A few months ago, I vowed myself not to eat in gluttony and stayed faithful to my healthy diet. Unfortunately, I cheated myself - well it happens sometimes - as my co-teachers whom I have not met for years invited me to eat in Tong Yang Plus. Though my heart is against with gluttony, but for the sake of our friendship, I accepted the invitation. In fact, it's the second time that they invited me. First,  was in Vikings but I refused because I was pregnant that time with my second baby so I didn't want to overeat. My excuse then was still acceptable but at this time I already trapped in the corner, hehe.

Luisa and I arrived very early at the venue and while waiting for our friends, I leisurely took pictures of the surroundings. This is how the table looks like with a hot pot and grilling set-up. I am aware that "grill your own food" is no longer common to some buffet nowadays, but for a first-timer like me, I was impressed!

Since Chesska was already hungry, we decided not to wait for them and we started to eat.  Chesska is super picky when it comes to foods so I was the one who chose the foods for her. Our table is overloaded with a delicious meal and Chesska's ultimate favorites - cake, candy, and ice cream.




To be honest, I no longer eat pork but I just grilled for the sake of picture-taking, lol. It's actually Luisa's grill of choice.

Different Kind of Juices

Dessert Station

Different Choices of Vegetable Salads

Fruits and Filipino Desserts

Make Your Own Halo-halo

Meat Station for Your Grill

Seafood Station

Soup

Ice-cream

My co-teachers

My experience with Tong Yang Plus was superb. As much as I don't want to overeat, the array of foods being served are irresistible. As a matter of fact, I already unzipped my pants as my tummy wanted to pop out. I will surely come back because I have not tasted everything. A rate of 488 pesos is worth to try.

With Friends

Outside the Tong Yang Plus

via: https://www.tongyangplus.com/davao

TONG YANG PLUS, SM CITY DAVAO ECOLAND

I will be forever grateful if you subscribe to our YouTube Channel here. Your single click means a lot to me.

We frequently spent out-of-town trips this month to beat the summer heat. Nobody wants hot days but everybody loves summer vacation (raise your hand if you agree, hehe).  Speaking of summer vacation, we take advantage the season by going to cold places and taking some days off from our hectic work.  In fact, over a month ago, we went to Bukidnon where my older brother resides to spend there our Holy Week Vacation (sorry I failed to blog it but I wrote about Dahilayan Adventure about 4 years ago).

In addition to our summer escapades, over the weekend, we explored Loleng's Mountain Resort to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We almost round all the resorts here in Davao so this is what is left in our vacation bucket list. The resort is 20 minutes away from where we live and easily accessible to those who have private cars. Here are our pictures.

Outfit of the Day

I was looking forward to many adventures at Lolengs but I got disappointed when they stopped the fishing and boating as seen on their Facebook page. Next time, don't rely too much on social media posts. However, we were so amused feeding and playing with the friendly white doves.

Dove Feeding

Overlooking Davao City

Wearing swimsuit brings out the curves and fats in you. But hey, do I have fats or bones visible?

Ate Chesska bravely swam the 7-ft portion of the pool using her swimming gear.

These are some of the Loleng's resort amenities.

swimming pool

free use of tables and chairs

some of their cottages

cafe

children's playground

chapel

lake

Our brief stay at Lolengs Mountain resort was not as fun as in Eden Garden resort but if you want a get away that is friendly to the pocket and at the same time relax your senses, I would highly recommend Loleng Mountain Resort.

Entrance fee: 100 pesos
Swimming pool fee: 100 pesos

It's been more than a week since Chesska's Moving Up Ceremony. My girl is so happy when she learned that the school is finally over as she often complains that she's tired na daw. If she just only knew, that's not yet the end but it's the starting point of her school life.

Even though she shows small interest towards school, I am still amazed that she manages to be part of the honor students. What we only expect from her from the start is she'll just finish the entire school year, that's it!  But she gave more than what we expected.

St. Rafael Class with the School Administrators

She received two awards - 3rd Honors and Most Diligent. Last year, she got Most Behave award but not this year anymore. She wasn't able to break her papa's record who had been most behaved since grade 1 to grade 6. Probably, she inherited two traits from us - most behave from her papa and most diligent from me (hehe).

Summer Vacation

Since our new car arrives, our feet have always been itchy which take us here, there and everywhere. So over the weekend, we invaded the northern part of Davao.  In fact, that was a sudden decision as we're supposed to reserve our strength (to be honest budget, hehe) for our next vacation to Bukidnon this Holy Week. But since Randy, my husband's cousin mentioned about his sibling's birthday in New Bohol, we decided to go there as we've never been to this place before.

We departed from the house very late in the afternoon. It took us one-hour drive to reach Tagum and we stopped by at their city hall to take pictures. As you can see, the heat of the sun was scorching. I can feel the heat of summer, by the way.




Finally, we arrived at the New Bohol by 3:30 which is very late,  and one of the popular resorts to enjoy into whenever you get to this place is the Matin-ao Inland Resort. I have been reading good reviews about this place but we didn't bathe because it wasn't included in our plan.

Then, we arrived at Rodel's house. The smell and ambience of a province reminds me of my childhood years where life is simple. When the rice is not available, you'll just eat what is being harvested from the farm - banana, vegetables from the garden, and coconut juice.
I enjoyed a lot our escapade, though it happened instantly, the joy and experience it brought us cannot be exchanged with any penny. A memory that lasts a lifetime!

I haven't discovered these healthy products until I careered being healthy, which officially started just last year.  In fact, I have been juicing for four months now and it feels awesome to have supplied my body with the proper nutrients it needs. Aside from my juicing recipes taken every morning, I have additional supplements too to get me more healthy and energized. I thought these products are hard to find because I cannot locate them locally.  Until a friend of mine told me that there is a store selling imported healthy products, named Healthy Options,  located at SM.

I wasn't aware that the table salt we used to use is refined and processed which isn't good for our body. While the sea salt (picture below) is purely taken from the ocean and it's rich in trace minerals which are essential for our health.

Price: P171.00

Never had I heard about flax seeds and lentils before but during our 14th-Day Lifestyle Medicine Seminar, they are a good substitute for protein. Since I no longer eat pork, chicken, and beef, I already included them in my diet.

Price: 214

Price: 270

Lastly is the Aloe Vera juice. Based on my research online, aloe vera juice is a good remedy for acid reflux. I usually dilute it with juices and drink every morning.

Price: 570

I must admit that to be healthy is a little expensive. But if there's only one option left in my life, and that is to be healthy, then I would embrace it. Ultimately, I will be the one who can benefit from it.

We know Chesska really loves swimming but we tried to give her some options including Mc Donald's party for her 6th birthday but she insisted to have it on the pool or beach. So our newly-turned-six girl celebrated her birthday at Eagle Ridge Resort, Ulas, just a few minutes drive from where we live. Her wish was granted and here we are!
As you see, we were the only ones who bathe on the resort at that time. It looks like we had an exclusive birthday party. The area is small, just perfectly right for kids.

Chesska was having fun bathing in the pool alone. The pool is safe because it is just only around 3 feet deep.

The resort's hotel just beside the kid's pool.

Happy New Year! This post has been sitting on my draft for a month now. That's how busy I am.  I have many things in mind to tell, but I don't really have time to tell it. Well, as my first post for this year, I would like to share with you my goals for 2018. What's yours? Here's mine.

1. Cultivate a much deeper relationship with God.

Action: Continue our Bible-study which takes place every week with our new friends whom I knew from a close neighbor of mine. They are Seventh-Day Adventists though, whereas my family is Catholic but the bottom line is we are worshipping one God. It's not about the religion, it's about Him after all.

2. Create more happy memories for my family.

3. Pay close attention to my kids.

4. Date my husband once a week.

5. Love my job even more.

Action: I am so lucky to have found a decent job online with a kind-hearted employer. I promise myself to be more loyal, hard-working and dependable as my act of gratitude to her.

6. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.

7. Save more to buy a brand new car.

8. Have a closer relationship with friends.

9. Always practice gratitude.

10. Always ready to lend my hand to those who are in need.