Awards Galore

From Vien. Thanks so much!

Copy the post below and share it to a friend.

The storm is over. The sun is shinning now. Smile at someone. Spread the happiness.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.~Mark Twain

I'm passing this to Kite and Jason.

And I got this award from Ems.

Coffeedrinkers: Living the Healthy Life / Vanity Kit / Stripe & Yellow / Em's Detour / Mind Bubbles / Something Purple / Princess Bela / Our Journey to Life / My Planet Purple / Women Xplore / YOUR BLOG HERE

I'm passing this to Eds & MM.

And this award again from Ems.

Awarded: Mai Yen Eds Farah Farah's Pit Stop MIND BUBBLES Women Xplore your blog where you posted this.

Now, Im passing the award to wonderful bloggers Jhona, Jan and Pheng.

Welcome Audree Rheine

I was online yesterday and the sister of my good friend Jacq gave me the good news that her sister gave birth to a pretty little baby girl last August 24, US time. The baby is 8 lbs. and my friend had a normal delivery. They named their pretty princess Audree Rheine.

I haven't talked to my friend yet as they might still be at the hospital or they're busy taking care of their daughter that they can't find time to go online. But I'm sure they are filled with so much joy with the coming of the new member in their family.

To Jacq and Neil, congrats again and we can't wait to see you all here in Manila. Hope that as soon as baby Audree is ready to travel, you will pack your bags and have a short vacation here. And to Jacq, don't worry about your figure because for sure you will be so busy in taking care of your daughter. And if it all else fails, there are always the reliable diet pills to help you shed out that extra pound. In no time, you will be back to your pre-pregnancy weight and you can go back wearing all your sexy clothes. Take care guys and see you all soon.

Macau this time

My friend just got back from their weekend getaway in Macau and I was really excited to ask her how it went since we will be going there too this coming November. She went with her family and her in-laws and they were in Macau for three days and two nights. Sine they are traveling in a big group, they rented a chartered bus that will fetch them from the airport to their hotel and vice versa. This is what they did when her family had a vacation in New York. They rented NYC Bus Charters to fetch them from the airport and they find it really convenient so my friend made sure that they did the same thing for their Macau trip as it was the wish of her in law.

My friend was really happy with their trip. After the bus brought them to their hotel, they just freshened up for a bit and they went to the Venetian hotel right away. My friend had been to the Venetian in Las Vegas and she said that the one in Macau is twice or even thrice the size of the Venetian in Vegas.

They were not able to do some shopping though as it is a bit expensive but they were able to really go around Macau. They were able to visit the St. Paul Ruins and they even went up the Macau tower. She said that the highlight of their trip was when they watched the Cirque du Soleil since they all love it. It was really an amazing show and they were glad that they were able to catch it in Macau.

After hearing all her stories, it made me feel excited for our upcoming trip to Macau. I am not sure though if we will be able to visit all the tourist spots there as we will only be there for a day but we will surely not miss going to the Venetian Hotel and we will definitely ride the Gondola.

Wordless Wednesday # 20 - I am Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino

From Wikipedia.org:

Benigno Servillano Aquino Aquino, Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983), popularly known as Ninoy Aquino or Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., was a former Philippine senator, governor and mayor and a leading oppositionist to the autocratic rule of Ferdinand Marcos. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now named the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor) upon returning home from exile in the United States. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, to the limelight and subsequently to the presidency, replacing the 20-year-old Marcos regime.

Baby Shopping

I have been doing some baby shopping lately and this is one of the items that I bought.
You might be wondering why I am baby shopping. Nope, I am not pregnant. My best friend Jacq who lives in Los Angeles is due to give birth anytime this week and so hubby and I decided to order something online as our gift for their princess.

It took me hours to select the gift that I will order since there are a lot of nice baby stuffs to choose from and I must admit it made me excited after doing some baby shopping and made me think if I am ready for our second baby (* wink).

I checked the status of my order and it has been delivered already although I haven’t talked to my friend yet to verify if they indeed get the package. I haven’t seen her go online these past few days so she might have given birth already.

I can’t wait to see pictures of their little princess.

This Week's To Do List

We’re off to Baguio this weekend. Can you see how excited I am? I was really not into having another vacation but since hubby was really insistent, I gave in to his wish. And of course the OC me started to do some research on the best places to dine in Baguio and the other activities that we can do there. The last time I have hubby and I have been there was maybe more than five years ago so I am sure a lot has change.

But before I really get all excited with our out of town vacation, I have to make a checklist first of the things that I have to accomplish before we leave:

* Do some shopping for the stuffs that we need to bring for this trip – toiletries for Bela, Chips, etc
* Finish all my tasks at work as I can’t afford to work overtime on Thursday as that is the day that I will pack our things
* Look for nice bar sinks that we nned to purchase this week as we will ask my uncle to replace our sinks while we are out.
* It is my nanny’s last day on Thursday so I have to settle everything with her before she leaves.
* Check out on my grand mother if there is anything that she needs before we leave and make sure that she has everything that she needs. (She is scheduled for her cataract surgery today so I am a little worried in leaving her).
* Coordinate with my cousin for our birthday plans for my aunt on the 31st.
* Make a list of the things that we need to bring for the trip.

Wooh, this sure is a long list. I hope I will be finish with this list come Thursday.

Old Friends

Guess who we bumped in at the mall the other day? We went to SM to do our groceries after our lunch at DAMPA with the MBAP and we accidentally bumped into my husband’s good friend from college. He is in commercial real estate now and he left his career as an IT professional because according to him, real estate is where the money is. He is with his wife and his twins. (My husband was so envious as having twins is one of his frustrations. LOL.) You can really see that both of them are really excited in seeing each other. The last time they saw each other was after they graduated from college and the never heard anything from each other after that. They start to look back during their college days and they began laughing at the silliest and simple things that they did back when they were still single.

It was good to see you again and your family. Hope we get to talk longer next time.

Tomorrow

Church
Sea foods & MBAP
42K & LV chika
Groceries
Shopping
Bowling

These are our activities lined up for tomorrow. It will be a long day but I’m sure it will be one fun day for all of us.

See you all tomorrow MBAPs.

The Melbourne Cup

I was chatting with my friend who now resides in Australia and for the past few days, she has been very busy preparing for the documents that her parents will be needing to apply for a tourist visa. She will be bringing her parents over at Melbourne for a short vacation and it will coincide with the Melbourne Cup.

She has been living in Australia for years now and because she can’t take a day off from work, she hasn’t gone home to visit her parents ever since she moved in to Australia. And since her parents will be celebrating their wedding anniversary, she decided to send them tickets so her parents can come and visit her at Melbourne.

Her father is a true horse racing fan so she thought to bring them to Melbourne during the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s major annual horse race so she knows that it will be a great experience for her father to watch a race of thorough breed horse race during the Melbourne Cup.

She is done finalizing all the documents that her parents need to apply for a tourist visa and hopefully her parents will be given a visa as she knows that her father is excited as early as now to watch the Melbourne Cup.

Preggy Talk

Thanks Peachy for this.

{{START COPY HERE}}–

Moms Who Played Along: Mai Yen Kathycot Peachy Abie
Preggy Facts:
1. Who did you first inform about your pregnancy and how?
:: The husband, of course.
2. Maximum weight?
:: From 110 to 130 lbs .
3. Cravings?
:: Cadbury chocolate, atis, Brownies
4. Aversions?
:: The smell of Buchi and Sassy (our Labrador).
5. Morning Sickness?
:: For me it is before bed time.

D Day Facts:
1. Number of Kids/Deliveries?
:: 1
2. NSD or CS?
:: CS
3. Girl or Boy?
:: Girl
4. AOG (age of gestation) on Birth?
:: Opps, I forgot. I have to check my book.
5. How long in labor?
:: I had a scheduled CS since my amniotic fluid level is at the low level already so I did not go into labor.

–{{END COPY HERE}}–

Tagging Eds, MM and Jane

My Turn

Last Monday, hubby surprised me with a trip to the home furniture near our area and he bought me a new wardrobe cabinet. I was really touched with his gift because I really wasn’t expecting it. I even jokingly asked him if he did something wrong that’s why he is making it up to me and is buying me this wardrobe cabinet. But according to him, he just wanted to do the same thing that Mr. Big did to Carrie. You can read the whole story here.

So now I am thinking of surprising him too. I know he wants the display cabinet that we saw at the furniture store but instead of buying it, being the selfless person that he is, he bought my cabinet and a cabinet for our daughter’s toys first. But I know how much he likes it as he just stares blankly at it when he saw it. I already knew what he was thinking – it would be a perfect display cabinet for the 12” and 6” action figure toys that he bought a couple of weeks ago.

So I have to work extra hours so I can save some money so I too can surprise him with his glass display cabinet one of these days.

Me, Carrie, Mr. Big and Howell

Remember the scene from the Sex and the City movie when Mr. Big surprised Carrie with the walk-in closet that he asked to be constructed for Carrie?

Hubby was at home last Monday while I was in the office as I have work on that day. On my way home he asked me to take the LRT and meet him at the Abad Santos station. When I arrived there, he was with my mom and they have been looking around the furniture stores there since hubby wanted to buy me a wardrobe cabinet.

He told me that he wanted to build walk in closet for me just like the one that Mr. Big had for Carrie but since we don’t have that space in our house plus we don’t have the budget too for that, he said that he will buy me a wardrobe cabinet for now and he will have a walk-in closet for me soon.

My wardrobe cabinet arrived last night and my yaya transferred my stiff from the cabinet that I shared with hubby to my new one. Thanks for the cabinet dad. I love it. Now my things are more organized and now our old cabinet is all yours. LOL.

PSP, iPod, PSP

My husband my daughter loves to borrow my cousins PSP every time we are at my grandmother’s house and they would play Tekken together. My daughter was so fascinated with the game but instead of buying her a PSP, I bought her a Leap Frog Leapster instead. Though it is like a video game, at least it is educational.

So I have no plans of buying a PSP in the near future. But since hubby started playing with it, he started to enjoy the games and wants to buy one for himself. My sister has a PSP that she rarely uses and she is making a deal of giving us her PSP if we can give her an Ipod. What do you guys think, do you think it is a good deal?

If we go with this deal, I have to buy memory cards for the PSP so we can download more games and videos for hubby and Bela since the one that goes with my sister’s PSP is just a 1 GB memory card.

Travel Plans: Baguio and HK

I am so excited for next week. I already filed a leave on the 29th so we can leave early for Baguio. I was able to make a reservation last week at the Suites of Camp John Hay and we will be staying there for three days and two nights. My husband really wants an out of town vacation for that weekend since we are both on holiday on the first of September. So I just have to pack our bags and we are all set for Baguio next week.

So now that I’m able to make an arrangement for our vacation next week and was able to fulfill my husband’s wish, I should start looking for our Hong Kong accommodations this time. I’m leaning towards booking a room at BP International since we already stayed at that hotel when we went to Hong Kong a couple of years ago and we are happy customers.

So far this is our plan:

On our first day, we will check in at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel. We will arrive in Hong Kong around 8 AM and I’m thinking if we need to get an airport shuttle service just like the Newark Airport Shuttle. The last time we went to Hong Kong, we got this service and it is very convenient especially we have a toddler in tow. So probably we will do the same thing this time. Then we might go to Ocean Park after lunch and then to Victoria Peak in the evening.

On day two, we plan to spend the whole day at Disneyland then move to a city hotel in the evening. Third day, we plan to have a day tour in Macau and our fourth day will be for our shopping.

I’m so excited already. Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities and I will never get tired of going back here.

Weekend Snapshot # 16 - Our Loots

Our loots are here. Our three boxes from Amazon arrived last Thursday together with my USPS parcel which contains my RL bag (my first eBay win).

My husband called me up to tell me that our boxes are here but he gave me the bad news that my bag still hasn’t arrived. I was a bit disappointed since I have been waiting for three weeks already for that bag.

I inspected our boxes as soon as we arrived home and I was glad to found a small pouch. My husband thought that it was a mail for our friend and not my bag but I was all smiles when I saw the seller’s name from eBay as the sender of the pouch. I immediately opened it and I was glad to see that it is my RL bag. It is really nothing big but I was excited since it is my first win on eBay.

The other items on our package contain my husband’s NFL, NHL, and God father action figures which I bought for him.

Questions of the Week #27

Yen's Questions of the Week #27

1. Do your days fly by or seem to last forever? I don’t seem to have the time to do all the things that I need for the day so Yes, my time just flies.
2. Have you ever stayed in a fancy, high class, rich hotel? I am a little picky when it comes to hotels but I don’t want to splurge that much on hotels either so I haven’t stayed in one of those high class hotels. The most expensive hotel that I stayed at is the Suite room at Westin Philippine Plaza.
3. Have you ever stayed in a rent-by-the-hour motel? Nope.
4. What, in your opinion, is the best advertising slogan out there? “It’s like a spa for my kilikili” LOL.
5. When they start sending rockets to the moon for us civillians will you be on the list to go? Yes, that would be one great adventure.
6. How are you feeling right now? Sleepy but happy.
7. Have you ever written anything on your skin? Yes.
8. If so what? Formulas for chemistry, physics, etc. LOL.
9. Have you ever looked directly at the sun? Haven’t tried that.
10. Name something you just cannot forget, no matter how hard you try. My friends who I haven’t talked to in a long time now.

City of Pines for the weekend

My husband wants to go to Baguio this weekend. It would be a long weekend since Monday is a holiday so he has been asking me to look for a hotel so we can spend our weekend in Baguio.

He initially wanted to go to Palawan since my mother will have a seminar there. But then I asked around and it is not toddler friendly since we have to travel by air, by land and by sea in order to go to the beach so we got discouraged.

But he said that he really needed a break from work and so he suddenly thought of going to Baguio instead. We can’t go next week since I already said yes to the MBAP lunch meeting on Sunday. And even though it is a holiday for us on September 1, we have to be in Manila during that weekend since it is my aunt’s birthday on August 31. So he wanted to leave this weekend.

I tried calling Camp John Hay Manor but they are already fully booked this weekend. I was not able to search for other hotels as I was busy with work this afternoon. I know it is not like my husband is asking to join one of those cruises. He just have a simple request - he just wanted to have a time off from work and a relaxing time with us. Hopefully I will still be able to make arrangements for our hotel so we can go to Baguio this weekend as I know my husband really deserves to have a break.

Christmas is just around the corner

I was cleaning up our spare room last time with my husband when I saw the box for our Christmas tree. How time really flies. We bought that Christmas tree last year and my husband put it up while I and my daughter decorated it. It was our first Christmas tree in our new house and the first Christmas tree that we shared with our daughter. It was really memorable for us so I was so sad when we packed it after new year but my husband told me that I would not even notice it and I just a few months, we have to put it up again.

And he was right because in just a few weeks and it will be the “BER” months again. Here in our country, Christmas starts early. By September, you will already see some households putting up their Christmas tree.

This is my daughter’s fourth Christmas but I know it will be extra special this year as I know she is already old enough to truly understand and feel a real Christmas celebration. So as early as now, my husband and I have been looking around for a perfect gift to give her this coming Christmas.

I was a kid, I received a Santa Letter. It was the happiest day of my life as I read from Santa’s letter that I made it to his good list. I really thought Santa was real and I can say that Santa Claus was one of the reasons why I hade memorable Christmas memories.

My husband and I would like to do the same thing with our daughter. We will let her experience the magic that Santa brings to anyone’s childhood so we thought of sending her Letters from Santa too. I’m sure she will really feel good upon receiving a letter from the man who gives gifts to good children during Christmas. I’m sure getting Santa Letters would be one of the best gift that my daughter will ever receive and sit would really be a wonderful experience for her that I’m sure she will pass too to her future kids.

Wordless Wednesday # 19 - Reflection

My bill is here

Oh boy, oh boy. I just opened my credit card bill and our expenses during our Sinagpore trip are included in this bill. Plus my husband and I did some online shopping and it is included in this bill also. So I was really shocked when I saw the total amount due for the month. I was telling my husband upon seeing my bill that I promise to control my shopping but he just smiled. Maybe he knew that shopping is one thing that will be difficult for me to give up. LOL.

When I opened my bill, there is a brochure about balance transfers and I am already thinking that it would be one of my options if I don’t have enough money to pay for my balance in full. I always see to it that I pay for my balance in full as credit card interests is so unbelievable. At least a balance transfer has lesser interest rate.

But thank goodness, the money that was left after our trip was just enough to pay for my balance. Otherwise, I would be really broke.

it's all about me

I was tagged by Kelly. Thanks for this sis.

The object is to complete each of the following snippets.

Participants: Startin’ A New Life, Too / All Things Me / Because Life IsFun / Feels Like Home / Mommy Talks / Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps / All Kinds of Me Stuff / The Salad Caper / Winding Creek Circle / InkBabyStudios / My Happy Place / Iam Dzoi / Suburban Sass / To the Moon and Back / Raising Sandy / Fun.Fierce.Fab / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / Ozzy’s Mom /100% KELLY / And so I am / Princess Bela / Our Journey to Life / My Planet Purple / Women Xplore

I am: Abie
I think: I will have a great day tomorrow
I know: that I am already sleepy
I have: everything that I need in life
I wish: good health and kiss ass people
I miss: Boracay
I fear: almost anything – heights, insects, being in a confined space, swimming in open water, etc
I hear: the music from Yahoo music launch cast
I smell: good
I crave: Café Monaco’s California Maki and Bibimbop
I search: for a nice clothes to wear for tomorrow (It is my 1st PTC at Toddlers Unlimited)
I wonder: what my daughter’s teachers will say about her
I regret: not being able to be more adventurous in life
I love: my family
I ache: when any of my family gets hurt
I am not: a rude person
I believe: that happiness is a choice
I dance: not that well
I sing: in the bathroom
I cry: if I see other people is crying too
I fight: for my family
I win: if I put God at the center of our life
I lose: my patience ever so easily
I never: will resign from work. LOL
I always: kiss Bela and hubby before going to bed
I confuse: my husband with I really want
I listen: to wave 89.1
I can usually be found: in my office
I am scared: of almost everything
I need: money
I am happy about: my life
I imagine: what will happen tomorrow for my first PTC at TU

Tagging Em, Big Eyed Gal, Kite and Vien

Happy

How are you doing with the B? This is the question that I got from someone who used to hold B’s position and is someone that I can’t even stand for just one minute. I wanted to tell him that life has never been better, that I am happier now, that I don’t think I will ever need an anti- wrinkle cream since I have been living a stress free life with B.

But of course, I can’t be that rude. That even though he made my life a living hell, I can’t still do that to him because I don’t want to step down to his level and he is way, way much older than me so I still have to respect him. So what I did, I just ignored his email and I just didn’t reply. And besides he didn’t really care about how I was doing. For sure he just sent that email to follow up on the favor that he asked me to do so there is no point in exerting an effort to compose an email. I am happier now and that is what’s important. LOL. I just hope my happiness will last.

Weekend Snapshot # 15 - SM Mall of Asia

We were supposed to accompany my grand mother to her doctor last Saturday but when they called the doctor’s clinic, the doctor is not available. Since we are already to go anyway, we decided to just hit the mall.

We went to Mall of Asia. The mall is really big (they say 5x bigger than SM Megamall) and it is among the top ten of the biggest mall in the world. But it is not really one of my favorite mall since I need more than a day to go around the entire mall and it is really tiring going around it.

But my husband had a great time taking some pictures while we are there. Here are some of his shots.

Brillante Weblog

The recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers.

Here are the rules for passing on the award:
l. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Ems has got this to say:

Abie: I will be forever grateful to Abie, because if not for her I wouldn't discover blogging rackets and my templates will be forever boring. She extends this tech support even if I am no longer her officemate hee. She's my bestfriend in blogging.
Now to my Brilliante Weblog recipients:

1. Ems – I’m giving this award back to you. Ems is my former colleague but we became closer when she resigned as we get to chat almost everyday and I love to read all her blogs as I get to be updated with what’s going on with her life even though we are thousand of miles apart and at different time zones at that.

Ems is also so matyaga when it comes to learning new tricks in blogging and she always shares it with me since I am so tamad when it comes to researching. I learned new things in blogging from Em like Entre card (but I still haven’t find the time to create an account here), twitter,blog lines, etc.

2. Peachy – My future kumare. I love visiting her blogs specially reading all her post about her great shopping finds. I discovered a lot of great shopping sites from her blog. Also, since her son and my daughter are almost the same age, I can totally relate and I love reading the stories she share in her blog about Joaqui.

3. Jane – Her blog exudes so much postiveness. Just like what Ems said, every time I read her blog, it makes me really feel that life can really be full of blessings.

4. Aggie – She is one superwoman. My hats off to her. Imagine, she is taking care of two kids, she can manage to update all her blogs, and she even has time to scrap. Idol kita Aggie.

I only met her once but she has always been there to help me if I have some questions and problems about my blog. Thanks sis.

5. Jacqui – Super aliw and super totoo ng blog nya. Every time I read her blog, it is like I am just talking to her in person.

6. Jody – Just like Peachy’s blog, I love reading Jody’s blog since I get to discover great shopping finds that she often shares in her blog. And since our daughters are almost the same age also, I love reading all her posts since I can totally relate with all her stories.

7. Vien – My sister and I are close and she is one of those people that I can talk to about anything. I love reading her blogs as I get to read “tsismis” about her life in her blog which she is sometimes not comfortable sharing with me. LOL.

8. Jason – I am he one who influenced him to start his own blog and I’m glad that I did because he is one good writer. He even writes better than me. And since we don’t get to see them that often, it’s good that I can get to read and be updated with what’s going on in their life.

Weekend Schedule

It will be a busy weekend for us. That is also the reason why I was up early so I can finish some stuff that I need to do before hubby and daughter wake up.

Saturday
We need to go to my grandmother’s ophthalmologist for her pre-surgery checkup. Hubby has been complaining about his eyes lately so he might have it checked also. Then we have to drop by the mall today as my daughter has been invited to two birthday parties today and I haven’t bought any gifts yet.

Since we will be in the Ortigas area, we might drop by my brother’s store also in Greenhills so I can give him the auto insurance quotes that he asked me to get for him. (He will be buying his RAV 4 soon so he wants to get insurance for it).

Sunday
We will be going to Kidz Republic at Mall of Asia to pay for the down payment for my daughter’s party there on the November 15. Then we will go to our friend’s condo at the Fort since she is asking for hubby’s help to install their new printer. And I read from Kelly’s blog that there are life size dinosaurs on display at the Fort strip so we might drop by there too. I know my daughter loves dinosaurs but I’m not sure how she will react if it is life size so we will see tomorrow.

Bus, busy weekend. So I might see you all guys again on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone.

First things first

My friend just applied for a housing loan since she and her husband has been planning to move out of their in-laws house and live on their own. Since they got married, they decided to live with her husband’s parents since they can’t afford yet to buy their own house. But things are already getting a little complicated as she just gave birth to their second child and so they feel that it’s about time to learn to be independent and live on their own.

So my friend did a brave move and applied for a housing loan. But the bad news is, my friend’s loan got denied since she has a bad credit record. She owes a number of credit card companies that is why her housing loan application has been denied.

I met with my friend yesterday and she was really feeling down because a new house is what she and her husband really wants. I told her that in order for them to get approved for their housing loan, they have to fix their bad credit record first. Their first step would be to look for ways on consolidating debt. They can find a debt consolidator like debtconsolidator.net who will help them study their debt and recommend the best debt solution for them. It may even help them make a good deal with the credit card companies.

My colleague was in the same situation as my friend now but when they discovered how debt consolidators work, they didn’t think twice to get the help of debt consolidators to help them with their debt problems.

My friend cheered up a little bit after I shared this information with her. But I guess, it is really first thing first as they really have to clean up their bad credit record first before banks can trust them again. I’m sure with the help of debt consolidators, in time, they will be able to pay all their debts, establish a good credit standing and they will eventually get approve for their housing loan.

Party Planning Recent Updates

I’m done finalizing details for Bela’s third birthday party. (I know I promised my husband that this should be a small party and that I should not make a big fuss out of it so I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible.)

Date: November 15
I initially booked Kidz Republic for November 16 but it looks like 16 is a famous date for parties as all the magicians that I like are already booked – Wanlu, Wizzo, Alex, Chubster, and Leodini). Flooch is the only one available on that date and when I asked two of my friends who already watched him perform (and the other one actually hired him for his son’s birthday), they said that I should try to look for someone else. Plus he is not cheap. So I talked to hubby and he agreed to move the party to the 15th, since Leodini is available on that date, and we will just celebrate as a family on the 16th (This is Bela’s actual birth date).
We will be going to Kidz Republic tomorrow to pay the down payment.

Theme: Madagascar
Since Bela just so loves animals and the theme for Kidz Republic is Jungle Safari and part 2 of Madagascar will be released this coming November, we decided to have this for our theme.

Magician: Leodini
I booked him through Angelette of Jelly Bellies. Angelette warned me that he is so funny and very good but he is not good looking. LOL. My husband said that he looks like Rene Requestas. LOL. But I really received good feedbacks from friends about how funny and good his illusion is so I’m giving him a try. Plus hubby said it would be a real riot to see Rene Requestas on your party. LOL.

Souvenirs and Game Prizes:
I already ordered from Oriental Trading last week souvenirs and game prizes. I already received a confirmation email that they have been shipped already so I might get it in two weeks time. Then I just have to shop for a few more items from Divisoria.

Invitation, Tarpaulin and tags for Souvenirs: DIY c/o Hubby
We can use pictures of Bela at Singapore Zoo for this.

Other Items: Balloon Artists and Cake
Since I won’t be ordering balloon centerpieces and since simple balloons will be provided by Kidz Republic, I’m thinking of just hiring a balloon artist so kids can still bring home balloon sculpture. But I will be booking this as well as the cake a month before the event.

I guess that’s it and we are all set for Bela’s third birthday party.

News from LA

I was just chatting with my good friend Jacq this morning and she told me that she is due to give birth in two weeks. I am so excited for Jacq and Niel. This is their first baby and I’m sure they are both excited for the baby’s coming.

I plan to order something from Old Navy for the baby and have it delivered at my friend’s house in Los Angeles. I already asked for her address but I can’t seem to remember where I saved it so I have to ask for her address again so I can order some stuffs for her baby.

~~

My friend Jacq moved to Los Angeles a year after we graduated from college so she has been living in LA for more than five years now. The last time I was able to visit her was last 2004 when me and my then fiancée proceeded to Los Angeles from Canada after my training. We stayed at their house while we are in LA and they even took us to Las Vegas for three days where we stayed in one of the nice vegas hotels along Las Vegas strip. The last time we talked, she already got her green card so it means they can finally go back here in the Philippines for a vacation. I miss my friend Jacq so much so it would really be nice for them to have a vacation here so we can also see their beautiful daughter. Hopefully they can go home here after she gives birth. I already have an itinerary planned for them (Yup, that’ show excited I am for their planned vacation here.)

I am one shopaholic mom

One of my favorite book series is the Shopaholic series of Sophie Kinsella and I was really excited when the Shopaholic and baby was released because I just gave birth to Bela that time and I can relate to how excited Rebecca Bloomwood was in shopping for her baby and I enjoyed the chapters where she was shopping for stuffs for her baby like baby pushchairs, baby clothes from Ralph Lauren and other baby things.

I confess that I am really one shopaholic mom as I sometimes can’t control my urge to shop especially if it is for Bela. And shopping for new stuff for my baby like buying prams, baby bottles, and baby clothes is one of the reasons why I am excited to have a second baby.

We have no plans for a second baby this year but there are times that I can’t help but browse for new baby stuffs. Look at this cute pushchair that I really like:

And did you know that my husband’s greatest dream is to have twins? So this cute Apollo twin pram would really be perfect for our twins.

We’re really praying that by the time we are ready for our second baby, God will give us one. And hopefully it is a boy so hubby will have someone to share his toys with and that would really complete my wish of giving my husband a son.

I love my Sky cable Digital Box

Bela accidentally touched something on our cable digital box and so we are not getting any signal and I can only see the error code E16 on the screen. In my attempt to correct the error, I read the digital box’s manual and because of it, I discovered a lot of its features.

I learned how to lock a particular channel which will require the viewer a password before he can view that channel. And so the evil me strikes again and I locked all the local channels.

I learned from my mom that my yaya has been watching the tele serye every day and she just lets my daughter watch her favorite Disney movie on her portable DVD player which has a small screen. (Wawa naman Bela ko). So I was really happy when I discovered the lock feature of the digital box so now my yaya won’t be able to watch any local channels while we are at work. Bwahahaha…

Honestly, bwisit na talaga ako sa yaya ko. But I still can’t ask her to go as my husband thinks that she is still the best out of all the yayas that we had and we might not find someone like her again (This is BS!). So aasarin ko na lang ang yaya ko para kusa na sya umalis. Bwahahaha….Hmm, do you think it will work? LOL.

Status: Online

Smart Bro technician went to my mom’s house this evening to install a broadband connection at my mom’s house. My sister, my brother and my dad are so hooked with blogging that they finally decided to have their own internet connection at their house. Since our house is just a couple of houses away from them, they would use our PC at home to access the Internet. But since they really find the need to have their own connection, my brother finally decided to apply for a broadband connection for their house.

The application for a Smart Bro connection was just easy. There is no need to submit any financial documents. They just filled out the application form and pay the initial monthly payment of P999 and after 3 days, their internet has been installed.

Now their problem is since they only have one laptop and there are three of them who need to access the Internet. My brother’s next plan: Buy a Sony Vaio so he doesn’t have to share with my sister’s MAC book.

Airline Issues

A few weeks ago, we got back from our Singapore vacation. We really had a great time and it would really have been a perfect vacation for my dad if not for the airline that we booked to go there.

My dad used to work abroad so he constantly travels so he can’t help but compare the service of Cebu Pacific with Sun Country Airlines. Sun Country Airlines is also a domestic airline like Cebu Pacific, but unlike the latter, they still provide perks to their customer like they provide food to their in-flight guests and they allow checked baggage. Unlike Sun Country Airlines, Cebu Pacific, doesn’t serve food while on flight but instead they sell food while on board and their prices are really unbelievable as it is two to three times more expensive than its market value.

My father was really shocked after he found out that we have to buy food onboard and I have to explain to him that Cebu Pacific offers limited services to their customers since they are a budget airline. I told him that he really has to pay a price if he wants additional perks. But he still can’t accept my explanation because Sun Country Airlines is just a domestic airlines but it still can give quality service to its clients. It was even voted #1 Domestic Airline in customer satisfaction.

Oh well, at least now I know, next time I travel with my dad, I better book our flight with Sun Country Airlines.

Questions of the Week 26

Yen's Questions of the Week

1. How is the weather like outside? Just right.
2. If you’re given an hour to raid a closet of a blogger friend who would you choose? And what would you get? I have been dreaming to have an LV bag so I would be raiding the closest of Jane, Jody or Jacqui. LOL
3. Do any of you know why we sneeze? Where did “God Bless You” originate? Hmm, all I know is that we say “God Bless you” every time someone sneeze because our heart stops for a second when we sneeze and so they say God Bless You after sneezing since it means that your heart functioned again after stopping for a second.
4. Which is worse? Finding a bug in your sandwich or a very curly hair in your soup? Arggh, I can’t decide as I find both of them to be gross.
5. What is the color in your room you are in right now? Peach.
6. If I asked every person that you’ve kissed, they’d say that your kisses are tentative, wild, intense, or sweet? I say sweet. LOL.
7. Which do you prefer, Not eat for lunch or not eat for supper? Why? Lunch. I used to do that when I was still single. I will sleep straight like until 4 or 5 in the afternoon so I always skip lunch and just have a heavy dinner.
8. It’s August already, which month so far was the best month ever? Why? I think January because it is the month that I celebrated my birthday and hubby's birthday and we celebrated our anniversary.
9. If you could write a book that was guaranteed to be published, what would it be about? About my daughter as I think I won’t run of ideas if I would be writing about her.
10. If there was an extra hour in the day, what would you spend it doing? Sleep.

Have fun and enjoy!

Busy Day

Bela has a class at Toddler’s Unlimited today and every time she has class, they will wait for me until 4:30 so I have a ride home. Since Howell will be going home early too, we were able to drop by at his office too. When we reached home, Bela was still sleeping but we don’t have stocks left for our groceries so we just waited for Bela to wake up and we head to SM after to do our grocery.

There are not much people inside the grocery since it is a weekday, so we were able to finish our grocery after an hour. This is one thing that I like when doing groceries on a weekday. The store is not that crowded so there is no long queue so I can finish shopping right away. And I was really happy as we were able to buy all the things that we need and I was even able to buy outdoor furniture covers and a gas stove too.

So we really had a busy day today and my body is already signing off. So I will hit the sack now and I promise to do my rounds tomorrow and finish some of the tags that each one of you forwarded to me.

Please pray for my grandmother

Please pray for my grandmother. She will be undergoing a cataract surgery next week. We will be going to her doctor this weekend for the entire eye test that needs to be conducted before the surgery. After the operation, the doctor said that she needs to ware eyeglasses to protect her eyes.

So it was really a perfect timing because Zenni Optical was on FOX news! I was watching TV early this evening when I saw them on TV. I know that they sell cheap eyeglasses so I will really check on their site for incredible stylish new frames from Zenni. I am sure that the surgery will not be cheap so we will just look at Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses for my grandmother.


She is already 83 years old so we are a little concern for her safety. Please pray for the success of my grandmother’s surgery and for her speedy recovery.

Wordless Wednesday # 18 - Standing Tall

Something Purple is turning 4

Something Purple is turning 4. And to celebrate her anniversary, she is conducting a game on her blog. You can check the details here.

And of course, I will be joining the contest too, so here it goes.

When you first came to visit any of my blogs, which from among my numerous entries do you remember landing on? Doesn't really matter which of my 6 blogs you landed.

Em was my former officemate. When we were still officemates, we don’t get to talk that much as we are two floors apart. We only get to make “chika” if she will drop by at my floor or I will have something to do on their floor. But since she resigned from the embassy, we became closer since I get to talk to her everyday tru YM and I get updated about what’s going on in her life just by reading all her 6 blogs.

I remember a lot of Em’s post. My favorite is her post when she shared her birthing story. It was really touching as she spends several grueling hours in the OR and her husband was just right by her side.(I tried to looked for that entry in her archives but I can’t find it.) I also love her post about her cooking adventures. I am no cook so I am truly amazed at how well she does in the kitchen. And I also love her post when she shares her works of art when she was still doing some make up job.

Kidz Republic: Party Venue

It’s final. We will be celebrating Bela’s third birthday party at Kidz Republic in Mall of Asia. Two weeks ago, we tried to visit the restaurants at Fun Ranch as we initially want a Bird and Reptile show to be the entertainment for the party which is not allowed at Kidz Republic. But since we really like the party venue at Kidz Republic since it is more spacious and they even have Quality Bar Stools so adults can stay and party while the kids are playing in the indoor play ground, we decided to have the party at Kidz Republic instead of the restaurants at Fun Ranch.

So this weekend, we will be going to Mall of Asia to pay the reservation fee. Our only concern now is the final date for the party. Looks like November 16 is a popular day for birthday parties as all of the magicians that I like are all full booked on that date. SO are second option is to celebrate Bela’s birthday instead on the 15th so we can have the 16, which is the actual day of Bela’s birthday, all to ourselves and we can celebrate as a family.

I will call my party planner tomorrow to see if the magician that I want is available on the 15th so I can finalize my booking at Kidz Republic this weekend.

Programmer or Flight Attendant?

My sister was having a bad day yesterday. She is already on her third year in college and she is taking up Computer Science. She told us, my mom and I, that she is already having a hard time with her course now and she is thinking of switching to a new course.

She wanted to take Computer Science before because she knows that she has a higher chance of getting a good paying job is finish a course in the Information Technology field. But we told her that being happy in what you are doing is more important than the money that you will be getting from it.

So I told her about my friend who attended a flight attendant school and is now working as a flight attendant for Philippine Airlines. My sister is the sociable type of person so I think that having a flight attendant career would really suit her than being stuck in front of a computer doing all sorts of programming. I even told her that she can also apply as a flight attendant for an International airline which pays more than our local airlines.

She promised that she would think about it carefully and she ought to make a decision soon, whether she would continue her Computer Science course or pursue her flight attendant career, before it is too late.

Weekend Snapshot # 14 - Seafood Feast

My cousin was just promoted to Assistant building manager this month. Her new salary will be retroactive starting January so she is expecting to get a big salary this month. And so she treated us to a sumptuous lunch at DAMPA Macapagal yesterday.

We ordered buttered shrimp, chilli crab, baked and steamed oysters, baked mussels, and steamed fish. We were all bloated after our lunch and we really ordered a lot that we were able to take home some for dinner too. My husband was not able to take a picture of some of the meals that we ordered as all of us dig in right away after the food was served.

To my dear cousin Tessa, congratulations again and we are all so proud of you and thanks for lunch.

Amazing Race Asia back in Africa

Looked what I found from You Tube.

Yes, the third place winner Marc and Rovilson, from the second season of Amazing Race Asia went back to Africa together with Marc’s rumored girlfriend from Thailand Paula Taylor and Rovilson’s girlfriend Vanessa from Malaysia. I think this was shown at Sports Unlimited but since I don’t get to watch TV that often nowadays, I miss this episode and thanks to You Tube, I was able t get snippets of the groups return trip to Africa.

I remember during the Season 2 of the Amazing Race Asia, one of the best legs for me was their trip to Africa and I can’t believe that they where able to go back that soon after the race to enjoy Africa more this time without the pressure of the race. (If I remember correctly, Paula did not make it to Africa because her team got eliminated already and the leg to Africa was first leg for the final three).

Looks like the group really had fun in Zambia. They even had a close encounter with the lions and the tigers, they had a real night safari (not like the night safari that I experienced in Singapore), they even tried some of the adventure sports in Africa like the Bungee jump (I noticed Paula is not that game when it comes to adventurous sports – maybe she is scared just like me. And it was so sweet when Rovilson and Vanessa tried to bungee jump together and Rovilson even called Vanessa baby).

My new routine

Since I was so busy the past few weeks, I always go to bed late since I have to finish some of my work at home. I remember when I was still in college, I used to stay up late to finish all my home works and projects that I started to develop pimples and I have to go to my dermatologist and asked for an acne treatment cream to make my pimples disappear.

But apart form getting pimples; I noticed that I lost a lot of weight since I really don’t get enough rest and sleep. Even my husband and my mother got so concerned already on my weight drop and have been asking me to start to take care of myself.

So since last week, I made a promise to myself that I will try to sleep early and I should try not to work on weekends too. And for the past weeks, that is what I have been doing. I tried to manage my time wisely so I can finish all my work early and I don’t have to stay until the wee hours of the morning to finish my work. And I am really loving this new routine. Wish me luck that I can keep up with my new healthy routine.

Imelda Marcos and my shoe shopping

Do you know who Imelda Marcos is? Imelda Marcos is the widow of the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. She is an influential figure in the Philippines and is well known around the world. And one of the reasons why she is well known is because of her shoe collection, much like the Blowfish Women's Shoes. Her extensive shoe collection, which comprises of different types of designer and lady’s shoes, is on display at the Marikina Shoe Museum.

She really must have a love for shoes that is why she was able to collect thousands and thousands of shoes over time. I bet she goes shoe shopping more than once a week. Well, I can’t blame her. I was just looking for Blowfish Shoes on the net and I can’t resist myself in buying at least one from their collection. All the shoes from their collection are really nice that is why I am having a difficult time deciding what to buy because unlike Mrs. Marcos who can afford to buy thousands and thousands of shoes, I can only afford one this time. And since I also need to look for Blowfish Men's Shoes for my husband since he really needs a new shoe also, I have to really limit my shopping this time to just one shoe so I can buy a pair for both me and my husband.