chinese food, had to have the Stir-Fried Oriental Noodles with Chicken and Veggies. Of course, we can’t have a food tasting without the dessert! I had to have them change the Mocha Rolls for the Chocolate Éclairs. All in all, it was a very successful food tasting. I also got to meet the AE who helped me (and still helping me) with all of the planning. She was really easy to talk to and very accommodating. One of the best things at Tagaytay Highlands is that they give A+ service.

Sliced Lyoner Sausages with Pickles, Cream of Potato and Leeks, Roast Caraway Pork on Braised Cabbage, Stir-Fried Oriental Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables.