The one with pearl day

It's a good family bonding time.  We attended a birthday party at Shakey's.  It's very rare that I attend parties where in i'll just sit down and not care anything about the party -- just eat and have a good time with my kid. I'm not used to it but once in a while, it's a good experience. haha. After that, we headed to Podium mall.  I did some bank errands and collected a cheque from san miguel, just across the mall.  When i went back, Simone wanted Starbucks so we had coffee and she had a venti choco frap and choco donut. After the coffee time, we strolled and then transferred to St. Francis Square and bought some dvd's.  I forgot how nice it is to shop there.  It's airconditioned, nice items and less shoppers for a weekday. :) I bought a pair of red shoes for everyday use.  I also bought two pairs of pearl earrings.  It's really nice.  I got the gray one and the white one.  I've always loved pearls and I'm excited to wear them. hehe.

I also bought some baking stuff even though i don't really bake. hahaha. i dont know, i love baking and cooking items, i always find myself bagging some items i would'nt really need knowing that someday, i would find time to do such or find money to buy me an oven. ahehe. Maybe next time i should be looking for items that would make me sexy like creatine powders, L-carnitine drinks and exercise equipments. hahaha.

Thanks beh and baby for a wonderful day with you two. love you!

The one with it's all in the looks

When i turned the big 3-0 almost two years ago, i still did'nt think much of having to take care of my skin and my body but lately, i've been more conscious to do so.  i think i'm starting to look like in my thirties. not that it bothers me, i just don't want to look anything older than i'am.  hahaha.  With this, let me share some not-so-pricey over the counter items that i'm using now.

Myra Vita-White Moisturizer with sunblock -- i love this product! as in it makes my skin smooth and clearer. it's does'nt leave that much oil to my skin and blends well with any of my make-up :)

Nivea body oil -- this is their new product in lieu of the Nivea Body and Soul oil.  I put this right after taking a bath, and you still have a little water on your skin :) i think it's working. :)

I'm just thankful that my face is low-maintenance as i'am very lazy with the 3-step basic regimen.  One time i read about an article at www.accutanereviews.com and learning how controversial the treatment was, i just decided to be simple and low-key in maintaining my face and skin. :)

The one with just one wish

Despite my long blog posts, I still find my head floating these days.  I'm too pre-occupied with what the family is going through.  Our parents are getting old, they're not their usual healthy selves and at times, i'd catch myself in denial of these things like when my mom complains of her acid reflux, i would immediately get irritated and would ask her to go to a doctor and treat it right away.  I did'nt want to dwelve on the idea that they are getting old, needed more medical attention and that at times, they may not be able to do things the way they used to.  And i feel sad about this...big time!

My dad had a gall stone operation just last month.  And next is his kidney check up.  My mom still has acid reflux and she has to be under medication or else there'd be attacks again.  My dad in law, is the one with the  most serious condition now.  He has prostate, hernia, severe cough and blood pressure shooting up to 200.  We've been bringing him to the doctor for the past two weeks and we are fervently praying that the prostate minimizes in two weeks time. 

I know that these things really happen... I know that they won't live forever but if i could just have one wish... I hope they'd all grow old until their hair is gray and that they would live to the fullest knowing that they've done all that God wanted them to do. I also wish that i have more time for them, more money to spend for their needs so that they'd have one thing less to worry.  We love our parents so much, we work hard to give them what they all deserve. And I know God hears our prayers.

Thank you Lord for being in control.

The one with school hunting...check!

We enrolled simone to a development school last year, thinking that it was a progressive school.  But to my dismay, it was a traditional school and we found out that simone did'nt fit well.  When i say fit, it would'nt mean she's part of the bottom-half, on the other hand, she excelled academically.  When she took the first quarter exams, she aced it without me having to review her.  It was the teaching process and the environment that she found more like a "routine".  My daughter easily gets things, she easily learns things, whether i teach it to her or not and one thing i noticed that seemed to be very distinct was that once she learned something, she does'nt like repeating herself and re-learning it.  So, long story short, the school year was a mere 2-month stay and we had to pay everything in full.  We learned our lesson...I learned my lesson and this time, i wanted to do all my research.

I read about progressive schools after a co-nawie introduced it to me saying that the kind of teaching they do might fit simone.  I made researches and thoroughly read about teacher tina's blog.  Her blog is very informative, mind you.  After a lot of researches, i realized that yes, this might be the right school for Simone.  I talked to the husband and discussed the matters with him.  He has his own concerns too but he readily liked progressive teaching, thinking that this will fit for simone more.  I've tried inquiring to about three or four schools but the location is just far from our house.  I also wanted to check out UP-CDC but i was told the getting a slot is like passing thru a needle. so maybe we can try next year. I went to KILA after a good friend, abi, mentioned it to me. she's enrolling aliya there this school year.  I dropped by to check it out.  I was with simone then and was pleased that she liked the school, she did'nt want to leave.   We then asked for a schedule of assessment.  She had a 30-minute assessment.  Before it started, the teacher asked me as to why Simone was accelerated for 2 levels last year (from Pre-nursery to Jr. kinder) and after the assessment, the teacher approached me and said that no wonder why she was accelerated, she was advance for her age.  Simone showed the teacher how to write all letters, read some words and showed that she knows her shapes well.  I did'nt want to be overwhelmed again of the "advancement" of my kid as i just want to treat her as a pre-school kid.  I don't want to make the same mistake of "yeah-lets-accelerate-her" decision as i know every kid has his/her own pace.  And i think the teacher felt my nonchalant reaction and she readily answered and assured me that if ever they see that she's advance for her age and level, that's the only time that they will give her extra materials to enhance her learning skills. other than that, everything will remain the same. :) i felt assured that this time, Simone might really finish this school year. hahaha.

So we reserved a slot for Simone at KILA.  I'm still open to other options like homeschooling (if ever this doesn't work for simone but really, i have yet to convince myself that i CAN do homeschooling) or other schools like UP-CDC or the learning tree. :)

I still want to consider the psychpros test that my friend told me about but i just could'nt find their office and the test is for 4.5 yo so i think i have to make a schedule for it already as getting a slot for the test is like 6 months in advance. yikes!

Good luck with this school year...and the tuition fees! hahaha.

The one with big punch day

Yes, it's Pacquiao holiday today! People are expected to stay at home and watch the fight.  We have events today and my team keeps on asking me of the venues of our parties and they were checking if the venue has television in it. hahaha. I was hoping someone would bring one.  I also thought of buying a small one, one of those super bargain items like the scanner software i was so tempted to buy.  I saw one yesterday while we were in a gas station and it's only 400 pesos for a scanner. how cheap is that?! But I told myself it was too good to be true. hehe.

Going back...just want to greet everyone Happy Pacquiao day! :)

The one with putting to a stop

My partyboosters team and i were on our way home last night from a day of events and we were chatting how our day went.  We were so busy, two of my team members were'nt able to puff the whole day.  So i told them that they can really put it to a stop if they want to.  It's a matter of finding reasons not to do it and just stop.  I was even trying to calculate how much savings they can get if they stop but i think eveything just came out to the other ear. haha. I thank God that i did'nt get into smoking, specially those alec bradley cigars which would cost me an arm and a leg per pack. hehe.

Do you have an "addiction" you feel you needed to stop?

The one with a GM diet

I wanted to detail my experience with GM diet, but i'd think i will need to post a separate entry for that.  all in all, it was a good diet program.  I scaled and lost 5 pounds in one week.  But i think it will be doubly hard if you're working in an office, or you have a job that requires you to move a lot.  I tried to stick to the program but failed to do so on the fourth day. Man, i had to finish a bunch of bananas! how in the world?! and that's all i had to eat. hahaha.

But i still congratulate myself for being able to finish the program.  the sexy garterbelts i bought may still not fit, but at least it's still 5 pounds less. :) haha.

The one with mother's day

Happy mother's day! Hey yeah, this is our day!!!

Before, I've used to treat mother's day as just one of the days where we would take out our mom for lunch or dinner, so it was just one of those days to fill in our stomachs.  But now that i'm a mom, i've valued this day more and leveled it up to a semi-holiday for us. (but since i'd still be working today, it's a working holiday, ahahha)

Happy mother's day to all! Celebrate the awesomeness of being a mom! Hooray! Enjoy the extra love this day...and of course the gifts, may it be in the form of pink flowers, jewelry, designer bags, perfumes (haha, i sounded materialistic).  All i want today is good health for my family and hugs and kisses from my husband and kiddo. That's good enough for me :)

The one with couple's vanity day

Right after holy week, I took simon for a vanity day.  We had the whole day to ourselves, treated to a spa and a facial.  :)

Our first stop was a spa and a gluta whitening scrub and oatmeal honey.  It was so refreshing, it also came with a one hour massage.  We felt so relaxed after that and felt even more thrilled that we got the services from my cashcashpinoy voucher.  I got to say, being addicted to these internet deals is just so infectious. hahaha.

After our spa, we headed to megamall for a facial.  This, on the other hand, did not give any form of relaxation but after the procedure, our face felt two pounds lighter. hahaha. Simon, once again, swore that he will not do it again. :P

Thank you beh for such a wonderful time with you.  It's so fun having to forget our jobs even for a couple of hours and just spend time with each other and treat ourselves for a so-called vanity day :)

The One With Praying For A Complete Healing

I am happy that my father in law is now home, albeit conditionally. He was hospitalized for prostate gland problems last week and the threat of an operation is still hanging over our heads till now. But we’re all praying for his complete healing and hoping that come next week, when he’ll be examined again for any improvement, he’ll be declared fit and as good as new by his doctors.

And now that he’s home, I hope the heat won’t get in the way of his full recovery. Because it’s really hot these days. I don’t think it’s ever been this hot in Manila before. And I can’t imagine it getting even hotter like the Weather Bureau said it will. And I hope that everything will come back to normal ‘coz it feels really weird these days. We weren’t able to celebrate Simon’s birthday in a swimming trip with the family and for years, it’s been a sort of tradition to go swimming on his birthday. So, it’s a no celebration and a worrisome summer for us this year (I know summer means more excuses for you to go on island vacation and coat yourself with Curacao jewelry and fancy beads). But I have great faith that it will be better next year. He hasn’t failed us yet.

The One With The Multiply Site

I think part of the success of Party Boosters, especially during the early days when I was still starting, came from all the networking advertisements I got from my website in Multiply. It gave me some of my first clients and continues to give me clients and referrals from satisfied clients to this day. The best part is, it’s all free! Ya, so I guess I can’t really complain when I’m having difficulty uploading pictures rather frequently lately. It’s annoying and makes me just wanna get a bluehost hosting sometimes. But, ya it’s free so what can I say?

Well, at least now you know why when you haven’t seen any new photos in my site for a while.