To Be, To Be. Tutubi.

The last timeI did this, I write like Stephen King, but according to the analysis done on my latest posts, I write like the author of the Twilight Series. I am not sure that I do write like her but it is nice that my writing does not tend to be on the scary and moody side!

1. I will learn to be a little more grateful for everything in my life. I have a wonderful husband, three sweet kids, two loving sisters and a very supportive mother. I have great friends and a well-paying job. We have enough food and there is a roof above our head. I should be more thankful!
2. I will try to care less about what other people think and just do the things that will make me happy. Of course, that doesn't mean that I will hurt them. For example, if I want to travel and I bought the tickets and I will pay for the trip, it shouldn't matter to me that other people say I travel a lot! I do and I do so with my own money so it is my life! If they have a problem with it, then it is their problem.
3. I should try to take care of my appearance more. I am turning 35 next year and I don't want to look it! Ha ha!
4. I should take my sarcasm down a few notches. Really.
5. I will try to save a little more.
6. I will try to pay more attention to my loved ones and be really there for them. Being in the moment is sometimes not my strongest suit. When we are in a beautiful place, instead of enjoying the place, I would sometimes wish I have my camera with me because I would love to blog about it.
7. I should eat less and exercise more.
8. I better enroll in an MBA now so that I can get that promotion. Or should I try sixth form college London? I should really do something soon!
9. I should learn to simplify and get rid of a lot of clutter in my life, both literally and figuratively.
10. I should be a little less arrogant, a little more caring and lot more giving!

Happiness is:
1. Finding the perfect package for our Palawan trip for two. The pension is just cozy and I just wonder if they have a Patio Heater at this cold weather? If not, we will just bring jackets and stay indoors in the evening.
2. Delicious lunch at Eat Well for my boss Gina's birthday celebration. I really love their Eggplant hotpot and steamed fish in garlic! Yum!
3. Money from Paypal! Am just waiting to withdraw from my BDO account anytime now.
4. Facial weekend date with my sister and sister-in-law. This is my belated birthday treat to Kris who has always been a big help to me. She is very responsible and can be easily depended on to take care of the kid's school work.
5. Losing 5 pounds in two-weeks. I know its the easiest to lose, but I am hoping to lose 3 more pounds before March 4.
6. Loving green tea, our even house tea or any tea for that matter. I even love drinking warm water now instead of cold.
7. Goodnight kisses from the kids. Even if I sleep earlier than them sometimes like last night when I had a headache, they would still kiss me goodnight!
8. Unlimited internet access at home (prepaid, but still!) and fighting with the kids as who goes first, ha ha ha!
9. Paid vacation leaves. And more vacations too!
10. New shoes from Adidas. Shhhh, my husband doesn't know it yet.

To know how this started and for credits on the logo, check here.

I am so excited for our trip this coming March 4 to Puerto Pincesa in Palawan. I bought the round trip ticket for two passengers last June 2010 when Cebu Pacific had a seat sale and I paid only P594.40! I was really thinking of not pushing through with the trip just last week that my hotel reservation at Ysabelle Mansion expired before I was able to make a down payment. Anyway, I found this great package from Audissie Pension and there is no downpayment required too!

Package A
Inclusions:
4 days 3 nights room accommodation (Good for 2 pax)
with Daily Breakfast
Underground River Tour
Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour
P 8,000.00

It also comes with free airport transfers and are also inclusive of taxes. I think is a great deal already because the Underground River tour costs P1500 per person and the Honda Bay tour costs P1,100 per person. We will just do our own City Tour and I have already listed down the places to visit. I hope that my husband will enjoy our belated Valentine's celebration!

This is the long-stemmed carnation that I receive from my friend Jheff last Valentine's day. All the ladies in our group got this from him. I took this picture yesterday, a week since Valentine's but look at how beautiful and fresh it looks!

This was taken at Banana Island Resort in Coron, Palawan last October when we did our island hopping. We asked how much was the cost of renting the Kayak for one hour and it was P500! We though it was too much for an hour of kayaking so we did not try it anymore but of course, we had to have our pictures taken! I told my husband that I were to look for new homes for sale once we have won the lotto jackpot, I want a beach front property. I will buy a kayak and roam the beach for hours!

I have already tried doing for once in a Batangas resort and I really loved it! I don't know how to swim so I insisted on wearing a life jacket. My husband, who does not know how to swim too was worrying over my excitement at seeing that I can kayak alone! Well, I was born under the sign of water so he really cannot stop me from doing something that I love! I just hope that I will have a chance to try this again sometime. Maybe I can do this when we go to Puerto Pricesa next month! Woohoo, excitement!

I am such a worrier and seeing this post it note reminded me again not to sweat the small stuff. Some people are too unimportant to even hold a grudge against. Okay, so I wont! Its a Friday and I will lighten up!

What do you prefer, curtains or venetian blinds? Both looks great but I think you have a lot of choices when it comes to curtains because you can choose from a lot of fabric. If you have a good seamstress, you can do great wonders with the design too. Your imagination and your budget will the only ones that will limit you when it comes to curtains. You can have it in any color, texture and dimension. That is why I would always choose a curtain over blinds. They also give more personality to the rooms. However, if you can find made to measure wooden venetian blinds then I would love that also. If they can make the blinds to fit perfectly in my windows, unlike those ready made ones, then I think I would love to try them too. Especially if they can make them in colors that will compliment the rooms of my house, then I would love to have them. The only problem that I can see with blinds is that they are a lot more difficult to clean than curtains. You have to find a special brush to make your job easier. Unlike with curtains that can be easily cleaned by laundry. So, curtains or venetian blinds?

Its just one and a half months and school will be officially over! It is now time to make summer plans for the kids! If I were rich, I would rent one of those UK Holiday Cottages and enjoy an amazing vacation abroad. But as it is, we can only choose a resort that we can afford, yet at the same time the kids will enjoy. Two of my kids will celebrate their birthdays this summer so at least one of those will be celebrated by a swimming party. My friend Rona was able to book a summer getaway to Boracay this May for the whole family. I wish we can do the same during summer season. Unfortunately, the seat sale I was only get for us to Cebu will be in August. I am hoping that we will not have to cancel our trip because of any typhoon! I am also thinking of going on a road trip to some parts pf Laguna or Rizal and staying overnight in any of the resorts there. I am thinking of checking out Casa San Pablo because I read a very good review there from one of the blogs I recently discover. If not one of these plans push through, we can always spend a weekend in Tagaytay. I am too excited for summer already!

I have only several dreams in this lifetime and one of those is to own my perfect home. I can imagine the design and rustic furniture in the house. I imagine that it will be a three-storey, 5 bedroom house with toilet and bath in every room. It will have a garage for two vehicles and it will be in a privately owned subdivision. Of course, the reality is too far from the dream. We are currently renting a small house with one room here in the city and since there are 7 of us, it is too small for us! We have a house too in Montalban Rizal and we have been paying for it for some 7 years now but my husband does not want to move there yet. I can understand that he still fear that a similar disaster like Typhoon Ondoy that left the house flooded might happen again so I cant help but think that we should just buy another one. Who wouldn't want the house I described above? Truth is, I am already thinking of working abroad just to realize this dream. My kids and the fact that I cant live far away from them is the only thing that is stopping me from doing so. I just wish we win the lottery already!

How may times have you heard the words "Google it" when somebody is asking for information? Google is the answer to a lot of questions and it is now our first search instinct when we need to find out about anything. It is also not weird to Google our ex-boyfriends and girlfriends or even anybody. It is even weirder if you have not googled your self and those other people because it means you are not curious at all and curiosity is one fie human trait! So I guess for companies who want to be known in the internet world and to be very easy to find in search engines, they can get ppc services. I dont think we individuals have a need for it though because we do not need to market ourselves but if you have a website that you want found as easily as possible with just a single googling, then better try if this will work for you. I also know some bloggers who get some extra income from this so there should really be no problem if you want to try it. The key is to make your blogs on top of the search and this can be done easily by ppc services.

I want to start a new blog today for my photography hobby. I want to upload a picture a day based on my emotions and let the viewer draw their own conclusions as to the photo. I have a point and shoot camera now but I think it would suffice for my purposes. I am an amateur photographer, a hobbyist and am still learning. Now, where do I create this photo blog? So I create it here at Blogger or should I check the domains that will fit my new blog? But since I am just starting out, should I try it here first at Blogger and see if I can keep up with the commitment to upload a photo everyday before I sign up for a new domain? Or would a new domain prompt me to take this photography hobby a little more seriously? I know that the domain name is the brand name for my new blog and if I want to be serious about this, I should really think long and hard. But I also just realize that even if I publish with Blogger now and then decided to pursue this hobby further then I can still get a domain later and just move everything there! So I guess I should worry more about the pictures than the blog, eh?

This is the Koi pond in front of the new Adoration Chapel in our church. The Adoration Chapel was built after the church made a 3M in 3M, three million in three months donation drive campaign every Sunday mass.

While we enjoy looking at the kois, an usher made us go away because we were disturbing those praying inside the adoration chapel, he he.

We were having breakfast this morning when my kids started asking me questions on what they would become when they grow. My eldest son who loves playing computer games and basketball said he wants to be an engineer or a professional basketball player someday. My second son who loves playing puzzle games and PSP said he wants to become a computer programmer. My daughter Ishi said she wants to become a nurse. I was already thinking of how good she would on those nursing scrubs but I asked her if she knows what a nurse does. She said they take of people in the hospital and they take blood and make injections. She is not afraid of hospitals and she actually enjoys going for check-up because I have made it a fun experience for them. I guess those efficient ladies in white uniform have made very good impressions on her. I told my kids that I will support them in any career that they would choose, as long as it will make them happy. But I am sure that I will burst with pride once I see my daughter wearing her nurse uniform some 15 years from now! For as long as what my kids want in life are within their capabilities and would make them happy, I will help them to realize those dreams!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

Motherhood is one of my life's greatest joy but it has also given me the greatest of challenges.  Can you imagine feeling so helpless because you cannot make your baby stop crying?  And what if the cause of his crying is your own carelessness?  That would surely break your heart!  Having a diaper rash is just one of the many conditions that can harm your baby and it is usually preventable.  However, there are instances when we are too busy and are not able to change the baby's diaper on time making him susceptible to rashes.  If I had known about Boudreaux's Butt Paste  when I was having these troubles, then my babies could have been spared the pain of the rashes.  I could  have been spared of many countless sleepless nights  too!  My cousin from the US gave my niece a very handy flip top tube when she visited with her daughter.  She saw that my cousin was still using petroleum jelly on the rashes and that just makes the rashes more itchy because moisture is trapped and the rashes don't heal at all!  We were laughing at the name butt paste but it was indeed a paste that heals those delicate baby butts!   Now my niece sleeps comfortably and she has no more rashes after less than a week of use.  I told my cousin that I will be sure to recommend Boudreaux's Butt Paste to my mom friends because they can get free samples too!  All they have to do is visit Boudreaux's Butt Paste website to get their free samples! I am sure they will believe me because this product has been featured on Oprah, Tonight Show and People Magazine to name a few.

Dear Babies,

I thank the Lord every night in my prayers for giving me the joy of becoming of your mother. There are really no words to express how a mother feels for her children but please know that I would lay my life in a heartbeat for each of you. You are my life's greatest joy and I can not ask for anything more but for you to grow up into happy and contented adults. I wish for you to become what you wish to be: as long as you are happy, then I happier for you!

I work in a company owned by the family of the quintessential entrepreneur, Mr. John Gokongwei himself. When he lost his father at a young age, he was forced to become a business man. From peddling his wares using his bicycle, he is now known as the man behind a multi-million dollar company with presence in other Asian countries. He didn't become rich just by sheer luck, but with much hard work and careful planning. With Mr John and his characteristics in my mind, I am now thinking of putting up my own business. I know that I will not become financially independent if I will only rely on my income. Of course, at this point the business has to be something that will not require me to quit my job just yet. What I really want is to put up a canteen or an eatery. My mother can help me with it and she can get some of my cousins to help her. It will only require a small capital. We both love to cook and we know that this is something that we can really make work. Of course the only other major consideration is the location of our canteen. We can worry about our business logo design later once we have the perfect location. I hope we can find the perfect spot for us so I can already finalize the business plan.

I have been blogging for some time now but I have not really made an effort to increase my blog followers. I know that some bloggers increase their followers by holding contests and then including in the mechanics that they should be followed. I do this most of the time and I see nothing wrong with it. I even enjoy doing it because I discover interesting bloggers because of this. My friend who is new to blogging asked me if she should try an email marketing campaign to increase her followers and I said that she should go ahead and see if it would work for her. I also enjoy exchanging links with fellow bloggers and that is how I want to make my blog known. I also join memes and visit other entries and leave comments. More than increasing blog followers I get to discover new blogs and leave more personal impressions. I think that is more important than getting impersonal followers who have no real interest in my blog and is just there to make part of a list. I want real relationships, where you both enjoy what the other has to share and her blog and you learn from each other too!

Naaalala mo pa ba ang larong Jackstone? Marahil ay nakapaglaro ka nito nuong bata ka pa. Natuwa nga ako ng makita ang aking mga anak na naglalaro nito nuong isang gabi at pilit nila akong isinali. Ang kaso, nakalimutan ko na ang mga panuntunan ng laro kaya kailangan pa nila akong turuan! At lalo na ng kailangan ko ng magpakita ng tricks! Ay naku, ang saya namang balikan ang nakaraan!

At ito pa ang nakaktuwa, ang asawa ko pala ay naglaro din ng jackstone nuong siya ay bata at naaalala pa niya kung ano ang mga tricks dito! Bilib na bilid tuloy ang mga anak nya sa kanya!

I miss my home! The last time we visited our Montalban house was in December when we hosted a simple post-Christmas dinner for family and friends! I have lots of plans for this house but I have yet to start any of them. I am not yet done painting the gate with green paint because we ran out of paint the last weekend we were there. We still have to buy a new carpet because the old one we had was in serious need of Carpet replacement. The edges were frayed because it got wet while on storage and wasnt dried properly. The smell was bad too. Anyway, I still need to find a carpenter to make double deck beds for the two rooms. I also have to talk to my uncle who volunteered to do the kitchen cabinets. I miss the house very much but we have no time to go there since last month. Either we were busy or I was too tired on weekends to do the more than an hour commute! If only my husband would agree to move in already! Oh, we are currently renting a house here in Quezon City and while it is very near the kid's school and just 15 minutes away from our place of work, I would still prefer to live in my own house. We have been paying for it for more than five years now and despite Ondoy and several setbacks, I know that there is no place like your own home!

I used to hate drinking tea because of the smell. But now that I cant smell it anymore, I am now an avid tea drinker. It is soothing and does not leave me craving for sweets like coffee does. Since I usually have colds because of my allergy, drinking hot water or hot tea soothes me. I usually just take chamomile or green tea for my stomach, as recommended by my doctor. But BioFit Tea and Biguerlai Tea are just two of some diet teas that are being recommended to me by my friends. And so the question is, do they work?
I tried drinking Biguerlai tea last week. Since it is a laxative, I was expecting more bowel movements but there was none. I guess its different for everybody. Then I tried Biofit Tea last Sunday and I woke up by midnight because I had to answer an urgent call of nature! Wow, its a laxative for sure! And this has been my experience for a whole day. Although it was not unpleasant and I was left feeling more lighter, common sense tells me that this is not good for me. I guess I will just stick to drinking hot water, or green tea or good óle chamomile tea!

A sad news greeted me this morning when I opened my twitter account: Angelo Reyes committed suicide. The former head of the Department of National Defense shot himself in the chest while he was at his mother's grave site. There were even disturbing photos of a blood-spattered grave site. It is indeed a sad day for the Philippines because the country is now being made angry over the corruption in the military, where Reyes was once head. While I am very sorry for the loss of his family, his death may bring to futility the questions regarding the millions of pesos amassed by those in power. He may have committed suicide out of depression or maybe out of guilt or maybe, he took a bullet for the same corrupt people behind the plunder cases currently being heard in the congress. I dont know anything for sure: if the man was corrupt or if it was the system that corrupted the man. Either case, it is a sad say indeed for the Philippines because truth may be buried again. I hope for Angelo Reyes' familys sake, truth will come out soon.

Chris Chronicles is celebrating her 1st Blogversary and she is doing it with a bang! Her awesome giveaway will make us win amazing do$$ars! 1st winner gets $100, 2nd winner gets $50, 3rd winner gets $30 and the 4th winner will get a Blogger or Wordpress template(winner's choice of color)! I want to win any of the do$$ar prizes because I need the money for my Palawan budget trip.
Its so easy to join this contest:
1. Blog about it and make sure to include the links and the sponsors.
2. Add Chris Chronicles on Google Friend Connect and subscribe to her feed. Make sure to verify!
3. Fill up the form to submit your entry.
4. That's it! Join now!

Of course, thanks are in order for the wonderful and generous sponsors who helped Chris Chronicles in this wonderful giveaway:
Pinay Mommy Online , Proud Mommy of Three , The Domain Angel , Life's Digital Moments , Eat, Drink, Blog , Caffeinated Muse , Reviewer's Haven , Janet Speaks , The Travel Diva , Sketches, Yam's Files , Mum Writes Again , Travels and Musings , Viva Pinay , Small Kids Big Dreams , Azumi ? Kawaii Princess' Story , Fab ? Momma , Kawaii Princess , Samut-Sari , Joys in Life , Paula's Place , WAHM sa Pinas , Pop Ups of My Mind , Nursing Uniforms , Kero's Celebration , blankpixels - The Geek Side , Certified Foodies , jared's little corner of the world... , Travels and Explorations , Designer's Depot , Work at Home Dad, Noobfoodie , The Smart Shopper , Living Life to the Fullest! , Happy Home Working , Life of a Filipina Blogger , Wahmaholic Designs, The Miscellaneous Me, Family and Home Living

More of the field demo photos that I took two weeks ago from my kid's school. These are the high school students making their own presentations of national fiestas in the Philippines. Below are the 4th year students showing us the Tuna Festival.Third year students doing the Panagbenga festival of Baguio.
And the first year students doing the Ati-atihan festival. My son is somewhere at the back. It was difficult to get a shot of him from where I was standing. But I enjoyed the presentations very much!
Happy Mellow Yellow Monday, everyone!

Here is a love song I want to dedicate to my kids: Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift.

Never Grow Up
Taylor Swift

Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in and turn on your favorite nightlight

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have honey
If you could stay like that

(Chorus:)
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you
Wont let no one break your heart
No one will desert you
Just try to never grow up
Never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mama's dropping you off
At 14, there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out
Someday and call your own shots

But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember she's getting older too
And don't lose the way that you dance around in your PJs getting ready for school

(Chorus:)
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Taylor Swift Never Grow Up lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com/taylor-swift-never-grow-up-lyrics.html

It could stay this simple
No one's ever burned
Nothing's ever left you scarred
Even though you want to, just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what is sounded like what your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs
I just realized everything I had is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my nightlight on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up
Oh I don't wanna grow up
Wish I'd never grown up
Could still be little
Oh I don't wanna grow up
It could still be simple

(Chorus:)
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh darling don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heat
And even throuhg toyu want to, please try to never grow up
Don't you ever grow up
Just never grow up

Tamang tama ang tema ng Litratong Pinoy na Kaarawan dahil nagdiwang ako ng aking ika-tatlumpu't apat na kaarawan nuong Martes! Narito ang ilan sa mga cake na natanggap ko mula sa aking mga kaibigan.

I turned a year older yesterday. I am so happy and blessed to have family and friends who love me unconditionally. My kids made me this card and I was teary-eyed with joy for their love!Here is my sweet daughter posing with me.
Here are just some of the food we enjoyed yesterday. This cake from Cafe Jessie is from Citi, together with several boxes of Krispy Kreme muffins and donuts.
This is the simple meryenda fare for my bosses. Pansit, pandesal, puto and ice cream! A sure hit!
The mouth watering pansit for long life.
This was the lunch we enjoyed with my friends. The dinuguan from my sister Diane, the cake from her and Mishi, the other cake from from Blanda, Karen, Cathy, Vangie, Jheff, May and everybody else; the roasted chicken from the supermarket, the pork barbecue from my mom and the pansit again for long life. A simple lunch fare, made super extra special by the presence of wonderful friends!
They also gave me this gift which is a size lower than my usual and that may day extra happy!
It was a simple yet wonderful birthday celebration! I am so happy to be blessed with a loving husband and kids, super sweet sisters, a very dependable mother and the best friends in the world! What else could a girl ask for!