Hello, my dearest Xanga friends, I'm back! Back after a month of being absent from Xanga world. I miss reading you guys! How was everyone?

   A lot of things happened to me during our trip to Manila, Philippines. My daughter Rachel (the younger twin) got sick of pneumonia  on the 3rd day of our stay, and was confined for 8 days. During that time, everybody was scared of the H1N1 epidemic, and since my daughter developed continuous high grade fever, cough and cold,  the doctors in the hospital were highly suspecting her to have swine flu aside from the usual pneumonia. Luckily, her test turned out to be negative for H1N1 which was a great relief to the family. Otherwise, all of us will have to be quarantined!

  Then, Nicole, the other twin got sick too, having fever & cough just like her sister. I myself had sorethroat and whole body ache after taking care of my daughter in the hospital for straight 8 days & 7 nights! My mom got sick too & so with the rest of the family members! Gee, that was the very first time it happened to us! I wonder which TOUGH BUG was it which knocked all of us out?

  Because of the long duration of people in the family getting sick one after the other, I didn't get in touch with my friends back home as I planned. I was so physically drained!! We were not able to visit scenic spots such as Palawan, Boracay or Cebu as initially planned. My, oh my!!! Maybe I just don't have the luck to enjoy these white sand beaches yet?

    Good thing that the TOUGH BUG left us finally! Then it rained. It rained HARD almost everyday during the first week of June. Imagine how disappointing it was to face rainy day everyday while you're ON VACATION!

    Here's a glimpse of what we have been doing during the rest of our stay in Manila which include malling, dining , swimming or simply hanging around my mom's house enjoying the rare laid back life.

Hanging around at The Fort with my sister Eleanor, and nephew, Daniel

Nephews Johann, Daniel, Jasper & the twins (Rachel & Nicole)

Stopped by Haagen Dazs for ice cream with the kids

Nicole & Rachel all dressed up to go out

Dinner with mom at Annabel's

My Beef Tenderloin steak

Mom's Parrot Fish

Eleanor about to devour her Lengua Estofada (Ox tongue)

Chilling out at Chili's. Haahaa, what voracious appetite!!

My favorite appetizer, Baked Mussels

More to come fellas!

I guess one of the best things in my life aside from having a loving family is having a bunch of wonderful friends. I always welcome new friends, but I surely keep and treasure the old ones. These are the people who not only add color to my life but also gave me shoulder to cry on during the gloomy, darkest days of my life.

Last Sunday, (Mother's Day), my good old friends (from my  St.Martin Hospital days) came all the way from Taichung ( central Taiwan) another from Tainan (southern Taiwan) to visit me at my place. They came in with a bouquet of carnation (since its Mother's Day and I'm the only "mom"  in the group) and a box of  pine nut cookies. We had afternoon tea at my place and updated each other about our past & current happenings. Then we had dinner together outside where the chats and laughter continued...

 Suju, Apple & Moi

Jen Shen, Moi & Warren (my best male buddies)

To have joy, one must share it. (Lord Byron)

Hubby (Steven), & the twins (Rachel & Nicole).

Wherever you are it is your friends who make your world. (William James)

A hug is the shortest distance between friends.