Our Disney on Ice Experience

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One of the highlights of our 2012 will have to be the Disney on Ice: Princesses and Heroes show that we watched on 26 December at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Apart from being such a lovely experience, it was also momentous as it was the first time that the little man get to watch a show like this and his first time inside the Araneta, too. I’ve been there numerous times in the past as I’ve watched a couple of my favorite bands concerts.

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For a first timer, I’d say my little man aced it! He was all eyes on the characters dancing on ice and would do as the rest of the audience do when it is time to give a round of applause for one enthralling performance. And what he actually enjoyed the best will have to be the time Mickey and Minnie went out to the stage to introduce the princesses and their princes. The endearing mouse is, after all, one of Jared’s all-time favorite characters and if only for that, I would say the money spent on buying tickets for this show is money well-spent.

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I am fully aware that Disney on Ice runs every Christmas at the Big Dome and it was actually rather untimely that we get to watch the show now that it is  featuring the princesses {I believe that little girls would’ve enjoyed this one better}. But, nevertheless, the little man still had a wonderful time watching the characters that mum grew up with and used to watch as a little girl, even when his own favorite characters were nowhere to be found. He was particularly enamored with the seven dwarfs and would blurt into “hi, ho, hi, ho, it’s off to work we go..” even now.

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It was such a great show and we simply love the choreography, the colorful costumes {imagine Ursula from The Little Mermaid and Genie from Aladdin coming to life}. They even had a little fireworks display towards the end of the show and I find the grand finale quite magical, with that golden chariot to boot! Oh well, I bet you can tell that I enjoyed it much more than my little one!

I will make sure that we watch this show again next Christmas and I will cross my fingers that Lightning McQueen, Buzz Lightyear and Agent Oso will be present this time around! 🙂

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Hearts + One Lazy Saturday Afternoon

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the little man’s heart

It was one of those lazy Saturday when we have nothing planned for the day. I gave up on updating my blogs, too, as creative juices are simply not flowing this morning. When the little man woke up, I joined him in bed and we played and fooled around for a bit. A stroke of inspiration came to me and I started teaching the little man to make a heart from his hands. I showed him how to do it by making my own heart. Jared was too keen to learn how it was done and was forming this odd-shaped heart with his little digits. Check out the cute heart he can muster with his chubby little fingers! He was just 3, after all, and you cannot expect much. But I loved his openness to learn and how he intently followed my “fold-kiss-tail” instruction to create his heart. Hopefully studying and learning with my little tyke will be as easy and fun like this! 🙂

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mum’s heart

Anyway, after he allowed me to take some snaps, he was back to elbowing me out of the throne {the chair in front of the PC, that is!} so he can watch his fave videos on YouTube, and since we have nothing else to do, I let him watch a little while longer whilst I hit the bed with this new ARC of Untimed I recently received. It was way past lunch time before we decided to go downstairs and have a late lunch! Time does fly when one’s having fun!

How’s your first 2013 weekend turning?

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A Well-Deserved Break

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I have been meaning to get some pampering done and today, even when it is just the second day of the new year, seems like the perfect time to do just that. Why, you’d ask? Because my sister, Cel, is still off from work and she can look after the little man whilst this mum gets a well-deserved break! 😀

It was also serendipitous that I was able to purchase this voucher to Ahavia Spa {I got a 70% discount on  a P2296-regular rate massage for 2 people} a few days before 2012 ends and managed to reserved for today’s 2pm session. So after an unceremonious goodbye to the little man, who was rather occupied with his toys to fuss about mum’s departure, anyway, I was headed to Manila to meet-up with Jared’s dad who was to accompany me for this venture.

Ahavia Spa was located in Greenhills and it was a good thing Jared’s dad was rather familiar with the place and we did not have a hard time looking for it. It was located in a rather laid-back section of the city and I simply love the spa’s facade. After waiting for a few minutes, and choosing a sea shell massage with a western blend for her and a volcanic stone massage with oriental ritual for him, we were ushered onto a VIP room where we will get our 2-hour massage. Yeah, we will be kneaded like breads for two hours so I was anxious and excited with anticipation at the same time, as I’ve never really experienced getting a 2-hour massage before. I would’ve loved to have my nails done, too, unfortunately the nail technician is not available.

I love the quite and relaxing ambiance of their VIP rooms. I also love the wall design and now that I think about it, I should’ve taken photos of it.  I also surveyed the bathroom and I love its simple yet elegant design and the bathroom vanity is even equipped with cotton buds, can you believe that?

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The lady attendants were both accommodating and were really dedicated in their crafts, they were even mindful to ask every too often if the massage is just fine or if we’d prefer it harder. It was the first time I tried sea shell for a massage and I rather enjoyed it, it was quite fun guessing whether the spa attendant was using her palms or the sea shells! I particularly loved what she did on my neck, back and shoulders. All the knots on my shoulders are gone and my neck and back felt so relax. I also love the stretching part of my massage. It immediately made me miss my time on the mat.

You’d think two hours will be such a drag, but since I was groggy and very much relaxed, I was even surprised when my attendant told me that we’re done! It was one of the most delightful experience and I would love to do it again! The ladies even remind us not to take a bath after the massage and brought us hot towels, together with two cups of hot tea!

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