Gorgeous Glance: I have a hero, I call him dad..

Snapchat filter courtesy of my sister.

Hello, everyone! What's up? So how did you guys spent Father's Day? May it be with your dad, your mom, your grandfather or merely someone whom you consider as a fatherly figure...

Whoever that is, let's not forget to remind them how grateful we are to have them in our lives. Personally, I am not a showy individual either but in special occasions like this, I see to it that I make them feel even more special. I'm pretty sure that some of you have spent it over lunch, dinner or even out of town. But no matter how simple or extravagant your celebrations may be, what's important is that you made time to be with them and showed them extra love and attention. In our family, we're not used to having big parties at home during special events. We grew up just having a simple dinner at home and making sure that we are all present on those very occasions. For us, what matters most is that we are genuinely happy and complete as a family.

This 2016, I am very happy to have spent another memorable Father's Day with the whole family. We had our late lunch at Tuan Tuan, a Chinese Brasserie located at SM Megamall. I had a large bowl of Laksa which also comes with a separate plate of two piece fish fillet with dip and a choice of drink. We also ordered pork buns which were really good! The bun itself was so satisfying enough that I could seriously eat it every day! Not to mention that the serving was really big. To conclude, everything we ordered was worth every single penny.

After that, we went straight home since some of us got to wake up early the next day. As soon as we got home, I asked my brother to secretly get our gift for dad upstairs. It was something I worked on with two to three weeks prior to this very day. For this year, I've decided to create a photo book for my dad. If you're not familiar with it, it's basically a digital photo album where you can design or even put some captions into your digital memories. I actually discovered this from my dad's officemate. She was the one who introduced me to Photobook Worldwide, and in my case, Photobook Philippines. Along with that, she also told me to avail a promo during that time at www.metrodeal.com and get a 98% off from their 6x6 40-page photobooks. For me, it was really cheap and worth it! I got each book for only ₱20 which is only around 50 cents in US dollars if I am not mistaken. And since it will be ordered and printed from Malaysia, the shipping fee will cost you ₱250 which is around $5 to $6 only. It was literally a great deal! And for a memory keeper like me, it was absolutely perfect! :)

Going back, I handed the photobook to my dad and he gets surprised. He removed it from its packaging and started browsing it. He can't believe how I got some of the photos since it was from a long time ago when camera film was a must have. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that old but I'm a 90's baby! Moreover, my dad thanked me after browsing through every page. A few hours later, I saw my dad looking at every photo the photobook has to offer. I threw a joke at him saying "Oh dad, bat ka umiiyak?" or in English, "Why are you crying, dad?" For me, it wasn't something serious. To my surprise, tears started falling off to his cheeks. I've never seen my dad cry in a long time so this was something unusual for me. I along with my brother started hugging him. I asked him why did he cry and he told me how his heart melted with our messages written inside the photobook, plus our photos since we were still kids up to now that we are already grown ups. Time flies so fast, and he just couldn't imagine how everything he has done for us was all acknowledged and appreciated. <3

From here, I have realized how special these simple yet personalized gifts are to our loved ones, most especially to our parents. Yes, you can buy them shoes, clothes or anything they want... but nothing beats happiness, love and appreciation from your loved ones. And one thing's for sure, no matter how they get old, they will always treasure us in their hearts as their babies. I love my dad so much! And of course, my mom too! I can't thank the Lord enough for blessing me with two wonderful people in my life whom I'm lucky to call my parents.