His love for paintball

Did you know that apart from the NBA and NHL and other McFarlene action figures that my husband collects, he also has his collection of a number of paintball gear.

When he was still single, paintball is one of his favorite sports. Every Wednesday they will play a game at the paintball field near their office. Then every weekend they will go out of town to play with other paintball players from other cities. I remember they even joined a contest and their team even made it to the finals.

He has been playing paintball for more than five years now and he collected a lot of paintball guns and paintballs already. He really takes good care of it that he always cleans his guns after every game.

Now he is a little busy with work and with us that is why he rarely gets to join his friends every time they play paintball. But all of his paintball gears are displayed in one of our rooms and I am sure, he really considers it as one of his priced collection.

Traveling with Bela

On Thursday, we will be celebrating our fourth year anniversary. We were planning to go to Tagaytay this weekend and so I thought of checking out The Boutique Bed and Breakfast. I asked for Howell’s opinion and since Bela will be coming with us, his first question was “Are there areas in the hotel where Bela can play and enjoy?”

Our priorities and choices every time we travel changed ever since we had Bela. We always see to it that we stay at Kid friendly resort so even though we have a toddler in tow every time we travel, it will really not be a hassle for us and we will still have a relaxing vacation.

Like the hotels of Karisma. They have suites that is suitable for families where two adults and up to three children can stay. And you know that you really have to bring a lot of baby stuffs like stroller, sterilizer and the like every time you travel with a toddler but with Karisma, they provide these stuffs for guests who are traveling with a baby or a toddler. Plus they have a lot of facilities that kids will really enjoy like the splash park and kid's pool.

I am sure parents who have kids like us have the same choices when it comes to hotels and resorts every time they travel. I am not sure when our next vacation will be but we will definitely stay at a resort where Bela will have a great time and we will have a relaxing time as well.

3x Thursday: 01/22/y2k+9: Down Time

1. Do you have any hobbies? If so, what are they? If not, what do you do with your down time? I love blogging, reading books, watching movies (although I don’t get to do that often now), watch TV and sleep.
2. What do you like to do for fun? I love to travel. If budget is not an issue I might be traveling every week and explore new places with hubby and my daughter.
3. Do you go out much? Where do you like to go? What kinds of things do you like to do? Since we always go out with our three year old daughter, we always see to it that every time we go out, it will be something that she will enjoy also. Every weekend we always go out and we usually go to the malls so we always end up shopping, playing in the arcade, or going to child play center like Fun Ranch or Active Fun.

TGIF

Thank goodness it is Friday!! I am so lazy this week. Probably because I am still in vacation mode and I only went to work three days this week so I still haven’t got my groove back.

But I was able to update my blogs with has been happening to us the past week.

1. I posted our Davao Day 1 stories and pictures here as well as our Day 2 adventure here.

2. We already started hunting for a new school where we will transfer Bela this coming school year. So far we already visited three schools and Bela already had a trial class with two of them. You can read about how her trial class went here and here.

We’re kind of considering Mind Specialist School even though they are a mix progressive and traditional school as we feel that it will be good training for Bela to prepare her for big school. When we had our trial, they were discussing about modes of transportation (which reminds me to look for a truck rental for my friend since they will be moving houses next week) and they even had a lecture about the middle sounds which trained the kids to read three letter words already. But we are still not 100% decided. We will try one more school next week and decide after that.

3. I also celebrated my birthday last Monday (gosh this is my last year that my age will be included in the calendar).

We have no definite plans yet for the weekend. I might go to my OB tomorrow if I don’t feel lazy as hubby wants me to have my check up already in preparation for Baby # 2 (wink). Then we might visit our house in Bulacan on Sunday (but it still depends on hubby’s mood if he is up to driving North this weekend)

So there. I am glad that it is already Friday. Have a nice weekend every one.

My Mom

I went to visit my mom yesterday after I arrived from work and I saw her taking her blood pressure again. I have to interrogate her as I know she will not admit to me that she is not feeling well again. And just as I suspected, she is experiencing trouble breathing again and when she checked, she is having high blood pressure.

My mom has been having problems with her blood pressure that her doctor already prescribed a medicine for her blood pressure maintenance that she has to take everyday. But you know how hard headed grown ups can sometimes be. And so when her stock of medicines run out, she did not replenish her supply since she figured that she no longer need it because she is already feeling well these past few days.

I told my mom that we won’t always be able to monitor her health and she should really learn how to take care of herself. She made a promise that she will follow her doctor’s advice this time, but as an added precaution, she did not know that I enrolled an account at Allegro Medical and I set an auto re-order for her medicine. Allegro Medical is the online store where we purchase all our medical needs and medical equipment and so I added my mom’s medicines to my shopping cart so she will never ran out of supplies for her medicine.

I hope my mom will be good this time and she will really follow her doctor and drink his medicine diligently.

Weekend Snapshot # 27 - Davao Vacation

Last January 15 – 17, we were in Davao for my advance birthday celebration (hubby’s gift for me and Bela). We stayed at Marco Polo Hotel on our first day and we had our city tour in the afternoon (but the weather is not cooperating so we were just able to visit the Philippine Eagle Center). Then we stayed at Pearl Farm Beach Resort on our second and third day where we did nothing but have fun, pig out, sleep, had a massage and just have a grand time relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

I will post my complete story and upload more pictures soon once I get my blogging groove back as I am still in vacation mode.

Happy Birthday to ME

It is my birthday today. But since we already celebrated my birthday in advance in Davao, we just had a simple celebration today.

I was on leave today but since this is the only time when I can do my school hunting, I scheduled a trial class for Bela at Early Achievers today and we also visited CHILD preschool. After our school visit, we just had lunch at Amici (I am so addicted with Amici nowadays). Howell prepared (or should I say ordered) a few meals for dinner so we can celebrate my birthday with my family too. He initially wanted to go to Tagaytay but for some reasons, I was not really up for it and I just preferred to stay at home (maybe old age is getting into me. LOL).

I still have to make a post about our last out of town vacation but I am still lazy to sort through our 1500++ pictures. But I would like to leave you with these teaser pictures (I wished I have taken any of the best diet pills in the market today so I don’t have to hide my tummy every time hubby is taking our pictures. LOL).

Hubby’s Discovery

We’re back from our three days vacation in Davao. I am still in vacation mode and I am still lazy to sort and resize our pictures but I promise to post it soon.

It was raining on our first day in Davao. It was good that we booked Marco Polo hotel as it is just across Aldevinco souvenir shop so we were able to do some shopping instead of going on a city tour since the weather is not good. While I, my sister and my mom were busy shopping for clothes and souvenirs in Aldevinco, hubby found an antique shop selling all kinds of antique stuffs including old coins. He wanted to buy those coins to add to his collection but he was surprised to find out how expensive it is. Good thing he was able to talk to our friend who invested on rare gold coins before we went to Davao, so instead of buying the expensive antique coins, he decided to just invest on rare gold coins.

My friend recommended that we buy our rare gold coins from Monaco Rare Coin as they can really get the best price in the market. I am sure even though hubby was not able to buy anything from the antique shop that he found in Davao, he will still feel happy once he gets his rare coins from Monaco.

I can't say NO

I can't say no to overtime or shall I say extra moolah. LOL.

I worked overtime yesterday from 1:30 to 10 PM and I went back to the work today for overtime again from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM. My schedule for overtime is supposed to be for next Saturday but I am still in Davao on Saturday so I talked to my colleague if we can switch schedule. And good thing my colleague agreed.

So even though I know that I will arrive late after my 1:30 - 10:00 PM shift, and I have to be up by 5 AM today, I still did not say No to Overtime. We rarely have this kind of projects so we rarely have overtime so I really can't pass the opportunity to earn extra money. Aba, masama tumangi sa grasya. LOL. And besides the project is almost finish so by mid February, I am back to my usual schedule.

Back from LA

I got an SMS from the sister of my friend yesterday. She said that they are already here in Manila and are back from their two weeks vacation in Los Angeles.

When they are still planning for this vacation, she invited us to come with them as I told her that Howell will have a training in Washington, DC again by December. She suggested that we go with them in Los Angeles and we just wait for Howell there while Howell attends training in Washington. She and her sister already have an itinerary lined up for us – we will visit the Big Bear resort so we can experience snow then we will stay in a hotel las vegas and celebrate New Year there.

I got really excited and I am already imagining what a fun vacation it would be. But Howell doesn’t want us to celebrate our Christmas and New Year away from our families here in Manila. This means that we leave on the 18th of December and we have to be back in Manila on or before the 25th of December which means we will spend like P50, 000 for our airfare and we will only be in Los Angeles for less than a week.

So even though I would really love to celebrate a different New Year in Las Vegas with my best friend, we decided not to go. But there is always a next time. Here are some pictures (that I snag from my friend’s Friendster account) of my friend and her sister during their vacation.

SK Xmas Get Together

Last January 2, my good friend Aubrey organized a post Christmas get together of our SK group at our house. I met my SK friends a decade ago when I was still an SK Chairman. We became close since we always see each other every time there is an SK conference, gatherings or meetings. We develop a deep kind of friendship that even though our term as SK Chairman is already finish, we see to it that we still get in touch.

Every year we try to make it a point to have a Christmas get together. Aubrey organized it this time and we are to meet at our house on January 2. Aubrey asked each of us to bring any food for the party. Sad to say, there were only four of us who showed up at the party. Most of our friends had to attend to an emergency or is sick so they did last minute cancellations.

We were a bit sad about how our party turned out but instead of having a bad time, we just enjoyed the food that was served on our table. We are so full after pigging out on all the food that I feel I need Anoretix fat burner after the party.

We surely miss our other friends and it would really be nice if they were there to party with us. Hopefully, we get to see all of them soon.

For my Performance Appraisal

Every January I get an increase in my salary if I got a satisfactory rating from my boss. I am glad that my former boss was satisfied with how I work so I am expecting a little increase in my salary this coming payday.

This reminds me that in just a few months, I will be evaluated again (since all employees are evaluated every June) by my new boss. I remember that part of my career goals from my last year's appraisal report was to finish my Masteral Degree. But it's been almost a year already and I am even not that close to accomplishing that goal.

So when I heard from my husband about university online, I got really excited. It is really the best choice for me since I have a very busy lifestyle. I juggle my time between my full time job and my responsibilities as a mother and wife. So taking an online course would really suits me as I can continue with my studies on my own time.

I am really positive that this is the solution to help me accomplish my career goal.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Weekend Snapshot # 26 - Happy Birthday Dad

Jan 1 is hubby’s birthday. We started our day by hearing mass at St. Jude. Then we went to Robinsons Place to do our grocery since we haven’t had a time to do it for weeks now. Then we head straight home as I have to prepare for the party at our house.

I invited my in-laws over at our house to celebrate hubby’s birthday and New Year with us. I initially wanted to have a surprise party for hubby but since I was busy at work, I didn’t have a chance to plan the logistics for a surprise party so I drop that idea. I just told hubby to act surprised on his birthday for the party that I planned for him. LOL.

I just ordered food from CCME again as the food that we ordered for Christmas was a real hit to my relatives. And for the menu, we had: fish with mayo, lechon kawali, chicken relleno, young corn with shrimp, barbeque spare ribs, beef roast with mashed potato and buco salad. My aunt also cooked buttered shrimp. As usual, the food was a hit again to all my guests. I initially thought that what I ordered is not enough since my family is also celebrating with us but we even had food left for breakfast and lunch the next day.

Of course, Bela kept all the guests entertained with all her antics. We also have my aunt’s videoke machine and my sister bought Vodka for our drinks. My in-laws left around 12 AM but my cousins stayed until 2 AM to enjoy the Vodka and the videoke. LOL.

~~~
To Howell, happy, happy birthday. I am really thankful that God gave you to me. Words are not enough to thank you for all that you have done for me and Bela. We love you very, very much!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I am so happy that I was able to welcome 2009 with my beloved family. We were at my grand mother’s house from 8 PM and we stayed there until 12 midnight to welcome the New Year.












My aunt prepared simple meal for our New Year’s Eve dinner which is composed of tacos, bake macaroni, hotdog and ham and desserts. After dinner, we waited for 2009 by enjoying the new videoke machine that my aunt bought. We just sang and sang and we didn’t even notice that it is almost time to welcome the New Year. Even Bela enjoyed the videoke machine and she sang some of her favorites of Bob Marley like “I shot the Sheriff” and “No Woman, No Cry.”

It was raining that night and the weather was really cold (too bad I forgot to bring our beanie hat) but it didn’t stop the kids from enjoying the sparklers that my uncle bought from Dragon Fireworks for the kids. Bela was scared at first to try the sparklers but she had a fun time trying it after she saw her Aunt Aliah and Uncle Jego playing with it.

When it is exactly 12 AM, all of us are jumping and greeting each other Happy New Year.

It was a very fruitful 2008 for our family. We received a lot of blessings from the big Man up there and we are truly lucky that He has showered our family with good health always. Hope 2009 will still be a good year for us too.

To all my friends, blog mates, families and relatives, Happy, Happy New Year and thank you for being a big part of our 2008.

Binondo Trip on New Year's Eve

I still went to work on New Year’s Eve but we’re quite lucky as we were allowed to be dismissed from work early. So Howell, Bela and my mom fetched me at the office and we went to Binondo to shop for fruits and lucky charms to welcome the New Year.

Even before Makati was known as the main center for business, Binondo was the main center for finance in Manila. It is the center of commerce for all types of businesses run by Chinese merchants. You can find all sorts of business in Binondo, from optical shops, to bearings, to food stores and restaurants and almost anything you are looking for.











We went to Binondo after office because we need to buy 12 classes of fruits as a sign of good luck to welcome the New Year. It has always been a tradition to have these fruits on our table every New Year’s eve and since hubby discovered the fruit stores in Binondo when he joined a photography workshop held in Binondo, he suggested that we buy our fruits there. Of course, we can never leave Binondo without dropping by at Eng Bee Tin to buy our favorite hopia and tikoy.

We went home happy as we brought home a lot of goodies from Binondo.