Starry, Starry Rainy Night

creative and colorful lanterns

Drizzling last Tuesday night of November saw me judging the Lantern-making contest at one of the canneries here in General Santos City.

The christmas lanterns (parols) were intricately designed and made from 100% purely recycled materials.

shining, shimmering lanterns

This laudable activity of keeping up with the christmas season in simplest way was made possible through the initiative of the very dynamic management and  staff of Philbest Canning Corporation.  They have decided to forego their annual christmas party in favor of the victims of the widespread calamity in Eastern and Central Visayas.

splendid  lanterns

Simply amazing and I believe this activity  is one of the greatest expression of christmas spirit I've seen and I have my hats off to the organizers.  Kudos to you, guys!

Have a blessed christmas ahead everyone!

Yes, It's Stephen Bishop in Gensan!

Time I've been passing, time watching trains go by

All of my life lying on the sand, watching seabirds fly

Wishing there would be someone waiting home for me

Something's telling me it might be you

It's telling me it might be you all of my life . . .

I was 15 and Mr Stephen Bishop was 31 when his song "It Might be You" became a monstrous hit on the airwaves.

Now 31 years after, call it coincidence or what, your hopeless romantic mom might just have the chance of seeing Mr. Bishop in person!

Yes dear friends, Yvonnie J Events and Production, in association with

Redstone Media Productions

will be presenting

"IT MIGHT BE YOU"

Stephen Bishop Live In Gensan

on October 27, 2013 @ 7:30PM

Lagao Gym, General Santos City

Doing the front act during the one night concert is balladeer Nonoy Zuniga.

The show will also be brought to us by:

SM City General Santos, Gaisano Mall of Gensan, Ellis Suites, Green Leaf Hotel Gensan, Road Hauz, MP Princess, 102.3 Campus Radio, Brigada TV Channel 46, 89.5 Brigada FM, and Gensan Gazette Quarter

Ticket Prices:

 P2,050 (VIP), P1,800 (Patron), P1,250 (Lower Box A), P1,100 (Lower Box B),

 P550 (Upper Box), and P300 (General Admission)

For your tickets:

 Please visit Gaisano Mall  Gensan Atrium and SM City General Santos Event Center

 or call 09279238202 and 09395599194

See you there!

It might be you whom Mr. Stephen Bishop will be dedicating his next song to be sung :-D

Lovely January Wedding

January 2013 seemed to be love month for us because there were two weddings in a row that we've attended.  Both exude true love and  passion. The first wedding was that of lovely pair Bon and Emmylou - our friends from the Local Government of Gensan. If I were to describe their love story I'll borrow Mahatma Gandhi's words "If there is love, there is life!"

the lovely couple!

( these two photos were grabbed from Ms. Cubelo's FB account)

Indeed, love makes the world go round!  To Mr. and Mrs. Bon and Emmylou Apostol, our congratulations and best wishes!  May God continually bless your married life.  Cheers!

Hello Kitty Birthday Bash for a Pretty Lady

One of the events we have been into during the first few days of 2013 is the grand birthday bash with a Hello Kitty theme of a good friend's daughter.

the very elegant venue turned into Hello Kitty Land

 my hubby and kids enjoying the meal ;-D

 my kids and their friend waiting for their turn for the face painting

 my youngest daughter Jasmine  with her choice of small floral design

 my daughter Sam with Hello Kitty on her cheek

 Jasmine with the very pretty celebrant, EJ 

 the artist doing the painting on Alexa's  cheek

It was one celebration my kids did truly enjoy . . . many thanks to the celebrant, her sister, and their mom!

Moment with Richard Poon

Our 20th wedding anniversary was highlighted by a personal greeting

 and a song from

 the crooner himself, Mr. Richard Poon.

'twas magical! 

Christmas Cheers from ODC

Olaer Development Corporation, under the leadership of our very dynamic President, Mr. Henry Olaer-Montilla, made the christmas season happier and more meaningful for the wards of the St. Vincent Strambi Home for the Aged and St. Gemma's Orphanage through a gift giving activity held on December 27, 2011.

This is our way of saying thank you for all the blessings and good things we have received as members of the ODC.

Hoping that in our own simple way, we were able to make a difference in the lives of many!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

(photo credits goes to Mr. Henry O. Montilla)

I'm a Proud Mom of Two Debutants

Barely a year had passed but we already have two debutants in the family. Yes, Mama Mia, am getting older :-D . . .

Rafee and Tina are no longer babies, they are now ladies!

two young girls then with their best friend Mich

they are now young ladies soaring high as they conquer new heights . . .

beloved ates to their siblings . . .
obedient daughters to me and my hubby . . .
responsible members of our community . . .

My young ladies, you may now spread your wings but don't ever forget to look back behind where we all came from.

You are my babies and for always, we'll be loving and taking care of you!

Jinky's 2011 Top Emerging Influential Blogs

My entry to last year's Search for the Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs made me $100 richer. Sana maulit muli he he he :-D

For this year's search for Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs Writing Project, here are my choices:

Eat’s Terrific
need I say more? one of the best bloggers in the whole universe
a blogger with a very big heart and I miss him so much!

Bookworm of Gensan
a blog of a very smart and intelligent person I idolized, miss him too!

Kikay Much - a blog of a 100% certified fashionista!

Mother’s Instincts - a blog of my co-public servant ... a must read blog for all moms out there!

I Am Ariel Lalisan - a blog of a person na sobrang lalim! hats off to you, sir!

Pinay Travelogue - a blog you won't get tired of reading over and over again!

General Joana – again, a must read blog! reading her posts would make you conclude, gosh, this girl is so intelligent!

Libotero – if you want to smile, visit this blog!

Markable Me - a blog of a very promising, young lad! and

last but not the least, my very own

Jinky’s Kitchen World – my food blog. This blog is very me. It features simple and affordable but yummy recipes.

BIG thanks to the following partners of Ms. Janette Toral: Cyber Monday Deals, TRIbeca Private Residences, How To Videos, Palawan Beaches for Sale, Green and Natural Lubes Philippines, Philippine data center, Philippine online shopping, Singapore Jobs, and Pinoy Party Food.

Happy Birthday, Mom D!

Yes, Mommy D did it again!

She celebrated her 62nd D day literally with a big bang...with former Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada as her guest of honor. Pacman himself and his beautiful wife, Jinkee, were there to personally hand in their Hermes Birkin gift to beloved Mommy D. For sure, the radiant summer star was on cloud nine during that moment!

The lucky mom proved once and for all that she's not the Pacmom for nothing. She brought the house down with her singing and dancing prowess. Other entertainers for the big night were novelty singer Max Surban, sultry singer Madonna Decena and our very own local talent, Mr. Jun Jimenez. Excellent hosting of Gensan Pride, Ms. Joanna Banting-Lapore did additional wonders to our celebrator's special night.

Although lesser showbiz personalities were present, Mommy D's 62nd bday celebration still remains one of the hottest topics worth discussing by people from all walks of life. Aside from the million peso worth bag and the magnificent costume changes, the Pacman Gym which served as venue now seemed one of those to places to watch out for here in Gensan. It's cool out there! I bet, this will surely be another tourist attraction for the tuna capital of the country.

The food was great. . .
The numbers presented, awesome. . .
albeit there were some unruly guests crowding the stage front
to get a good view of the performers...
still, the party's great!

Kudos to the organizers of this event! keep it up, guys!

Happy Birthday, Jasmine!

Jasmine turns five years old today!
She is my youngest baby
She's so smart and pretty

She's the only one among the kids who calls me Mommy
She loves to tell stories to her sisters, Dad and me
We all adore her being witty!

Jasmine is the name
of this little girl so vain
but we all love her just the same!

Happy birthday, baby girl!

Of Walking and Winning

As promised, here's another post with regards to the just concluded Purok Olaer San Raphael Fiesta celebration.

I bragged about joining the Lumba Baktas competition and through this post, I would like to acknowledge my brave (ahem!) opponents composed of (sa walay pag dapig dapig) my very own cousins and nieces. :-)

(left to right) Rose, Myrna, Kuya Bhern (our generous donor), Neneng,
Sarah, Normita, Shakie, Pinpin and Grace (me, am the photographer :-)

Grand winner was our Ate Myrna P. Olaer. She went home with 5k and 2 sacks of rice. The race was simple. All we did was walk and dress up like Maria who is going to market. Being the author of this blog justified my being one of the rich (?) losers he he he. . . of course, I can't take big steps no :-). . . Nevertheless, all of us still felt like winners because they all went home Php500 richer! Why they? Because I got this. . . . for being the Darling of the Crowd because of my _ _ _ _ ness!

this is a welcome addition to my Unionbank cyber account :-)

I may not have won the race
but nothing beats the sweetest feeling of finishing the race by taking small steps!

Thank you, cousins, pamangkins and to the many fans of yours truly!

St. Raphael's Fiesta at OSR

The feast of the archangels was celebrated by the christiandom last September 29. Purok Olaer/Olaer Swimming Resort honored our patron saint, St. Raphael de Archangel, by spearheading different festive activities and at the same time holding thanksgiving for the precious legacy left to us by our dear Lola Iyay and Lolo Pidok. The two folks were devotees of the healer archangel and that devotion has been passed on to the different generations of the whole Olaer clan.

The day started with a holy mass officiated by a Passionist priest.

This picture was taken right after the mass only
for the reason that the author was late due to a pressing commitment

What followed were activities that brought wide smiles to the fiesta revelers and picnickers alike.

Jose Divinagracia School band gave color and vibrance to our fiesta.

Several competitions were held such as the Lumba Langoy, Lumba Baktas, etc. . .

Lumba Baktas participants including moi. Please don't ask anymore if I won or not :-)
(I'll be writing a separate post about this soon!)

An anti-fungal company provided free services and medication to interested individuals.

very helpful, indeed, specially for those who need medical attention

By the way, all those who trooped to the resort during that day were given free entrance fee access and free usage of cottages. This is our way of thanking our customers!

Jollibee's appearance was a blast!

kids, young people and young at heart alike were delighted with the
popular mascot's personal appearance

Also provided for free by the resort management were Jollibee packed lunch good for three hundred (300) people. . .

This is part of the crowd who lined up for the free goodies. . .

Later in the night, the grand Olaer Got Singing Talent was showcased
(it was so exciting and a post solely for this topic is coming up soon :-) )

My niece Chummy and my apo, Choi. . . the Mom is the active president of Purok Olaer and the one responsible for the very successful St. Raphael fiesta celebration

Good food won't be absent during feasts like this!

light moment with Apopong Bgy. Captain Rogelio Pacquiao and
Olaer Purok President, Aura Kharizma C. Aujero

There's more to come, folks! Please watch out for it. . .

VIVA, SENIOR SAN RAPHAEL!

HUH! Hilarious, Unbelievable High

This is the reason why bloggers don't seem to get stressed oftentimes. It's because we're always high. High in spirits, high with fun and super exciting activities and most of all, high with an unbelievable camaraderie. We are bloggers and it's fun to be one!

photos courtesy of Mesdames Cidy Bascon and Dimple Dulay!