The last month of 2009 was a whirlwind of events filled with happy memories. Being back in Manila meant having more time to spend with family and friends, and that’s exactly what I did. From reunions, dinners, parties to simple meals at home.
I tend to take less photos when I’m having too much fun, but here’s a few that I did manage to take from different events:
Impromptu night out with friends, followed by an intimate pre-Christmas dinner two weeks after. :)
Eggzmas party the day after JR arrived from Singapore. We missed last year’s party, so we made sure we could make it this year. :) Photo courtesy of Jaypee.
Mass, dinner, gift-giving and our yearly family photo on the eve of Christmas. <3
Throughout the ten years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve gathered quite a number of online friends already. Though I’m not as active in the current blogging scene, I still keep in touch with those that I’ve known for quite a while. A handful of them have actually turned into real life friends of mine. One of them is Rachel, or Nikz as she is popularly known online. :)
She was in the country for a several weeks last month, so we met up for late lunch the day before she left.
Nikz and I at Banana Leaf
We don’t get to talk much nowadays (last time we had a long conversation was when we had coffee during her quick trip back in 2007), so seeing her was a great treat. It’s always nice catching up with her, because we can just quickly pick up from where we left off. (: I’ll see you again SOON, Nikz! Hehe!
In other news, my mom arrived back from Vancouver this morning. Stashed in her luggage was my pack of makeup orders! They’ve been sitting on my bed since early this morning, but I can’t seem to get myself to open them yet. They’re so pretty, I’ve just been staring at them all this time! HAHA! Will post them once I’m done ogling and maybe after I nap. Been up all night, I need to head off to bed and dream of sunsets and Orange beach hotels. XP
As I mentioned in my post about our Caramoan Adventure, we recorded bits and pieces of our escapade on video too. Almost two dozen sets of them were great visuals on their own, but I decided to dissect a few and mashed them into a four-minute music video to the tune of Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” (our official Bicol-Caramoan Getaway song).
It isn’t exactly bluray quality, but I believe it captured well how the island tickled our souls and turned our vacation into one cotton candy of an adventure. ♥♥♥
Our Caramoan Getaway was actually sandwiched between several days in Legazpi City in Albay, Bicol. Another couple of days well-spent with a wonderful group of people!
Thanks to Shella’s warm, generous and extremely hospitable family, our group was well taken care of during our entire stay. We were driven around the city, fed to the brim and were given the luxury of comfortably staying in their beach house too. Such a lovely family! :)
Legazpi welcomed us with great weather, awesome food and this breathtaking view on the plane:
The beautiful Mayon volcano as seen on the plane, a few minutes before we landed.
It was raining in Manila when we left, so we were all praying for sunny weather in Legazpi. See how strong our combined prayers were? :)
Anna. 26. 
