The one with a party!

I'm so behind, so sorry!

My daughter turned seven last March. wohoo! it was such a blast! i enjoyed everything and thanked God for all the blessings and provisions for the party.  I still can't believe i have a seven year old already. where did the time go??? waaahhh!

I realize, even if i'm a party planner, when it comes to your kid, planning makes it a little more challenging. I asked for her choices, what she likes, what theme she wants (although we had a hard time with this) and what activities she wants to see at her party. I'm glad she was very excited planning for it, doing a countdown as the day got nearer.

We had jive, golden show, flooch, alex lagula, face painting, kiddie salon, personalized stamps and hairbow making activities. whoa! both adults and the kids had super fun! I even rented separate sound system and lights for the party, allen & heath zed 10fx used should have been an additional fun but we did'nt hire a band so no need for it already.

I will post pics and share more details soon.

The one with back up

It's new year. and what a good way to save photos and special memories that to buy an online disk space. i've always wanted that for years and paying 200 pesos a month to make sure all your files are safe, i think that's not a bad thing. Like for music, you can save on protools 9 at Musicians Friend.  you can save your work and assure yourself that it will be saved online until your future use of it.

Now i'm thinking if i want smugmug or flickr. hmmm...

The one with phone in the sink

I got my phone sunk in a bowl...worst, a toilet bowl! waahhh!!! i feel so guilty and embarassed that i had to change phones almost every 6 months because either i lose them, or get them broken.  Unlike my husband, he has a very good hand in taking care of his gadgets, even the crate guitar at Musicians Friend.  I just hope i can do the same with my phones and laptop :)

The one with a new year itch

Let me tell you a secret...i've been itching for something luxurious but i cannot and will not be allowed to buy one.  Simone's 7th birthday is nearing and we need to set aside  budget for that. I know I'm a party planner and planning her birthday should be a breeze. But if you have a husband who's as keen as an auditor, planning will be a challenge.

Anyway, i'm sure i'll be able to look for a Scott Kay jewelry collection in the future, not near but definitely in the future. hahaha.

The one with additional business

I've been planning to start another small business so I can diversify and not get burnt out with my current business. Plus it also gives me a new excitement everytime I start something new :)

I started by purchasing a printing machine months ago.  I have'nt tried making samples yet but I really want to start with it.  Hopefully, early this year, I can make some samples and try to sell. Who knows? eventually, i might have a complete line of equipments including a bending machine, photo machine and others :)

Exciting!

The one with new year, new cookies!

We recently bought a small electric oven so i can add another activity with Simone..baking. And I want to cook healthier meals (read: helper will cook, i will just instruct)

I'm so happy with the first batch of cookies i made.

I'll post the recipe on a separate entry.  I'll try to prepare healthier meals for this year and bake goodies so Simone would bring this to school and brag about her mom baking cookies. hahaha.

The one with disneyland

On top of the busy schedule for events, moving in to our new home, we are preparing for a hongkong trip next week.  I'm looking forward to spending quality/vacation time with my husband and daughter, take a couple of days off and just bond with my family.  I don't know though if we'll have time to shop since we alloted two days for disneyland and the other two days to stroll just around the city. We also hope we can buy a pearl boom box cajon at guitar center just like the last time we went there. :)

I'll post pics soon! :)

The one with studio

since we are in the process of moving in to our new house, we decided to transform one of the rooms into our office/studio.  My husband sorted out his instruments and decided to sell those he does'nt need that much.  He found this excellent krank amps at musicians friend and asked if he can use it to put in his studio.  It's really tiring but it's so much fun.  I'm excited to see how it will turn out. :)

Thank you Lord for the blessings.

The one with Yolanda

Visayas has been hit by super typhoon Yolanda and the aftermath is huge.  I cannot describe it, cannot fathom how big the effect was but if we can help, let us do so in whatever way we can. 

God is stronger and bigger than this.

The one with instrument furniture

We don't have a specific theme for the house but since my husband is a musician, we want to make sure that our house can reflect that description and side of us.  We upcycled our bass drum and made it to centertable.  We also used a part of his first keyboard as part of the gallery.  I hope we'd be able to keep up with our theme and decors around the house, maybe a flutophone next time?  :)

Soo exciting!

The one with home ideas

As i said before, we are getting busy and in full blast with our house finishing.  We are now in the process of building the dirty kitchen.  It's extra hard now because we don't have a foreman to help us.  We buy the materials ourselves, go to the site everyday to make sure they finish on time.  I just hope we can move in there before december.  We are just so excited. I want to post some pics but i don't have them right now so let me post some pics i found nice. :) here are some space-saving ideas.

i want this at the back of the main door.

the husband drew this to transform our office cabinet to my office. im just so excited! yihee!

The one with hopefully for good

I know, i know! i'm just so ashamed i have'nt been able to maintain this blog. I have a LOT of things on hand now, it feels like i'm moving like a robot, with everyday and unending list of things to do. it just doesn't stop. Anyway, just for a welcome back blog post, let me share a parenting tip on how we, as mothers, should talk to our daughters about her body. I got this from a blog, you can check her blog as well. How to talk to your daughter about her body. Step one: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works. Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight. If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that. Here are some things you can say instead: “you look healthy!” is a great one. Or how about, “you’re looking strong.” “I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.” Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body. Don’t comment on other woman’s bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one. Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself. Don’t you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don’t go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don’t say “I’m not eating carbs right now.” Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself. Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes. Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with. Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move furniture. Teach your daughter how to cook kale. Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter. Pass on your Mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love being outside. Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can lift up the world, if she wants. Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.

The one with breastfeeding month

August is breastfeeding month too! Yay! And since i have a lot of friends who are breastfeeding counselors/advocates, indulge me with promoting their event tomorrow.

see you there!!!

The one with music in our blood

I'm so blessed that our family is a family of musicians, singers and artists...and they're not just musicians...they're good at what they do. They are gifted musicians (haha, got to love your own!) And so when i saw a bass clarinet at musicians friend, i wondered if any of my family members can play it. they can easily adapt to learning something new and i'm sure it will not give them a hard time. I wonder what musical instrument simone will learn in the future???

The one with birthday month and christmas feeling

It's my birthday month this august!!! wohoo!!! I'll be changing the age on the left part of this blog again...ugh! haha. but i'm grateful for the 34 years of my life. i'm blessed. And after my birthday, Chrismas air is just around the corner. Wow, time flies really fast..as in! Before you know it, you'd be shopping again at radko from christmasplace and wrap some gifts again for family and friends. i love it! Sooo excited for my favorite season of the year! and super excited for our Hongkong trip too! wohoo!!!

The one with Simone's painting lessons

Simone has always been in love with crafts and paintings. So we decided to ask someone to go to our house once a week and teach simone the basic strokes and techniques in painting. I think it will be more beneficial for her as she will be guided accordingly as to what brushes to use or what to do when painting. If it's just me, nothing will happen as admittedly, im not good in painting. haha. Here are here pics from her first day with kuya marvin:

The one with dream vacation

I was browsing online deals and was actually surprised at how affordable vacations are now. there are like P9k deals with airfare and hotel accommodations included. Soo sweet! But I really have to say that my most ambitious dream vacation will be a trip to europe. I'd love to stay on one of those luxury paris vacation rentals and just enjoy eiffel, strolling around the country and shop. I heard LV stores there are huge! Someday...somehow... :) in the meantime, asian travels are not bad at all. haha ;)