Michi Photostory

It is no secret here that I have psoriasis and because of this, I have to take a certain medication to control my flare-up. Unfortunately, the medicine was out of stock since last December so I was already in pain last month. I really need my medicine but it is not available. My doctor doesn’t have stock and we look everywhere.

Naikot na namin ang mga pharmacy sa Alabang, Makati, Bambang, Laguna, Cavite and naghanap na rin sister ko sa Valenzuela pero wala. And dahil sa paghahanap namin, napadpad kami ng Robinson’s Dasma and we found out na may San-Yang doon. We have no plans of buying anything but we checked their store since nandoon na rin kami.






February 2, 2020

As I mentioned, we have no plans of buying but we ended up, buying a shoe cabinet. Lol Actually, I’ve been meaning to replace our shoe cabinet because we need more space pero hindi siya naprapriotize. At last, napalitan na rin ang 9 yrs old shoe cabinet namin. There is an ongoing sale that time so we got a 10% discount and to save money, pinagkasya namin siya sa kotse. Si hubby na lang mag-aasemble pero hindi pala madali mag-assemble, kasi ito lang yung instruction. Toinks! Shoe Cabinet is PHP12,495 less 10%.



After we discovered San Yang, my husband and I were contemplating if we will wait for our contractor or we will just buy ready-made furniture for our home office. We’ve been planning na gawing office room yung extra room namin so my husband contacted this person. After our The Farm at San Benito trip, the contractor/carpenter went to our home, we gave our design for our home office and nagsukat-sukat na rin siya. He asked, kung willing to wait ba kami kasi may ginagawa pa siya so baka by January pa daw niya maumpisahan yung sa amin. So we agreed kahit 2 months ang waiting period.

Fast forward to first week of February, hindi pa rin nauumpisahan yung home office namin and 4 months of waiting is no joke. So we decided to buy ready-made na lang kahit hindi na masunod yung design na gusto namin, ang importante matapos and may magamit na kami. So we checked Mandaue Foam Home Store, Furniture Source Philippines and San Yang website. Mandaue Foam has limited office furniture. I liked the furniture in Furniture Source Philippines since yun din yung gusto ko bilhin sa IKEA but our concern is, baka matagalan na naman sa pagdeliver so we ended up with San Yang.

February 9, 2020 

My husband went back to San Yang to buy our office furniture, this time pinadeliver na namin. PHP800 delivery fee and included na daw ang pag-aassemble. Oh di ba, mas tipid kami kasi sa Furniture Source Philippines, PHP500 per furniture ang assembly fee nila. We bought 2 Computer Tables, 2 Office Chairs, 2 Kitchen Cabinet, and 1 Office Drawer (with 10% discount)

PHP3,450 Computer Table 1
PHP3,550 Computer Table 2
PHP3,550 Office Drawer
PHP8,295 Kitchen Cabinet x 2
PHP2,495 Computer Chair x 2



Instead of bookshelves, we chose the kitchen cabinet para close lahat at hindi kita ang kalat and less alikabok.

February 15, 2020 

San Yang advised us na after lunch daw delivery so hindi kami umalis ng bahay pero dumating sila ng 6:40PM. Imagine gabi na sila dumating and nasayang ang buong araw namin sa kakahintay. But anyway, at least dumating and semi-assembled na rin yung cabinet so tapos na sila ng 7PM.



February 22, 2020 

My husband went back again because my son wanted to have his own computer chair too. Hehehe! He also bought the aluminum rack for the microwave and oven toaster storage.

PHP2,250 Computer Chair without Armrest
PHP2,595 Aluminum Rack

I don’t know kung buong month ba ng February or lagi talaga may 10% discount sa San Yang. May discount ulit itong nabili namin kahit wala naman nakapost na may Sale sila. Anyway, si hubby na ulit nag-assemble, mas okay naman ang instruction nito kaso may kulang na parts. Waah! He called San Yang store and bumalik pa siya para lang makuha yung kulang na parts.

Photo from San Yang website.

Ito ang story kung paano naubos ang pera namin sa San Yang, hehehe! I do hope tumagal ang mga furniture na ito.

Read: Buying Furniture at Mandaue Foam Home Store
Buying Furniture at Furniture Source Philippines 

I’ve been seeing the Hot Air Balloon Festival 2020 on my newsfeed and this reminded me of our first time experience of the festival. Sobrang tagal na nga, it was way back to 2009 when we decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Hot Air Balloon Festival. Since Clark Pampanga is so far from where I live, we decided to book our accommodation at the Oasis hotel.

After check-in, we went straight to the festival.  As I expected, the place was crowded and it’s hard to look for parking space, thank God that we were able to park our car near the entrance. The entrance fee was only P100 but now it’s P500, but don’t worry it’s all worth it because there are so many things that you can do and experience. It is best to arrive early para sulit ang day trip mo, we arrived late na pero madami pa rin naman nagawa.

Photo from Freepik

I will share some of our pictures so you will have an idea of what to expect. Some photos are blurred because I used my cell phone and remember, this was year 2009 pa so hindi pa maganda ang mga camera ng cellphone. hehehe! There are so many activities that you can do depending on your preference budget, in our case doon lang kami sa free at mura like food trip and kite flying activity. Do not forget to bring cap, umbrella, and water, sobrang init.









Fast forward to the year 2020, the 23rd Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival will be held in Cavite and for the very first time hindi na siya sa Pampanga. Yes, you’ve read it right. The Flying Carnival 2020 “A Weekend of Almost Everything That Flies” will be held at San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite on March 6-8, 2020.

Gates open at 4:30AM, events start at 5:30AM
Night Glow at 6:30PM and Fiesta grounds close at 9:30PM

How much is the Entrance Ticket/per Day?

PHP500 - Economy Class Ticket
PHP3,500 - Business Class Ticket
PHP6,500 - First Class Ticket

PHP3,500 - Photographer’s Pass
PHP40,000 - Prenup Pass

You can buy your ticket online, at the Ticketnet, Air Ads Office, or Ticketing Booth at San Lazaro Leisure Park on March 6 to 8, 2020.

*Ticket selling will start at 5 AM to 7PM.
The Fiesta Gates are open from 4:30 AM to 9:30 PM.

And para sa may budget, you can avail the following activities.

PHP25,000 - Hot Air Balloon Ride
PHP4,500 - Tandem Paraglide (10-15minutes)
PHP10,000 - Helicopter Discovery Flight (15 minutes)
PHP20,000 - Tandem Skydive

Schedule of Activities 

Morning

5AM Ticketing Gates Open
5:30AM Balloon Inflation with Paramotors & Dancers
6:30AM Baloon Take Off
7AM Helicopter Take-Off with Sky Divers & Helicopter Rides
7:15 Paramotor Fly-By
7:30 Sky Diving Flag Jump
8AM Paramotor Slalom Race
9AM Electric Airplane Race and Combat
9:15 AM Unified Flyers Philippines Open Bird Show
9:30 AM Winch Tandem Paragliding Ride
9:45 AM Paragliding Spot Landing
10AM Helicopter Take-Off with Sky Divers and Helicopter Rides Aviation Career Seminar (3rd Floor) 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
10:15AM Jump Dogs Sky Diving Formation Flying
10:30 AM Extreme Motor Sports Exhibition and Rides
11AM First Person View Drone Race Exhibition

Afternoon

12PM Kite Flying Exhibition
1PM Extreme Motor Sports Exhibition and Rides
2PM First Person View Drone Racing Competition
3PM Winch Tandem Paragliding Ride
3:30 PM Paragliding Spot Landing
4PM Extreme Motor Sports Exhibition and Rides
4:30 PM Helicopter Take-Off with Sky Divers and Helicopter Rides
4:45 PM Jump Dogs Sky Diving Formation Flying
5PM Paramotor Slalom Race
5:30 PM Paramotor Fly-By
6:30 PM Balloon Inflation
7PM Night Glow and Paramotors with Dancers
7:30 PM First Person View Drone Night Race Competition
8PM Fireworks (Sat & Sun only)
9:30 PM Fiesta Gates Close

Sheraton Saigon is a 5-star accommodation in Saigon, located in Dong Khoi Street which is accessible to corporate offices, entertainment districts, top restaurants, and popular tourist attractions. You can visit Reunification Palace, Opera House, War Remnants Museum, Opera House and the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.

Read: Glimpse of Ho Chi Minh Vietnam 



When my husband first visited Saigon, he stayed at Le Meridien Hotel. But last December, he stayed at Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers for three days and two nights. Sheraton Saigon offers 484 rooms that have a Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon River view.

Read: Le Meridien Hotel Review 


He booked the cheapest room but was upgraded to Deluxe Room. The room is located in the Main Tower where you can have the city view but don’t worry because you have a soundproof window so you won’t hear any traffic noise. The room space starts with 37 sqm so it is spacious for one person.


I like the modern design of the room, it offers a King-sized bed, sofa by the window, office table, coffee maker and tea service, and mini-refrigerator. The marble bathroom has a separate bathtub and shower area.



Breakfast Buffet at Saigon Cafe 

The room package includes Breakfast Buffet at Saigon Cafe, this all-day dining restaurant offers a buffet or ala carte meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They serve international and local cuisines like crab sticks, fish cake, or noodles.

Breakfast Buffet breakfast, fee from 560000.00 VND
Continental breakfast, fee from 400000.00 VND
Full American breakfast, fee from 530000.00 VND

Breakfast: Monday through Sunday, 6 to 10am
Lunch: Monday through Saturday, Noon to 2:30pm
Sunday Brunch: 11:30am to 3pm
Dinner: Monday through Sunday, 6 to 10pm






Sheraton Saigon has a world-class dining destination, 24-hour gym, outdoor pool, and luxury spa. The Aqua Day Spa is the first luxury hotel destination spa in Saigon. During his stay, he was surprised when he saw a sticky note on his mirror, he has 20% off discount at Aqua Day Spa.



Sheraton is known for good service but there is one instance where my husband was a little bit disappointed. As I mentioned before, my husband only stayed for two nights. He requested to extend his stay for one more night but he was advised that there is no more room available but they will inform him just in case there is a cancellation.

After breakfast, my husband did not check out yet because he was waiting for the advice of the hotel if he can extend his stay or not. Past 12 noon, he received a call from Sheraton that he needs to check out already. My husband has late check-out benefits so he can check-out at 2PM but he immediately finished his lunch and went back to the hotel, only to find out that his luggage was no longer inside his room. His luggage was already in the concierge room and there was a new guest in his room. For a loyal guest of Sheraton, this is not something that he would expect. Anyway, after check-out, he immediately booked a room at Le Meridien Hotel for one night stay.

Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers 
88 Dong Khoi, District 1,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

We believe that calories don’t count on holidays and vacations so we literally don’t mind our diet last December. We don’t have travel trips so food trip na lang kami and napahinga pa ko sa pagluluto. Hehehe! So far, I already shared our food trips at Romantic Baboy, Zubuchon, and Balay Dako.

Read: Lunch at Romantic Baboy 
Lunch at Zubuchon 
Breakfast Buffet at Balay Dako 



Now, let me share with you our Breakfast Buffet at Restaurant Verbena. It’s pretty obvious here in my blog that if we like the restaurant, we keep on coming back. One of our favorite restaurants in Tagaytay is Restaurant Verbena because we love the food, service, and ambiance. This was already our third-time visit so it means 3 out of 6 Christmas breakfasts since we started our Christmas traditions in Tagaytay.

As usual, we attended church service and then we went straight to Discovery Country Suites. The traffic was so bad, imagine 8AM pa lang yun at sobra na ang traffic. It took us more than an hour to reach the restaurant and gutom na gutom na talaga kami. Feeling ko nga baka hindi na namin maabutan yung breakfast sa sobrang traffic.

We arrived quarter past 9AM so occupied na yung malapit sa window. For the past two visits, ala carte yung breakfast nila so we were surprised that last Christmas it was a breakfast buffet. Napalaban na naman ang tiyan ko. The rate is more or less PHP655 for adult and PHP315 for kid. I’m so happy na pasok pa sa kid’s rate anak ko since sa age sila nagbase. Yey!

Read: Christmas Breakfast at Restaurant Verbena 2016 
Christmas breakfast at RestaurantVerbena 2017 





The buffet spread is limited which is understandable since konti lang din naman ang guests. They have bread, cereals, fruits, waffle, bulalo soup, cheese fondue, hash brown grilled tomato, and main course. For the main course, they served scrambled eggs, fried chicken, beef stroganoff, daing na bangus, ham, and longganisa.



Even the buffet spread is limited, we have no regrets because kahit konti yung food, masarap naman. The service is good and the most important thing is konti lang kasi tao so peaceful ang ambiance.

Restaurant Verbena Buffet Breakfast Rate

Adult  P533.39 + VAT, Service Charge and Local Tax (P655)
Kid P255.80 + VAT, Service Charge and Local Tax (P315)

Read: Holiday 2019 
Food Trip in Tagaytay 
Christmas Breakfast at Cafe Voi La  

Watch the Video

As a Filipino citizen, we have the right to vote unless you are disqualified by the law. Growing up, I had no idea that I can exercise this right as early as 15 years old where I can join Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. I was a fresh college graduate when I decided to register, my aunt just informed me about the voter’s registration schedule.

I can never forget my first voter’s registration experience. I was falling in line as early as 2AM and was able to submit my form around lunchtime. Imagine the long wait just to submit the application form. Hindi pa siya naprocess agad, I was advised to go back at 7PM and wait for my number to be called. I finished my registration past 10PM.

I was really tired and I almost gave up waiting for my turn. That was my unforgettable experience in Valenzuela so when I moved to Malabon, Laguna and now Cavite, I never dare to fall in line again to transfer my precinct because I’m afraid that I will undergo the same process again.


Voter’s Registration 

If you are planning to register, check the following process.

Qualifications to Register 

Any Filipino citizen who is not yet a registered voter may apply for registration, provided he/she possesses the following qualifications:

* At least fifteen (15) but not more than thirty (30) years of age and residing in the barangay for at least six (6) months on or before Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
* At least eighteen (18) years of age on or before Barangay, Local and National elections;
* A resident of the Philippines for at least one (1) year and in the place wherein he/ she proposes to vote, for at least six (6) months before Elections;
* Not otherwise disqualified by law.

Voter’s Registration Requirement 

Valid ID Employee's identification card (ID) (with the signature of the employer or authorized representative)
Postal ID
PWD ID
Student's ID or library card, signed by the school authority
Senior Citizen's ID
Driver's license
NBI clearance
Passport
SSS/GSIS ID
Integrated Bar of the Philippine (IBP) ID
License issued by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC)
Certificate of Confirmation issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in case of members of ICCs or IPs

If I remember it right, I also brought my Birth Certificate to prove my age and I am qualified to register.

Voter’s Registration Procedures 

1. Go to local COMELEC office. Click here to check the list of COMELEC office.
2. Bring your valid ID to verify your identity and residence.
3.Fill-out the Voter’s Registration Application Form. To save time, you can download and print the form here.
4. Biometrics
5. You will receive an Acknowledgement Receipt and the staff will ask you to sign on their logbook.

Voter’s Change of Name and Transfer of Precinct 

I got married and I no longer live in Valenzuela but because of my voter’s registration experience, I don’t want to go to COMELEC again. So every election, I go to Valenzuela and my husband travels to Pangasinan just to vote. That was our scenario every election, nakakapagod din and magastos so when I found out that there is a special registration in our subdivision for 2 days (9-4PM) hindi na naming pinalagpas.

We were there before 9AM, I just gave my valid ID and precinct name. In my case, change of status and transfer of precinct, the staff gave me

Voter’s Registration Application Form
Application Form for Change of Name
Application Form for Transfer due to Change of Residence.

I think, I also brought my marriage certificate just in case they ask for it. I was really happy because we finished everything in 1 hour. A far cry from my first voter’s registration experience.

Voter’s Reactivation of Registration Record 

My husband and I transferred precinct 8 years ago; my husband received his new voter’s ID card in year 2013 but I haven’t received mine. I don’t understand nga kung bakit wala ako, sabay naman kami nagpachange ng precinct. So from the time na nagparegister and transferred ako, never ako nabigyan ng Voter’s ID card.

Since 2013, I always dropped by at the COMELEC office after paying our Real Property tax. Pero every year naman akong sawi not available lagi. My husband told me na hindi na ko mabibigyan ng voter’s ID kasi nga may proposal na magkaroon ng National ID system so last year hindi na ko dumaan ng COMELEC.

Then few weeks ago, my friend informed me na dumaan siya COMELEC and natanung niya yung Voter’s ID ko and sabi daw, deactivated na daw ako. Waah! I was surprised because as far as I know, last May 2019 election lang naman ako hindi nakaboto. Deactivated na agad? I’m thankful that my friend asked for my Voter’s ID availability kung hindi wala ko idea na hindi na pala ko registered voter. Magugulat na lang pala ko sa next election na wala na ko sa listahan.

 Anyway, I searched on how to reactivate my voter’s registration and according to COMELEC site “During the next scheduled registration record, a voter with a deactivated registration record may file for the reactivation of his (or her) registration record with the local COMELEC office of the city/municipality where he (or she) is registered.” So I checked the registration schedule

January 20, 2020 to September 30, 2021 
Monday to Saturday including holidays except April 9 & 10, 2020 (Maundy Thursday and Good Friday); December 25, 2020, Friday (Christmas Day); April 1 and 2, 2021 Maundy Thursday and Good Friday)
8AM to 5PM

Just this morning, I went to the COMELEC office and I asked them about my concern. The staff informed me na 2 elections ang namissed ko, may Barangay Election pa. “Failed to vote in two (2) successive preceding regular elections”

To reactivate my voter’s registration, they asked for a valid ID + photocopy of the valid ID and they asked me to fill out the 3 pages of Voter’s Registration form + Supplementary form since I have PWD ID. No more biometrics, nag thumb mark lang ko sa form. The staff gave my acknowledgement receipt and write some details on his logbook.

Read: How to Apply for PWD ID

That's it! Wala rin pila so saglit lang ang process. Pwede na ulit ako makaboto.

We always go to Tagaytay for a food trip but until now I still have a long list of restaurants that I want to try. I feel happy whenever I ticked something off on my list and finally last December, we were able to visit Balay Dako. I wanted to try this restaurant but the problem is they only offer buffet breakfast every weekend and holidays so we grabbed the opportunity when I saw that they are open few days before Christmas.

Read: Food Trip in Tagaytay


Balay Dako does not accept reservations, it is a first-come-first-serve so we left the house as early as 5AM because we will fetch my grandmother-in-law in Laguna. We arrived in Tagaytay past 6:30AM. From the parking lot you can already see the wooden house, it lives up to its name because Balay Dako is a Negrense word which means “big house”.


My husband registered and the staff gave us a number, pang #18 na kami. They started calling the number at 7AM and the staff ushered us to our table. We have a breathtaking view of Taal Lake and who ever think na after few weeks, magkaka-ashfall.



It’s funny because I don’t like to visit during weekends and holidays kasi for sure marami tao. Pero marami pa rin pala tao kahit weekday and hindi pa holiday so I guess lagi sila puno kahit mahal ang rate. According to their site “Antonio’s is much more than a restaurant. It is an experience”, so charge it to experience na lang kahit lugi ko sa 11-years old son ko na mahina kumain. Hindi ko pa rin maaccept na adult rate na siya. Hehehe!

Balay Dako Buffet Breakfast Rate 2019

P700 - adults
P450 - children below 4 feet
FREE - toddlers and below