Some people will disagree, but this has to be the shortest January since I became an adult. I feel like there’s so much to do and so little time. No need to argue, though; this just proves time is merely a concept.

Anyway…

Goodbye, January! Hello, February! Here’s how we spent the last of January and the first of February.

January 31: El Roi Events Place & Whitewoods Convention and Leisure Hotel

Francis and I spent the weekend at Silang, Cavite. He is the Grand Secretary of the International Order of the Odd Fellows in the Philippines, and they had a public installation last night at El Roi Events Place. As for me, this is just my second time joining him for an event related to his organizations. This trip is also a great opportunity for us to spend time together. (Because most of the time, the little one won’t leave us alone.)

The drive from San Jose City to Silang, Cavite took four hours. That includes stops at three gas stations. We arrived at El Roi Events Place a little past twelve. After taking our respective lunches, we got dressed in the car. Here’s what I wore (photo taken at the hotel):

I was supposed to be on my last fasting day for the week on Friday (31st), and actually started off quite well, having only my very basic overnight oats for lunch. But I didn’t want to be a party-pooper, so I ate dinner at the party. I had vegetables, pesto pasta, two kinds of pork dishes, and a beef dish. (You can see them in short.) Oh, and also half a toasted siopao from Lola Nena’s.

The installation ceremonies and program ended at around five in the afternoon. Because I’m still with colds and not feeling well, I asked him to take me to oru hotel. His friends booked us a room at Whitewoods Convention and Leisure Hotel, an eight-minute drive from El Roi Events Place. You might have heard about this hotel from the SEA Games fiasco last 2019, but since it’s been forever, let’s hope things get a little better.

February 1: More Whitewoods & Tagaytay

Good morning! It’s our second and last day here at Silang. The first order of business is the complimentary plated breakfast. The hall is at a separate building called Gallery Restaurant. The choices for breakfast were hamsilog, baconsilog, bangsilog, and something else silog. I chose bangsilog (fried milkfish, fried rice, and fried egg). There were also cucumber juice and brewed coffee, but we stuck with coffee. Black.

We checked out early at 10:30 a.m. so we can go to a short trip to Tagaytay. I really wish we brought our daughter with us. We went to Tagaytay back in December 2023 for my friend Em’s wedding, and she loved it so much she wished we lived there. Anyway, Francis’s friend suggested we go to a famous steak house, Morgano Restaurant, and since this was our “date” we decided, why not?

And, oh my god, was it worth it! Everything we had was divine. OK, this was first time having medium rare steak and it made fasting on the weekdays so worth it. We had a salad, paperdelle, the sirloin steak with garlic mushrooms, and affogato. Everything was scrumptious, but what lifted me up to the heavens was… guess what? The affogato.

We also went to various store to buy some pasalubong. I bought a wooden chopping board for our house from a stall beside the restaurant, and the vendor was kind enough to teach me how to prevent molds. We also stopped at the roadside fruit stalls and bought orange sweetpotatoes and kapeng barako. Lastly, we went to Balai Palmera do buy pasalubong for the moms. This getaway was unbelievably worth it.

All-in-all, I think our weekend getaway was a perfect opportunity for us to take a short break from our work. It was nice to witness the things my husband has been doing with the organization. And it was a wonderful to go on a proper date with my husband again.