The one with pizza making activity

I love doing activities with Simone, moreso, if this will be joined by her cousins.  She asked me to buy ingredients for pizza after watching a tv series in disney and i cant resist her so we went to the supermarket and bought some ingredients.  Since we bought a lot, we decided to have the activity together with her cousins Neyo and Justin.  It was really a fun day for them, albeit my slight knife injury. ouch!  Justin even told me, "i'm so happy" aaawwww...

The one with alternative habit

I'm not a smoker, and I don't think i will ever be one.  I take pride in saying that i have'nt puffed a single cigarette in my entire life.  But if you care to try something new and slightly sophisticated than cigarette smoking, there are options now like the electronic cigarettes or why not try to smoke cigars instead where one can experience more flavorful and unique smell to it. Cigars went through a process that gives its distinction to pleasurably smoking. One of the best cigars I know is the La Gloria Cubana, where its history marked its name to every cigars aficionado. It may be given as a gift to your boss or to your in-laws without doubt will see you that you have good taste.  I know about it coz my grandpa used to smoke cigars while he was in his library, soaked with books. Oh how i will always put that memory of him in my memory box :)

Just babbling around here. :)

The one with another dream collection

My brother started collecting coins when he was younger.  He got it from my dad.  I, on the other hand, doesn't know anything about antique coins. Why is it valuable to some collectors? I had a conversation once with a fellow friend who is quite engaged in coin collecting and would unquestionably research information about a coin that can complete his collections. Fanatic I can say to that friend of mine. He did mention about Mexican silver. He said that many of it isn’t exactly sterling silver so one should do acid test to ensure its purity. Oh well, I wasn’t fascinated much about the conversation but I did learn a thing or two about buying silver. Thanks bro!

The one with dream collection

It is unusual for a woman to collect something other than shoes and bags. But for me, I am starting to get fond of collecting watches.   Investing is also other means to rationalize the splurge (laugh!). I love clean design as well as functionality is concern. That’s where Bulova watch comes in. I was drawn to that brand since I want something dressy and classic at the same time where I can definitely wear anywhere, anytime. Wish i could buy one, like one for me and one for the husband? :)

The one with remembering the bulge

I remember when i was pregnant, I was large so I wasn’t pretty much excited about summer. Finding the right and stylish outfit for the coming season is like finding a needle in the haystack particularly in the Philippines. But thanks to the internet and the emerging online shopping saga, I was able to find a maternity swimwear at duematernity.com where you can find almost all types of maternity swimwear that my hubby will surely go gaga on me even if I weigh __ kilos and lots of flab.  Who says preggos can't be sexy? haha. :)

The one with yayaless again

Yes, the domesticated goddess is alive again. haha. we're back to zero with yaya help and I have my multi-tasking skills to its highest level.  I enjoy the privacy of having the house all to ourselves but at the same time, is foreseeing that i'd easily get tired and stressed with the additional household chores.  We're trying to work around a new routine in the house like having our clothes sent to a laundry shop on a scheduled basis, getting a stay out helper to clean the house and an on-call babysitter for simone everytime i have meetings outside.  Those are the immediate solutions we could think of and I'm glad so far (as in so far), everything's okay and still manageable.

Goodluck to me!

The one with more family time

For two weeks straight, been enjoying more family time with my kid and the husband. It's because either we only have lunch events or we really dont have parties that day. I cherish those moments but would always think of my staff and where they'll get money for their house needs.

Whilst enjoying more free time, I have cleaned our closets and took away old clothes i dont wear often like some Sydneys Closet prom dresses, or one-size-smaller clothes. And I hope i'd be able to pull some weeds tomorrow and fix the house furnitures around.

Loving this family time. In everything, give thanks :)

The one with accessory fascination

I've been into accessories lately.  I found this really nice store who sells wholesale accessories and i can't be more excited so i bought like ten pieces of assorted ones. I love all these new accessories i have!  I saw semi precious bead necklaces and bangles too but i want more of the costume accessories.  When you have really nice pieces of accessories, it's fun to dress up and it gives your outfit an easy upgrade.

Looking forward for more accessory buying soon :P

The one with Ice Age 4

So this movie has been a movie week for us.  We watched Ice Age 4 yesterday.  It's the first time with the kiddos and their parents.  We had such a great time.  We went to Eastwood to make sure we had reserved seats. 

Movie was great.  Sid was the funniest.  The storyline was okay too, comedy was the usual Ice age 4 comic, that's why we're thinking they won't make another sequel after this. Well, after Ice Age 3 i thought there won't be a 4 but i was found wrong. :P

The one with Amazing Spiderman

I'm a little bit surprised with me and the husband because we did'nt watch this on its first week.  It took me a while to get used to the fact that it's not Toby Maguire. And because i had so little expectation of the movie, i guess i appreciated it more. haha.

I still love Toby as Spiderman, i think because he's more of our age.  Andrew Garfield is not that bad at all, although i can't afford to giggle everytime i see his cute smile coz he's way younger than me.  You know the feeling like i cant appreciate the younger hunks now simply because i'm ten years senior than them. hahaha.

And i love Emma as an actressm esp in the movie "The Help" but no matter how much bangs she wears of knee-high boots, she would always look older than Andrew.  So it's a little hard to see the chemistry in them.

The movie had some modifications from the comics but can i just say that Andrew Garfield acts really good.  The movie is more on the "dramatic side" and music scoring really good, of course it's Hans Zimmer who else.

Next time, maybe i'd write knee walker reviews instead of movie reviews, haha. I might be a better writer of it i think :P

The one with king of comedy

It's a little weird (for the lack of term to use) to mourn if the person who passed away is an icon of true comedy and laughter.  I mean, everybody remembers him as someone who can make you laugh til you tear away, or til you grasp for air so i guess people did'nt really think he'd be in pain, in sickness or in death.  But it's just inevitable. It just is.

I heard about his passing July 10 at around 1030pm when I turned on my laptop and saw it in Yahoo News.  I really felt sad.  I know he's been trying to hang in there since his hospitalization last June 2012 but i guess i'm one of those people who never thought it would still be soon.  I know he's of age already and he has lived a full life, but you see, he's a living legend.  People who love to laugh should'nt be sick.  I guess that's how i felt. 

The following day, my husband and I were talking about his passing and to put the sorrows aside, we decided to watch a famous video clip, "Banayad Whiskey". Man, he really knows how to make people laugh, and once again, he made me laugh again. :)  It's true what he said in one of his interviews "kahit pumanaw man ako, mawala man ako, buksan nyo lang ang telebisyon nyo at magkakasama ulit tayo" (paraphrased)

Thank you for the laughter.

Jacque
John and Marsha kid
Home along da riles kid

The one with still on the end of season sale

I still can't get over the best buys I had at Bayo and decided to go there again.  I went there just yesterday to see if there were new items that are as nice as the ones I bought a week prior.  And sadly, the items on display were the same items i saw the first time.  But i'll give another try this week  and cross my fingers for more nice clothes. hahaha.

But there's always a silver lining...I saw these really nice discount bathroom cabinets at Make Room and I could'nt leave the store without buying at least one of the cabinets on sale.  When the husband saw me, he gave me a shaking head, as if saying "here we go again" so i stopped myself from buying and convinced myself that it's more practical to buy home stuff when we've moved to our new home. haha.

More shopping stories to follow!

The one with full blast party planning

Two days from now and it's my nephew's birthday! Zildjian is one! and I'm one excited aunt. (tita)

I could'nt help but interfere with my sister in law's party planning as she told me herself that party planning is not her piece of cake.  She's not used to getting all panicky and rushed for a party, even if it's for her kid.  But luckily, she has a sister in the form of moi. hahaha, just kidding. 

When she told me she'll just hire a clown and use home speakers for the sound system, I could'nt help but suggest to hire a host/magician and told her i'd be the one to do it instead.  Whatever savings they can get from cancelling it, they can just pay it to me and i'll give it to my friend Darwin who was willing to host the birthday for a super discounted rate. yey!

I also bought a cake for Zildjian.  Jane was supposed to bake one for me but her oven broke down.  And now i had to rush to go to another bakeshop and order a small cake instead.  We will also bring our beer tower, two food carts and the tarps i had made for Zildjian. yey, im excited for the party!

Happy bday Baby! :)

The one with family investment

I'm trying to do some research on investments and I'm really targeting mutual funds as one of the investments we can explore.  Luckily, I have a father in law whom I can ask about these things.  He introduced me to a plan of Pru Life where you can invest on a minimum of 12k annually and just add more into it every year if you want to appreciate higher earnings.  I got really excited about it and thought it would'nt hurt to try and invest with Pru Life.  They also offer life insurance no medical questions plan as long as your age qualifies for a plan.  I think that will be next move.

Happy investing!

The one with big projects

July is such a blessed month for Partyboosters.  We were able to close a deal with Meralco for their requirement of desk balloons as part of their Smile Campaign.  It's such a big blessing as I was able to give payroll to my staff equivalent to more than what they usually get during our weekend work, and I'm so happy that it felt like Christmas to them.

And now, I have an event with another client, well not as big as Meralco project but it's still a big event. I'm coordinating an acquaintance party for ABE College and I'm just excited to start planning the event. Thank you Lord for all the blessings!

Now I think it's high time to check a joomla host for my website domain, don't you think? :)

The one with business card

I keep on forgetting to upgrade my business card look and I would always remember it everytime i give away one, and kinda be embarassed of how it looks.  Well, it's not really that bad but i want to improve it, make the quality of the paper better, make it plastic if possible and really have nice colors and elegant to look at.  I asked my printer before to make a layout for me and I asked him to make 500 pcs for me as initial order.  I actually asked for plastic business cards by plastic printers but he does'nt have that kind so i just ordered laminated ones or those digital printed cards that are on trend right now.

My list of things to do just keeps on piling up! waaah!!!

The one with Bayo Sale

Last July 1, my family and I went to Eastwood for our weekly family bonding time and lo and behold, I was surprised to see really nice items On Sale at Bayo! and when i say Sale, I mean like 70 to 80% off! oh Man! The most expensive blouse i bought was only P250! My voice was on a high pitch the whole time and I was literally panicking which items to try out first. hahaha.

I'd have to thank the saleslady for showing me the racks where she had just put on the new sets of clothes on sale.  At first, I was thinking maybe these are clothes i wont be able to wear like tourmaster venture pants for men, or some tops that are too small for me.  But i'm just happy to find a lot of nice pieces for me, for my mom and for my sisters in law. wohoo! I bought like 15 pieces of really nice clothes.  Most ofthe tops are just P150 each.

Wohoo, can't you feel the excitement i still have a week later ? :) really really best deal.

The one with his BB

I was just starting to get the hang of having and enjoying my BB when the husband finally decided to get one for himself. hahaha.  it has been just days and he just suddenly told me that he's swapping his Rudy project eyeglasses for an old BB Oliver got from the office.  His Rudy Project did'nt come from GreatEyeglasses.com for prescription eyeglasses, it was part of his company benefits where every two years, he is able to get new glasses.  Since he's not used to wearing one, he just decided to swap it with a BB Bold. hahaha.

What my husband would do for a phone...enjoy your BB!

The one with need of repair

As my list of to do things pile up, I added another in the list... "check all desktop computers that need repair".  I got the one from greenland and asked my brother to check it for me.  I also want to bring the other one here in the house to SST laptop repair and have it checked.  We're not the "repair-kind-of-people".  I notice we're not so much fond of bringing broken things to get repaired mainly because we think it will just be a small difference compared to when you buy a brand new one again. I guess that's it, like in Japan or the US, they're not so much keen on having to repair things. They can easily buy appliances again and dispose the old one, especially if it's broken.  Heck, they dispose things even if it's not broken, how much more if it were. haha.

Off to another busy day. :)

The one with zildjian's birthday

Yes July will be a month of birthdays for my two nephews, Neyo who will turn three and Zildjian who will turn one on July 9. time flies really fast.  It will be a motorcycle theme this time since the dad (my kuya) loves motorcycles, like the big bikes of sorts.  Hmm, should i be wearing womens motorcycle boots on the day so i'd be in themed outfit? hahaha. My sister-in-law, Keisha, is thinking of red, black, yellow and white for colors.  I'll be bringing two food carts too that day and maybe a cake. :)

Happy birthday baby Zildjian! Tita loves you so much :)

The one with website soon

As soon as I'm done with our Meralco project, I'll be focusing on our website soon.  I contacted Jeff's cousin to do our website but i'm still contemplating on what package to get or if i'll get a better deal somewhere else.  That will be my gift to Partyboosters' 4th anniversary, a website. wohoo! I wish I can afford insurance for small businesses so i can get one for PB but i know we'll get there soon...in God's time. :)

Now, what would be a nice website name? (is that how you call it? or domain?) here are my choices but im not sure though if any of these is available.

~ partyboosters.com
~ partyboosters.com.ph
~ partyboostersevents.com

What do you think?

The one with achie's birthday

On tuesday, it will be achie's birthday and we're excited of what we're planning to get for her birthday.  I hope she'll like it.  I was planning for the longest time of getting her a netbook but thought it's really expensive (heck, we're not that rich to give away laptops for crying out loud haha) but i know that it's gonna be super useful for her.  So when her birthday got nearer and nearer, Simon asked Jane if she wanted to pitch in for a netbook for achie. wohoo! we love giving her gifts since she's our achie and we love her dearest!

I hope you'll like your gift chie! we love you! Happy birthday! I'm so excited to eat on their wood picnic tables again and just eat to our hearts content. haha.

The one with events styling

I really want to enrol myself in s formal event styling course this year and I hope I'd be able to enrol in Bambi's class. I just love her style and her creations! I just want to learn more, and venture more into my business.  It's Partyboosters' anniversary month and I pray that God will bless us more, more blessings, more clients and more payroll for my staff. haha. :)  We're almost complete with our equipments, the only thing lacking are warehouse and styro materials should i decide to venture into styro crafts soon.  I was also thinking of getting a hydraulic crimping tool but I'm not sure if I'd be able to maximize it.

God bless Partyboosters!

The one with accidental new phone

We went to Globe to get my mom-in-law a new phone line and I asked about my line if the rebates are still active.  Then, it was a good surprise to find out that i can renew my plan again and be able to get a Blackberry phone. wohoo! When I finally had it, I was so happy, I even tried to scan it in the barcode scanner just so i can be sure that it's mine. hahaha.

And now, i'm asking BB pins from friends. isn't it amazing?! haha.  Globe was also kind to deduct the freebies from my upgraded plan so they sort of lessened P2k pesos from my bill. cool!

Here's my new phone :)

The one with enchanted once more

As part of GMA Network's annual family day, we were treated to another Enchanted Kingdom experience.  It gets better and better as Simone's getting older as well and it's becoming more of an enjoyable experience for her.  The only downside maybe will always be the weather.  If it were a little cooler, I would have stayed the whole day there. haha.  I wish there are mist fans with water feature everywhere, enough to give the whole venue a cool breeze.  But overall, WE LOVE IT! who would'nt?! 2,400 worth of wizard money for food and souvenirs, free breakfast and unlimited rides! wohoo! This year we tried go kart. haha. it was fun. We got the 2-seater kart and Simon was telling me how hard it was to steer the wheel.  And then i thought "maybe it was because i'm heavy" hahaha.  I was able to catch the whole 10-min ride with our videocam.

Here are some pics i got from our friend's camera and my husband's:

this might be how our kids will look like...in matching outfits! haha

enjoying carousel

i look like shrek here. hahaha

the stuffed cat that looked like a bear. bwahaha. won this on a balloon game.

my girl :)

The one with first day of school

It's Simone's first day in school. She's now a kindergarten and I did'nt even worry about her if she'll have a good time or not.  I had to make sure if her class is just two hours or three hours already.  hahaha.  And when she went home, I'm glad she has adjusted well with having a new teacher and being a kindergarten.  She even taught me how to shout "Kindergarten Rocks!" hahaha.

I can say I'm less prepared this year for her first day.  Maybe because i'm not a first-time school mom anymore.  Instead of having name plates at QuickNameTags.com, i just went to SM and had personalized stickers for her books and things. I was also late in submitting the ID pictures but I'm just glad we were able to give it today so my penalty just amounted P75.00. haha, bad mommy!

Happy first day anak! Enjoy your school!

The one with improvised drum set

Who would have thought that the basement i used to put all our house trash has been transformed to a semi-music room.  We have an old drum set and Simon assembled it and tried to use the drum set as his exercise activity.  He set up equalizers, speakers and turned on some good music accompanied by him playing the drums. well, he's not even a drum player but it only goes to show that he's really a musician.  (even his exercise activities had to be music-related) hahaha

The one with crafty simone

I find it so cute that Simone loves the arts.  Right now, she's more into crafts and when she saw my box full of accessories and what-nots of how to make accessories, it became her instant activity at home.  She was able to make necklaces for me, and bracelets.  The craft supplies encouraged her to be more creative and even if it's not the professional type of accesories, i love that she's proud of all her works :)

The one with milk tea

Ever since my brother in law's milk tea shop opened, we've been frequenting it at least twice a week and i think the carbs from the milk tea (even if it's sugar free) contributed to my weight gain. hahaha. yeah right, i have to look for a reason as where to put the blame to. hahaha.  I really have to watch my weight again and even micrometers of sugar intake matter now.  I hope I'd be able to get back to my routine and somehow find my way to losing that last 10 lbs or so.

I hope it will happen before I get pregnant again. :)

The one with gardening

One of the things I can say I'm not good at is maybe gardening (haha, and i sound like i'm so proud of it)  Simon, on the other hand, looks like he has a green thumb everytime he tries to grow a plant, or even a crop.  One time, i bought these indoor garden plants and after several days, all of them just withered. hahaha.  Simon bought a couple of seeds for backyard vegetable gardening and he grew most of them after several weeks.  Our then neighbor gave him a vinedrop-growing plant (like the ones you see in garden venues) and he just put it somewhere near the mango tree and it just grew so well (so well it looked like we had a forest in our front yard. hahaha.

But you'd have to be proud of me, i was the one who reminded him to bring all our potted plants and take it with us to vista verde, so he could let it grow well. :)

The one with foosball

My man has to be rewarded once in a while for being a very good provider.  And his last reward ws a table top foosball game! I also thought it was a good buy, a really good one.  It would actually make it to top in gifts for your boyfriend or your husband.  I love how heavy duty it is and how much discount we got from it.  HMR is really the place to be. hahaha.

Congrats beh on your new toy. I hope you'd let me win some time. ;)

The one with business idea

I love spending time with friends who share a common passion with me...business! And it was such a delight everytime i'm with Concon.  I love it whenever we talk about things we love and we share sentiments with -- motherhood, family and business.  I got excited talking about a business idea.  I can't disclose it yet but i'm praying for it and making draft computations if things pan out well.  (and i hope it will!)

Surround yourself with good people and good things will come your way.  Maybe next time, I'd be blogging about builing an arch steel building where i can have tenants for commercial and industrial space leasing...it's an ultimate dream hoping to come true in God's time. :)

The one with frames

I'd cut our vacation story and go back to blog about house decorating tips we've been doing lately.  One big mistake i made while we were packing things was that i did'nt wrap the picture frames with newspaper or those bubble plastic wraps commonly used for wrapping fragile items.  I found out i broke our lamp and two personalized baby picture frames, one of which was given to Simone during her first birthday.  Good thing i was able to remove the glass and just framed it again without the glass.  It's a bit weird to look at but it's the only way i can do so i can use it still.

Oh well, now at least i have a reason to open the box of my unused frames in the house.  I don't know why i keep on buying frames without even knowing where i could actually use them. hahaha.

The one with pool and other facilities

Canyon Cove has a big, big pool for both kids and adults.  My daughter loves the water so much, she did'nt mind staying on the adult pool.  I'm not sure though if they have these hayward salt cell you put in swimming pools but the water is really clear and obviously well maintained.  The benches and tan beds are limited though for the number of guests currently checked in during our stay.  I also love the big trees situated in the center of the pool. so pictureque. ;)

There's also a gym and a couple of playgrounds in the resort but we did'nt use any of those as we came there solely to swim, eat, swim, sleep and yet again. hahaha.

Canyon Cove has only one restaurant in the resort.  You can't bring in other food inside the resort.  I found their food pricey so during our stay there, we had to go out everytime we needed to eat.  (except for the free breakfast that came in with the voucher).  Good thing, a five-minute ride can get you to Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking and several fastfood restaurants. :)  Our dads looove to eat and I'm so happy to see them eat to their hearts' content (well, with their wives tapping them and giving them the "stop-eating-look" every now and then, hahaha)

More stories again.  Apologies for writing this part by part.

The one with the vacation kwento (hotel and resort)

I almost forgot to share in detail of how our vacation went.  Let me share with you a detailed review of how our canyon cove vacation was.

Canyon Cove:  got an Ensogo voucher for 3200 per night.  A voucher is an overnight stay at Canyon Cove, with one hour free kayaing or snorkeling and set breakfast.  Buying it in ensogo was a breeze.  As long as you're  a member and you have a credit card or paypal, you can easily purchase one.  In my previous post, I shared that the second time i saw the promo, I told Simon that i cannot let it pass.  I really need to purchase the vouchers and include our parents on the vacation.  Good thing, my husband was considerate of how i feel (you know wanting to treat your parents whenever you can) and just enjoy a good family time. 

Canyon Cove is a great place for land-trip getaways.  It's a plus point that you don't have to ride a plane just to get there. :)  The room is really spacious.  The two twin beds and a semi sofa bed is a good deal.  The veranda overlooking the beach is a steal.  I love it!

Their service was okay.  Although their staff being undermanned was true during our stay there.  The first day we had to eat breakfast,  a lot of guests had to help themselves just to get what they needed.  Most of the tables were not yet cleared, thus, guests themselves had to clear the tables just so they can eat and dine.  It was a sweet surprise though that our set breakfast was turned to a buffet breakfast.  I guess no one was able to monitor the coupons and serve the set breakfasts that's why they decided to just make it buffet for everyone :)

I give them plus points for making up the room fast and early.  When we returned from our breakfast, I was surprised to see made up beds already with a new supply of tissues and toiletries. yey!

The beach is fine.  I thought it was more on the pebble side though and not the white fine sand you see in Bohol and Boracay.  But it was good.  I love the water, very clear.  Although a bit rocky though while on the water.    It's a small stretch only but at least it felt exclusive that only the guests in the hotel can stay.

Kayak is okay.  I was a bit terrified with the depth of the water and asked my husband to bring me to shore immediately. hahaha.  Our fathers loved the kayak and they had like two rounds of it.  The mothers, on the other hand, rode on the kayak just for photo opp purposes. hahaha.

They were also able to give us tan towel and beach towels everytime we'd dip in the pool or the beach.  And for that, another plus point. :) 

I just hope their lobby is airconditioned, but at least the lobby was pleasant enough to welcome you.

More stories and ratings to follow. 

The one with mother's day

I had to work during mother's day but good thing, we only had lunch parties that day.  I was so excited to finish my events and have the rest of the day to spend with my family.  After our events, I hurriedly went home and picked up Simone and my mom so we can go to church and attend service. 

It's nice to have a holiday just for the moms.  I mean, it's a good time to appreciate the mom that you are, your own mother and mom in law, your friends who are moms as well and just enjoy the blessing of motherhood.  I would love to be a mother of two kids but I know God will give it in His perfect time :)

Anyway, while trying to think of gifts for mom on her day, we just deided to hand them over a measly budget for any "me time" they can sneak into like a visit to the salon or a pair of nice shoes or a purse.  haha, notice the OR coz the budget can only afford them to purchase one item. hahaha. it's the thought that counts ;)

Happy mother's day everyone! Better late than never :)

The one with moving in tips

Since we just moved, I'd like to share some practical tips on how you can be more efficient in moving.

1.  Since we are moving to a smaller house, while packing, I already started segregating things in three categories: a) things that will be used at home b) things that are for selling or disposal c) things that can be used in the future but should be put in the storage room at the moment

2.  It's good that we have a spacious storage room (basement) and all our things easily fit in there.  But in order to be effective in storing items in the storage room, make sure that you properly label all boxes.  I'm anxious about the rains and possible floods in the basement in the future, that's why i need to buy more plastic iBoxes for all our items.

3.  Don't be too sentimental while packing and you won't be able to dispose things that are needed to be disposed.  hahaha.

4.  When I applied the 6-month rule in clothing segregation, I think i was able to half empty my cabinet. haha.  The rule is simple.  What you have'nt worn in 6 months or more, store it or dispose it immediately because chances are, you won't be able to use it again in the near future.

5.  It's good to experiment on how you put furniture around the house.  The log furniture like dining table fits perfectly in front of the ref and an arm length away from the kitchen. :)

Now that we're done with packing things, i hope we can move on with micro-managing thing at home like organizing my desk and the cabinets.

The one with everything here

While we're on the topic of us moving to another house, I'd like to share how God has made it easy for us to adjust living here.  I mean, the neighborhood is so quiet.  The village is more exclusive to its homeowners, there's a commercial center by the gate that literally has everything you need, whether hardware items, fruits and meat, vegetables, and even office and school supplies.  There are also a couple of salons and spa (which by the way has spa covers on their tables too).  You may not want to go out of the village anymore.

I just hope when the rainy season starts, the flood would be tolerable.  I know this place is prone to floods and I hope we can get by with just ankle-deep floods the most. haha. we'll cross the bridge when we get there.

The one with breakfast nook

I love our new house as we've found a place where we can have our breakfast everyday.  The house has a small terrace where you can put patio tables on and a couple of wooden chairs and you canenjoy your breakfast there.  This morning, the husband and I had breakfast there and we were thinking of putting a small plant on the table so it will have a more greenery effect.  It's nice to immeditely find a place where we can enjoy some quiet time during breakfast and Bible reding after.

PS. as of this writing, i'm here on the terrace enjoying a beautiful evening with my daughter. :)

The one with kid number 2

I think it's okay to talk about in this blog that we're trying to have another baby since late last year.  I've been getting mixed emotions towards the fact of having another baby.  there's excitement, fear, thrill and so much more other emotions happening at one time.  And it does'nt help as well that every month, everytime i buy a kit, i'd get a single line.  Oh well, all in God's time.  I'm still not that keen on trying pills that can help us get pregnant like pills for me and testosterone pills for Simon.  I just feel that if it will happen, it will happen in perfect time and God's will. :)

The one with financial talk

Now we're talking business here, I just had to share that i attended a talk about financial handling by none other than Chinkee Tan himself.  He's very inspiring!!! And i'm so encouraged to always save, always find ways to be productive.  One of the most important things i learned is that it's not about how much you earn but how much you save.  And it's really true.  Unless you don't know how to save, even if you're earning a lot but don't wanna save, i don't think you'd get far.

I've always loved to sell products and I'm hoping i'd be able to find that one product that i can sell easily and probably it will be something i love.  Right now, it could be anything. It may be food, bags, shoes, I can even sell the items i see in arginmax reviews, haha. 

I'll update you soon and see where things will go from here.  I really want to have another business and I pray that God will grant me with one :)

The one with new businesses

I'm so happy, our family is a family of business-minded people.  I got so thrilled when my mom decided to start a burger cart where she cooked the homemade burger patties herself.  It's exciting that she still wants to be productive and i totally support her.  I just wish she has this nice sunbrella umbrella to go with her burger cart.  It would make her cart more classy to look at and I'm sure she'll be more protected from the sun.

Next new business that we have in our family is twittea.  I love it because it's milk tea. His new shop is in Cainta.  We frequent the place too and we held our May thanksgiving dinner in his milk tea shop. Yey.

Loving all the businesses, I hope there are more to come. :) Thank you Lord for showering us with your blessings and grace.

The one with serious game

Megamall's 3-day sale started yesterday and will end on sunday.  While I was strolling in megamall, I found these nice educa puzzle and some huge discounted decors that i can use in my parties.  I also saw these wooden picket fence that i can use in my garden themed party but thought it's a little expensive so i decided to forego buying it.

You know store sales are really serious games you'd have to be prepared for always.  You need to think straight, weigh the pro's and con's of buying something and decide in like 5 minutes after you saw the item.  Time is gold in this game. hahaha

Oh well, i ended buying the things i only need and i'm so happy with my buys :) (whew, no impulse buy!)

The one with house repair

Ok, so now that we are transferring to another house, the house we got of course is not a new one. (gosh im so excited to move to our new house in pasig) and needless to say, i've mentally written down things we need to repair in the house and one of those is the garage floor tiles.  The garage needs a little repair but the kitchen roof is the most immediate need we need to consider.  And i'm also having a hard time as to what room to choose as the master's bedroom. waah.

Goodluck to us...really...

The one with movers and packers

The last word sounded odd, haha. but i'm just glad that we were able to hire extra househelp to help us pack our things as we move out of our current house.  waah, things are turning around so fast.  Last week, i just came from a vacation and now i have to pack our things and move to a house to stay in temporarily until our house in pasig is done. I did'nt expect any of this coming and i conditioned myself not to stress myself much as i have events i need to attend to this weekend.  So the solution:  hire people who can pack for you and unpack, clean the house and take care of everything for you.  It really comes in handy when there are people who can help you with this, like all i need to think is where the tv mounts will go or what items to throw, keep and sell. It makes my life much easier.

I hope this moving in will be over soon and i hope the house we're gonna stay with won't give us problems.

The one with 32nd bday

The Husband's birthdays are always celebrated with effort.  It's an advantage that his birthday falls the day before labor day and he grew up with birthdays celebrated either on a beach or a swimming pool (in time for their yearly family outing).  So with that said, every year, i'm also a little pressured to throw him a party that he will sure to enjoy.  This year, we celebrated it three ways, haha.  One was the videoke night with church friends.  It was a joint celebration of Brian and Simon's birthdays. Second was our family outing with our parents where my dad also celebrated his 60th birthday.  And lastly, was our simple dinner with his family and my parents at Twittea (my brother in law's new milk tea shop). 


And now after the three-part celeb, i'm scared to weigh in the scales. I'm so sure I gained weight...Waaah!!!

Here are some pics from the videoke night since i already posted some vacation pics on my previous post:

 the birthday boys -- simon and brian

 pretty girls

 parang long-legged ako dito kung maka-cross leg ha. haha.

fun, fun!

The one with moving out

It was sudden.  After we got back from our vacation, I read a message from our ninang about someone buying the house already that we are currently renting here in golden city.  Oh my. that would mean finding a place to stay until the house we bought in Pasig is done and that's like 6 months leasing only which is a lease that most landlords won't agree with.

But luckily, we found a place in vista verde where the landlord agreed with our short-term lease. yey. So officially today, we they have started packing up and retained the things that we use often.  It's amazing how quick 3 people do it.  I mean, they swiped out our house and packed most of our things in one day.  haha. And i would not really dare take credit for it coz i have'nt really done anything yet. My mind is still with the parties for the weekend so i'm not so much thinking of where to place things just yet.  Maybe on sunday, after my event, i'll start helping out.

While I was watching them clean out our cabinet, i was surprised to see a lot of clothes that i'm not even aware of.  Like the discount scrubs i bought without knowing when and where i'd use it.  Several shoes i have not worn ever and more clothes i bought but have not been worn at all.  I know, i know, there's a term for my condition, haha. but when we move in to the house, i'd really sort things out and see what we can sell during our garage sale.  Maybe i'd be able to save for a cute purse. hahaha.

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 :)