Piling Up

Since last week, every time we visit the mall, I try to buy at least a few gifts to try to check something out from my long Christmas shopping list. Just like yesterday, I was able to shop again at Toy Town when we went to Glorietta and so now the gifts are piling up at our living room.

I don’t want to bring it upstairs in our spare room as I want to place it under our Christmas tree once it is already up so it will be ready for Christmas but unfortunately, since Howell is really busy, he hasn’t find the time to setup our Christmas tree with Bela.

But since this weekend is a long weekend, hubby promised that before he looks for designs for American Standard toilets for the renovation of our house in Bulacan, he will put up our Christmas tree with Bela tomorrow.

Hopefully he will be true his word. He better be because Christmas is just a few days away and this is the only weekend he has left to do it. LOL.

Xmas Get Together on the 9th

My friends from the office will be having an exchange gift and Christmas party this coming December 9. We still haven’t decided on where to have dinner yet (we will probably end up at Gerry’s Grill again. LOL) but we will surely have exchange gifts during dinner.

So for our exchange gift, here is my wish list (I wanted to include a Samsung phone in my list but the budget for the exchange gift is from P500 – P1000 only. LOL):

1. 2010 Belle De Jour Planner. I already saw it at PowerBooks and I actually bought three for Christmas gifts and I really love it.
2. New Moon Movie Companion. Though I haven’t seen the movie ye (boo-hoo), I saw the movie companion and it is really nice. Hope I can get the Twilight movie companion too (I think it is still available at PowerBooks too.)
3. New Moon Sound track
4. San Miguel Purefoods Kid’s Kitchen Camp cookbook. I am running out of ideas for Bela’s snack at school so this cookbook will be a big help.

Though we are officemates, we rarely get the chance to spend time and just chat because we are all hardworking employees (LOL), so we are all really looking forward to this Christmas get together dinner where we can just forget about work and just have fun. So even though we might end up eating at Gerry’s Grill again (which always happen year after year after year), I am really looking forward to see you guys on the 9th.

2010 BDJ Planner

While my husband was busy reading books about Ferrari parts and while Bela was busy reading the different children’s books at PowerBooks, I was busy shopping for this:

The 2010 Belle de Jour Planner. Last year, I bought quite a few at the Rockwell bazaar as gifts to Bela’s teachers at Toddlers Unlimited and to my sister and cousin and my colleague so I was really planning to buy one again when I finally had the chance to go to a bazaar. But last Thursday, Howell was on a holiday and he was able to fetch me from work and we decided to drop by at Robinson’s place for some errands. Since hubby and Bela are both busy, I was able to go around PowerBooks and saw the Belle de Jour planner on display and I was so glad because this means that I don’t have to go to the bazaar to get the planner.

I initially bougth three but I plan to go back at PowerBooks tomorrow to buy more planners for my other relatives and friends. Check it out…It is really so nice and really the ultimate Power Planner for the IT girl.

Parties....Parties and more Parties

MBAPs are busy with a lot of parties this month. First was Samantha’s fifth birthday party at Shakey’s, then Dom’s first birthday party at Makati Sports Club, then Bela’s fourth birthday party at Jollibee Blue Wave, then Andie’s first birthday party at Valle Verde and last but not the least, Mateo’s first birthday party at Blue Leaf.

Unfortunately we were not able to attend all the parties. Too bad since not like last year, Bela loves going to parties now and she even join the games and enjoys the magic show. Since I am two-months pregnant and we can only be absent from her OT session every other Saturday, we have no choice but to skip some of the parties.

Today will be Mateo’s Barnyard party. Since Bela just loves animals, she is really looking forward to Mateo’s party. So before I pick up the cell phones at our store in Greenhills that my friend ordered, we will attend the party first and go to Greenhills afterwards.

From the last email, almost all of the MBAPs will be able to make it to Mateo’s party so it will be the perfect time to have the exchange gifts for the kids which was postponed because our Christmas party was cancelled because of typhoon Ondoy.

See you later guys!! I am sure this party will really be a blast with all the MBAPs present. LOL.

Me @ 2nd Month of Pregnancy

This picture was taken by my Kumareng Kathy last week during Bela’s birthday party. I am already on my 8th week of pregnancy during that time. When I had Bela, my baby bump became obvious when I was already on my 5th month but things are really different now on my second pregnancy. I am only on my second month but people can really tell that I am pregnant.

Just like last Friday, I took the LRT on my way home and since there are no more seats available, I have to stand up. But there was a nice lady who offered me her seat and she even said that I have to sit down because I am pregnant. It was nice really because at least I am given special treatment but I can’t help but ask myself, “is it really that obvious already?”

Looks like I will really gain a lot of weight this time so I am already preparing my Kettlebells so I will go on a work out as soon as I give birth so I can go back to my pre-pregnancy weight right away. With Bela, it took me a year before I was able to loose those unwanted fats and I am really hoping that it will not take that long with my second pregnancy. LOL.

Bye Mela! We will miss you

Last weekend, I met up with my high school friends again for our send off party for one of our dear friend, Mela who arrive a couple of weeks ago for a short vacation here. We met up at their house for some last chit-chats before she leaves on Wednesday.

Of course, our event organizer Me-ann was really prepared with games and prizes to add to the fun. We had a Pinoy Henyo game where the contestants have to guess a word that will remind us of our days in ICAM. Then we shared some good food, good chat and some great bonding time with old friends.

We are really glad that Jhoanne and Jaja where able to join us this time though we miss Issa because she has to go to Batangas for his son. But we already planned our Christmas party and it will be at Me-anne’s place on December 27. It will be a potluck party and we will also have exchange gifts plus Mela donated loots for the game prizes. I am sure it will be one fun and crazy party. (This reminds me that I really have to look for a good online backup where I can safely store and share my pictures and other files. With the numerous events lined up this coming holiday season for family gatherings, reunions with friends and Bela’s last birthday party pictures, I am sure our hard disk will be filled with thousands of pictures again that Howell will be taking. So I really need a very reliable backup for these pictures).

It was really nice to see you guys again. Miss you guys so much and hope we can do this kind of get together more often.

Fryin' Ace

I am now Level 8 in Café World. This means:

• I am now called Fryin' Ace
• I can hire a second server
• I can buy more modern furniture so I can remodel my cafe
• I can now gift Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and Pink Roses

I am so hooked in this game that even though I still feel so tired from our busy weekend, I managed to get out of bed at 8:30 AM because I know that I have to serve my spitfire roasted chicken right away so it will not get spoiled. LOL. And I even asked hubby the other day to log me to my Facebook account because he is up early so he can check the dishes that I am cooking. My friend Mai is right, Café World is really addicting. LOL. But I promise this will be the last application that I will be adding to my Facebook account. Otherwise, I will be lagging in my online tasks and all I can do at home is plow, plant, harvest, cook, serve and remodel my Café.

New Moon: Have you watched the movie already?

Picture snagged from: newmoonmovie.org

My friends are all talking about it and up to now I still haven’t seen the movie. My blogging friends Kathy, Aggie, Joy, Mai and Litzie went on a movie date last Friday (on the exact opening date) to watch New Moon and I am really jealous. Unfortunately, I have no more leaves left so I can’t take a day off from work to join them.

I was supposed to watch it yesterday with my cousins and sisters but our nine year old cousin (who is a true Twilight fan) wants to watch with us but she is not allowed to stay late on a Sunday, which is the only free time for me, my cousin and my sister so we decided to just reschedule it on Friday. But I was just talking to my sister and she has a class on Friday until 9 PM so looks like Friday is also not a possible date.

Oh Edward and Jacob, I can’t wait to see you on big screen. They say that the movie is better than the book version and Jacob was really a hunk and a sweet and perfect guy in this movie. Hopefully before the week ends, I will be one of the happy Twilight fans who were able to finally see the vampires in action again.

Happy

I just logged in to hubby’s Amazon account to check the status of my orders and I am so happy to find out that all of them have now been shipped:


Shipment 2 and 3 have been delivered already which means I might receive it before the week ends or next week while Shipment 1 and 4 is due to arrived in Virginia on November 23 and 24 respectively so for sure it will be in Manila before Christmas. I am so happy because these orders contain our gifts for Bela and my gift for three of my cousins. So at least I was able to strike something from my long Christmas shopping list.

I went to three malls yesterday and they already extended their mall hours for the holiday season so this will give me more time to shop. This reminds me that I still need to find a cigar gift set for my dad and I need to order the Belle de Jour planner for my sister, cousin and Bela’s teachers.

Actually I am already in panic mode as I know that Christmas is just around the corner and I haven’t finished at least half of my Christmas shopping list. I still don’t even have a gift for hubby. Hopefully I can finally say goodbye to my morning sickness and pregnancy blues so I can finally find the groove to hit the mall and do some serious shopping.

Welcome to my Café

Welcome to my Café! Yeah, I am now hooked to Café World, an online game in Facebook.


My cousins, my sisters and my friends are all talking about it but I did not give in at first as I am happy with my farm in Farmville. But I got bored one day and decided to give Café World a shot and boy was I hooked.

Super Chunk Fruit Salad
Triple Berry Cheesecake
Spitfire Roasted Chicken
Caramel Apples

These are just some of the menus that you can cook in Café World (If only I get to eat the dish that I cook here, then it would have been better. LOL. But I am sure I will need the best diet pills after each game. LOL). Then after cooking, you get to serve the dish to the patrons that visit your Café and you will earn coins for that.

My Café still need a lot of work. I have to redecorate the walls, the floors, the chairs and the tables and it is nothing compared to the high-end cafes of my neighbors like the Café of Peachy, Aggie, Kathy, Mai and others. But I am really saving up for it as I really can’t wait to remodel my boring Café.

Gold, anyone?

Now that our family is growing, hubby and I have been talking that we should really start saving up for our kids’ future. That is why we are looking at some investments options.

Our friend just made new investments in precious metals like gold and silver and so she suggested that we try it out also. We checked out the website of Monex and I really learned a lot about precious metal investment.

Gold and silver are rare metals that won’t depreciate in time. It also has high re-sale value and it is universally acceptable so we can easily sell it to convert it to cash. With the help of expert Monex staffs, we will be assured that we will get the best offer in the market. And once we decide to make our investment, they can easily arrange for the delivery at our home or they can even arrange for its safe storage.

Getting precious metals is a safe and secure way to invest our money so we sure that we are really making the right decision for our hard earned money.

Party Preps Update

I am back to party preparations again (well I better be because it is this weekend already. LOL).

1. I already confirmed with Jollibee Blue Wave Macapagal our final orders. I also requested that they let Jollibee participate during the parlor games and since I bought lots of prizes, I also requested that they add more games since I paid for one hour extension also.
2. I already spoke with Zirene and Angelette and the souvenirs are now ready for pickup. I will also pickup the cake on November 13 at their office in Rockwell.
3. I already booked Jollibee Mendiola for Bela’s party at Hospicio de San Jose on November 15 at 3 PM.
4. I will be going to Jollibee Banawe to place our order for Bela’s party at school on November 17.

All that is left for me to do is label the prizes and for Howell to finish the layout for the tarp and hopefully he can send it for printing tomorrow.

NFL for Christmas

It’s the Christmas season once again and as soon as my daughter’s party is over this weekend, I will start to shop for Christmas gifts for all our friends and relatives. Of course at the top of my list are my gifts for my husband and my daughter.

Buying gifts for my husband is really very easy because he is into sports especially football so I am thinking of getting him NFL Merchandise. I checked out the site of NFLUniformset.com and I found some nice uniform set that I am sure hubby will really love. I can buy a pair or two of his uniform sets of his favorite team and he can display it together with his NFL action figures that I gave him last Christmas. I was even thinking of getting the Kids NFL Uniform team locker because this is really perfect for the uniform sets that I will be getting for him.

I am sure my husband will really be happy once he sees my gift for him. I know he really wants to buy a uniform set because that is the only piece that is missing from his collection.

So for NFL fans our there, check out NFLUniformset.com for great NFL merchandise.

This post is brougt to you by the site mentioned above.

Causeway Batch 4

I got an email from Caryl, our Causeway guru that she is now accepting orders for Batch 4 of our Causeway loots. LOL. I was actually in KL when I first received her email and I did not find the time to check out the Causeway website and I was really glad when I learned that they haven’t ordered yet. So at least I still have a chance to place my order if I find anything nice on the site.

Actually, these are the first few pieces that I like:


But I noticed, the models wearing the clothes that I like are really skinny and sexy. LOL. If only I am just fat and I would just need weight loss products, then maybe after a few weeks I will fit into these clothes. But since I am pregnant, then I have to wait for nine months ++ before I fit into these clothes. LOL.

Anyway, I am sure there will be a few pieces here that have loose designs. So bye for now as I have to concentrate while I checkout the Causeway site.

Eating Healthy

I am craving for Bolognese pasta the other day. I asked hubby to buy me one but he end up getting Carbonara Pasta from Yellow Cab.

Last Friday, I went to SM to buy presents for the parties that we will be attending that weekend. It was only 5:30 PM and I am already so hungry so I decided to eat at Pizza Hut so I will satisfy my craving also for the Bolognese pasta.

But instead of Bolognese, I end up eating this:

Puttanesca, Caesar Salad and mango juice. Really healthy right. After I read about colon cleanse and after I learned that I am pregnant, I am trying to eat as much healthy food as I can as per advise by my OB also. Now I am craving for Amici’s spinach pasta. LOL. Hope hubby will still have the energy when he reach home so we can have a short trip to Amici in Tomas Morato (oh the perks of being pregnant. LOL).

Dom's 1st Birthday

We had a blast at Dom’s (my inaanak), first birthday party. Howell was actually the official photographer and I am sure (though he was really dead tired when we reached home), he enjoyed twice as much as us as he just loves taking pictures.

He hasn’t downloaded the pictures yet but it was a very fun party. My favorite is Wanlu and I can’t stop laughing and be amazed by his magic tricks. I also love Sonjas cupcake and I think I finished four cupcakes (LOL). I was not able to try Starbucks as I can’t drink coffee now because I am pregnant. Bela enjoyed the games and all the prizes she won. She can’t leave the Balloon Artist and if it was really up to her, she might have stick beside the balloon artist and have asked him to do all kinds of balloon sculptor. Bela also like the butterfly tattoo that she had on her cheek done by the Arts N’ faces artists (we will also have them at Bela’s 4th party at Jollibee). And I just love the souvenir – a storage box. It is very useful and Bela can use it to put her toys every time we go out.

I love everything about the party. Even this Picture booth and since we were early at the venue, we were able to have our picture taken while Howell is still not busy. Here are the pictures which I downloaded from Partypicslive website:

Happy birthday again Dom and thank you for inviting us to your party.

The Good News

I know I have to look for short term health insurance NC but I guess I have to make a post here about the good news.

I just got back from my first OB checkup. I have been delayed for almost three weeks now and I have been feeling strange lately as I am always nauseated and I feel like I want to vomit. Lately I have been feeling so tired and sleepy that I always end up sleeping early and not finish any of my online tasks. So two days before I left for the KL Conference that I will be attending, I decided to have a pregnancy test and it is positive, I am pregnant.

We were the happiest person on earth when we learned of the good news as we really, really wanted to get pregnant before the year ends so we are really thankful for this great blessing from the big Man up there. My OB said that I am already on my 7th-8th weeks already. I thought I am only down to my first month but I was wrong. No wonder why I have been getting morning sickness already as I am already down to my second month.

I will have my ultrasound and blood work up and I will definetly post updates here. Please pray that I will have a safe pregnancy.

My 2nd Baby

My new baby, my dream bag, LV Neverfull Damier MM.

I got if when we went to Singapore last week. I hesitated at first to buy it as I know that we should start saving especially now that I am pregnant. But hubby pointed out that since I am pregnant, it might take years again before we get to go back to Singapore and for sure if expenses pile up for the coming of the second baby, the more I will hesitate to buy my dream bag. And so I gave in.

I know we still have to buy a steam cleaner but when I saw the bag and when I was actually able to try it on, I can’t let go of it. So I went home happy, with my new baby. I actually was able to use it already during the conference. I love it better than my speedy because it is more spacious and I love the long strap than the short strap of my speedy. It is easier and more convenient to carry it around.

I guess this is my last LV purchase. Yes, I promise. I will really try to make this my last one. LOL.

Airport Boo-Boo

Since I have only a week to plan our Singapore and Kuala Lumpur getaway, we experienced a lot of boo-boo during our trip.

We booked our Singapore to Kuala Lumpur flight via Air Asia. All along, I thought that Air Asia is a budget airline. Like all other budget airlines (Cebu Pacific, Tiger Airways, Jetstar, etc), I was given the following option when I was booking our flight with them:

1. Only hand carried luggage is free. If I want to check in our luggage, I have to pay an extra fee of SGD $ 24 for 20 kilos.
2. No food is offered on-board and I have to purchase our food online or during our flight.
3. We were also given a choice to book our travel insurance online.
4. They only have a small aircraft, much like Cebu Pacific.

So all the while I thought that we have to go to the Budget Terminal of Singapore to catch our flight. But I was really surprised when we arrived at the airport and we were informed that we have to go to Terminal 2. Toink. I checked the ticket and it doesn’t specify which terminal we need to go so I just assumed that it is in the Budget Terminal. We only have 1.5 hours left before our flight leaves so we were really rushing. Good thing there was a taxi stand near the budget terminal and we barely made it to our flight.

Then as if I never learned, I didn’t double check again with Cebu Pacific for our flight from KL to Manila. I checked the tickets and it doesn’t specify again which terminal to go. I asked my colleague from KL and she told me that all departures are at the International Airport. Good thing we left early since when we arrived at the International airport again, we were informed that Cebu Pacific is at LCC (Low Cost Terminal) so we have to take a cab again from the International Airport to LCC Terminal.

Oh well, at least next time I know what to do. But I wish I did not experience this while I was one my first trimester of pregnancy as it is really so stressful.

I I = +

I really gained weight. I noticed since most of my pants won’t fit me anymore. LOL. I thought that I will need to go on a weight loss diet but then again I am really feeling strange lately. I always feel dizzy, tired and sleepy and I noticed that my appetite has increased also. And so I realized I have been delayed for almost three weeks already and that is when I decided to do a pregnancy test and I was really excited and happy with the results because it is positive – I am pregnant!!

Hubby and I really wanted to have our second baby before the year ends and we have been really trying and praying hard that God will grant our wish. Now I am sitting here in the clinic of my OB for my first check up. Hope everything goes well for our second child. We’re so excited and we feel really blessed that God has given us another blessing for this year.

Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Startalk. I was at the hospital almost the entire day for my first OB check up and the TV at the clinic lobby is tuned in to this show.

Lunch
Do you speak more than one language?

I speak my native language and English.

Dinner
What are your favorite websites to visit?

Yahoo, Google, Flickr (my favorite online shopping site. LOL), Etoys, Old Navy, Gap, Overstock and a few other shopping sites.

Midnight Snack
You have won a prize. The prize has two options, and you can choose either (but not both). The first option is a year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2,000. The second option is ten minutes on the moon. Which do you choose and why?

A year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2000 of course. I know a ten minutes on the moon would be a once in a lifetime opportunity but I think I will get bored there because there is really nothing much that I can do. I just went on a three-week vacation in Europe and three weeks is really not enough to explore and enjoy Europe. Now if I have a year and a monthly allowance at that, then I would most definitely choose Europe over the moon.

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?)

Being able to wake up to a bright new day is indeed a blessing.

Join us here.

Hubby’s Dream

Ever since we bought the house and lot in Bulacan, hubby has been dreaming of building our own farm there. The lot area is big and so he feels that there is so much he can do with it.

So what can you do if you have 1.5 hectares of land?

1. Hubby is really looking into building a farm there that we can open to the public. He wishes to put lots of animals where visitors can feed and pet the animals.
2. Hubby also likes to put up a butterfly farm. Bela would always tell him that we should call it our caterpillar farm as caterpillars turn into butterflies.

3. Hubby also dream of buying horses too so Bela can go horse back riding (complete with her equestrian apparel) anytime she wants. Who knows, she can be the next Mikee Cojuangco in the equestrian field.
4. Hubby also wants to build a small resort which can be a venue for events, conferences, team building, etc. My late Aunt Vicky has envisioned this a long time ago and hubby would want to continue what my aunt has envisioned.

I know his dreams will cost lots of money but hopefully, someday, all his dreams for our lot in Bulacan will all come true.