The one with blow-up

We were blown-up! haha. this is our skin shot at Blow-up babies, Gateway branch. we had fun with the shoot, it's just that the prints are really expensive, we were able to print this shot only. But I plan to have the others printed as well in the future. The egg shot is really nice, although we picked out this one coz Simone had a very unique pose we cant resist...we call it the Angelina Jolie look.


please dont mind how big my arms are...hahaha.

The one with a child in him

Simon, my husband, at his age of 27 has some hobbies and stuff from his childhood that he cant get outgrow with. Among these are video games and RC cars. He's always telling me that when he was younger, he did'nt have one, thus, the fixated liking to this. Admittedly, it's nice to see him collect these. And whenever he plays with them and cleans them, I get amused as to how he is still into something that you think only young ones can enjoy. And then I've learned that this has become a collection for some men. They even have the gas-functioned ones and they are willing to buy those expensive cars.

Well, I may never understand their passion for toys for the big boys but they will also never understand out passion to shop.

The one with payperposting

I have recently added blog advertising as one of my resources and one of this is payperpost. What I like most about payperpost is that the topics will vary according to things that you want to talk about. In short, you have the liberty to reserve or reject an open opportunity, depending if you can give justice to the topic. After joining payperpost, my website's traffic generation increased and opened me to new opportunities. I have also learned about so many topics that vary from travelling, hotels, and hobbies. In the short time that I'm a member, I have earned an extra income enough to pay for my bills. I plan to save the money I get from blog advertising so I'd appreciate more of what I do. Being a stay-at-home mother, it gives me a great sense of fulfillment to still earn while working at home and payperpost does that for me.

So if you have blogs and you consider yourself an addict to it, I encourage you to make money out of it. It's fun and educational at the same time.

The one with marrying Vegas

Whenever I hear about weddings and casino, only one place sticks to my mind. and that's Vegas baby! I've never been there and don't know if i'll ever be so just for the fun of it, I tried searching some Las Vegas Luxury Homes and find out somehow how it's like living there. The homes vary from custom homes, condominiums, retirement communities and even gold and country clubs. Locations can be chosen among Henderson, North Vegas and Summerlin which vary according to population and sceneries found.

We'll never know, If I become a millionaire I'll let you know how's life really is in Vegas. haha.

The one with updates

It's been a while since I've blogged about updates on my life. First things first, sorry if my posts lately are all about blog advertising. It's really cool and i'm kinda getting the hang of it. That's why I made this post, just so I could make this more of a personal blog again. haha. Anyway, been busy lately. I did'nt know that running errands can take you a whole day and more. It's also fun having to have more control of my time. I feel like I can schedule my appointments more and I'm more organized now. But of course, there are times that I'd feel I'm not being productive. Let's say, if I don't have to go out and I'll just stay at home, I feel like I did'nt do anything productive. And suddenly I'd realize that hey, being a mom is a very productive role and having to take care of simone for the whole day is an adventure itself. Now that she's more sociable, I love it when we just lie down on our bed and I read stories to her. She loves Disney Princesses. She also loves hearts. I have this pillow with hearts on it and every morning, she'd look at it and smile. She nows tries to get things by attempting to crawl. and if there are times that she can't crawl, she'd roll. She loves her bath even more. We let her sit on her tub and play with the water while I bathe her. And to top it off, "sumasama na sya". The one when you'd sign the carry sign, she'd extend her arms and would want to be carried already even if she's being carried by someone else. Oh and her first banana experience (first solid food) was not so good. She had it last Sept. 4. She loved the food and ate so much. Unfortunately, she had allergic reactions to it which appeared the day after. weird coz bananas are the safest baby food ever. anyway, I immediately stopped giving her banana and will try squash tomorrow. Simone is not a picky-eater. She even drinks her vitamins straight up without mixing it with her milk. when it's feeding time and she saw her food being prepared, she get really excited and her eyes light up literally. and she jumps as if wanting to start to eat already. Whoever is feeding her will pray for the food and she loves it when I say "yummy" while she's eating. It excited her to eat more. and she always asks for more! hahaha. simone's built is not the chubby type. she's more on the lean type but she really is so heavy. haha. i just love every part of her.

pictures to follow...as usual.

The one with helping out

Last night, I got to talk to one of my former colleagues and she mentioned to me that her brother will be admitted again for a drug rehabilitation. I know this topic is a little sensitive but I just wonder why some people, despite of their economic status (whether rich or poor) and family support can still utter to throw their lives away for drugs. What benefits will they get? Will the addiction to it satisfy or even compensate for the number of days shortened in their lives? Will they ever give up drugs once addicted to it? I just hope and pray that those who have been victims of drugs will survive this and will never come back to using it.

The one with your donations badly needed

In my former e-group at w@w, one of my batchmates who got married last december 2005 gave birth to a baby girl last august 14, 2007. her name is Hannah (the baby). By the way, the parents names are Joan and Carlo. When she was born at Asian Hospital, they found out that the baby's lungs are full of mucus and had pneumonia. Unfortunately, even when the pneumonia was treated already, the baby still had difficulty breathing on her own, so she's in a respirator and in Asian Hospital's ICU. Until now, the baby's still in the hospital and her condition is very rare, like it might be even the first case in the Philippines. Our only wish and prayers are that baby Hannah will improve and get well, and that Joan & Carlo would just hang on and be strong.

Doctors found out that what Hannah is experiencing is a Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), also known as Ondine's Curse. She has difficulty breating when she's awake, so she has a ventilator. When she's asleep, she totally can't breathe on her own. According to the doctors, Hannah might be the first case in the Philippines. CCHS is a lifelong disease and no cure yet.

For Hannah to breathe, a tube was inserted through her mouth. But now they performed an operation called tracheostomy, wherein an incision was made on her neck so that the tube can pass through there.

They are now in need of help. Their savings are all gone. Approximate total hospital bill now excludes the doctors' fee, and Hannah has 8 doctors. Hospital expenses in Asian Hospital is around 20k/day. They will be transferring to another hospital maybe within the week, after Hannah's operation has healed. Daily expenses there would be around 6k/day. Their bill amounted to over half a million already, excluding the CS delivery she had.

They are now sending letters to institutions for help, for assistance. If their requests are approved, then they can put tin cans in stores wherein people can put donations. If you see those tin cans around, please help them. If any of you are willing to give additional help, you can contact me for the meantime.

Please, please, please. Let's offer a prayer for the baby and the family. Everything has a purpose and reason greater than we can imagine so I'm blogging this to ask for your prayers to this baby. And God is speaking to you right now to share your blessings, you can leave a note so I can get back to you.

Thank you so much and God bless! I hope I could share more but this is all I know so far. As a mom, it's painful to see your baby suffer like that and you'd wish over and over that it would be you instead of her. So let's share some love and comfort to this family.

The one with a lawyer

Up until I got into college, I was'nt aware that there are different kinds of lawyers, the same with doctors. My friend who is in New York shared her story about her being a robbery victim. They were robbed and apparently, just as the time that the robber would escape, he fell and it was a really bad fall. The ironic part of it was the robber sued them and my friend had to get a lawyer just so they could counter the allegations set by the robber. It was really horrific. Fortunately, they won and they also sued another case on the robber.

Just a story I dont want to miss sharing.

The one with a new set-up

As you can see, I have a lot of new entries that you might be surprised with. I have recently joined Blog Advertising to get a new look for my blog. I wanted my viewers to get more information by reading my blog and by doing this, I hope I get to share more aside from my own experiences as a mother and as a wife. My liking to join this has evolved when i resigned from work and realized that the blog addict in me needs to get paid while doing what I want most. haha. seriously, when i learned about this, I said to myself that finally someone will pay me for my being a blog addict.

I hope you'd also try this and see if it suits you.

The one with an ultimate dream

I'd always see in a movie, whenever something romantic would come up, it's either the couple is having a star-gazing by the beach or enjoying a stroll by the shore as the sun sets. It would always have to include a beach. and so i wonder, does it really feel ropmantic having to have a vacation on the outer banks? I mean, we've managed to have our honeymoon in boracay but staying in a nice beach resthouse on your own is something to look forward to. I think I can stay there forever if i can (just make sure that there's a mall near the beach..haha) seriously, if we all can afford it, why not have a one-month vacation on a nice beachfront house. That's an ultimate dream waiting to become a reality.

The one with the vehicle

Finally! we already have a car. well, it's just a second-hand car but we're satisfied with it already. We just need it to and from the office, to run errands and to transport simone whenever she will be going to her grandparents' house. We bought a sedan and Simon and I are planning what auto accessories should we buy for the car. We want to put a nice seat cover for it, car matting, a bigger rear view mirror, and put have it installed with all-power lock for the doors. i hope budget will permit us to do it.

The one with blogging

I started blogging when I was preparing for our wedding back in 2005. I was amazed on how I became addicted in blogging that this has been my online journal since then. I will always update whenever something new came up. And part of blogging, you would always have to bloghop to other blogger friends and get to know what's new with their life.

The first time I learned about Payperpost is through my close friend in the net, Mai. when i first read her entries, I was wondering why she was advertising something and why all of a sudden, her blog is frequently visited. Practicing her word of mouth ethics, then i found out that she just joined payperpost and she's very much loving it. she told me that she has already earned a lot just by posting topics that interest her. then i told myself, finally someone will pay us for being blogger addicts!

so, i tried my chances and sent the my information and my URL. luckily, my blog passed and was introduced to a lot of opportunities that i can talk about. Simply, you'd only have to blog about the topic you choose and make sure that you follow the rules or the specifications they want you to include. Submit your post and wait until it gets approved. It is that simple.

I started to get serious with payperpost since I'am really looking for extra income that might come in handy. I just resigned from work because I wanted to work at home and spend more time with my daughter. That being the case, I wanted to explore more money-making opportunities with things I'd like to do and this is the best choice so far.

The one with the hotel visit

When we stayed at Richmonde Hotel last month, I had a difficult time making our reservations, despite the corporate rate we have at the hotel. Then, I chanced upon this:


HotelReservations.com offers easy booking of hotel reservations with just a click away...literally. I looked at the rates offered and found out that it was cheaper than the room we got at a corporate rate. Plus, to add to it, you have an endless choice of hotels, from 5-star to 3-star hotels, they all have it. They will even show you their rating on every hotel to guide you what hotels will fit your needs and each hotel consists of a description on its services, location and other facts that can also guide the guest.

In order to get you started, all you need to do is enter the dates you plan to check in and out of the hotel, number of guests to check in (children included) and tick the specifications you want in a hotel (e.g., fitness center, pool, bar, and the like) This information will be used to be able to sort out hotels to suit your needs and make your stay more pleasant.

Aside from the hotel bookings, you can also check out flight schedules and book them should you need to, check out car reservations for easy transport especially if you're a tourist, and other vacation rentals aside from hotels. You can also avail their vacation packages which are very customized accordingly: 1) a hotel, flight and car; 2) flight and hotel 3) hotel and car 4) flight and car.

All these can be done by simply clicking via their site. you can also be a member if you want to avail more discounts and freebies. pretty cool huh?

So the next trip we're planning is in Bangkok, this time I will make sure that I'll log in first at Hotelreservations.com. It's always much fun if we can make our lives a little easier and im sure this will come in handy. Happy booking!

The one with the next project

Simon and I have also been planning, among other things, our desire to have our own home. We have been renting for a year and a half already and we really want to have our own home so the rent pay will be put into a better use. We've consulted a few real estate agents already and we're still trying to look for something that will be within our budget. We actually don't know if we can already afford it but we can a least explore the options. And after meeting with the agents, I pretty have an idea what of the ins and outs of buying a property. Also, it's important that they are very patient with you, they will give you more options and will also entertain your endless questions. Buying a house is not buying a toy, it's something that should be thought over and over...of course, prayed for even more.

The one with first week

Tomorrow is exactly a week after my last day at work. and what do i feel? happiness! Here's what kept me busy for the last week:

1) set-up an internet connection for my part-time online job
2) last-minute to do's in the office (transferring corporate phone line to personal, settling savings fund in the office, updating SSS, and others)
3) we've been spending three days trying to look for a nice second-hand car. we can't afford pa a brand new e, so 2nd hand muna. pero man, ang hirap maghanap ha especially if you have this much only for your budget.
4) de-clutter our place. haha and im not yet halfway there. we have soo many things, I always think we'd always need more cabinets.
5) take care of simone - she just had her first banana experience yesterday. too bad, she had allergies that we found out in the morning. i'll try squash after four days.
6) settle bills
7) cook - was able to cook seafood pesto again! yey! yummy!

as soon as we get a 'new' car, here's what i've lined up under my things to do:
1) inquire at MTC
2) get our pictures at blow-up babies
3) update SSS and get my driver's license
4) deposit my cheque which the bank will not do unless i have my IDs updated. haha, after almost two long years, this is the only time i can do my updating. :)
5) set appointments for potential clients of our music studio

simply things to do at home:
1) start part-time online job
2) make a neat budget chart and list
3) update profile of music studio
4) photocopy fliers
5) make a calling card for myself under Studio 22
6) scrapbook my baby

of course, all above items will be on a scheduled basis so I'll have more time for simone or else, I might end up being semi-employed. haha. Simon loves our new set-up. I remember him texting me the other day how much he's so happy right now at our set-up. It inspires him to work double-time for our family. and honestly, i love giving him that feeling. the feeling of him being the head of the family and the sole provider. (and me spending the money, bwahaha)

but to tell you the truth, we are all adjusting. simon has to adjust going to and from work alone, i have to adjust waking up late (haha) and being more domesticated (but with style), simone has to adjust to not go to her lola's house early in the morning. I saw her on my second day at home when she gave me her signatured wondering look when i fed her. It was like, "mommy, it's lunch time. why are you here?" hahaha. and she kept on looking at our car, as if she'd want to ride on it already since it's time to go to lola's already. man, she really is smart!

all is well. i'd update you more soon. :)

The one with finally a SAHM

Yes, after seven long years of being employed to the first company that I have ever worked for (accenture employment for two months not counted), I have filed my resignation last August 31 effective september 1. Being an employee to one of the best, or probably the best Filipino employer in the country might make you wonder, 'why does she have to leave?' 'is she crazy?!' i had those remarks smacked on to my face already and i perfectly understand them. one of my friends even told me that many people would love to be in my employment shoes. well, don't get me wrong. I love working for my company. I have already imagined myself retiring there and I cannot ask for more. aside from the fringe benefits and a good compensation package, more importantly, i love working with my co-employees and our bosses. compared to other companies, ours was more low profile that let us be more transparent and easy to get along with.

So why the sudden change of heart? When you get to a certain situation that totally turns your whole life around literally, you tend to change your priorities in life, moreso, your decisions. And that certain situation came when I gave birth to Francesca Simone six months ago. Before I even got married, and even when i was only a student, I was a very, very hard-working person. I'd study overnight without any sleep, I'd work endlessly without overtime pay. hehe. I did'nt count my efforts because I like to see results with what i do and when it comes to work, I categorize myself as a workaholic and career-oriented person. I imagined myself being a boss someday and have the power to delegate and supervise work and make that change possible. But when I got pregnant, it was suddenly daunting me, without me knowing it, the passion for motherhood. My life is suddenly not 'just' about me or my husband's, but our child's as well. Knowing that every decision I'd have to make should be carefully given thought with, should be dealt with accordingly because at the end of the day, I have a child to take care of. Her life TOTALLY depends on me. and those things awed me...literally. I was overwhelmed with welcoming motherhood and I think spending the most quality time I can give to my baby is one of the priceless gifts I'd ever have to give.

Dont get me wrong, I'am not against working mothers and I will never be. In fact, I was raised by a working mom and I applaud my mom for raising us the way we were raised. My brothers and I share a very close bond and that I have to give credit to my mom. It's just that I realized that the 4 months I have worked after giving birth, I was looking for something else, something greater than what I'am doing at work. I wanted to try out something else, I wanted to explore other opportunities that I may have, I wanted to try a business and most importantly, I wanted to be more with my baby. All this can only be done if i leave my current company. And so, I filed my resignation and bid farewell to my close friends. I shared some tears with our boss whom I considered a dad to me. I felt the peace I was looking for, that finally I will be able to do the things I've wanted to do for the longest time.

So, what will I be doing now? While being a Stay-At-Home Mom, I decided to write a Life Plan for myself. At the top of my mind, here are some things I wanted to do first: 1) take care of the music studio - admin works, marketing efforts, promotions and getting more clients. from the time it was built, this business of ours has been neglected and i wanted to do more for this studio since this is our passion, music. 2) enroll in a training or seminar for wedding planning or accessory-making - people have been persuading me to try wedding planning as they totally envision me as such. I'll enroll first to a seminar and see where my feet will lead me. I've always known weddings have a special place in my heart. I just don't love them, I'm addicted to them for reasons I can't understand. haha. Maybe because wedding is a celebration of love blessed by God and to be a part of it is something worthwhile. 3) online money-making - we're not rich people and we also need extra income. i'm sure this will come in handy. 4) participate in Seeds of Hope ministry at our church - I have always had the burden to help these needy kids and I really wanted to make time for them and to help them out in whatever way i can. 5) be a full-pledged homemaker - for the couple of days after my resignation, it amazes me how time quickly flies even when you're at home. At the end of the day, I feel that I had so little time to do my chores or even my assignments for the day. haha. I still need some adjusting with this. i love finally having breakfast with simon on our dining table since we usually had our mobile (as in sa car) breakfast before 6) do whatever pleases me.

I cannot tell you how long this set-up will be. At the least, I have given myself six more months (until simone turns one) if this set-up will work. I do not even know if I'am meant to be a full-pledged homemaker. All I know is that at the moment, this is what I want. I know God has blessed our decision and He is pleased that we prioritize our family. I know God will provide and I know He will not forsake us. He has always been there, and He will always be.

The one with the last getaway

Simon and I are planning to go to Bangkok this november and I hope it will push thru. anyway, im currently doing some canvassing on which luggage sets will be best for our trip. it will be just a short one, 4 days will be enough. I wanted to invest on a good brand and a more sturdy one so i'd have an easy gliding the luggage.

Our good friend norene will accommodate our stay at her pad and she will escort us to tours and what best places to go to. I'am so looking forward to it as this is our first out of the country experience and I'm sure it will be fun. The only downside to this trip is us leaving simone behind, that's why as early as now we are mindsetting ourselves that we won't be seeing our daughter for at least 3 days. sad but i guess that dreadful day will still come no matter what.

The one with a souvenir

I remembered our 40th corporate anniversary and all the preparations we had to do. One of my assignments was to purchase souvenir pens. I thought it was a simple task but personalizing all of the pens to all the 250 guests in the event was not an easy job. I had to carefully check a hundred times if the names are all correct, whether the color of pen is for a male or a femal guest, and whether they want their full names or their pet names engraved.

Good thing, there are a lot of companies who do this nowadays and one of which is pensrus.com which i hope i ran into when i was still preparing for the event. My life would have been easier if i had them do it instead.

The one with stakes

Just for the sake of exploring, at the age of twenty-eight, i've never tried casinos before and if i were to try one, I think the best place to be is the Imperial Palace Las Vegas. With all the night life in the city, the hotel and casino is right at the heart of the Strip where all the action is. There are guestrooms that feature a relaxing atmosphere, hotel amenities that treat you like royalty, and gaming facilities that is all about rewarding the players. I've read somewhere that if you are a member of the club, you get to earn points and redeem these for cash back or other prizes...cool! Other facilities will also include dining, state of the art entertainment, shopping and fitness facilities.

Truly, the place to be for fun and a good vacation

The one with a business

I've read an email from my friend and she offered different types of home based business. I was happy to get an email and since I'am officially a housewife, I wanted to be entrepreneurial for myself. One of the things I have always wanted to do is make accessories and it's something that i want to explore more. I want to enroll in classes and when I'am up and about, I can do pieces on my own time and sell them online or to friends. I have always been fond of accessories and I want those foxy ones with unique styles. It doesn't have to be trendy, just something that will fit someone's personality. I hope I'll get to enroll in a class soon.