Oktoberfest and Winefest

Naturally, the biggest beer festival of all is oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. It hosts millions of people for a few weeks of good beer, good food and great partying.

I've been to this famous events and the world's largest fair and i would say that its an enjoyable event with an important part of bavarian culture. Apart from beer tents, the festival offers amusement as diverse as roller coasters, festival parades and live brass bands.

There are lots of outdoor wine festival all over Germany at this time and yesterday is the last day of winefest in offenburg which feature local foods and wine tasting. I'm not a beer nor wine drinker, but i think it takes good nerves and solid stomach to survive oktoberfest's intensive partying/drinking and wine fests wine tasting.

Kerstin's 18th Birthday

Today Kerstin celebrated her 18th birthday with a simple gatherings at their home attended by family friends. Her mom Imelda cooked some filipino foods and prepared vegetable salad. Kerstin is an intelligent student and an efficient worker. During school breaks, she works in our consulting company as data encoder.

To you Kerstin, Happy Birthday and hoping for a bright future ahead of you.

Kerstin sitted beside cool mom

Cool Mom as an International Student

Hochschule Offenburg University of Applied Sciences is a renowned German institution of higher education. It was one of the first universities in germany to introduce master programs in english. Aside from my MBA program International Business Consulting, offenburg university also offered master in communication and media engineering and master in energy conversion and management. The program was sponsored by the government of Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with DAAD.

In addition to high academic standard, the graduate school also provides a wide range of special services to foreign students like me. It offers german language courses, sight-seeing trips and meetings with german citizens.

It's really a nice experience dealing with students around the world with different language and culture. We have cultural differences but what is important is the camaraderie and the friendships that was developed. It's one of the most important phase of my life that i will treasure forever. All this will not be possible without the help and support of my sponsor/sweetheart Dirk who's always there during the up's and down's of my student life.

My favorite professor (smiling lady), Prof.Dr.Schwarz (Value-based management)

My Life as a Teacher

For twelve years, i did worked in an educational institution in Manila. While working there, i was able to finished my masteral degree at MLQU sponsored by an American Foundation. Equipped with knowledge and experience, i was accepted as Assistant Professor in one of the business schools in Laguna. It's a practical decision because i dont have to commute from San Pedro to Manila everyday and beside i want to spend more quality time with my growing children.

Teaching is a noble profession. Aside from conducting lectures and seminars in the field of business, sometimes our professional duties extend beyond formal teaching. I felt some fulfillment having shared my knowledge to my students. I was about to start my doctorate, when my sister asked me to accompany my mother for eye surgery here in Germany, the rest is history.

Super Moms in the City

Time really flies fast and the week is about to end again. This week, i chanced upon some mommies in the city with their children. Some of my friends are also single moms and its their choice. They might not be successful in relationships but they are super moms to their kids. I know how they feel, it is very difficult and challenging to be a parent today and it is even more difficult to raise children alone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTHONY

My eldest son is celebrating his birthday today with some get-together for friends and relatives. Happy birthday 2ny and wishing you all the best.

Harvest Time for Grapes

Germany has nearly 100,000 hectares of vineyards and wine regions are concentrated mainly on the southwestern part of the country. On our way home from the kürbisfest, I was able to convince Dirk to drive to the vineyards near our place to take a closer look on different grape varieties.

The german wine harvest takes place in october and november, long after the harvest has been completed elsewhere. The longer the grapes stays on the vine, the riper they become and that means more aroma and more flavour. This long, slow ripening period enables the grapes to maintain their fruity acidity, which give german wines their stimulating and refreshing liveliness.

Name Tags

Thanks to Raqgold for this tag

-START TAG -

KID'S NAMES - List all your kid's names or even just one. Write down the story or the reason why you choose it.

My first born is Anthony, he is my junior because his name is more or less the same as mine. My other son's names are Andrew and Arturo Jr. who is his father's junior. All my son's name start with A. My four daughter's name all begin with Rose, its because Rosas is the family name. My daughter's name are Rose Belle, Rose Arianne, Rose Aizza and Rose Astrid. Sometimes phone callers are confused because they are all named Rose.

Monday Blues

Just when you are getting used to the weekend respite, and all too soon, its already monday. There' really no way to escape the M day. But don't let mondays get you down,take a deep breath and lift your spirits.

While the rest of our neighbors still in deep sleep, Dirk and me were already in the train station. He is going to Austria for a two-day seminar workshop for selected employees of a baby food company. On my way back to our house, i encountered a lot of motorists driving recklessly. To beat my monday blues, i just turn on the car radio for a nice music and did some exercise upon reaching home.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to the 2008 Philippine Blog Award winners especially to Ms. Dine Racoma (The D Spot) - Best Blog, Family and Living Category. There are 47 nominees for different category and they are also winners in their own right considering that there are around 2.3 millions Filipino bloggers. I even influenced Dirk to have his own blog as well.

Pumpkin Festival

Autumn is the time of pumpkins. Today, we did drive to Windschläg for the annual kürbisfest, pumpkin festival or piyesta ng kalabasa. Locals and even tourists are waiting for this annual tradition. It showcased the creativity of the people and students by transforming pumpkins into something like clowns, witches and many others.

The festival was also highlighted by musicals, wine tasting and exhibition of different curved pumpkin designs.

Father and son

Cool mom with Grandma Kalabasa

Dirk with kürbis

My Extended Family

I dont' have work today but i have a busy friday. I met my extended family in the city for some more bonding time before they return to Philippines next week. We talked about family matters while having lunch at chinese restaurant. We walked around the city and do some shopping. The last time i saw Annika was during her baptismal, and look at her now, she had a nice round eyes just like Thomas, her father.

A Gathering of Friends

Today, joy and me were invited by imelda to have lunch at her place. She cooked a filipino dishes called "odong" matched with fried bulad (dried fish)courtesy of Niki who just came back from her vacation in the Philippines. It's my first time to eat odong and it really tastes good. What happened was a spontaneous gathering of friends where we exchanged some jokes. Look at my "godmother" Analyn in her black and white ensemble. She is not in a good mood because one of the german girl in the city criticized her outfit.

Friends in the City

Everytime i go to the city (offenburg), i always bumped into some friends, either close or potential friends. In this fast paced world we live in, sometimes we don't have time to socialize because of work and household chores. Talking with friends over lunch or coffee, is a good relief from our everyday's stressful activities.

On my way to Asia Shop, i saw some of my friends in the Chinese Restaurant so i joined them for lunch.

I met the Karstadt girls while browsing around the store

A father and daughter bonding in the city

Our New Coffee Maker

We're going to have a long vacation in the Philippines starting next month. Dirk is not used to drinking instant coffee so he bought a Senseo coffee machine. It is designed for coffee afficionados who don't want to fuss with making coffee.

Our new machine make an excellent cup of coffee in less than a minute with the innovative pod coffee maker. The brewing process produces a nice foamy layer on top of the coffee, the way perfect coffee should be.

Spiritual Retreat

Tagaytay City presents a perfect getaway for urbanites seeking respite from the pressures of work and to escape the warm weather of metro manila. The cool weather, the green surroundings and unpolluted air makes the place conducive to meditation and contemplation.

Last week, my daughter astrid attended a 3-day spiritual retreat together with her classmates and friends. Tagaytay is now renowned as a center for spiritual retreat because of the numerous conventions and retreats held there. It provides you the environment to rest your body, mind and soul and a vacation from the stresses of life. As for my daughter, her retreat hopefully renewed her relationship with our Almighty God, and as you see in the picture, its also a bonding moment with her friends.

Mid-Life Crisis

A mid-life crisis is experienced between the ages of 40-50 and it is a period of dramatic self-doubt. There is an emotional transition during that time of life that needed adjustments to the way you live your life. Dirk and i were lucky to come through the process smoothly without making major life changes.

Some of my former classmates and friends have a difficult time during midlife because of the stress in their life and some external factors. Some of them experienced a feeling for adventure and change, unhappiness with life, partner & lifestyle and boredom with people and things, etc., thus making their life a midnight crisis and nightmares.

The Philippine Blog Award

I already choose Pinoy Ambisyoso as my nominee for the 2008 Philippine Blog Award. I voted for this blog because the content element of his post are truly "very Filipino" in nature. How i wish i am in the Philippines to witness the awarding ceremony at One Esplanade on September 21 for my co-bloggers. The award aim to recognize filipino-owned blogs from their respective topics ranging from personal, politics, arts, culture and technology.

This blog award is a venue to present blogs with good quality content that will encourage readers around the world.

Remembering 9/11

Today is the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on United States and it remains a day that bring all americans together. It seems like yesterday since we heard those reports that a plane and another plane had crashed into the buildings of World Trade Center.

The date- September 11, 2001, offers a time to remember about this unforgettable moment in history and the effect it had on the US and the world. Let's offer some prayers for those who survived and perished in the tragedy.

The Girl with a Golden Voice

Charice Pempengco is a 16-year old filipina singer who rose to popularity through You Tube. She is an international sensation but we have things in common, we share the same birthday (May 10) and the same province (Laguna).

She once again guested on the Oprah Winfrey Show on the "Dreams comes true" episode where she was referred to as the most talented girl in the world. She is a talented and gifted girl with a powerful and magic voice.

She is to perform a duet with CelineDion at the Madison Square Garden next week, another dream come true for her.
You did it again girl, you made us all filipinos proud.

Charice at Ellen deGeneres show

Happy Birthday, Mama Mary

Today is the feast day of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The whole world is celebrating her birthday today and i am giving my heart in full to her love and care. I'm thanking you Mama Mary, for all the wonderful blessings that you have given to my family, for the intercession and for all answered prayers.

Thank you for being there during the high's and low's of my life. I thank God for giving us a mother who has helped changed my life for the better and comforted us in times of trouble.

To the greatest Mom on earth, Happy birthday!

Grandparent's Day

Today is a special day to honor and pay tribute to the elderly members of the close-knit filipino family. Children are reared to respect their parents and that means taking care of them when they grow old that's why there's not that many home for the aged in the Philippines. I just grow up without knowing my grandparents on both sides. They're long gone and already settled in heaven even before i was born.

My children are lucky because their grandparents on both sides took care of them before while i'm away for work. I'm now a grandmother myself and hopefully my children will take care of me and dirk when we grow old. It's a nice feeling when we grannies are cared for, valued, respected and given importance all days of the year.

Saturday Happenings

Yesterday, i'm really not feeling well because of my ulcer, i just stayed at home and prepared my balikbayan boxes. But today, i am back on my feet again. We watched a fashion show in the city featuring kids, teens and grandmothers wearing the karstadt and C&A creations. The weather is not cooperating but the relatives of the models were there to show some support.

After the models catwalking, we ate our lunch at Toscana with the same friends ordering the same food, drinks and on the same spot.

Inside Karstadt, i saw a friend and invited me to visit a family friend. The slideshow below shows that we really have lots of fun, just like the good old days.