On December 23, 2003, my parents made out during their honeymoon and had me. That was only my assumption if we’re going to base it on the timeline from the day I was born, which is on September 25, 2004. It makes sense since it has a nine-month age gap. It’s quite nostalgic for the couple as they’ve been together for 22 years. May they have more years celebrating their marriage together. Anyway, sorry for the silly introduction and let’s get right into the main course.

Pre-preparation

Two days ago, my mom was busy wrapping the bulk of Lumpiang Shanghai. My father also arrived two days ago after he finished their year-end party. The day after that, I also saw her preparing many espasol and putting them in round plastic canisters. I already knew that it was for their anniversary, so I just didn’t ask many questions. She was also busy collecting the equipment and utensils needed to prepare food before their anniversary.

Preparation

Before we went to my late grandmother’s house, she was busy making the batter for puto and kutsinta. She also started deep-frying the lumpia, and my younger brother assisted her. On the other hand, I was busy washing the equipment and utensils used. Good thing that we’re not eating here in the house since I know that I would be tired from washing dishes. I also ensured that the food they prepared was free from mosquitos and guarded it away from my dog.

Final Food

Here are the simple foods that we brought to commemorate their wedding anniversary. My mom cooked puto, kutsinta, lumpiang shanghai, adobo, and espasol. Meanwhile, my aunt from my late grandmother’s house cooked rice since we can’t eat all of them without it. The celebration was only simple since it was meant only for my mother’s side, and we didn’t invite other outsiders.

Picture Taking

Of course, we can’t eat without taking pictures. My family hierarchy treats it as a mandatory requirement, lol. Yesterday, it was also our first time seeing the spouse of my aunt from England. While we were eating our lunch before the event, I annoyed my sibling by saying that we should only speak in English. Unfortunately, my aunt together with her children was absent since she said she had other expected guests. The other family was also not present during picture taking since they arrived late.

Eating Portion

I didn’t take a picture of what I ate, but here’s the photo of the event set-up. I only filled my plate with Lumpiang Shanghai, Adobo, and Puto for our dinner. After we ate, we had a discussion with my uncle together with my cousins since we didn’t want him to feel out of place. I wanted to ask him about his experience during his stay in the Philippines while he was in Manila. However, I was contemplating if that was the best thing to ask since I hate arguments.

Videoke

To make it more fun, my aunt prepared a simple but funny game. Whoever gets a 95 and above score in the videoke will get ₱50.00 or $0.85. I only attempted four times since my vocals were strained after singing “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. Surprisingly, I was the first winner of the contest and got 100. My aunt told me that videoke likes me and the only thing I do is read it without altering it further.

From 2023 to 2024, I remember that I always accumulated the highest scores during her contest. That’s why it’s my favorite game since I think I hit the quota 8 times compared to my relatives who only got 2 or 3. During the videoke contest, I also got another 99 from singing “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift. Overall, I enjoyed the night.

Thank you for reading!