the taste of ilocos!

ilocos is known for beautiful bridges, beaches, sticky rice cakes, empanada, tobacco and vigan trips but for me ilocos is place where another part of me lives. this is where so many of my childhood memories took place and this is where my father's live. 

its nice to wake up after a long trip here. i get to smell fresh air and i get to see different backyard buddies. and yah you're right i get to eat different kinds of eggs.

roaming around the city business district i just dont see different cultural heritage, new found business or bump along with an old time friends but i got taste a lot of sticky rice cakes.

 walking along the seashore i enjoy the big waves and swim its clean waters.

but above all i love ilocos more because of its people. not ordinary people but those of my bloodline. My ninety year old grandma lives here. She is triple my age but her wisdom is just like mine.

and not only that i get to feel the warm embrace of my father's siblings.

 and play and eat the whole day with my cousins.

Coming here has always been my plan every year but things do change and priorities too and a lot of unfavorable circumstances happens and diverted my plans to fulfill another.  I had always dreamed of eating dinner with grandma and eat mcdonalds everyday. This visit took place in an unexpected date for they too are even much surprised when i came. i just feel like waking up here and hug them tight. 

 but even so i am far away my home i got the chance to greet my friend on her special day.

back in atlanta my grands regularly drink coffee and eat fries and icecream at this neighborhood fastfood and so with my stay everyday my grandma and i visit and eat at mcdonalds. my ninety year old buddy loves staying here. 

its nice that i get to spend quality time with my relatives in this far off place. we visit a lot of spanish remnants and meet with all our relatives.

ilocos is the land of tobacco and lucky enough that this summer i get to enjoy the big leaves. it taste awful but i have to taste it and fold them into cigars of which i brought home.

i get to enjoy a lot of seafoods and had dried a lot of squids too. my uncle cooked a lot of this. i enjoy hanging them off. the smell really stinks but the taste is awesome. it took me two whole days to dry them. the summer heat here goes up to a hundred and fifteen. 

my father never taught me to speak their dialect for no reason but it doesnt matter if i really dont understand the 98% of his language but i fell love and that really matters! 

my eyes resembles them. it glitters on summer sunshine. i get to experience the love aunty lita is giving me. she is old but she is strong.

daddy lino has always been our favorite everytime we visit them. he seldom speaks tagalog and i hardly understand him most of the time but his love for us is great. he is really funny and he cooks really good. mama lita and daddy lino never had a child. 

five years ago i get to meet aunty daliah and she is still the same daliah i know. she never failed to say hello and i love that she is doing ok. her love for our family is as strong as a lion and i am thankful of that. 

the feeling i get is wonderful  and still the same way back when my father is still here and i truly feel his warm embrace. and if ever you read this in heaven papa i really enjoy my five days of stint in your place. your family gives me a happy home. i love the roads, the church, the food, the weather, the sea, the smell, the people and they love and miss me very much. it took me long five years to visit them and i dont know when im coming back so i make the most of it.i really had a great time and i know that you look down on me because i used to look up on you. 

i did visit and pray to the gravesite where lolo doming and tatay fred and all your love ones are. 

i dont know if inang will or still remember me or lao or you or mom but i love her more than i love mcdonalds and ice cream sticks. how i wish youre sitting in this bus with me. it will be a long travel for today im going home to mom and lao. thank you for teaching me how to live well and thank you for making me believe that all things are beautiful and im sticking into that.

going back to manila i meet along together with robinson and aunt natty. we went to church and pray. i headed to the bus station crying with them for i dont know when will we see and hug each other again. 

i so love your family papa and i miss you even more. 

on the days like this forever

i grow up with the love of this people, three and quart of this are my relatives and quart of it are my extended family and often this days i used to eat and drink with them. we fondly call ourselves miguelitas taken from the brand name of a century old alcoholic drink.we seem to like the taste of it but above all we love the happiness and the bonding we have while drinking it. 

to me they are really my brothers and sisters and i think me too and my brother with them.yes we do have our own house and we love being there but since we are only three in our family sometimes we often feel the emptiness and sadness life circumstances gave us and make us through. we love spending our free time in ate iyang's house and nipa hut not that they have free wifi but because we feel the love the family is giving us. the nipa hut has been the witnessed of all the craziness we have. This is where we signed all the agreements we are to take on the next birthday we are to celebrate.

And she blew her sixtieth birthday cake

Lao and i waited for this day, to see mom blow her sixtieth chocolate birthday cake. we dreamed of it, we worked for it and yesterday she did blow her big cake! 

So how are you today? i am totally tired and sleepy. but that doesnt mean i wont tell you what happened last night. Mom was totally cool! and she rock! i love that all of our relatives come over and celebrate with us. i did cry thanking all of them. Yes, i didnt invite the whole wide world we choose to invite only the people who are there for us and who love us unconditionally. 

That's how the place look like yesterday and definitely it's not inside our home. It is where all the tracks and corn are stored and kept. Yes we turn the dryer into a hall and it's pretty cool.

Lao and i always pray to god to give mom more extra life. she is the center of our world and my relatives knows how much we are going to sacrifice for mom. Everyone knows she cant move and walk that fast but that doesnt hinder mom from doing all the things she love and she never fail to give love in return. Im so happy that she is sixty! im so happy she is there for me and lao! im so happy seeing her that happy! im so happy that half of her siblings went home to celebrate with us. 

and so i am writing this entry not only to tell the world that i am happy my mom is sixty but to thank everyone present and those who didnt make it but joyfully cheer and pray for us our sincerest love and respect to all of you.

Thank you tito emil for the gifts and for celebrating with us.

To Kazen Ilokanay Aileen, Dudang and Angielene for making it home to greet and hug mom. I really appreciate kazens all the things you're doing for us in times that i cant make it home.and yes you are all beautiful! i love that you are beautiful!

Thank you to mama ploy, ama pura, mama gilda, love, ate kilo and rap! 

Rap your really look like a girl!

Mom I love how you don't interrupt me when I'm speaking. You give me chance to explain my side and you majestically taught me how to defend my ground. All my life survival skills Im happy and will be forever grateful that I learned them all from you. That picture reminds me that somehow i have to learn to face the crowds. its hard to talk with the microphone but yesterday i made it. it's my first time talking to a large crowd. i did cry in that pix. i told them to continuously pray for our family and i thank them too for loving me, lao and mom. I thank them for coming and giving us time yesterday  and that no apt words can describe how lucky i am to belong in this family. that i will love them until i can. and i hope so that even if papa and tars arent with us anymore that they may remember all the traits they have and continue to love them. I thank them too for taking care of our family when i cant make it on time to be home and i do hope they understand me on the days i cant be with them.  Mom, I love the way you inspired me and lao. You always taught us that if we will not be able to see things clearly then there is something wrong with our eyes and we need to see a doctor.

Thank you sanjie for loving lade! lade loves you too for until now we still call you labs!

kiel lade and daddy loves you very much!

baby boy i so love you baby boy! mom wanna know what happened to that nose of yours!

Jeru lade really like your hair!

aries totoy thank you for coming home and celebrate with us!

joshua thank you for loving lade and you look really handsome watot!

jestoni wow you really that big! lade loves you ton!

renz! you look so handsome last night!

xander you look like lolo awel!

these are the bunch of boys in our mom's life. mom love them very much. they all look really handsome and they grow really fast.they are all our nephews and they live in our neighborhood. everyday after school they all kiss to mom and mom is really happy with that. they all play soccer and mom really loves watching them play.

mama yot, maam nena and tita beth thank you for coming and wishing for mom!

Aunty ploy my tita pretty your love for us is so pure. as mom's sister you never fail to check on us if we are all ok. and thank you that even if youre busy with your schedule in barangay you still manage to celebrate with us. and really i really love the idea of the sixty miguelitos. thank you for taking the lead and i do promise to take the lead to for your fifty-eight miguelitos.

charmelle and angela i love that you always tell story to mom and you love her and take care of her at home. 

Tita Luz and Mama gets! thank you for coming! mom miss you so much and she doesnt know we invited you! 

aunty oling thank you that you made it! mom really loves you!

mommy and ama my two other moms i thank you for coming and for loving us more as your children! ama i love you with all my heart! mommy you are a wonderwoman to me!

kazen and dudang really love that selfie! 

charlotte, baby and sape! thank you that youre here for us!

i so love this miguelits toast!

Wow you are now 60! How was that? You know how much you mean to me and lao….and to all the kazens we have…Having you as our mama is the best thing that ever happen to me and lao.Thank you for bringing me and lao to the world and to experience great love in the world.

Tita myr and tita erly i love you both and thank you for visiting us!

Mom I love that you love all the kazens we have and the little children who called you lade.

i really love the taste of mom's cake yesterday its totally delicious.

Mom told me she wished that we may continue to live as bounty as this forever!

we sing happy birthday with the clap!

Mom you’re 60! And you still look the same. You are still corrugated, you’re not sexy, but I guess 1 million mothers in the world, looks exactly the same as you, bigger like that, but I love it mom, I’ve been used to it. Hahaha!

I love how you managed our life without papa. I love that you push yourself to recover and move forward.

i love that even if mom is sixty her skin still looks like 40! i love it and thanks to dove!

 i was trying to hold my mom here for im afraid she might fall she didnt bring her lucky cane here. im so thankful on that corrugated cane. mom define her gravity while using it. so theres no need to change it and we wont change it no matter what.

i love that ate leyda, iratshing and ate ehrlich come and celebrate with us

 thank you rodney, baby and teacher malou for coming. hey rodney you sung very well :)

 Ows welcome to the SC club mom!

 I love how you love all your 10 siblings and the way you treat your kins. 
I have always love too the way they loved you :)

 Officially enrolled as senior citizen!

 Thank you father choi for coming :) we love you too :)

 Lola eve thank you for coming!

 Tito Awel, Kagad Dan and Lola Eve thank you so much!

 ate ehrlich and gelai thank you :)

 thank you mswd family :)

 thank you to my mpdc family. i forgot to join you guys :)

 My mom's high school classmates and friends so happy for coming!

 Ninang Luz thank you!

 Ate Layda and family thank you!

 dinner time :)

 Lola isang our very last grndmother thank you very much!

 aunty rose and bonn thank you!

 Ate Whisky thanks!

 i so love this pix!

 Ninang Ada is my mom's cousin, officemate and bestfriend.

 kyle i love you very much!

 Thank you ate art and ate jojo!

 Thank you OLPA family!

 Thanks my kolokoys :)

 Thank you mga lola ko :)

Thank you my mpdc fam!

 theyre all grown ups now!

 cake time!

 thank you mama iyan ang ate gilda for  this birthday party!

i love you all!

mommy and daddy thank you so much for coming over we love you very much!

 these are the food that we served at the party lastnight

we love eating :)

thank you guys for being a great help :)

Mom, Lao and I are both happy that you are sixty. Thank you that you still make us believe that santa claus is real. that there is a fairy and they own ten million fireflies.

I love the way you teach me things I need to learn but you never push me to learn Ilocano things like that!May we always live like this mom. Forever. We love you very much. 

Happy Birthday!

Smile you still have teeth!

Mom I love that your sense of humor is great that you understand the credit card bills i have after this birthday! hahaha just kidding! But Let’s enjoy more 20% discounts then :)