Christmas 2007 @ D'Legazpi's

Greetings 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE...

new year's shindig???

well just got word that my good friend Rohani will be celebrating the New Year's with us. we are supposed to head over to san francisco to meet my sister, brother in law and the rest of my relatives from south carolina but we are not sure if we will be able to do that because of Al's work schedule...what a bummer! so i have to make sure i plan something for new year's here in vancouver for back-up. for the last 2 years we have been hosting new year's at our place and this year we have decided to go all out to party and drink...and since my good friend will be in town it was just perfect timing...don't know how its like here in new year's cause it will be my first time so, i am now stuck for a venue to go to...any suggestions???...but i can tell you that Toronto and New York City is the place to be for the New Year's celebration...maybe next year!

UPDATE

well its been a while since my last update and not much has happened. let's see....we put up our 4" white christmas tree with all the trimmings and the lights on our house...as well as the garlands which is everywhere.

went to maggie's baby shower a while back which was alot of fun.

celebrated John Siligan's b-day at their house last weekend as well as my work christmas party.

had a snow storm last weekend for 2 days with snow up to my knees and not being able to leave my house but amazingly it all disappeared the 3rd day...crazy or what!

christmas for 2007:
this christmas year i have participated in helping with the christmas bureau toy drive with one of our property management company's i work with. i wanted to make a difference this year and every year to help with the kids out there that are less fortunate to have what all kids have these days. i sent out an email to the local friends asking if they had any old or new toys to donate. i received a couple of responses from some mommies and will be going to pick them up by the end of this week.

and for our little friends this year, we have decided to not give them gifts this year but to treat them to an afternoon at chuck e cheese with all the trimmings. we never get a chance to see them all together and catch up with the parents so we wanted to make this as the Almero's Christmas tradition every year but of course we will change the venue as they get older. you know what they say 'its the thought that matters' and this is our thought for the year and every year to come.

1 year

today is our 1 year anniversary and could you believe we actually made it this far...hahaha! we decided to have lunch instead of dinner. it seemed a long ways to wait and celebrate if we waited till 6:00 pm to eat. and also because of the semi-finals Lions football game (which they LOST), giants game and the Canucks hockey game (which they WON!), there is no way i would drive down in that ridiculous gridlock, so we went to our next best place in BC, White Rock and had lunch at the Boathouse.


Recap: one year ago during the week of our wedding, it was raining, experienced a power outage and the day of our wedding, we had sunshine and warm weather. talk about deja vu...we had the exact same experience this year. rain all week with 1 days of no power and today...sunshine!


we are totally blessed to have one another. we hope to have many more days like this in the years to come. thanks to all that have given their wishes to us! God Bless the Almeros!

NO power

its monday morning and also a day off from work due to remembrance day on sunday. woke up around 8am and looked out the window watching the trees swaying back and forth...the wind was so strong the power went down on us...

this reminds us of our wedding week 1 year ago when we experienced heavy winds, rain and it was very cold. visitors arriving the day of the power outage and the next day...during this time before our wedding we had NO power for 2 days.

today, we had no power for a good 24 hours. what a day to 'remember'...

sexy lady RIZA

today we celebrated Riza's birthday...dinner @ Saltlik Steakhouse...drinks @ Kobe Japanese Steak House...and we headed to Plush NightClub then AuBar for some dancing. Since this was Halloween weekend, we got to see plenty of great costumes out there...FUN filled weekend with GUUUUD friends!

Happy Birthday Riza...Love you lots gurlfriend!

homemade 'subway' sandwich

marcus anthony

happy 6th b-day marcus...love ninong and auntie

SISTA

today is my sista's birthday...she is ___ years old! i just found out she took today off...good for her! its about time she pamper herself on this special day. As always, i'm not there to celebrate with my loved ones...i hope you have a fantastic day, evening, week & weekend...we love you!

basement

BEFORE

AFTER

painting away

so i mentioned before that the hubby started a new project and that was my den. well, almost done. waiting on my desk and it will be complete. before and after shots will be posted. NOW, we have started the painting in the great room which is the remaining main floor of our house. the colours we have chosen, makes it look much cozier and warmer. and it looks fantastic. i'll be busy this weekend to do the last touch ups but once complete, i will post pictures up or better yet, just come on over and see for yourself. click here to check out our before and after shots for the basement reno.

the wedding of 2006

our godchildren

jerome, jj, marcus, ashley, gabriel, alessia, jonathon, erica & hazel

Be my HOST

For those of you who would love to earn some FREE products this is the thing for you.
I'm a Pampered Chef kitchen consultant who's looking for people to be hosts for me.
We have some AMAZING host specials for November and December and I'd love to come to your place and show you just how wonderful these products are.
As a host you earn your FREE products as well as half priced items and discounted items based on your guest sales. The more they buy, the more you get, it's that simple!!!
All you have to do is provided the ingredients for the recipe we decide on and I do the rest. It's ALWAYS a great time!!!! So if you're interested drop me a line and I'll get a package out to you the next day!
Thanks everyone...and remember Christmas is just around the corner!!!

In the meantime, please feel free to browse through the website..you'll find great kitchen gadgets at a reasonable price...
www.pamperedchef.com

My MOM

Today is my MOMMY's birthday!!! At times like this I really wished I could be there to celebrate with her. I woke up early to call her and instead she beat me to it and called me first...She had told me she had a dream about me so she needed to call me to see if I was okay. We chit chatted for a while. She filled me in with the weekend events that she did and we said our good-byes...the minute I got off the phone with her, I had a teary eye. I just sat there thinking of all the great things we did with eachother and all that great memories we had.

At times like this, I wished I could be there in person to just give her a BIG hug and kiss.

Happy Birthday MOM.....next year will be a celebration you'll never forget! BTW, my mom is turning 60 next year...my brother, sister, myself and our significant others are planning something BIG for her.

Thanksgiving Long Weekend

another year and yet another weekend of just eating...first of all, friday was my cuzin's b-day, michaelangelo sumaling. so to start off his celebration we heading to a restaurant called azia restaurant. delicious food! afterwards, we walked over to the club district and started off the night at republik. the men had all pitched in to buy 2 bottles of alcohol, grey goose and crown royal both costing $700.00 for both...that's crazy shiet! the party was not over yet cause we then left the club and walked over to another club, au bar. as i watched everyone drink and slur, i had made a decision to stop drinking just in case i needed to drive the party van home. oh yeah, the party van is Liz and Michael's white van. we fit 8 people in that van. crazy huh! well, i was right, i drove the van home cause everyone had too much to drink. Happy B-day Michael! click here to view more pics.

Saturday evening, we headed over to the Copon's to have their thanksgiving dinner. Sunday we hosted our thanksgiving dinner at our place with family and friends.

Monday we celebrated Al's godson's,
Jerome, b-day lunch at Mickey Dee's.
Thanksgiving dinner at Al's family,
the Tocol's and then
headed over to the Sumaling's
for yet another dinner.

Over all, the weekend
was very eventful and
I'm turkied out!

michael's 34th

here he goes again...

so, Al decided to work on yet another project in our house and that's the den. he's picked out the wall paint colour, figured out a desk design, bought the legs for my desk, inquired about french doors and i'm ready to go shopping for my NEW MAC computer. this room is going to be my office space. my one and only private sanctuary that my husband is building and designing for me!

who does that

Last night Mel Los came by to drop off her famous cupcakes...let me tell you that these cupcakes are 2 die 4...they are just the PERFECT after dinner desserts. Al and I devoured them but I made sure I saved one for today...

Woke up this morning and grabbed my lunch plus my 1 cupcake and left for work. (I packed up a chicken salad sandwich and italian meatball soup the night before)

Its lunch time and am so hungrey that i can't wait to bite into my sandwich but instead to open my lunch bag and it was not there. I kept looking and thought that maybe I forgot it in the fridge at home or something. So i immediately called Al at home and asked him if there was sandwich in the fridge or if he had touched my lunch. He denied it. I kept bugging him until i heard him giggle...who the hell does that...take someones lunch from there lunch bag and not even tell you.

OCTOBER b-days!

Want to give a shout OUT to ALL the peeps born on this month!

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Walter Balagtas 2
Maria Ines 4
Lisa Legazpi 4
Cuzin Michaelangelo Sumaling 5
MOM 8
Gene Ward 13
Sista Melanie Umali 16
Marcus Sumaling 16
Cuzin Lissette Landingin 18
Riza San Juan Mateo 21
JoAnn Bautista 23
Mandy Min 24
Brent Bauchop 25
Heather Rongae 27
Rosario Tindog 27
Cuzin Ann Orara 30

baby TOCOL

CONGRATULATIONS to
Em & Leanne on their new baby boy
Makail Anthony Tocol
weighing at 7lbs 6oz
born September 28, 2007
at 5:59AM

Wishing the family all our love!

tait wedding affair

JR

Introducing....
the new addition to our family
Jeremy Ryan Marquez
born on September 22nd @ 5:02am weighing 7.5lbs

Congrats goes out to my brother, Floree, Jonathan, Hazel and my little man Hayden.

click here to view more pics.

The TAIT'S

Congratulations to the
new

MR. & MRS. JOHN TAIT

Wishing you both love & happiness!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PICS.

jr marquez

i miss...

HOME....almost 6 years living in BC and to tell you the truth, im missing home...it took alot of will power to move here but i did it and now its really hitting me hard that i really want to go back...my family and friends are my LIFE...i know i built a life here in BC but its not the same...the only good thing about moving here is of course...my hubby, Al...but growing up for over 25 years in Toronto is a long time with plenty of great memories and great friends. what to do...(snif, snif)

CHEF ala Hannah

yes, i am officially a consultant for the 'Pampered Chef'...stay tuned for my first show which will take place at the comforts of our home...LADIES, are you trying to juggle the duties of cleaning, taking care of your kids, working and than to think what to COOK? well, then this show is for you...i will show you how to limit your time in the kitchen and yet serve your family a delicious meal! More details to follow!

garage sale

its been almost 1 year and i'm still finding stuff in our house that needs to go. I have gathered a couple of boxes a year ago and sent them to salvation army but somehow more things seem to come up. we have been living in our house for almost 2 years and i have not completely emptied all the boxes. so hear i am sorting the things that stay and should go. when i went through my clothes, i would try them on to see if they fit me and i think i was a size zero 6 years ago. wow, to think i was that skinny. eeewwww....talk about anorexia! Next week i will be combining my stuff to have a garage sale with Liz at her house to sell all of our stuff. so come by, check it out...on Saturday September 22nd...at Liz's crib!

The Samson's

a big CONGRATULATIONS to the new

MR. & MRS. EJ SAMSON

wishing you both and Annika all the happiness in the world...

the wedding was beautiful..both the ceremony and reception took place at Redwoods Golf Course (Langley)...the weather really cooperated during the ceremony part of it but then it started to drizzle during the reception but it didn't stop us cause the reception was covered by a tent with heat lamps to keep us cozy...the bride looked stunning and of course the groom looked handsome...they had a belly dancer and hawaiian dancer for entertainment...and to top it off they had activities for the kids...that was an awesome idea...a wonderful outdoor wedding!

Partee 4 Lizzzzzz

today was the celebration for Liz and to start off the occasion we headed for dinner at Shiru-Bay Chopstick Cafe in Yaletown...the food was delicious! Afterwards, we walked over to BarNone for some guuuuud times...the night came and gone and we headed over to Repulik for some more dranking...this time the ladies had it VIP style by riding in a white limo...we arrived in Republik and of course the birthday girl was drinking away and let me tell you, this girl can drink so please don't try to out do her cause you will lose! For the most of us, we were enjoying the sounds of some OLD SKOOL jams from the 80's...bringing back the memoirs of our younger good old years....

Happy Birthday cousin Liz and many more guuuud times to come!

liz' 35th

SunPeaks BBQ - Part II

so we decided to host a PART II bbq at our home today and the theme was GREEK.

MENU
Greek rice
Greek Salad
Greek kabobs (chicken and pork)
Calamari
Tzatziki sauce
Pita breads
Bbq ribs (non greek dish)

the crew came by (jason, jay, alona, darren, gene, ton, tim, brian, al, myself and our out of town guests from California caroline and fiance joe). dinner was to be served at 6:00pm but was delayed till 8:00pm. we enjoyed glasses of red wine, finished a bottle of crown royal together. the gents played some poker in the basement while the ladies chit chatted upstairs as well as watched the new episode of "real world"...there were plenty of drinks for all of us to enjoy and tons of food to eat. another evening of guuuuud times with close family and friends...until next time...PART III to come in a couple of weeks so stayed tuned!

our fellow sumalings were not there to enjoy this festivity with us due to there camping adventure in Alice Lake but wishing Liz a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Weekend @ SUNPEAKS

off we drove to a 3-4 hour drive to Kamloops. about 15 of us went for the weekend which started off from friday - sunday and some stayed till monday...a funfilled weekend! the drive was just nerve wrecking. the roads were never ending. we finally arrived friday evening at our destination, SNOW CREEK VILLAGE and decided to have a drink, hit the hot tub and do some bbq. the drive and hot tub took all our energy to do anything else so we had an early night (12 midnight)...saturday, the rest of the gang arrived and we began our fiesta with drinking and eating (basically that is all we did while we were there). i decided to hit the spa but unfortunately, they were booked for the day so i just kept on drinking. Al of course, went golfing with jason. so i hung out in the village and took pictures of the porshe show they were having. again, after everyone was done with what they were doing, we ate and drank again...did some karaoke and Al was the star for the night (video to still come). sunday came along and off we left to arrive home in good time. the weekend was a huge success with plenty of laughs, good company and guuuud times!

h & m

finally, h & m is opening in BC...grand opening is this coming thursday soooo, i am thinking of working off site so that i can pass by and check out the products...maybe even look for a dress for a wedding i am attending this weekend...i can't wait!

celebration time

today is ming's b-day...dinner and drinks in Granville Room and then continued over to Au Bar...during the night, ming got kicked out cause she had too many to drink..poor ming...
ALSO, they had a special announcement during dinner...their ENGAGED!

CONGRATULATIONS to Edward and Ming on their engagement!

its getting crowded

its been almost 2 years since we have been living in our house and our surroundings has truly changed. when we first moved in, there was this house in front of our house with a huge lot...well, that house is GONE along with the trees around it. From the start of the plaza to our house they have torn down the trees and are getting ready for more construction of houses exactly like ours...we can see Fraser Hwy from our house. construction is going crazy in our area and its getting crowded...when are they gonna stop? we are hoping they open a park right in front of our house..that way when you all visit, there would be something the kids could do...(crossing my fingers)

backyard reno

so we have finally agreed to finish off the backyard, cause when next summer comes around, i want to enjoy the comforts of the finished yard...

first, our one side of the yard where the tree sits is complete...we leveled 2 layers apart and added rocks instead of grass and some tiny plants. we wanted that area to be as low maintenance as possible.

then on the concrete area, we removed the existing rocks by the fence area and placed 24 x 24 concrete slabs to be joined with the existing concrete area. it made the space larger where we placed a patio table and chairs.

now, we have taken the other side of our grassy area and leveled it with the existing concrete area. no more slope. it enables us to place the bbq grill on the other side of the fence and will add more seating for those unexpected guests we have all the time.

and lastly, we added the mood landscaping lights for some added romantic touch. dinner for 2 anyone?

our backyard is now the place we both hangout at...drink some wine and nibble on some cheese.

PGA

our 3rd day back and OFF Al goes to play golf in Bellingham...and the next day to North Vancouver where he won his first PGA Championship...Congrats Al! I am starting my golf training soon and hopefully I could form a team together so we can challenge these guys...anyone interested?

Toronto - Day 9 & 10

today is Caribana Day and we headed off to the parade...over 1 million attended this event and it was humid hot outside...there was plenty of dancing, whining and also came across a dumped ice cream truck...afterwards we went to Harbourfront area and ate some original oxtail with rice and peas and curry chicken roti...hmmm delicious!

In the evening, we headed off to Richtree and had dinner with my familia...we said our good-byes to my brother and the family (snif snif).

after all that eating, my friend and i started to get ready for the after party at Atlantis Night Club..where was Al you ask? Well, with the heat, lack of sleep and maybe all the drinkin', he got sick..yup, he had chills so we recommended him to stay home and go to bed early for our departure the next day...so off i go to the night club. it was a great night...good friends, good company...good to see everyone again!

Our last day in Toronto and was the sadest for me...so short of a stay but plenty of memories to cherish...we went for brunch with my sister and brother in-law to Hot House Cafe they have figured to eat as much as we can so that we don't spend money on buying food on the plane...but in the end, Al bought a sandwich...we are finally home and already planning our next trip back...i am hoping sooooon!