This Year Will Be a Blast, I Can Feel It!

I surmise I don't have to explain my lingering two-week absence from the blogosphere. An ecstatically married career woman with a mischievous three-year-old daughter has got to do what she's got to do.

Anyway, I kicked off the new year with a stress-quashing overnight stay at the City of Springs Resort in Los Baños, Laguna. We took my mom along to give her a break from thinking too much about family business and worrying over my semi-erratic siblings. :-)

Lucky number 7

The mini-pool inside our room

Mama prepares dinner before everybody else goes night swimming.

Chow!

My honey poses for one of his art projects while we bask in the soothing indoor hot spring pool.

"This is the life...," she says.

We hit the sack at 1 a.m.

The main pool at City of Springs gets all filled up early in the morning.

In the kiddie pool. Zakei was mad about the slides.

Nelson in another one of his emotionally-stricken camera moments

Yes, we has fun in the first week of '09.

What we got out of the first part of the trip was spa-ish (I just made that word up). We savored the hot springs for a day and a half then went to have lunch in Sta. Cruz at a small Chinese restaurant that surprisingly proffers slightly overpriced meals (Almost 300 bucks for the smallest plate of sizzling seafood -- serves 1 1/2).

In the afternoon, we checked out Aglipay Church. My husband grew up in Laguna and he's been raving about the miracles of the Nazarene whom Sta. Cruz residents call the 'Nuestro Señor De Santo Sepulcro.' Apparently, every faithful Catholic who's been there attests to the unfailing aid of this holy image in terms of answering prayers.

The austere facade of Aglipay Church in Sta. Cruz, Laguna

There were only a few church-goers on a solemn weekday.

The famous Nuestro Señor de Santo Sepulcro

A shot by the wishing well near the entrance

2009 has started to unfold. Paying the Nazarene a visit was a very spiritual experience. I believe that if you begin your year with a staunch faith in Christ, then you can brazenly face 365 days knowing you're not breezing through all the challenges alone. You can count the days with your head up!