LP #18: Dalampasigan

Ito ay ang unang kong paglahok sa Litratong Pinoy. Ako ay natutuwa noong nakita ko ang tema para sa linggong ito – Dalampasigan.

Kami ng aking pamilya ay mahilig mamasyal sa tabing dagat. Kami ay nagpupunta sa labas ng Maynila para magbakasyon. Ang larawang ito ay kuha sa dalampasigan ng Bohol habang ang aking anak ay tuwang tuwa sa paglalaro sa dagat.

Ang Bohol ay isa sa aming paboritong puntahan. Halos taon taon kami ay nandito para magbakasyon. Ang kagandahan sa Bohol ay isa syang tahimik na lugra, hindi matao at walang gaanong turista kaya sigurado ka na ikaw ay makakapag pahinga ng maayos.

(This is my first time to join Litratong Pinoy. I am so glad when I learned that the theme for this week is “Dalampasigan”

My family loves going to the beach. We often travel outside Manila for a vacation. These pictures where taken at Bohol beach while my daughter was having fun playing.

Bohol is one of our favorite vacation spots. Almost every year we go here for a vacation. What we like about Bohol is that it is not crowded and there is not much tourist so we are always guaranteed to have a relaxing vacation there).

Party Planning Updates

I am still undecided as to what I will do for my daughter’s birthday. LOL. I was browsing the sites of the different party planners and I showed Bela the Bird and Reptile show and she really got all excited after seeing it. She keeps on saying “Animal Show, animal show” which made me think if I want to push through with my plans of having a Bird and reptile show for her birthday.

I am now pencil booked at Kidz Republic but unfortunately, they don’t allow animals in their party venue. Last Sunday we went to Fun ranch to inquire and they do allow animal shows. But my problem now is the Blue Whale restaurant is a little pricey that Kidz Republic and the party room at Kidz Republic is way much bigger than the party room at Blue Whale.

So I discussed it with hubby (who keeps on reminding me that I shouldn’t give too much fuss about it since it is already Bela’s 3rd birthday) and we decided that we will just hire a magician and will go for Kidz Republic as our party venue.

So I started reading from GT and n@w archives and based from what I read, Alex Lagula is a good and affordable magician. Unfortunately, I was informed by Melissa of Party Time that Alex is no longer available on the 16th of November. My second choice is either Flooch (who does not do balloon twisting) or Butch Gonzales (who is highly recommended by Jhoanne – another party planner from n@w. But I read mix reviews for Butch that is why I am having second thoughts in getting him). I want Wanlu also but I can’t afford him. LOL.

So what to do now? Mag Jollibee na lang kaya ako?

Hell’s Kitchen

After an hour of playing with my daughter, she is now sleeping like a log. That is just our routine before bedtime. My husband and I have to play with her, read her a book or watch a movie with her to put her to sleep. For tonight, I watched the movie Ratatouille with her and it reminded me of one of my favorite shows in the Lifestyle channel, the Hell’s Kitchen.

I think, the fourth season will premier this year but my most favorite season is the second season where the winner will be the head chef of the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I remember, the contestants really passed through a lot of challenges under the watchful eye of the strict Chef Gordon Ramsay. During the last part of the show, the Hell’s Kitchen was split into two sections which became the two restaurants that the two remaining contestants will manage. Each contestant was allowed to choose how they will decorate their restaurant by putting in wine racks or fountain or whatever they think will fit the theme that they want for their restaurant. Each contestant was also responsible for choosing the menu for their restaurant.

The winner was chosen by Chef Gordon Ramsay based on how they perform as the head chef of their restaurant and based on the feedbacks from the patron of the restaurants. For Season 2, the winner was Heather West who now works as a chef at the Broadway Grill in Seattle, Washington.

What I like about Hell’s Kitchen is it offers a different twist from the usual reality TV show that I love to watch. I can’t wait for the premiere of the new season and I wonder what new twist will they add to the show.

Time really flies

I was reading the blog of my good friend Em and I just learned that her three year old son is now sleeping in his own bedroom. Their son co- sleeps with them since he was born and now that their son is already three years old, they feel that he is now ready to learn to be independent. And so they started to fix their second room and bought new kids bedroom furniture for their son’s room. I was smiling while I was reading my friend’s entry on her blog about this as her son was able to adapt right away to the new set up while she and her husband where the one who constantly check their son in her room during the night.

How time really flies. I remember, my husband and I were just shopping for wooden childrens furniture for our daughter’s nursery and in just four months, my daughter will turn three years old too. While I was reading my friend’s entry in her blog, I can’t help but realized that someday soon, my daughter would have to learn to be independent too and we will have to let her go and let her have her own room.

Just thinking about it makes me feel sad in a way because it makes me feel that my daughter is no longer a baby. But I know I can’t control time and there will really come a time when we will shop for new furniture again like new bedroom set and kids desk for her own room. I know that time will be sometime in the future but for now, I will just enjoy every moment that I can spend with my daughter because it is really true that time really flies and before I know it my toddler is already a teenager.

Wordless Wednesday # 17 - Hubby's Art Work

Featured Weekender

It was my lunch break yesterday when I posted my entry for this week’s Weekend Snapshot. After publishing my post, I immediately went to the Weekend Snapshot site to submit the URL of my post and I was surprised and happy to see my blog as one of the Featured Weekender for this week. And what made it extra special was that the blog of my good friend Em, Mind Bubbles, was the other featured Weekender for this week. To my excitement, I immediately sent Em an instant message although I know that it is already midnight from where she lives.

I joined Weekend Snapshots last April and since then I never failed to post an entry every Monday. I enjoyed the group as I get to see and experience (through pictures) a lot of different sceneries, experiences, emotions just by visiting each other’s blog.

To the Weekend Snapshot team, thanks again for featuring my blog for this week. It is truly one amazing experience for me as a blogger. More power to Weekend Snapshot. And to my good friend Em, cheers again to us and Womenxplore and Mind Bubbles would really be a memorable blog for us.

To check other Weekenders and to join Weekend Snapshot, just visit them here.

Brownout

A few minutes after we arrived home, the lights went out and we had no electricity for three hours this evening. I thought it would just be a minor power interruption and in just a couple of minutes power will be restored. But I was wrong since an hour has passed already and still the power hasn’t been restored.

I called Meralco and I found out that they are repairing the power source where we are connected. Their engineers are already working on it and even though they can’t gave me the exact time on when the power will be restored; they assured me though that the power interruptions won’t last overnight. (It better be as we don’t know how Bela can sleep if it is really hot).

Bela was starting to be cranky already as she wanted to watch her favorite show on Playhouse Disney. Good thing her portable DVD player was fully charge and so we let her watch Charlotte’s Web while Howell and I were enjoying our popcorn.

By 9:00 PM, after dinner time, power was restored. Howell was planning to change our shower faucets since we bought one at the hardware store but then he figured it is already his bed time so he plans to do it tomorrow.

Future Bathroom Project

Do you have a dream concept for your bathroom? I have always wanted to renovate our bathroom. We only have a simple bathroom – we have no Bathroom Cabinets, we only have a simple shower curtain and a shower with no hot and cold facility.

But for me, the bathroom is one of the next important rooms so I really wanted it to be nice. I remember when we stayed in one of the nice hotels Tagaytay and they really have a nice bathroom that I picture it to be how my bathroom will look like. Another one of my favorite bathroom where I want to pattern ours is the bathroom of my friend who is living in the island paradise of Boracay. The bathroom has a glass window overlooking the great island of Boracay and it has great Bathroom Furniture that makes it look like you are in a spa instead of a bathroom.

Pictures from: www.spacify.com

But this are just dreams for now. With the high rising prices of gasoline, we really don’t have a budget for any house renovation. But the good news is our housing loan will be finish in just a few months and who knows, after that, we might have a budget for our dream bathroom project.

Status: Shipped

That is the status of my first order from eBay. Remember I made a post here that I am starting to get addicted with eBay? I started to stay away from eBay site last week and stopped bidding for the mean time. I won a bid last July 21 (my first eBay win) and sent the payment to the seller last July 22. But after I sent the payment, I didn’t receive any news from the seller regarding the status of my order. I sent the seller an email two times but did not receive a reply. So I was getting worried already (although the bag is just really cheap - $16 with sipping) for I stopped bidding first.

I sent the seller an email again yesterday asking for the status of my order and this morning I got this reply from the seller:


I am really happy. The seller just shipped my bag today and in two weeks, I am getting hold of my new bag. I will take a picture when it is here.

So if ever I am offline later, it could be that I am just busy bidding again at eBay. LOL.

Weekend Snapshot # 13 - Her Animals

My daughter just loves playing with her animal toys. Her favorite is the horse and the tiger. One of the favorite movies that she loves to watch now is the movie Madagascar. It is about four animals (a zebra, lion, hippopotamus and giraffe) who got relocated to Madagascar after Marty, the zebra tried to escape from the zoo since he wants to find out what life in the wildlife is.

My daughter has a zebra, giraffe and lion toy but she is missing a hippopotamus to complete her set of animals from Madagascar. So after our trip to Fun ranch, we went to Toy Kingdom to buy some more toy animals.

My daughter played with it as soon as we arrived home and the pictures will say how excited and happy she is with her new toys. We even bought animals from the ocean since part of the collection was a sting ray which is also one of her favorite animals from the movie Finding Nemo.

Animals are really my daughter’s fascination now and that is why we will be having a Jungle Safari / Madagascar themed party for her third birthday.

Domino Tag

I was tagged by Aggie.

Making the Domino Tag come alive again

{BEGIN COPY}

Rule: Copy the entire list and add your name at the bottom. And tag at least 5 friends. (But you can tag as many as you like).

Note: Please link the blog where you posted the tag We appreciate you linking all your blogs but make sure you post the tag in the blogs too.

Mommy Talks Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps All Kinds of Me Stuff The Salad Caper Winding Creek Circle Anorexic Queen Apple of Yan Ple YanPle Howell and Abie My Planet Purple WomenXplore Princess Bela My Happy Place I am Dzoi Cliktrik Life’s Simple Pleasures Coffee Table Conversations 100% Kelly My Colorful World Ramdom Thoughts Scribbles of My Life In This Game of Life The Shopaholic in Me Mommyhood and Me My Charmed Life My Joys Sassy Finds Celebrating Life Life is Peachy Belly, Baby and Beyond {BloggerHappy} {BerryScrappy}

{END COPY}

I am passing this to Vien, Val, Jason and Kite.

I love New York

I was checking some of our online album for pictures that I need for my scrapbook when I chance upon our New York vacation pictures.

After my training in Canada, my husband and I went to visit his relatives in New York. We stayed at my husband’s cousins in Brooklyn and we stayed there for a week. I can say that New York is one of my favorite cities since we were really able to visit all of the tourist spots in New York like the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Wall Street and Central Park. Thanks to my husband’s relatives because they really took a day off from work so they can give us a tour of New York.

But if my husband’s relatives will not be able to give us a tour, I am sure that we will definitely join any of the New York City Tours so we don’t have to explore the city by ourselves. While we are touring around New York, we often see this double Decker bus who tours the tourist around the famous spots in New York City. I’m sure that it would be one great way to explore the city too.

I might have training this coming 2009 or 2010 and we are planning to visit my husband’s relatives in New York again after my training. And I am already planning to join at least one city tour as this is something we were not able to try the last time we are in New York. And I will book my Sex and the City tour early as it was fully booked when I was there and I was not able to join that tour as well.

So these are the things that I am looking forward to on our next visit to New York City.

Something Special.

Thank you Jane, Chat and Dez for this.


~Start Copy Here~

1. Copy from start to finish2. This letter should be pass on to your closest friends online.3. Add your name and URL blog HERE!! .4. Get back to Me [HAZEL] and leave a comment once you’ve passed on the letter. Will then visit your site to make sure your links are complete and proper.

1. Wheng 2. Hazel 3. Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey 4. A Sweet Taste Of Life 5. Sassy Finds 6. Shangrila Journey 7. Mommyhood and Me 8. My Simple Joys 9. My Online World 10. Our Journey to Life 11. My Planet Purple 12. Princess Bela 13. Women Xplore

To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, UPDATE your list regularly!

It’s true I have never seen you
and we have never met,
Never shaken Hands or
even truly hugged and yet!
I know for sure you care for
me by the kindness that you give.
And our keyboards keep us
together doesn’t matter where we live.
So I give you this gift to
put a smile on your face
and to let you know in my
heart you have a special place.

~End Copy Here~

I pass this to Vien, Val, Jason.

The Excited Stage Mother

I was looking at my daughter’s calendar for this school year and I noticed that their first school program will be this coming October, in time for their Halloween party.

Since this would be Bela’s first school program, for sure both Howell and I will be excited for this and since Bela is the first grand daughter and niece in our family, all of her aunts, uncles and grand father and grand mother would be as excited as us. In fact because of my excitement, I am already looking for halloween costumes that she can wear for their program since it will a trick or treat event.

This is the second time Bela will attend a Trick or Treat event. The first time we attended one was when she was only less than one year old. Of course she is not aware of what’s going on. All she knows is she is having fun with her cousins going around the different stores asking for candies. She was wearing a costume from one of the comic book characters, she was Wonder woman during her first Halloween.


Then for second Halloween costume, I just bought a green gown for her and a green butterfly wing so she looks like Tinkerbelle. She was quite aware of what is going on the second time she went trick or treating and she enjoys wearing her costume too.


So for her third Halloween, I really want it to be extra special as for sure, her other classmates will have an extra special costume too. So I better start looking for costume ideas so I won’t cram when the program is already near.

I am really excited. I’m sure Bela will have fun as she loves being the center of attention and she just loves being around her classmates and teachers so she will really have fun celebrating her third Halloween with them.

Get help in managing your Social Networking Sites

When was the last time you updated your Friendster account or your Flickr and Facebook account? As for me, I can’t remember the last time I was able to find time to update my social networking sites. I even got invitation for face book but never got a chance to create an account there.

So if you are like me who is already having an overload in managing your social networking sites and can’t seem to keep up with the endless stream of Flickr photos, Twitter twits, and request to be added on your Friendster and Facebook account, then these Web applications that can hemp you manage your social networking sites might work for your. Check them out.

1. Yoono.com – it is plug in that sits on the left site of your browser window when installed and gives you a single place to post for blog entries, send an instant message to a friend and alerts new if you receive new message.
2. Sproutbuilder.com – allows you to create a widget that you can embed in your MySpace or Facebook profile
3. Oosah.com – allows you a single user interface for all your multimedia files that you posted on your Facebook, Picasa, Flickr and Your Tube profile. With just a single log on, you can add and delete multimedia files from all your accounts / sites.

I must admit that having a Friendster account has helped me be in contact with my friends that I haven’t talked too in a long while. But managing social networking sites can really be time consuming so I’m really glad that there are sites like this that can make our online social networking life much easier.

It is definite. We will have a party for her 3rd

After Bela’s second birthday party last year, I promised that it will be her last party and her next big one will be on her seventh birthday. It is only a few months before Bela turns three and looks like I cannot keep my promise.

I know that a wiser decision would be to use the money to something more worthwhile or just deposit the money to her Savings Accounts. But we were watching the video of her first birthday a couple of weeks ago and I can she was just so happy and excited watching all the kids gather around her for her candle blowing, in watching the magicians do their tricks and in watching all the kids and adults have fun. So all of a sudden I suddenly want to have a party for her.

Although this time, it would just be a small party with very limited guests so at least we can save up a little money that we can deposit to her bank account. I’m not giving up the fact that having a saving account is a good investment because it really offers good interest rate so the money that we will be saving after having a small party will definitely go to her bank account.

Updates on my Party Planning for Bela

During Bela’s first and second birthday, I really planned in advance and by this time, I am already booked with most of my major suppliers like the live entertainers, venue and photographer. But since it is just last week that we finally made a decision to have a party for her third birthday, it is only now that I am starting to plan for her party. But I guess since it is only a small party, I still have enough time for the party preparation.

1. Venue: Done
We checked Kidz Republic in Mall of Asia last Saturday and I find their package very reasonable. Their cheapest package includes 3 hours use of the party room, balloons, invitations, host, food (hotdog, ice cream and coke) and 2 hours play for 20 kids at their indoor play area.

I already made a pencil booking for November 16 (which is her actual birth date) from 2-5 PM. I need to pay the 50% down payment, three weeks before the actual party.

2. Live Entertainers: Still looking Since I have three hours to consume for the party, I was thinking that I need to hire an entertainer so we can maximize the three hours use of the party room.

I’m choosing between a puppet show and a magician. We already had a magician during her first birthday so I’m thinking to have a puppet show instead so it will be something new since we will be having the same guest as her first birthday party.

3. Photo / Video: Done
Of course, the video will be taken care of my cousin. As for the photographer, my husband will just ask one of his friend photographers to cover the event. He will still shoot from time to time but we have to assign somebody to be the dedicated photographer so everything will be covered.

4. Souvenir: Still looking
I still don’t have an idea for the souvenir as we really have a limited budget only. Any suggestions?

5. Theme: Madagascar or Jungle Safari
This is just a general idea as I haven’t done much research yet about that particular theme.

6. Cake: Still looking
I have asked a friend for the contact number of the baker who makes cakes for her parties so I might order from them too as it is highly recommended by my friend.

I guess these are the major items that I have to take care for now.

Flirty, Fun and Fancy Free

Checked out the new Hampton’s collections from Coach:


I subscribed to Coach website so I get emails from them every now and then if they have a new collection (at least I get to see Coach bags to satisfy my craving for it even if I can’t afford it. LOL) and I saw this in my inbox this morning. Most of you might know that purple is really my color so I almost die when I saw the new collection from Coach (Exaggerating here). Specially since I don’t think I can really afford the purple bags from LV. At least these Coach bags are a more realistic dream for me than the LV bags. LOL.

I hope I can save some for this bag. This will be my Christmas gift for myself (pathetic. LOL). So it is the end of my craving for LV bags, it is Coach for me this time.

Rotating Skyscraper in Dubai

Have you ever wonder which cities rank as the city with the world’s best skyscrapers and Metal Buildings? Well here is the top 5:

1. Hong Kong - International Commerce Centre
2. New York - Freedom Tower
3. Dubai - Burj Dubai
4. Tokyo- Mid Town Tower
5. Shanghai - Shanghai World Financial Center

I have always been fascinated with Dubai’s skyscrapers and beautiful buildings. I particularly like the Burj Dubai which will become the tallest man made structure on earth once it gets completed by September 2009.

Dubai has been known for undertaking innovative construction projects but their latest project that really caught my attention was the construction of the very first wind powered rotating building. This is what they call Dynamic Architecture.


The skyscraper is 420 meters high and has eighty rotating floors. Forty eight wind turbines will be installed for each floor so it will utilize the power of the wind to make the building rotate which makes this building eco-friendly as well. The building will be constructed in parallel stages instead of from ground up.

This is really one unique and innovative construction project. This is one of the reasons why I dreamed of going to Dubai someday.

Proud and Happy

My husband and I went furniture shopping with my friend last weekend for her new condominium unit. We love furniture shopping. Every time one of our friends needs to furnish their house, my husband and I always volunteers to show them the shop where we always buy our furniture and where we got good deals.

While my friend was doing her furniture shopping, my husband and I did our own window shopping and we looked for furniture that would be best for our house in Bulacan. But it would just be window shopping for now since we can’t move in there not until we get a home loan refinancing for the repair and renovation of our house.

We bought that property from my grand mother a few days after we got married. My grand mother needs to sell it really fast as she needs instant cash and so she is really selling it at a very good and discounted rate. My husband’s dream was to invest on real estate and so when he found out that my grand mother was selling their property in Bulacan, he immediately checked home loan interest rates of the different banks so we can compare which one has the lowest interest and we applied right away for a home loan.

It’s been almost three now since we bought that property and we didn’t even noticed that our loan is almost finish. But I remember, during the first year when we started paying for the loan, we even thought that we have to avail of a refinance home loan since we are really having a hard time paying for the monthly amortization. I was also pregnant that time so it also adds up to our monthly expense.

But we are so happy and proud because we never thought that we can really afford to buy a house and lot. I guess it just takes courage, dedication, and hard work to really get what you really want.

Wallet Size Digital Picture Frame

I was having a chat with my new boss this morning and he noticed the pictures of my daughter hanging on my wall. Those pictures are taken when my daughter was only less than a year old and I think that was the last time I sent her pictures for printing.

My boss was looking for the latest pictures of my daughter but all of my daughter’s pictures are stored on DVDs. I guess if I have the 3.5″ digital photo album from Coby, I could have easily shown my boss latest pictures of my daughter.

This wallet size digital picture frame can store 400 pictures on its 1GB flash memory. You can add narrative to you pictures that will pop up together with the picture as the picture rotates during the slide show. You can also add music t your picture slide show since this digital picture frame can play MP3 and WMA files.

For her 3rd

It was Tinkerbelle themed costume party for my daughter’s first birthday complete with a magician, a jumping castle, a nice cake, cotton candy and snow cone food carts, great food and great company of all our friends and relatives.

Then it was a Lilo and Stitch luau party for her second birthday with a bubble show (which was really the highlight of the party), Lilo mascot, chocolate fountain, fun games, a hair salon and body jewelry booth for kids and adults, great food and kids and adults can take a dip in the pool after the party.

So now I am already running out of ideas for her third birthday party or maybe it is because I have a very limited budget this time (I really have no plans to have a party for her so we really didn’t set a budget for it. But then all of a sudden, I wanted to plan a party for her third).

We already found a venue where we can hold the party. We are choosing between Kidz Republic at Mall of Asia and we can have a puppet show and the kids can play in their Indoor Play Area after the party. Or we can have it again at Philippine Columbian where we can have the Wildlife Encounter Show (since this is not allowed at Kidz Republic). And it will really be a limited number of guests – relatives, classmates and very close friends as I am really working on a budget here.

Up to now, I still can’t decide what to do. Maybe it’s a sign that I should totally scratch the idea of having a party for her third birthday. LOL.

Bedroom Upgrade

When we are buying furniture for our house after we got married, we thought that a queen size bed is already enough for us. But when I gave birth to Bela, she has been co-sleeping with us just days after she was born. She used to sleep on her crib next to our bed during her first few days but then my husband noticed that I always wake up in the middle of the night to check on her so she suggested that we let her sleep beside us.

Now my daughter is already 2.8 years old and even though she is still small, she occupies almost ¾ of our bed. I think it is really time to look for new Bedroom Sets so we can change our bed to king size.



There are times that either Howell or I have to sleep on our side so we can all fit on our bed or sometimes Howell has to sleep on the floor since it is more comfortable there. But I guess, we have to say goodbye to this kind of sleeping routine and maybe we should allot a budget for a new bedroom sets. And while we are at it, maybe we should look for Bedroom Furniture too so we can add some decorations to our dull room.

7 Random Things About Me

Got this tag from Jody.

A. List these rules on your blog.
B. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
C. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

You’ll have to read on for my 7 facts and see who I tagged.

1. Just like Jody, I still want another trip before I get pregnant (hopefully) again next year. I want a major trip like Japan (since Howell and I can both get a free round trip ticket there), but we will see. Bohol will do for me if we can’t afford a Japan trip. LOL.
2. I can’t live without my yaya so even though I hate her most of the time, I still can’t let her go since she is really the most efficient out of all the yayas we had.
3. I am starting to get addicted with eBay. LOL.
4. I love my new boss now better than my last one (but I am still crossing my fingers since I have only known him for two weeks now). Hopefully she will still be the same in the next coming months.
5. I am not ready to have a second baby yet. Sometimes I feel guilty about it specially after hearing other couples having a difficult time getting pregnant.
6. I don’t know how to drive and I don’t think I will ever learn how to. Maybe it is because I really don’t want to learn since I enjoy the pleasure of just sitting on the back seat and I can do anything I want – sleep, read a book or whatever during the trip.
7. I love going to the beach but I am not comfortable swimming in deep waters or riding a boat or snorkeling. I don’t think I can ever enjoy whale watching in Donsol since I don’t think I can jump out of the boat just to have a glimpse of the Butanding.

I’m tagging Jason, Vien, Aggie, Eds.

Wordless Wednesday # 16 - The White Tiger

CSI Miami: Episode 3

Have you seen the last episode of CSI Miami? I was so lazy Sunday that I decided to just lie down on the coach watched the re-runs of my favorite CSI shows. Episode 3 of CSI Miami was about a man hunt when robber Julio Rentoria promised $2,000,000 to anyone who would help him escape. He was able to escape using the prison transport and the CSI team goes on a man hunt to look for Julio and his other companions.

I thought if only the prison vehicle that was utilized by the convict Julio Rentoria has a vehicle tracking system, the CSI team, could have easily locate the vehicle and captured the violent robber.

Those GPS tracking system are really so powerful since it gives the real time location of any device it is connected to. It is even compatible with Google Earth so data can be downloaded and viewed in Google Earth for a more broader and detailed view.

I remember from the other CSI shows, they have used the GPS tracking system to hunt down the murderers or solve crimes. If I can afford it, I would definitely get one installed on our car since it is also one way of protection for my family.

On showbiz, my aunt and cancer

Have you seen Snooky Serna lately? I saw her a few weeks ago on a talk show and she is bald. She is being interviewed for rumors that she just committed an abortion and she really looks weird and bothered while I was watching her. Then the next Saturday after her last interview, I saw her again in one of the talk show and she is now wearing one of those Revlon Wigs which makes her look more weird to me.

But aside from Snooky Serna, I know there are a lot of people who can wear those Monofilament Wigs and it really looks good on them. It even looks so real that you won’t eve notice that it is a wig. If you have seen the show America’s Next Top Model, you will notice that they sometimes use hair extensions and wigs for the contestant to create a new look or for a make over. Hollywood stars even used them too so they can stay up to date with the latest hair trends.

This is the same wig that my aunt wore when she was undergoing chemotherapy. We were hiding her condition from our grandmother because we don’t know how our grandmother will take it and since she is already old, we don’t want to give her something to think and worry about. So we have looked for the best wigs that can cover my aunt’s balding head while she was undergoing chemotherapy and we found Raquel Welch Wigs. And it seems to work because my grand mother didn’t even notice that it is a fake hair and so we were able to keep my aunt’s cancer condition from her which in the end did her good since we know how much of a worrier she is specially if it is about her kids.

My first win on eBay

I won, I won. Not in the lottery but I won from eBay.

It’s my first week on eBay and I placed a bid on four items already while I have fourteen watched items. After several days of bidding, I always end up losing on my bid since I did not watch my bid during the last few minutes of the auction. So I always end up being outbid by just a couple of centavos.

But yesterday I was so happy when I received the email from eBay notifying me that I am the winner – “Congratulations! You are the winner!!” I was so happy while reading this. LOL. The item that I bid on is really not a bid item. It is just a small bag from Ralph Lauren and my sister is even teasing me because I am the only bidder. But still, I won. LOL.

And peachy was right, once you started to win, it will really be addicting. I have another bid that I am watching and the auction for that item will end around 2:30 AM. Hope I can stay awake until 2:30 so I can watch for my bid. So wish me luck guys and I will keep you posted tomorrow if I will win or not.

For our aunt

My aunt was complaining last night again as she is experiencing difficulty in breathing and she always feel sick. She went to the doctor last Saturday and the doctor advised her to get a 2D echo so they can better check her condition.

My aunt is a retired accountant and since she is no longer working she doesn’t have a health insurance to cover for her medical needs. That is the reason why she is always postponing her visit to the doctor because she is worried since she knows how expensive medical expenses can be.

But we are so worried for her since she also have high blood pressure and we already rushed her to the hospital two times already this year every time she is having high blood pressure so we really want her to have a general check up.

My siblings and my other cousins have been talking and we all agreed that we will get her a health insurance and we will all share for the payment. My aunt was the one who took care of all of us, and now that we are all working doing this simple deed for her would be our small little way of thanking her for all that she has done for us. We all love her so dearly and we want her to have good health always.

Music is our life

There are people who can never live without music and it is always a part of their everyday life. My sister is just like that. Everywhere she goes, you can always see an earphone plugged to her ear and she is probably listening to her favorite radio stations like the new country music stations or is listening to today’s big hits.

I can’t blame her, as I find music a very great way to relax too. In the office, I am always tuned in to Florida High Definition Radio stations where I can listen to crystal clear music for free. Music is one of my stress reliever specially if I am having a stressful day at work. Every time I listen to music, I feel that I have shut down my stressful life and I am in my own heaven. That is why my husband promised to give me a Polk Audio I-sonic ES2 on his next payday because he knows how much I love my music. He said that he saw it on the net and he finds it to be my perfect partner at work.

I’m so excited. I can’t wait for my new I-sonic so I can listen to great music and have a relaxing and fun day at work no matter how stressful my day will be.

Shrink - Shrink

Don’t you hate it when you are off to the beach and you want to try as much as possible to pack light but there is really nothing you can do with your beach towel since it is bulky and heavy? That’s what I hate the most.

I remember when we went to Boracay, I am packing for three people – me, my husband and my two year old daughter. And my challenge was to fit all our stuff into one luggage since it is difficult to carry around big luggage specially if you are heading to the beach. And I was really having a difficult time packing since I don’t know how to squeeze in our stuff specially if we have to bring large beach towels with us.


But I was really happy as I found the solution to my beach towel problem. Presenting, the magic towel. The magic towel is a vacuum packed towel made of 100% cotton and is only 4 inches in diameter. And once you reached the beach, you just have to soak it in water for 30 seconds and it will transform to a 30" x 60" cotton towel. This towel is being sold at $12.99 and there are a lot of cool designs to choose from. This magic towel really rocks!

Decisions, decisions, decisions

I received a phone call from my mom today asking me why did we brought our car to work as my father plans to bring it to the shop for repair. My father has been asking us to send our car for repair as it really needs an overall check up because it is not running at its top performance. My husband noticed it also but we are always busy and we are a little scared to send it for repair as we know that we don’t have that enough money for car repairs.

Our car is just a second hand car that we bought from our brother. That time, a used car is the only thing that we can afford so we just settle for that one. Buying a used car has some advantage since it is cheaper so we were able to pay for it in cash. But now we are thinking if that can outweigh the headache that it is causing us every time we have to send it for repair.

So now we are thinking if are ready to get an auto loan so we can finally buy a brand new car that will not give us any headache. Come to think of it, our housing loan will be finish in six months time so we will be financially okay by that time to get an auto loan.

But I guess we have to think about it first and discuss this among ourselves so we will know what is our next best step so we can be free from any headache that frequent car repairs is causing us and at the same time we have to make sure that the cost of this convenience (by getting a new car) will not be a financial burden for us. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend

Remember when Nokia first release the Nokia 8800? It was one of the most expensive phones and they say that it is made of Titanium and is scratch proof. My brother owns one but he just got it as a second hand unit form our cellphone shop and its value now is just a fraction of its original value when it was first released.

Now, Knalihs Anthem, designed diamond encrusted phones for Nokia and Apple. The Nokia 8800 has 400 diamonds and the Apple 3G Iphone has 1000 diamonds. They say that only 20 units of each will be produced by Knalihs Anthem so it is really a limited edition.


Can anybody afford this phone? And if ever they can afford it, I wonder if there is anybody who will buy it. Oh well, I think there are some people who hates money and they would just love to spend it to an expensive thing such as this.

Photo Credit: Chip Chick

Weekend Snapshot # 12 - The Pink Dolphins @ Sentosa

We watched a number of dolphin shows already but we still don’t want to miss the dolphin show at Sentosa. And it is good that we came to watch the show since it is a little different than the other dolphin shows we have seen. Not like the other shows, the dolphins at Sentosa have a much bigger space to move since they are not confined in a small tank but they are housed in a lagoon. Bela again loved the show specially when the pink dolphins are doing their tricks.