The one with summer pics

So far, our summer has been one memorable time for me and my family. :) The vacation in canyon cove was so fun and exciting.  I just love spending time with our parents...really.  Everytime i'd look on travel promos, i'd always compute a family of 6 adults and 1 kid.  It has always been like that.  And i'm so grateful that my husband shares with my desire to treat our parents whenever we can.  I'd always think, "nobody will do it for them but us, their kids" or "when are we going to do this? when they're old and gray and can barely walk".  I also believe that our blessings are meant to be shared for others, specially to our family.  We save but I'd like to invest on good family time as much as we can.

And to cut the emoticon person in me, here's a bunch of our pics from our vacation :)

 yes naman, showing off...kala mo naman kung sinong sexy. hahaha

 kayaking sa shore. hahaha

 eto talaga water baby ...never gets tired of water.

 the tans

 the fermins

 priceless moment

 my beautiful mom :)

 husband feeling coco martin

 gabi na swimming pa din haha

popsy so happy with breakfast buffet :)

I''ll post a separate review and kwentos of our stay there :)

The one with Israel Houghton

It was...surreal.  I thought of these words like when Hugh Grant saw Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.  And it really was surreal.  Seeing him and watching his concert here in Manila last April 21 was one of the highlights of my week.  It was as if I saw a celebrity and i was star-struck.  Their music was just awesome and inspiring.  It was moving in a way that they can only perform.  God has really gifted this man one heck of a talent.

The dj with them was so good in mixing everything together, but planet shaker's sound tech was better.  Good thing their musicality was so unique, nothing can be compromised and everything was just so worth it.

Until now, i'm still lost for words and just so blessed to have been able to watch it. :)

The one with rat control

We recently bought a pest shield equipment we found at SM department store.  I'am so bugged with the houserats that kept going in our house because they have found a hole or a drainage maybe that we can't get thru in (so we'd be able to cover it) because it's behind a cabinet.  i hate those rats! eeky i know but i only found one small and one medium-sized one. eewww!!! anyway, the pest shield is supposed to shoo them away because of the vibration it emits. so far, we plugged the shield for four days now and i have'nt seen the two rats again.  They've destroyed a part of the kitchen door as well since the kitchen door didnt have a kick plate, the rat was able to mu

The one with another good find

I got a good 100USD from my paypal and as you may all know, my paypal money goes directly to any item of my liking, be it a practical buy or a luxury, and this time i spent on the latter. hehe.

LV Malletier vintage wristbag

I got excited when i found this and i know i can't let it go immediately.  I thought about it for two weeks and prayed if it's ok to buy one.  When i saw my pay went thru paypal already, that's when i decided to buy it. yey! i love it coz it's so vintage. I'm not so much of the monogram design but it has been well-preserved, that's why i think it's really a good buy.

well, my husband would never understand...i'm just glad he learned to accept that side of me.  And i don't have a fetish, so starting to collect some of these is actually, in a way, fulfilling :) hihihi....

The one with school party

 Simone with BFF Aliya

 cake and cupcakes from sugarbox; cookie pops by sweetbite

The good thing about holding a school party is that you're sure of the attendance because it's a school day and all her classmates are there.  It's practical if you dont want an all-out party but at the same time make your kid special because you still had a party with friends she know.  I just hired a balloon twister as an entertainment and ordered cake and cupcakes (oh by the way it's a gift, haha)

happy bday again simone! we love you anak!

The one with Simone's 5th bday pics

These are some of the pics we took from Simone's 5th bday celeb. :) Thank you tita jane for the wonderful cake. We hope you had a great time :)

The one with picture match

Simone loves to take pictures and one time, we had a great time with our ipad pictorial:

Look alike right? hahaha.

The one with magician's hat

One time, Simone was answering her assignments.  There was this page about clothes you wear on different kinds of weather.  Here's the page:

She got everything right: raincoat, cap, boots, umbrella, and jacket.  When i asked what the black hat is for, she exclaimed: "For magic show!!! because it's a magician's hat!" hahaha. LOL!

This is what you get when you are a party planner's kiddo! :)

The one with awards

Yes, Simone's first moving up day ended last March 17 and we are so happy with the awards she got.  We were so clueless about the special awards so when it was announced that there's a special awards part, i suddenly got nervous. hahaha.  It felt like I was waiting for an Oscar award for Simone.  Then i suddenly thought about my parents, especially my mom, and wanted to ask her how she felt whenever i had to get an award for something. haha.

It's very rewarding as a parent to see your child gets awards, but on the same breath, you'd realize that it's just the first year...there's more to come.  I mean, I have this conscious effort not to pressure my kid of doing good in school so she'll have more awards or excel in everything but to teach her that these awards are results of you trying your best but whether you have an award or not, you'd have to remember always that what's important is you did your best. :) I hope it got thru to her.  You see, I notice that she has this concept of "competition" in her already, the concept of "winner-lose" and it's a little challenging how to teach these things to her so she'd have a better perspective of things.  I just hope and pray that we're doing the right thing.

Keep it up Simone... we love you :)

 Best in English medal with BFF Aliya for Best in Math :)

 1st place in Penmanship :)

 with daddy

1st place in drawing

The one with summer getaway

Yey, i finally did it! I booked Canyon Cove for our family's summer getaway.  When i chanced again a promo at Ensogo, I told the husband that I really want to book one together with out parents and I got hyped coz this time he said yes. :) yahoo!  I've been wanting for a bohol part 2 for them (we treated them to bohol two years ago and they loved it so much, we wanted to do it again)  When Simon was paid from an extra project he did, I immediately put it on the summer budget. yey! can you feel my excitement now!?!

now the search for the perfect swimsuit begins...hahaha

The one with a booboo

Gawd, i really hate it when my kiddo gets hurt, moreso if it's an accident i could have prevented. She was sleeping on our sofa and while asleep, she peed.  I checked on her, removed her PJs and stood up to get a new one from her cabinet and seconds later, she rolled and bumped her head big time. Man, i was trying to be calm but deep inside i was big time in a panic mode. I felt her head and the bump was soo big, it's her biggest ever.  You could actually feel it getting bigger and bigger from the swelling.  She did'nt stop crying and that made me decide to bring her to a nearby hospital.  When we were there, she stopped crying and it was like she felt better instantly or maybe she got scared of the hospital so she tried her best to be okay.  Doctor asked for a skull xray just for our peace of mind and gave us a list of what to observe for the next 48 hours.  Manila East Doctors Hospital is quite good.  I did'nt expect they'd give me a list.  They were so detailed in explaining everything to me, one by one and I appreciated it.  Although to tell you frankly, the "what to observe" items got me nervous.  Imagine, convulsion and vomitting and fever?! oh my!

Praise God she's okay now.  I can still feel her bump at the back of her head but she says she's better now.

The one with frustration

Speaking of getting fit again, I remember meeting a client the other day for her son's baptism.  When I saw her, she's really pretty and fit.  I asked her immediately if she really intended to be back on her pre-pregnancy shape and she said she dances and i think does yoga too.  She even told me she has therabands at home.  I admire how disciplined she is and even if she ordered fudge sundae that day (which i envied so much), she's not scared it will add weight to her bod.

Oh how i wish i can be that disciplined... hehe.

The one with ketogenickers

Now let me talk about again my recently-found diet, ketogenic diet, which i started last August.  It's been a while since i blogged about my diet because i've been in a plateau for months now.  My momentum kinda lowered during the holidays and i even gained a little weight recently after Simone's birthday.  I got excited losing the 10 lbs that i forgot that there's still another 10 lbs more. waah.

Good thing, my friends Ayn, Con, Jeng and Rhea (mommy friends whom i regularly meet with) agreed to be in the diet regimen too.  I love our support group.  All of them are losing pounds and pounds every week, i got motivated to get back to my feet and restart my diet again :)

I also plan to use my Gold's gym voucher while i'm not yet pregnant.  I'm sure it will also help me get pregnant easily.  But I really want to lose weight first, be back to my pre-pregnancy weight just so i won't bloat that much when the baby tummy comes. hahaha.  Simon, on the other hand, wants to start something new.  He started getting more toned since he regularly does push ups and he bought a resistance band.  I wanted to do my share of sit-ups too at home and run my bike again.  My husband wanted to bike, as in the mountain bikes and whenever he sees yakima bike racks at cracksandracks.com, he would always think of buying a bike. hahaha. but it never materialized.

I hope this time around i'd shed the last 10 lbs in two months. come on, baby, go go go!!

The one with insurance

Every start of the year, there are at least three companies billing us with our renewal of our insurance policies.  There's the car insurance, our accident insurances and Simon's Philam insurance.  But it's a good thing, we're able to settle with the bills immediately as soon as it arrives.  It's such a waste if we can't update the account and won't be able to maximize it since we started paying for it already.  God really plans everything.  Every December, He gives us a lot of projects so we'd have something to pay for the insurance.  I think the only thing that we don't have yet is a motorhome insurance.  We'd probably plan for it when it's near to our moving in to new house. yey, excited! :)

Most of the time, it's easier if you don't really plan and leave everything to God...because you'd realize that His plans are still better and yours...hmmm, not so much. :)

The one with to get or not

I've been blogging about my trip itch in my previous post and I chanced upon this deal in cashcashpinoy about canyon cove's overnight stay.  I'am so tempted to get the deal for us and for our parents.  But if we're buying them too, a 3D-2night stay will cost us about 20k. waah! But it's still a good deal for an out of town trip since we don't have flight costs anymore, we'd save on that and food is reasonable enough as well.  We're basically after the beach.  If we're going for an overnight stay, I'm sure we won't be satisfied. haha. I'm like one of those profire yoyos thinking up or down, go or no?? waah...and I only have three more days to decide on this.  I actually bought 2 vouchers for us already but i'm still thinking if i'd want to add more for the parents.  hmmm...i'll pray about it. i really want them to have a good vacation.

The one with new old

I almost forgot to blog about Simon's new baby...he has a new old car. hehe.  He got himself a cool Toyota Corolla box type.  I think we got a good deal as the car was reconditioned with original parts just last year.  I got pretty hyped when i saw the car too and got excited for him.

Congrats beh on your new old car. I know you've been wanting to have your own matchbox and now that you have, i know you deserve it. :)  Now all you need is a commercial gps that you can install in your car so you won't get lost because we won't be riding the car always. hehe.

The one with space-saving stool

Simon and I were watching Lifestyle network and we chanced upon the show where they feature nice homes.  I really like the show, although most of the homes featured cost about a quater of a million dollars and they are proud to narrate the 1k savings they got from this or hundreds of dollar savings from another area.  haha, so ironic.

Anyway, i got a few ideas which we can use for our humble home in the future.  I love the rustic bar stools they featured that you can actually install on the table, you can fold it and you can sit on it.  Simon did'nt like it, fearing that it won't hold that much weight but i think if properly installed and with heavy duty materials, i think it's a good deal.  I also like the lavatory material steel they use for kitchen tables. so sleek and yet price-wise, reasonable enough. :)

Can't wait to get my hands on designing that house :) thank you Lord :)

The one with almost no pics

Jillian's mom called me last night asking for venue pictures that i might have.  I tried turning on my dslr and I got scared the dslr is not working anymore.  I think it's because of the drained battery that the shutter is not clicking.  But good thing, when i checked the SD card, i was able to get the pics i took.  I used a magnetic card reader that Simon has as one of his "handy" gadgets.  I was able to send her some pics. :) I'll post soon too :)

The one with emergency leave

Simon had to take a leave today.  Simone has been having  fever since yesterday afternoon and we're monitoring her.  When i had her checked yesterday with Dr. Lucena,  she told me that she might be down with a flu in the next couple of days and true enough, she has flu now :(

The only thing that stresses me a lot is Simone being sick.  I really don't want her getting sick and it pains me to think that she is not in her best condition.  I hope she gets well soon.  It's hard enough for her that she's taking medication for her primary complex, we can't give her any more meds as her liver might be overworked. But we're praying for her fast recovery :)  all in God's time.

If i can only be 24/7 lookout for her, if i can only be her "Off lotion" all the time, I'd do it.  Right now, i just wish i can turn the time of my citizen watch and advance it so she's be better off soon :)

Get well soon anak! The Winx club doll you've been wanting for the longest time is just waiting... :)

The one with party weekend hangover

It has been one heck of a busy February for me.  And to end the month more fun, I was Jillian Ward's party planner on her 7th bday last Feb 26. :) so much fun!  Thank you Lord for a successful party.  Thank you for the gift you gave me and for being able to maximize it the way you want it to. :)

I was so nervious and anxious on the day of her party. I was anticipating all the booboos that might happen that day.  But before the party began, God told me to just stop worrying about anything because everything will be alright...and it really did :)

Simon was there the whole time. You see, I and my husband have different fields and work and as much as possible we don't stress each other on our respective business/work.  We find it beneficial as we have a lot to talk about because we do different things, and we are each other's pressure and stress absorber.  That day, he was present during the party and I appreciated it so much.  He supported me the way a good husband would. :)

The following day, we were talking about the party and we are just amazed how God works and moves in our lives.  Who would have thought that the Php 2,500.00 seminar fee i paid as an investment is now a business who has catered to a child star's 7th birthday party?! God is really good, amazing!!!

More stories about the party, hehe. I'm just soo happy! Oh they did'nt give discount movies tickets but they (Jillian's family) sure did give Simone gifts! im soo touched! thank you! :)

The one with 7th bday preparation

From the year we celebrated Simone's 1st birthday, my husband told me that we cannot have a party ever year.  I agreed with him even though I so wanted to celebrate with a party every year.  That's why, after her 5th birthday, I've told myself that we should start saving for the party.  I'm plotting a goal of saving a specific amount every month for her birthday just so we won't be shocked with all the expenses we need to spend for the party. hahaha. If i can only buy gold bars online from Golden eagle, that would have been great and i could sell those gold bars and make money. hahaha. 

So far, I'm eyeing 55 events place as one of the venue choices, Mandarin hotel and Decagon. oh my! i wish we could afford everything!!! But definitely, a Starbucks booth is a must!!! haha.

im soo excited to start preparing for her party :)

The one with school party

We had a family outing for simone's party and a small school party on the day of her birthday.  She coined those celebrations as Disc 1 and Disc 2.  (it's obvious how addicted my kid is to videos, haha) And the school party was fun!  I'll post pictures soon but let me just share our little preps for her school party.

~Personally, i like school parties.  It's a small party but you can be sure that you have enough number of kids present.  Unlike house parties, you don't have to wash dishes.  House parties are okay if you have a lot of help or you have bosch dishwashers at home where you can easily wash and dry your dishes. haha.

~ It's also a plus that i have a good network of party suppliers where getting entertainment and give aways is literally a call away. :)

~ You also get freebies.  This year, im so happy that my sister in law gave a barbie cake to simone on our family outing and my good friend Emily of sugarbox gave her cake and cupcakes too for her birthday. I love it!! Now im soo carbo-loaded! hahaha

~  It's nice that i was able to get a balloon twister also to entertain the kids while they were eating

All in all, i give my husband and I a pat on the back for pulling it off.  My husband for being able to convince me to celebrate it the simple way and I for agreeing to do so but set aside some a part of what i was able to save to open an account for her "7th bday preps". hahaha, it has officially begun.  yes, we need to save up for it! it's non-negotiable!!!

Happy bday again simone!

The one with moving up

I'm excited for Simone's 1st moving up day on March 17. yey! my baby's moving up na.  I also love that they even have a theme for all the graduates. This year it will be 50's and I researched some outfits that might fit simone :) I'm also thinking of coming on a thmed outfit but i might overdo it. haha. Are Lowa hiking boots a 50's outfit too? :) I don't wanna overdo it and they might label me a momster!!!

Will update once i have decided on what simone could wear on moving up day :)

The one with instant shopping

We have a place where my friend and sisses go to whenever we want to shop for wholesale priced clothes and dresses.  You can also find shoes of all kinds, from flat shoes, cowboy ones, riding breeches shoes (as if i can wear those here) and the stilleto types.  But i opted to look for more dresses and tops that i can wear for meetings and events. 

I bought three dresses, and two shorts.  My sister in law bout a dress too and we found a dress that matches my other sister in law's bod so much.  We were surprised to see that the fit is so nice on her.

I will definitely go back to that place. :)

The one with good employer

I remember posting about our new househelp.  My sisters in law asked me about her and I immediately gave them a thumbs up that she is a-ok.  She's not the perfect househelp but we made sure she's gonna have fun too while staying with us.  We also asked her a couple of questions like undergoing thru an employment screening so we can also know what to expect from her.  She's not a good cook, that's for sure. haha. But her happy attitude is one of the reasons why we instantly liked her.

I hope my extra set of hands will last longer than expected :)

The one with MB

MB for Michael Buble.  I caught one of his concerts right now on TV and i almost forgot how refreshing and nostalgic his voice is.  It makes me turn the time like the turntables playing his song.  His voice is like amplified and processed but not.  He's really good and a passionate singer.  I can't remember why he's single now.

Simon is a musician himself and quite a good singer too.  I guess i can easily be turned on with guys who know how to really sing.

I hope Michael Buble makes another album. :)

The one with trip itch

I've been itching for a getaway this year! waah! i want to unwind and have a feel of fresh air before i get pregnant again (yes, feel na feel!) I know it will be a while before we can travel again as a family if i have another baby again (and we claim that this year will be the year!)

Cebupacific air offered another tempting promotion. P26 fare, with taxes it will reach about P800.00 for a round trip fare.  I was supposed to book cebu last night.  But when i asked the husband, he was okay with it but preferred a land trip in the meantime so both sides of the parents can join us.  I think he's right.  I told you, he's the more sensible one :)

So i have to buy the best sunless tanning spray there is so i can have a feel of the getaway that's been itching me for weeks. :)

Welcome summer of 2012!

The one with kenko

I have a new discovery...Kenko stores.  It's like a small-scale japan home centers but they focus more on home furnishings, personal accessories and lights.  I love how we were able to buy two new lamps (yellow and white) that we can use in the room. :)

Another good buy is the hair dryer i bought at 150 pesos.  I was kinda hesitant to buy it since it might short circuit but i still bought it.  So far, so good. haha.

I really, really love good deals, which reminds me i have to check the leather briefcase in one of the online deals i frequently visit. 

The one with house visit

We dropped by La Potenza two weeks ago and checked out the developments of the small community there.  The place is turning out to be a nice place to live in albeit the nearby villa caruncho residents who would stay in front of the gate everyday and would crowd the entrance of the village...eyesore!

When we were driving around the village, we saw a family with their things inside.  My husband got excited and asked me to talk to the mom.  I was hesitant at first coz i might be intruding their privacy but still asked anyway and it turned out, she was accommodating to answer all our questions and even gave us a tour of their unit. :) it's different when you see appliances inside and furnitures.  At least we can better visualize things around the house :)  she even gave us tips on what led lighting to buy and showed us the lights they bought to change the ones the developer put up :)

Sooo excited! thank you Lord and we pray for a smooth moving in hopefully before this year ends :)

The one with celebrating 13

Yehey, we've reached 13 years as a couple already! I consider it a milestone that we have been together for 13 years already and those thirteen years have been really the best years of my life.  Simon has always been my bestfriend, comforter, prayer partner and my most sensible other half.  I, on the other hand, is his number one fan, his fashion stylist, his confidence booster and financial assistant. (assistant because he brings home most of the bread and i just bake it and turn it to a buffet, hahaha)

I can say that we've been through mostly good times and a taste of not-so-good times.  We are forever grateful that God has always been the center of our marriage and that He is God's gift to me.  He is more precious than all diamond earrings for women combined.  :)

Happy 13th anniversary beh! I love you, and will always love you :)

The one with positive

How i wish i can write here, positive pregnancy right? that news would have been way better to read about.  But everything has a purpose.

Simone is positive with primary complex.  I blogged about the tb test done on her and it turned out positive.  She was given meds already which we started last February 2. 

Good thing she easily takes her meds.  We've also started our veggie program where i cook fresh noodles, make chicken broth (as in from real chicken) and add ground malunggay and carrots. She instantly liked it :)  So we don't have instant noodles anymore. yey!

We've also restricted ourselved to go to crowded places on the first two weeks of medication.  I heard from my husband that the first two weeks is the 90% healing phase so we're more careful on bringing her to places esp areas with cigars sampler, smokers or anywhere polluted and she might catch another virus or whatever. 

Love you Simone!

The one with soon to be five

I still can't believe that just a few days from now and my Simone will be five years old already. waah! She's not really getting any younger now and it makes me excited to see her grow but at the same time sad that a year just passes by and the next thing you know, you're shopping for her prom dress with her already. waah!

I'm glad and thankful God led me to where we are now.  I'm glad that He made me realized how important it is to be with your kid while she's growing up and leaving the corporate world was no regret at all. I miss being with my friends there but being with my daughter while she's growing just gives me more reasons to appreciate the time i spend with her. :)

And I feel more blessed that God really gave us the best of both worlds, me having to still work on my business and having a more flexible time to spend with Simone.

Her 4th year passed like a breeze.  But it's my favorite year so far.  Favorite because this is the time when she's not that "old" but not that baby anymore.  You can enjoy your time together like malling, shopping and just being with her.  You know she can understand you more so she knows how to follow instructions, obey simple household chores and reprimand her knowing that she understands what you have to say.  I also love the fact that she enjoys and thrives in school. Seeing her excited to go to school everyday makes me feel like i'm raising a smart kid.  To be honest, it's hard not to expect because she always gives us reasons to expect that she would excel, hehe. :)

Simone, I love you! Happy birthday anak. You will always be mommy's baby (even if you dont want to be called one anymore)

The one with today is the day

We will know if simone has been exposed to primary complex.  The first time i heard it from my pedia as one of the three possibilities of simone's condition, I felt really sad...and a failure again as a mom.  But you know, these are really some of the things that are inevitable.  You just can't seem to track any known bacteria or virus there is and avoid your child to be in any place near it or any person for this matter.  So when we had the tuberculosine test last monday (did i spell it right?), it was horrible seeing my child cry until she loses her breath because of the pain it brought.  I know the test was more like a skin allergy test and i hated that test.  I vividly remember hating it more than my epidural injection when i was gave birth to Simone, so i can understand if the pain was too much for her.  After the test, we headed to the mall, treated her to an unlimited playtime and Tom's world fun and we ate 'til we got our tummies full.  We also went to her cousin's just so she'd be happier. hehe. yeah, we spoiled her that day, just so she can forget the painful feeling she had with the test.

Anyway, whatever the results are, we're pretty calm and still, knowing that God is in control.  And I promise to be more hands-on as I can and watch her health 24/7 (if it's even possible!)  I remember reading an FB post made by my friend of how she used Skype to track her kid on the other room, more like a web conferencing solution to her problem of being at two places at the same time. So i guess I can be like that too, more like a restaurant who's open 24 hours a day...or Goodah for 25 hours a day. haha.

A healthy baby makes a happy mommy. :) love you anak. :)

The one with new househelp

I'm happy we have a new househelp again.  I won't expect that much so i won't get frustrated if she does'nt stay that long with us but i still hope she would.  I like her.  :) She's very gay. haha. She moves fast, she's not picky with food too.  She likes to text but at least she doesn't own two prepaid cell phones and just one. :)

But most importantly, Simone loves her instantly and that's what matters. :)  I hope i can be more organized now that i have an extra pair of hands.

The one with Bacolod getaway part 2

To continue my Bacolod post, let me start again by posting some pictures.

while waiting at Bacolod airport for tita kuki and tito jason. :)

eating banana split.

nice shot of Bacolod Silay Airport

Simone has always loved travelling. She's one really good travel kid buddy and we're so blessed with that. :)

TIta kuki and Tito Jason

nature shot of danjugan island...winner!

beach front

the lakwatsera family! :)

The food in the resort were okay. They were cooked right after we ordered so we're guaranteed that everything's fresh. The prices of their food was reasonable too and that's what we enjoyed very much.

The restaurant was small. Only several tables that can accommodate no more than 30 pax but as i said in my previous post, it felt exclusive knowing that we were only 7 who were checked in at that time, so we did'nt mind.

Our sole objective of being able to relax was achieved. Our whole stay consisted of just water activities: swimming in the pool, island hopping in Danjugan island, swimming in the island, strolling along the shore and eat by the beach. Yes, this is the life! hahha.

Ayu's Spa Resort's amenities were ok too. The pool in the resort was simple but clean. They also had a jacuzzi that Simone enjoyed so much. They also have sauna which i enjoyed. The rooms are pleasant, clean, water pressure not so reliable but the bed is comfortable. All in all, their service is the one thing that made them pass with flying colors for me :)

The island, Danjugan island is a marine-reservation island (did i get that right?) Everything's within nature. They only have solar panels to get solar energy, they have kayaks which we enjoyed. "manong" gave a very well-explained background of the island but the island was not as "virgin" as it was in the pictures he showed us. I guess a lot of development and improvement had to be made, but then again, it would'nt be as preserved as it is now if things would get commercialized around.

When we went back to the resort, we took a dip again on the beach and the pool until evening. Our only rest from the water was when we had to eat. hahaha.

Simon made this one of his top trips for 2011 for the sole reason that he was able to relax and enjoy a short break from our busy life. And for that i get a pat in the back. :)

I want to plan another travel! hahaha. :)

The one with I'm back!

Before i lose this blog for not being able to update it, let me greet everyone a big Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! I know, it's almost a month since Christmas and most of my neighbors have taken down their christmas lights, but what the heck, this is the only time i got hold of my blog again and i'm so excited, have lots of stories to share and pictures to upload. I hope i'd be able to blog everything :)

Watch out for more posts...Have a great year ahead!

The one with what should i get for him?

Yes, unfortunately, after all the hard-thinking process of choosing and buying gifts for friends and families, i only realized today that i have'nt thought of what gift to buy for Simon.  Admittedly, we kinda splurge on Christmas and birthday gifts but since he just recently purchased a keyboard, i was hoping that would be a christmas gift too (and maybe a birthday gift?? hahaha) so when the iphone 4S commercial ran on TV and we saw it, he was teasing me if i could buy that for him. waah! i don't know if i could still get him something that expensive. hahaha. Will Joop perfume or another pair of shoes do? hehe.

I'll update you soon! i gotta get something for him. :)

The one with Christmas gifts

It's hard to think of gifts for families.  For friends, we decided to go with a uniform gift for everybody.  I hope they all like the biscuits we bought at Marks & Spencer.  It has its own advantages, preparing the same gifts, at least it's easy to buy again in case you still need to purchase.

But for families, man, it's hard to think of gifts for them. Even harder to know what they really want, where to buy it and if the budget will still fit.  Last time, i remember giving my mom a set of Swarovski Crystal beads which i made myself.  She loved it so much, she still wears it til now.  Also, i think i had a good buy when i bought our moms nice bags just last Christmas.  They both loved it. 

Now i have to think of gifts for my brothers, my brothers in law and two sisters in law. :) Waaah! and i thought i'm done with the shopping!

The one with Christmas program

It was Simone's 1st Christmas program in school. I was a bit nervous since the first time she participated in their school activity, she was so not in the mood and the costume that her lola made was not even used. So we did'nt expect that much.  But to my surprise, she participated the whole time.  We're proud parents to see her just up there (the venue was at SM Cinema 2 Masinag) and she knew the actions albeit the many absences during rehearsals. hahaha.

Congratulations KILA for a job well done! Even the decors were made by the school staff themselves.  They bought a lot of styro, flex tube, paints and glitters to make a nice backdrop for every change of scene in the christmas program :)

Thank you anak! We're proud of you!

More pictures to follow :)

The one with HMR

I did mention in my previous post about how best buy items are in HMR. and no one can argue with that.  They have way improved their items and when i went there a few days ago, I was going crazy with the items.  They have everything! from refurbished computers to cake decorating items and brand new shoes. I love it! Here are my purchases:

~ honeycomb queen size, complete set - flat sheet, fitted sheet, 2 pillowcases, all 300 thread count.  Price: 990.00 you can buy this at regular price of 2k up.
~ Puma red sneakers for simon size 10 1/2 at 790.00. Oh my, i can just jump for joy. and to think that i accidentally saw this near the counter because someone left it there and it's available already for sale. so happy! it fits Simon well. super nice too. :) and i really think it's genuine :)
~ Cupcake decorating set at 200.00 - i bought it for my sister in law.  was supposed to buy the cupcake stand too but ran out of stock


I will surely go back to HMR soon. love it! the best!!!

The one with missing the bed

I seriously miss our bed.  Every year, i try will all my might to be not as busy as i was the previous year, but something and another thing will come up and i'd end up getting more that what i can bear. haha. But i'm proud to say that i'm more organized now than last year.  I was able to get more corporate events this year but it was still manageable. It feels like i'm always wearing heated gloves and my adrenaline just keeps getting higher. haha.

I just miss sleeping.  I recently bought sheets from HMR (which by the way is the most best buy so far) but i could'nt use it yet.  I'm making a countdown of the number of days before Christmas and making a countdown of our last day of party before christmas too. hahaha.

Merry Christmas everyone! I miss you bed! Don't worry, we'll spend quality time soon. hahaha.

The one with when we get older

Next week, we will be celebrating our 6th anniversary as husband and wife.  And I'm amazed how time flies so fast.  It still feels like it's just two years ago when we got married.  A lot of things happened and changed but i can still say we're still the same couple.  Although, it made me think how we will be like twenty years from now. And here are things i think we will be doing then:

~ Simon might be playing golf.  He's not a basketball person so i think he can get interested with golf since when that time comes, he would need to choose a sport for himself.  By then, i'm foreseeing that there would be more high tech gadgets for golf, like gps systems for golf, more sophisticated golf clubs and gears.  I still don't get the hype of playing golf but i think golf will fit him well.

~ I might have another kid and hopefully if we're on target with our baby project, s/he will be seven years younger than simone. :)

~ I hope Simone has a fulfilling job that she loves or a business that she dreams of.  I hope she will be with someone she prays and hopes for :)

~ I hope I still have Partyboosters by then :)

Everything that we hope when we get older, as long as it's according to God's plan, I'll continue to go with the flow...

The one with bacolod trip

The short trip we had last week was fun.  I felt i needed to blog about it and share the cost and share our experience.

Travel date: December 11 to 13, 2011
Manila to Bacolod via Cebupacific

Airline tickets: I was able to book the ever famous piso fare of Cebupacfic.  For us three, a total of 1,200.00 (or 400.00 each person for a round trip ticket to Bacolod) if it's not a best deal, i don't know what is. hahaha.  The service was okay.  We went to NAIA 3 so airport was ok.  Our flights were both on time, i'm so happy. My sister and brother in law got the airphil promo and both their flights were delayed for almost an hour. 

Bacolod airport was ok.  It was'nt big but for a provincial airport, it was nice enough. (at least the restrooms were all working) haha

Resort: Ayu Spa White Beach and Resort
ayusparesort.com
Peso power: 4,500.00 for a 3D/2N accommodation of a Deluxe Room with balcony.

Going to Ayu Spa took us almost 4 hours of travelling by land.  Good thing the hotel booked us a van where we can all share with the cost. (separate rating on the van) 

When we went to the resort, it was not love at first sight compared when we went to Bohol. hihi.  It was 5pm already, high tide and could'nt appreciate the beach that much.  I was wearing a maxi dress and all i could think of was, "i should have bround northface jackets here" because it was cold that day.I thought "so this is it?"  But Bacolod is an island you will learn to love and appreciate.  I love the fact that it's closer to nature.  You can actually hear birds chirping or some animal making an unusual sound.  You learn to appreciate the simplicity of life and how wonderful it is to feel the serenity.  The reason why there are rooms in the resort that do not have TVs. of course, since we were with the kiddo, we had to have a TV. hahaha

Anyway, going back, what i love about the resort was the service.  They served us midnight snacks, the waiters were so courteous.  Even if there were no phones in the room, you can easily ask for anything to be served in your room since their staff would roam around the hotel every now and then.  I also loved the fact that we were only 7 who were checked in at that time, so it felt like it was exclusive to us.

I'll continue with my post...sorry to cut this short

The one with instant power

Don't judge me with what i'm about to blog...hahaha.

Just want to share an interesting experience and realization I had recently.  A couple of months back i bought a designer bag, well if you're one of the few who follow this blog, im sure you know what i'm talking about.  It took me a whole year to decide on it and one of the reasons of starting to own one is because it gives a certain "leverage" to my type of clients.  And it turned out, it somehow did.

Just the other day, i met up with a client.  They're actually the parents of my client, my overseas client who found about me in the internet.  So picture this, the parents are oldies and not as techie too, so when it comes to dealing with suppliers, they expected the traditional "contract signing" etc where in fact, i've been corresponding with their daughter for months already and confirmed a lot of things about the party.  So anyway, they met up with me to give a partial payment in person.  I had the impression they did'nt want to give it at first, thinking that i may be just a bogus.  I was a bit (slight lang naman) offended and when they asked for the contract, i went to the car, got my "bag", ipad and the contract.  I don't know why i had to bring everything, but it was an impulsive act.  When i gave out the Tea Party Invitations my client asked me to make, I felt i showed off a lot of my "things".  Then all of a sudden (im not sure if it's just me), they felt comfortable talking to me.  All of a sudden, they agreed to giving the partial payment.  I know it sounded materialistic on my part and felt something's not right in the picture, but the truth of the matter is, i felt there's some truth in it as well.  That at times, you really have to prove your "worth" thru material things you possess because they really don't know you from the start.  They will only depend on impressions, and factors that add to these impressions are things that you own, the car you drive and your personality.  I felt like i was trying to impress them or something. hahaha.

But when they warmed up to me, i had a great time chatting with them too.  I also realized maybe it's really not easy to trust people, add to the fact that they really don't know me. So in the end, i still understood the situation :)

hehe, just want to share...again, no judging please. ;)

The one with much needed vacay

Amidst the hustles and bustles, we were able to take a quick vacation in Bacolod and unwind just before we head on to the busiest month of the year. :)  I took advantage of the cebupacific's piso fare and was so delighted that i was able to book not only for my family, but for my sister in law and her husband.

I've always had the same feelings while preparing for a trip, you know, the type who is not that excited and feels like i'm leaving a lot of things undone so how can i go to a trip with a lot of things in mind.  But since we i booked it already, we felt we did'nt have any choice. hahaha.

But the impulsive decision had its own advantages.  In the end, happiness still prevailed and the sadness of leaving a serene and very peaceful place while packing again for the city felt like forever. hehe. I'll post a separate travel entry about our bacolod trip. 

Travelling may be a luxury but once in a while trips can be priceless.  The quality time you spend with your family can never replace even diamond rings or the latest gadget in town :)