Weekend Snapshot # 10 - Happy Birthday Grandma!

It was my grandmother’s 83rd birthday yesterday. We had a small get together prepared for her and all of her kids, together with her grand children, are all there to celebrate with her.

My grandmother was the one who took care of all of us (her grand kids) so we are really close to her. So every time it is her birthday, all of us are busy preparing for her special day.

My aunt prepared and cooked Kare-Kare, steamed fish, buttered shrimp, and fruit salad. We ordered palabok and puto and we even have chocolate fountain (though we forgot to take a picture of the food. LOL). My grand mother was really happy because all of her love ones are there to celebrate with her.

So to my one and only grandma, Happy birthday and we love you very, very much!!

My Cousin and SATC

My cousin was a little sad today. Her best friend left for Canada since her whole family is migrating there. My cousin said that her best friend has no plans to move to another country but since her whole family is migrating, she has no choice but to go with them.

She is a bit sad since she hasn’t recovered yet when her best friend moved to New York last year and now her other best friend left too. But she is happy in a way since they were able to have a good time during her best friend’s last day here in Manila. Remember the scene from the Sex and the City movie where Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda helped Carried put all her stuff in moving boxes when Carrie was packing to move in with Big? The have signs labeled “Toss” and “Take” and Carrie was modeling all her clothes from her wardrobe while the other three girls will judge if it is for tossing or for taking. My cousin and her other friends did the same thing with their friend when she was packing in preparation for their move to Canada. And my cousin said that they had a blast. She said that these are the memories that are making her smile every time she misses her two best friends.

Bela’s love for animals

My daughter has a real love for animals. Her favorite toys are her animal collection and every time she watched her Brainy Baby Animals DVD, she would identify each of the animals that she saw on TV and would immediately look for the animals that she identified from her own animal collection.

Her favorite among her animal toys is her cat and dog. She calls her dog toy, "Sassy dog" which is the name of our Labrador. While she uses the term "pussy cat" if she wants to refer to her toy cat. She loves to play with them and she even made a tower from her blocks which are similar to the cat tree that she saw on her DVDs and she pretends that she is playing with her cat and dog.

Now my husband is thinking to buy her a dog like a pug or a cat as his gift for Bela 3rd birthday. I’m not sure though if we are capable of taking care of another pet and I’m pretty sure that Bela is still not old enough to be responsible in taking care of a pet so we’re still thinking about it. But Bela is really so fond of animals that she loves playing with my sister’s poodle and our Labrador. Let’s see. It is still four months away before her birthday so we still have a lot of time to decide.

10 years ago...

from Em, thanks sis!

The rules are simple.
At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
~ I was on my fourth year college then so I must be busy doing project and assignment for all my major subjects

2. What are the 5 things on my to-do list today?
~ Update my blogs
~ Finish my stat report
~ Research for our final SG Itinerary
~ Update my credit card spending Excel file
~ File my leave for July 10-11

3. Snacks I enjoy:
~ Chips

4. Place where I lived: (now?)
~ Manila, Philippines.
(10 years ago?)
~ Manila, Philippines

5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:
~ Give a donation to our favorite orphanage
~ I will pay for my two cousin’s schooling
~ I will travel for 1 year with my whole family
~ Buy Howell his dream luxury car
~ Buy all the LV bags that I can buy. LOL.

6. People I want to know more about:
~ I want to know and meet more of my blog buddies: Pheng, Eds, Jan, Jesse, Kitts and Mich

Unbelievable Gasoline Prices

After our family’s small get together for my grandmother’s 83rd birthday, my cousins and I decided to go to the mall to play bowling. On our way to the mall, we have to load gas for our car and we are so shocked at how high the prices for the gas are.

I’m really not concern before at how expensive gas prices are because it was my husband who is paying for it (LOL) but I was shocked when I learned of the price. It is now P59.57 per liter for Unleaded gas. I can’t believe that’s how expensive gas prices nowadays. Even Howell was surprised since according to him, it was only P47 per liter before he left for Majuro three weeks ago. So I guess we have to scrap our plans to buy new modern furniture. We even plan to buy a second car since we don’t have a car to use every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since my father is using it to take Bela to school. But with the ever increasing price of gas, I think we would prefer to commute to work since we would be really saving big bucks instead of bringing a car to work everyday.

House Illumination for my Grandmother’s Party

It’s my grandmother’s birthday today. She is now 83 years old but still very healthy. Most of you might not know, but my grandmother was the one who took care of me when I was a baby until I think I was 3 to 4 years old so you can just imagine how close I am to her. So every year, we want to make her birthday special.

This year, we will have a simple party at my house. My aunt prepared the food and all her grandchildren shared for the expenses. In preparation for the party here in our house, I asked my dad to spice up our house a bit and do some additional interior decorations. I asked him to buy some progress lighting for the living room as most of the party activities will happen there. We found a mini chandelier for the living room and my dad just installed it yesterday and it is really perfect.

And my dad got inspired with the result of his mini chandelier that is why he got inspired to dress up our bathroom also with some bathroom vanity lighting. I have been planning to do that anyways and since my dad was in the mood to fix everything, I tool the opportunity and have some bathroom lightings installed too. He even installed under cabinet lighting for our cabinets in the living room.

Our house in now ready for my grandmother’s party today. We are just waiting for my other relatives and for sure it will be one fun party.

a simple healing prayer

A prayer from Em, Thea and Farah.

Dear God,we pray for the quick recovery of all the sick and the dying especially those suffering from LUPUS and CANCER.

To those who will be tagged, all you have to do is keep this circulating.Even if it’s to only one person. In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by a serious illness like Lupus or Cancer or is still living with it.
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle.

Blogs who prayed:1.) Eida’s Closet 2.) My Precious 3.) Just Me.. Eds 4.) Scribbles of My Life 5.)In This Game of Life 6.) Mind Bubbles 7.) Something Purple 8.) Vanity Kit 9.) Stripe&Yellow 10.) Em's Detour 11.) Changing Lanes 12.) Pit Stop 13.) Mommy Talks 14.) Thea is bloggerhappy 15.) My Planet Purple 16.) YOU.

Please Keep This Candle Going! There will be a cure soon. Continue to have Hope and continue to pray.

Please pray with us: Peachy, Jane and Jenny.

My Friend’s House Planning

I’m so happy for my friend. After several years of working abroad, he was able to buy a lot for his family where they can build their dream house. All he has to do now is find the perfect house plans and they are all set for the construction of their first owned house.

He was excited as this is their first real investment. So he is very hands on in every aspect of the house planning. Since we are in the process of planning for our house construction too, my husband is aware at how complicated planning a house can be. So he gave our friend the site where he can purchase pre drawn home plans so he can easily select which house plans he wants for their dream house.

My friend got really excited that he immediately checked out the site and he is torn between the Log home plans and the vacation home plans. But I’m sure, whatever house plans they choose, it would really be something special for him and his wife as this is their first investment as a couple.

Questions of the Week # 21

Join us here .

1. Which do you dislike the most, pop-up ads all over your screen or spam e-mails?
:: pop ups, as my Internet connection in the office is really slow so pop ups even add up to the slowness of my connection.

2. When your plate has different foods on it do you usually mix all the foods
together, keep them all separate, or do you combine only certain foods?
:: I keep them all separate. I hate it when the sauces mix.

3. Have you ever snooped in your significant others things? How does it feel?
:: Yes. Gut luckily, I never discovered anything fishy.

4. Describe your morning ritual to me.
:: On weekdays, I would take a bath as soon as I woke up then eat breakfast, kiss Bela goodbye, then go to work.

On weekends, we will eat breakfast first after waking up then go online to check my email.

5. You run in to a friend while out shopping. Where are you?
:: Gingersnaps. My favorite store. This is where I shop for Bela’s clothes and I am here almost every week. LOL.

6. Would you rather miss the beginning or the end of a movie? If you had to?
:: beginning:)

7. Which is worse? Being in a place that is too loud or too quiet?
:: too loud. I hate it when it is really noisy. My mind doesn’t work if it is very noisy. On the other hand, I am more relaxed when it is quiet.

8. Which is worse? Being under age or being over the hill?
:: under age. I enjoy doing everything that I can do now without having to ask for my parents’ permission all the time.

9. What kind of perfume do you wear?
:: Elizabeth Arden.

10. Would you rather change your past or know your future?
:: know the future definitely.

Sports Addict

The NBA season has just finished and too bad Howell was not here to watch the play offs and the championship games. He is in Majuro during the championship games and sadly the cable TV there does not include sports channels. And being a true sports fan, you can just imagine his disappointment of not being able to watch his favorite team battle it out for the NBA Championship title.

I was chatting with him this morning and he was telling me how much he misses watching her favorite sports channels. Next to basketball, football is Howell’s next favorite sports so since basketball season is over, he was telling me how much he wanted to watch her favorite football game from Direct TV’s NFL TV Package. He said that he was reading about it and got really interested with their NFL Sunday Ticket since it will allow him to watch up to 200 NFL games per season.

I can really feel from his voice how excited he was in finally going home this Saturday and being able to watch his favorite sports channel again. I can just imagine his anticipation since I am also the type of person who can never live without TV. So I guess, I really have to give in to my husband’s request and subscribe to Direct TV’s NFL TV.

Love and Hate Meme

Got this tag from Em. Thanks girl.

There are things, ways, or people we can't stand. There are also things, ways or people we can't live without and would love to do over and over again or be with forever.


List down 5 things you hate and 5 things you love.

Then, put the link or links of your blog or blogs in the list. Tag at least 5 people.
(photo credit: google)

5 Hates:
1. I hate kiss ass people.
2. I hate people who are back stabbers.
3. I hate dirty restrooms
4. I hate people who value money over integrity.
5. I hate pretentious people.

5 Loves:
1. I love people who always have a positive outlook in life.
2. I love it every time Bela would just kiss me out of nowhere.
3. I love it every time Bela shows off her new skills or tricks.
4. I love to shop.
5. I love the it every time hubby would say I love you before we end our conversation.

Red&Blue links:
1.) Mind Bubbles 2.) Em's Detour 3.) Vanity Kit 4.) Stripe&Yellow 5.) Something Purple 6.) My Planet Purple 7.) YOUR BLOG HERE

Tagging: Eds, Jhona, Jacqui, Nice & Pam.

How was your weekend?

If you will ask me, I was out of the online world for three days now as my Internet connection is down since Sunday. But I still had a pretty nice weekend.

Last Saturday, I was so tired after Bela’s swimming class that I decided to sleep early so I was not able to blog that evening. Then the next day, it was typhoon signal number three in Metro Manila and it was really raining so hard. I was still too lazy to work but then I realized I still have a lot of pending jobs and a lot of stories to blog about. But when I checked my Internet, it is down probably due to the damages caused typhoon Frank. I have been calling Smart since Sunday but they can’t give me an exact date on when they can restore my connection. All that they can tell me is that there is a problem with the base station and that their engineers are already working on it.

But it is good that I get to stay away from my laptop for three days now as I was able to spend some more quality time with my daughter. Since I am not busy blogging, I was able to play with her the whole day Sunday. I was even able to catch some sleep.

And the best part of my weekend is, my aunt prepared champorado (chocolate porridge) for us last rainy Sunday afternoon. I ate one a half bowl of my aunt’s champorado so I was really full that I only have couple of bites to spare for dinner.

It was really one great weekend for us. The only sad part about it is that Howell was not here with us during that weekend. But then I realize, a rainy weekend with no Internet but with my daughter and a bowl of champorado was really close to perfect.

Charity work, anyone?

I got so busy with a lot of things that I didn’t realize that it is almost the end of June. I remember during this time last year, I am already busy preparing for Bela’s second birthday party.

For this year, we decided not have a big party for her but instead we will just treat her for a wonderful day at Hong Kong Disneyland. But of course our annual tradition of celebrating her birthday in an orphanage would still push through.

I was surfing the net as I was looking for a possible charitable institutions where we can celebrate Bela’s third birthday. I want to try different charitable institutions every year so we will be able to help a lot of kids. As I was doing my research, I landed in the site of Boat Angel.

It really caught my attention as Boat Angel is a different kind of institution. Their project is “Donate my boat to charity” since they accept boat donations and the proceeds from the sales of these boats will go to charity. Actually, I really don’t have a boat to donate but I have a lot of contacts who will be really interested in this project of Boat Angel. I already contacted several of them and they are all willing to donate boats to Boat Angel as they really find the project to be a good way to dispose their boats which are just collecting dust and at the same time, they will be able to help charitable institutions.

So if you’re interested too in making boat donations, just check out BoatAngel.com for more details.

For their new business venture

I just received an email invitation from one of my colleague inviting us to visit their booth since they will be joining upcoming photo trade show exhibits to promote their shop.

My colleague just opened their business of a photo printing company where they accept photos for printing and developing, album print outs, tarpaulin printing and the like. It is their new business venture and he said that they will be joining trade shows to showcase their products and promote their shop.

My colleague was on leave for a week already as they are busy preparing the materials that they will need for the trade show like the table covers, tarpaulins, banners, albums as their samples and even framed pictures that they will display on their booth. He also asked each one of us to give him a soft copy of our favorite family and travel pictures which he will use to make their table top display.

My colleague was really excited for their new business. I remember he has been asking me about our cellphone business since he and her wife have been looking for a new business investment. But since they don’t know anything about cellphones, they got discouraged in pursuing this line of business. But I am really happy for them that they were able to finally setup the business venture that they are looking.

So good luck for the upcoming exhibit and we hope that you will get more customers after this exhibit.

World Class Profession

Thanks Farah and Thea for this tag!

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Copy and paste everything to a new post and Add your name next to your profession (or profession-to-be for undergrads) in the list. Make sure your name is linked to your blog/webbie.Tip: For easier capture of links, paste into your blog using the “Visual” (for WP) and Compose (for Blogger) modes (not Edit HMTL or HTML).
2. If your profession is not in the list then simply add it to the correct alphabetical place. For example, if you want to add PLUMBER then it should be placed in between ONCOLOGIST and QUEEN.
3. Tag as many people as you can and witness how your technorati will explode!
4. Don’t forget to link back. In your case, link back to www.mdanganan.com.

THE WORLD CLASS PROFESSIONS
Blogger - Mary, Michelle
Doctor -
Nurse - Mckhoii, Aggietha
Stay-at-Home-Mom - Mai, Aggie
Systems Administrator - Abie
Technology Consultant - Thea

Tagging Vien, Peachy and Jane.

Best News Ever

I received the best news so far.

Better than the 5% salary increase that we will be getting.
Better than an LV bag.
Better than my sweet strawberry crepe from Crepes and Cream.

And the best news is, HE will be leaving in just 18 days and HE will be out of my life forever. They will be staying at one of the vacation rentals in the Outer Banks before finally moving to their place in the suburbs. I know 18 days would still be a long time to wait specially if he always makes my 18 days a living hell, but I think I can live with it. All I have to do for the next 18 days is to say it our loud and repeat to myself every now and then than in just 18 days, HE will be gone in life forever.

Now, my next journey would be to hope that the next HE is someone who will treat us fairly and will give us a chance no matter what our gender is, that we have some worth too. I’m just a little worried that since HE is already saying some bad comments about the new HE to us, so I’m thinking that HE might be saying some bad things about us to the new HE also. Well, I hope not or I hope the new HE is man enough and is well mannered enough to not believe in humors and instead see for himself what our real worth is.

Trip trip lang yan

I don’t feel like blogging since yesterday. I just slept after doing my blog hop. I just feel bad about what I learned. Wala lang. Napag tripan lang ako ni G at naging bokya na naman ang PR ko. Hay, what made me so pissed is I really worked hard for it and then just like that, he will take it away from me.

Oh well, my friend Em is right. No matter, how much I don’t want to think about it, I would really be affected. But as of today, medyo ok na ako. Tanggap ko na na ganito ang kapalaran ko. LOL.

Can’t wait for Saturday

It’s been two weeks now since Howell left for his three weeks temporary duty to Majuro and we only have one more week to go before he finally goes home.

Aside from the fact that we miss him so much every time he leaves, security is another issue why I hate it every time Howell has to go for an out of the country trip. And I know that Howell is doubly worried for me and Bela’s safety too. Since our house is not equipped with one those ademco electronic alarm system, Howell requested my dad to stay at our house during those time that he is away. (I know we should have one of this installed. This will be Howell’s first project when he gets back).

I hope this is Howell’s last out of the country trip for this year. I really hate it every time he is away. We miss him so much already. But seven more days and we will be able to hug and kiss him again.

We can’t wait for Saturday to come Dad! See you at the airport on Saturday. Bela and I will be excitedly waiting for you at the airport gate.

Cooking 101 for Beginners and Newlyweds

Do you want to learn how to cook? Del Monte Kitchenomics is offering a Cooking 101 for Beginners and Newlyweds. It is a hands on Cooking class to be held on June 21, 2008 at DMPI Test Kitchen.

Registration fee is P2,000 inclusive of ingredients and materials needed per group, recipe hand-out, apron & toque, certificate of participation, sampling, snack, plus a chance to win in the mini raffle and enjoy special discounts on Del Monte products.

Meals that will be prepared during the class include:

* Chicken Adobo Aloha
* All Meat Spaghetti
* Kitch’s Mapo Tofu
* Spanish Sardine Pizza
* Fruit and Crabstick Salad

To register, just contact 856-4226 or 856-2888 loc 1465 from Mondays thru Fridays from 8-5 PM and look for Doreen or Llena. Or you can email them at tkasst@delmonte-phil.com

They also have a promo where you can join for free of four of your friends enroll at the same time.

Venue Details:
Del Monte Philippines, Inc
B3 Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City

Another Wedding

I love attending weddings. The occasion is filled with so much joy and love and that everybody present is really celebrating with the couple. I remember during our wedding, all our friends and relatives took time to celebrate that wonderful occasion with us and so even if our wedding had a lot of glitches; it was the prefect wedding for us.

Next week, we will be attending another wedding of one of our close friends. They have been together for a long time now and we were all happy when they told us that they are finally tying the knot. So I am looking for the perfect gift to give them.

The couple doesn’t have a gift registry so I’m really having a hard time deciding what to give them. I have been checking the Housewares and Home Maintenance Products Buying Guide from Shopwiki to get some gift ideas and suggestions. I want to buy them something that they would be able to use and would not just be put into storage.

I would have wanted to buy them a home sauna but since I have a limited budget, I have to think of something else. My first option is Panasonic cordless flat iron. I know my friend doesn’t enjoy ironing her clothes so I might as well give her something that will make her ironing a little easier. My second option is a washing machine but I have to check first the price range and if it will fit my budget.

I’m so excited already for this wedding. My husband will be arriving next week too so he will just be in time for our friends wedding.

Wordless Wednesday # 11 - Peaceful

To More Travel

I am an avid customer of Cebu Pacific. I booked almost all my airline ticket through them specially if they are offering great airline discounts. That’s what I like about Cebu Pacific. They release a lot of promos within the year where they give great discounts for airline tickets and so they always get a lot of bookings for consumers who wants to travel on a budget. So as per my opinion, they are now the number one airline carrier in the Philippines.

Philippine Airlines has been in the airline business longer than Cebu Pacific and their service is really good compared to Cebu Pacific. But since their airfare is sometimes twice or thrice expensive as what Cebu Pacific offers, I often end up purchasing my tickets from Cebu Pacific.

But if given a choice and if they have almost the same rate, I would still prefer to fly via Philippine Airlines. So when I learned that PAL launched a low cost sector to compete with Cebu Pacific, the PAL Express, I was one of the happy traveler who got excited of the good news.

That’s what I like about competitions. Imagine, PAL was force to put up their low budget sector just to compete with Cebu Pacific's offers. So more budget airlines means more cheap airfare which means more travel for us.

So to my fellow travel addicts, here is to more travel for us in the coming years!

Welcome to Manila

One of my former colleagues paid us a visit last week at the office. He decided to migrate and live a new life in a country. He already received his citizenship status and so as soon as he received his permanent residency card, he booked a ticket so he can visit his family and friends here in Manila.

And as soon as he saw me, he excitedly told me about his new life, his new house and his new job. And being the typical Chris that I know, he describes to me all the details of his house, from the brand of his dish washer, to the type of shower head that he is using and even his Double glazed windows.

Since he knew that double glazed windows are not being used here in Manila, he eagerly described to me what it is. He said that since he own his own condominium unit and he lives in a country where winter is really bad, he made sure that he is ready when winter comes. So he contracted Double glazing company UK to double glaze his windows.

Double glazing is very common for countries where it is really cold since it helps in conserving energy while they stay warm. It does this by trapping air between two panes of glass thus reducing heat loss. He said that with double glazing, he was able to save a big amount from his electricity bill.

Our conversation ended with more stories about him. I know one full day is not enough for him to describe bit by bit about his new life in a new country. But I’m sure we will be able to catch up again soon as we will be treating him out for dinner before he leaves Manila again.

I am the flavor of the month

A client requested to do something for them for their project. I was given the go signal by HIM to help the client before HE went for a vacation. So I worked hard, did everything the client requested – programming, configuration, flow charts, etc.

The Ending: The client was really happy and was very thankful for all the help I did to them.

This would have been the end of the story. Or a much better ending would be HE would be happy for all the work I have done. I don’t need the attention, but what I need is that somehow, my efforts have been noticed.

But instead of being happy for what I did, HE announce in front of the team after our meeting that HE wants to talk to me alone and reprimanded me for all that I did to satisfy the client’s request.

I was speechless. I cannot believe what I just heard.

So the ending: I cried.

What do you do when you feel bad

I feel bad. I was not able to get a good night sleep since I have been thinking of what happened yesterday. So what do you when you feel bad? Here is my list:

1. I go to a salon and have my hair done. Remember the movie Sex and the City when Carrie Bradshaw just went to a salon one day and had a makeover? Sometimes I’m like that.

When I was still single, every time I feel bad, I will just go to a salon and have a hair rebond or a hair coloring or whatever they can suggest. And I would really spend for my hair as I will have hair cellophane, then a hair coloring then a hair treatment all in one sitting. And I would even buy hair products to help maintain my hair like my favorite Kerastase Masquintense.

2. I go shopping. Yes, shopping is a therapy for me. I would love to go shopping for my daughter, for my husband and sometimes for me too. My favorite things to shop are perfume. I was just checking an article about Fragrances Buying Guide and I found a number of new scents available in the market that I would really love to try.

3. I would go to a facial salon and have a facial cleaning. This would really help me look and feel refresh. But since I don’t have that much time, now that I have a daughter, I don’t get to go to facial salons nowadays. So I’m thinking of buying my own facial sauna so I can use it at the convenience of my own home.

4. And the last one that never fails in cheering me up is just staying at home and spending some quality time with my husband and daughter.

How about you? What do you do when you feel bad?

Mouse Hunt

Have you seen the new playful shoes of Marc by Marc Jacobs? Take a look…..


These are the new mouse flats from marc by Marc Jacobs. These are round toe ballet flat that has a mouse detail on vamp. It is 100% leather and made in Italy. No wonder why it is priced at $250.

I know that Marc Jacobs is a famous American designer and he is even the current creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton. But I am no fan of mouse and never did I find it cute so I’m not sure if I will ever buy these mouse flats specially with its hefty price tag (Yup, $250 is already expensive for me). But I learned that they are really popular and are always sold out and they always get a high bid at ebay. Plus they say that Marc Jacobs shoes are really comfortable that you will not want to take them off once you try wearing one.

What do you think; will you love these mouse flats or hate it?

Discovering the new world of makeup

Since I have been sleeping late almost every day for the past months, my sister and my mother commented that I look haggard already. Add to that the fact that I don’t really spend that much time putting makeup on or fixing my hair.

And so as I looked at the mirror one day, I realized that I really need some major makeover. So I started by going to the salon and had my much needed hair rebond. Then I thought I should at least buy some cosmetics to add glow to my face since I only have powder in my make up kit.

I am really a low maintenance type of person when it comes to this area but I am really fascinated by those people who are experts when it comes to hair and make up like my good friend Em. She was able to use her passion for makeup to good use as she was able to use it as a sideline when she became a wedding makeup artist at one point.

So I thought, it looks fun and it is still not too late for me to learn about makeup. I have been reading fashion magazines and checking websites and I have been reading makeup guides in putting basic makeup like blush on, eye shadow, lipstick and mascara. It looks easy when reading it and I was hoping that I would be able to apply it. So I have to buy my own make up it so I can practice and my friends recommend the getting started kit from Bare Escentuals. They say that it contains all I need to get me started on my new project so wish me luck guys. Hope I can really love and appreciate the world of makeup.

Weekend Snapshot # 9 - Inside the Big Bubble

I love parties and I love preparing for one, specially if it is for my love ones. These pictures were taken during the second birthday party of my daughter.

It is a luau themed party and guests are asked to come on their best luau attire. Part of the program was a 45 minutes bubble show where performers will create giant bubbles and different bubble creations. The children all enjoyed the show. Part if the highlight of the bubbles show was that they will let each of the kids to go inside the bubble for a photo opportunity. Of course the birthday celebrant should be the first to try and I did not miss the opportunity too to try it so I was the one holding my daughter when she went inside the bubble.

For her self fulfillment

Has anyone of your tried using credit repair services? I really haven’t tried using that service since luckily, despite having to pay for our housing loan and my credit card dues; I was able to manage our finances and debts well that we are able to pay everything on time.

But I have a colleague who is asking for my opinion on whether or not she should have bad credit repair services. You see, during those times when she was still young, she doesn’t mind spending thousands of bucks shopping and since she is young, she doesn’t mind if she pays all her debtors or not. And because of that she now has a bad credit standing.

She has been in the same company that I am working for more than ten years now and she still occupies the same position that she has ten years ago. And so she is a little fed up with her work and would want to start up her own business as her sideline aside from her day job. She said that this is her way of proving that she was able to accomplish something for herself. The problem is she can’t get approve for her loan since she has a bad credit standing.

And so when she heard about credit repair services, she really got interested. Well as for my opinion, I think this is her last resort to get her positive credit back. Like I said I really haven’t tried getting those kinds of services but I read good feedbacks about it. And once she get her positive credit back, she will now be on her way in getting approve for the loan that she needs to startup her own business.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Have you seen the movie Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium? It is one of Bela’s favorite movies to watch since she enjoyes seeing all the wonderful toys in the movie. I have watched it several times already but I never find the time to finish the movie as Bela will ask us to change it to a new DVD once it is already in the middle part of the film.

But this afternoon, Bela was busy playing with her aunt and uncle that I was able to finish the entire movie. And it is only now that I discovered that, although it looks like a fun movie since you get to see plenty of toys, I find it to be a sad movie. I even cried when Mr. Magorium died. Weird huh? Or maybe I am just feeling lonely since Howell is not here.

Oh well, maybe I should not watch this movie until Howell gets back. LOL.

Just Home

Yup, Bela and I are just home. My dad is busy doing some errands so we can’t ask him to drive for us and even if he is free I still have a lot of backlogs to do. Then I have to work from 7 – 8 PM since I need to reconfigure the phone redirection for the office because there is a scheduled outage again at headquarters which will affect our phone system here in Manila.

But I like it. At least I was able to watch Star Talk and I was able to watch their tribute for Daboy. LOL. They interviewed Lorna and I admire her for her courage. She remain strong despite what they have been though. Imagine she was not even crying during the necrological service while Sharon Cuneta was crying as if she was the wife. (Wala lang, I just find her OA. Sorry for the Sharonians out there. LOL).

But tomorrow, will be a busy day for us. I have to drop by at SM in the morning for the party that we will be attending in the afternoon. It is the birthday of my friend’s twins and it will be held at Bounce Party Venue. I’m excited. This is the first time that we will attend a party here and for sure Bela will have a grand time here. I even warned yaya to be prepared as I know Bela will be all over the place is she sees the inflatables and the toys there at Bounce. Although, I haven’t talked to my dad yet about driving us there. LOL.

Like Becky of Confessions of a Shopaholic

I am one of those people who see to it that I use my credit card wisely, that I pay my debt on time so it will not incur any interest and I always see to it that I manage my payment dues well.

But I have a friend who is having a big problem now because she has incurred a big amount of debts, from her numerous credit cards, to her auto loan. Remember the character of Rebecca Bloomwood in the Shopaholic series? My friend is like that. Instead of taking care of her debt, she did not stop in incurring more debts.

She wanted to get out of debt but at first, she initially thought that running away from it is the solution. She ignored all the warnings that she got from her debtors and she thought that she can go on with this strategy and her debt will just magically disappear. (Yes, she is really like Becky in the Shopaholic series where Becky throws all her credit card bills without even reading it).

But you know, like Becky, my friend has gotten to her senses and she finally realized that she can never really run away from all her debt. Her first move to solve her problem is to inquire about debt consolidation loans so she can get help in consolidating her multiple debts.

I hope like Becky, she would be able to rise too and she will be able to settle all her financial problems.

About Me

Thanks a lot Jhona and Chat for this.

Q: NAME A FRIEND WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH 'S'
+ Sheila
Q: 4TH PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALLS
+ Our office driver
Q: WHAT DID THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECEIVED SAY?
+ It is from my MIL asking me howe Howell was doing in Majuro
Q: DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
+ No
Q: DO YOU HAVE CURLY HAIR?
+ Nope
Q: WHAT IS THE NEXT CONCERT YOU'RE GOING TO?
+ If Elliott Yamin will be coming here for a concert, I will definitely watch
Q: WHO'S THE COOLEST PERSON IN YOUR LIFE?
+ Hubby and Bela
Q: WHAT WORDS DO YOU SAY A LOT?
+ Yes
Q: WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
+ Rice and Longanisa
Q: WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAID TO SOMEONE AND WHO WAS IT?
+ To my daughter: I have something for you!
Q: DO YOU WATCH TV?
+ Yes
Q: HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE, DONNIE DARKO?
+ Never heard of that
Q:EVER BEEN HUNTING?
+ Nope
Q: IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
+ I am already married
Q: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, ''I LOVE YOU'' AND MEANT IT?
+ A while ago to hubby
Q: WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW?
+ Sleeping, but here I am still blogging
Q: DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
+ Abie, Abeng
Q: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?
+ No
Q: WHO'S THE YOUNGEST ONE IN THE FAMILY?
+ Mys sister Vien
Q: DO YOU CLEAN UP NICE?
+ No, LOL
Q: LAST TIME YOU USED A SKATEBOARD?
+ Never
Q: WHERE WAS THE LAST PLACE YOU SLEPT BESIDES YOUR HOUSE?
+ Mom’s house
Q: EVER RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE ROAD?
+ Yes
Q: BEST MOVIE YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
+ Sex & the City
Q: WHO DO YOU TRUST THE MOST?
+ Hubby
Q: DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WHO COME UP WITH BRAIN DEAD QUIZZES ARE CRYING FOR HELP IN SOME TWISTED WAY?
+ I think so

LAST
1) person you saw: Bela
2) talked to on the phone: My husband’s project coordinator
3) person you hugged: Bela
4) person you texted: MIL

TODAY
1) date: June 14
2) plans: blog, work, blog, sleep
3) dislikes about tomorrow: it is the end of the week

CURRENTLY
1) missing someone: Yes, my hubby
2) mood: Tired

TRUE OR FALSE
I am a morning person: False
I am a perfectionist: True
I am an only child: False
I am currently in my pajamas: False
I am online 24/7: False
I am very shy around the opposite gender: False
I can be paranoid: True
I currently regret something that I have done: False
I enjoy talking on the phone: False
I have a lot to learn: True
I have a secret: True

I'm tagging Vien, Big Eyed Gal, Em, Peachy.

Post Father’s Day Celebration

It is father’s day this coming Sunday and I’m a bit sad as Howell is not here to celebrate father’s day with us. Every father’s day we always have a simple celebration as a family. Either we will go out for dinner or just spend some binding time at the mall with our daughter.

But they say, better late than never. Howell has been working hard these past few months and he really deserves a break. And so I thought of giving him something where he can really have a good rest and relaxation. Perhaps, an overnight stay at a hotel with waterbed where he can just lie down the whole day and have his much needed rest?

Howell will be arriving on the evening of the 28th and so my plan is we will fetch him and from the airport, we will go straight and checked in to a nice hotel and we will spend the night there. I was checking Makati Shangri-La and Hotel Sofitel and I was wondering if they have waterbeds in their rooms.

I can’t remember the last time we ever stayed at a hotel and just have a relaxing time there. So I guess whether or not they have softside waterbeds or not, we will have one relaxing and fun time there so I’m really excited.

Weekend round Up

• It’s Friday once again and Howell is down to two more weeks in Majuro and we will be able to see him again. (I can’t believe I survive a week without the drama because the last time he was away, I spent the first week feeling bad and almost to the verge of crying as I really miss him a lot)
• Bela had her first day at school last Wednesday and she really had fun and was really glad that she is back to school. I will be dropping by her school tomorrow (as I get off from work at 1:30) so I will be able to see how she is doing at school.
• It’s HIS second week of being out of my life (again I am not referring to Howell here) and I’m scared since I only have a week left and my office life will be hell again.
• My sister celebrated her 19th birthday last Tuesday and my brother gave her a Mac Book (Sigh. Inggit ako).
• I was able to find the time to go to a salon and have a hair rebond.
• I did some online shopping again with Peachy (Gosh, I miss this).

Our bed is calling for me already so I am now signing off. Till tomorrow….

For our security

When I arrived home today, I saw my 82 years old grand mother crying. When I asked her why is she crying, she told me that she feels bad because her friend would no longer be leaving near our house since she will be send by her kids to a house care for old people.

My grandmother was not actually crying because she will be loosing her friend. But she was crying for the plight of her friend. Would you believe she still has three children that has the capacity (financially and physically) to take care of her but instead her kids decided to send her to a house care. My grandmother kept on saying how lucky she was because a lot of people love her and that we all of us (from her children to her grand children) are always there to take care of her.

While I was talking to my grandmother, it made me think also of my and Howell’s future. Right now, we don’t have an insurance that will cover anything for us in the future. I know that our dear daughter will take care of us when we grow old but it wouldn’t hurt to have a security not just for our sake but for our daughter’s sake also just in case anything happens to us.

So as soon as I was able to get hold of a computer, I immediately checked for life insurance online to see what our options are. I better discuss this with Howell when he gets back from Majuro.

Battling Drug Addiction on the Tyra Banks Show

I was watching the Tyra Banks show and my attention was caught when they featured a mother asking for Tyra’s help to do a drug intervention for her teenage daughter. The mother and the sister were being interviewed by Tyra and they shared on the show what is happening with their daughter. Apparently it all started as an obsession to loose weight. I think obesity runs in the family and the teenage daughter has been using drugs to help her loose weight which eventually led to drug addiction.

The mother was so concerned of her daughter’s situation and they keep telling her daughter to stop using drugs to loose weight but the daughter won’t listen. So in her desperation, she sought the help of Tyra to convince her daughter to undergo adult addiction treatment. And while Tyra was doing an interview with the daughter, the daughter just collapses right in front of the camera. This really made her mother and her sister and including Tyra more worried.

So Tyra was really set in convincing the teenage girl to undergo a drug detox to help her get out of drugs and be able to stay clean. Luckily Tyra was able to convince the girl to go to a drug rehabilitation center.

Hopefully, the girl will b dedicated in really trying to stay out of drugs and she is not doing it just because she was pressured by Tyra. Otherwise, once she is out of the rehab, there is really a big chance that she will go back to her old bad habits.

Summer wear from Gap and Old Navy

Don’t you think it is still too hot and humid these past few weeks that I feel that it is still summer? I mean, it should be the rainy season already. It was raining during the last week of May and I thought it is already the start of the rainy season, but then it started to become warm. Just this weekend, Bela asked me to remove her clothes and she preferred to run naked inside our house. Maybe she feels really hot.

So when I saw the summer collection from Gap and Old Navy, I can’t help but be tempted to do some shopping. Don’t you think they are so cute? I can even wear it for our Singapore trip as I know it will be warm in Singapore during that time.

But look what I end up buying.
Aren’t they cute? But they are not for me. They are for of course for Bela. Maybe I’ll do shopping for myself some other time.

Giddy Happy on her birthday

Last Tuesday was my sister’s 19th birthday and he was extra, extra happy that day. One is because it is her special day of course, and all of us are present to celebrate with her. My aunt and my mom even prepared a special dinner that the whole family can share.

And the second reason why she is so happy was she finally received the Mac book that my brother promised her. It is really the perfect timing since it is already the start of the school year so she can use it to do her project since she is a computer science student. (Oh, I envy her. I want a Mac book also but I don’t have a budget for it.)

To her excitement, we loaded all the software that she will need for school and some games too that I have (since I know she is addicted to a lot of yahoo games). But we noticed it became slow after loading all the software. So I told her I will buy her a Mac memory to upgrade the existing memory of her Mac book as my present for her. LOL. (I’m a little tight on the budget so my present has to be something affordable).

I'm sure, my sister really had a blast on her birthday.

Blu Ray and PS3

Have you heard of Blu Ray technology? Blu ray is the new media format technology that is used for high definition video. They say that its quality is exceptional compared to the DVDs so Howell wanted to have a Blu Ray player.

But since the technology is new, you can really expect that it is still pricey compared to its DVD player competitor. So when we discovered that the Sony Play Station 3 includes a Blu Ray player, we got interested in buying it. The price of the PS3 is just a few hundreds cheaper than the Blu Ray player but if we buy the Play Station 3, we will have a Blu Ray player and a video game console in one. So it is like hitting two birds with one stone.

We have been checking the features of the Play Station 3 and I think it really surpass its competitor Xbox and Wii. It has great multimedia capabilities and we can even connect our Play Station Portable to it. And if we just buy a PS3 Blu Ray remote control, we can connect it to our Hi-definition TV so we can play Blu ray discs that is really of high definition quality.

We have long wanted our own home entertainment system and buying a Sony Play Station 3 will be the start of building our own home entertainment system.

No longer a castaway

When my friend was in Majuro a month ago, he only have Internet access when he is at the office as there is no WiFi or Internet connection in his hotel. Then he had a hard time looking for a call card that he can use to call home and when he was finally able to find one, the connection was really bad that it is really difficult to make a connection. So we were teasing him that he was like Tom Hanks in the movie, Cast Away.

But Howell was lucky as WiFi connection is already installed in his hotel. Although sometimes, he has to go out of his room and stay in the lobby to get a signal. But at least he is able to go online. So it’s like he was just right here as he is online almost everyday so we get to talk and I get to update him with what’s happening with us here. And since he is in the IT section, he is somewhat familiar with how their phone system works, so he was able to find away to call me everyday without using the unreliable call card service in Majuro. He would call his Manila office through their internal phone system so it is like making a local call from Majuro to Manila and his Manila office would connect him to me.

Yes I do miss him but thanks to this technology that I was able to talk to him everyday. So it’s like Howell is here with us. The only difference is that we don’t get to see him. But it’s been a week since he left so two more weeks, and we will be able to see dad again.

New credit card for his online shopping

I just got an email from my husband and he was telling me how disappointed he was because his order from Toys R’ Us was cancelled. He is in Majuro, Marshall Islands right now and he has been doing some shopping online for our daughter.He wanted to buy our daughter these:


But then he got really disappointed since he got an email from Toys R’ Us saying that his order has been cancelled because they only accept US issued MasterCard and Visa credit cards only.

I can imagine how disappointed he was since he was so excited yesterday when he was telling me what he will be ordering for my daughter and some NBA Legends action figures to add to his collection. So he tried searching for other online stores where he can order again but unfortunately, all of them only accept US issued credit cards.

So I told him that he should apply for a new credit card since he mostly does his shopping online. I gave him the site of YourCreditNetwork.com where he can easily apply for a credit card online. All he has to do is select which type of credit card he wants and then he can compare each of its features and then he can instantly apply online.

London? Why not?

I was waiting for Howell to go online last night when I was able to catch my good friend from High school online too. She rarely goes online so I was happy that I was able to catch up with her last night and she was already asking when we will visit her in London.

The last time she was here in Manila was last December. We had a get together and she treated us out and she promised us that if ever we want to visit her at London, her house is always open for us.

London is really in my list of places that I want to visit someday. I don’t know when will that be but it would really be nice to think of my family, staying in one of the nice London hotels, having a grand time of our life.

My friend said that there are a lot of places to go in London. She said that if we are not comfortable staying at her place, we can easily find cheap London hotels where we can stay for a couple of days so we can enjoy what London has to offer. We can visit the Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster, the Buckingham Palace, the St Paul's Cathedral, and the London Bridge. Who knows, I might find the courage to ride the London Eye too.


I told her that she is really good in selling London to us so I promise her that if we find the budget and the time for this London vacation, I would right away look for a London hotel so we can visit her there and she will take us to all the famous places in London.