Diario de Mascarenhas

5 more days to go and I am off to the Philippines...I'm so excited!!! It has been very busy at work as well. Our Christmas party is on Friday, so I am also looking forward to that too. We will be dining at The Grange, Ponsonby. Steve will come for drinks later in the evening.

Yeay, I feel so excited, I'm going home for Christmas. I missed Christmas in the Philippines so much and finally after 3 years I will experience it again....And of course there is Zamel's wedding, I am also looking forward to that too....So just counting the days now, and then I'm flying home...Looking forward to shopping; to eating bangus, ginamus, manggang Cebu, and a lot more; most especially to spend time with my family.

We went to Taupo for our Labour weekend holiday. It was a wonderful place to relax and have fun. Here are some pictures of our trip.

We had a great time at the Waiwera pools today. It was raining and cold, but was a very good day to soak in the hot pools. The Waiwera pool had about 10 pools and each pool's temperature vary. The best pools were the Sapphire pool which was a covered pool, with 40 degrees Celsius; and the outside pool with the water spout massaging you. We spent around 2 hours in the Waiwera pools and then explored the Waiwera beach.

It has been cold and rainy these couple of days. Yesterday a storm passed our way and we had to stay at home. Today, the weather was still bleak but Steve and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Langham Hotel. So much sumptuous food on display and Steve definitely did justice to the spread...

Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or hump it, Pee on it and walk away

We are delighted that our photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released second edition of the Schmap New Zealand Guide. Click on the title to view the guide and pictures. Njoy !!

To Suzie: Whatever with the past has gone, The best is always yet to come. We love you and wish all ALL the best!!! Love, Steve, Zai, Mum, Dad and all the family

Ate Shelyn sent me the following message: Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason.. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Mama had a trip of a lifetime along with Zharina, Uncle Willie and Shobe. They went to Negros to visit the Bermejo and Yap clans. It has been years since mama had been to Negros and the trip gave her the opportunity to meet her relatives, the ones she already knew and the others whom she had just met for the first time. The picture above was taken during the Bermejo impromptu reunion.

In life never ASSUME anything... for if u do it makes an ASS of U and ME !!

We were invited for a birthday party with a 70's theme and here is a picture of Steve with his afro.

Steve celebrated his bday on the 19th of April. We went to a North African restaurant called Sahaa . The place was nice and the food was not bad. We had chicken tagine and touareg (which was like barbecue chicken). It was a quiet and simple celebration.

We had a wonderful holiday in Christchurch, courtesy of Larry. It was a couple of days of work and pleasure. Work because Steve had a work related meeting, then afterwards fun time for the both of us. Christchurch is both a dangerous and beautiful place. There was a mugging incident with tourists and locals where Steve and I saw the cordoned off incident area. Beautiful because everywhere we go, the beautiful Avon River is there, providing a picturesque scenery. Love it, love it, love it!!!

Jake and Kiray Ate Zaida and Kiray, pinning of ribbons Homecoming, dinner at Mandarin

Originally uploaded by kiwiboyz Easter in Matamata