Dinner at Eastwood

Our dear friend Cleng just arrived from London last week. She went home to tie the knot with her boyfriend this weekend. And since the wedding is already this weekend, we took some time out (before everything gets crazy!) to go have dinner together last night. We were with Mike, the groom-to-be, Cleng’s younger sister (and her significant other) and our good, good friends, Cris and Joan.

With everybody’s uber-busy schedules, we met in Eastwood Mall later than what was planned. Anyway, our feet led us to Cyma for dinner and Cheesecake, etc. for coffee and dessert (deserves a separate post!).

Dinner was, as usual, filled with a lot of funny stories. The food was sumptuous and the company was great. These friends of mine are all definitely friends for life (and as Joan would joke – FFAE ~ friends forever and ever). It’s because no matter how long we have not seen each other, all is the same, as if we never really were apart for months and years. We can still talk about anything, from serious concerns to the most trivial things such as our crazy past lives, bags, ford accessories (except for Cleng, we all know how to drive, you see) and many other things.

I guess, as friends, we've reached the point that in spite of our differences (which were more pronounced when we were younger) and peculiarities, we love and accept each other as we are and there are no more biases and no more ill-feelings, only happy memories of our friendship which is already more than 25 years and counting.

Here are some pictures.

Group pic at Cyma:

B2B, G2B, and MOH.


BFFs.


You-know-who.


Group pic at Cheesecake, Etc.

Trying a no-smile pose ala-Familia Zaragoza (I couldn't contain my smile!!!!):

After a few trysts...we finally made the pose. CrazY! Hahahaha!

Till next time guys!

Let's Visit Tita Vel!

...and what Zoe means by that is that we go to the nearby basketball court in our village.

You see, this place has a makeshift stage (for fiesta celebrations, Christmas parties) and it has a tarpaulin displaying a sort of collage of the different events and people in Kasibulan, as seen here:

We scanned the picture and we found out that a portion of it has the face of my sister (Tita Vel!). Since she's donning a white headband here, I'm assuming that this pic was taken in the 80s or early 90s.

So here's Zoe and Tita Vel (in flashback mode, hahaha):

Ah...yes, so now, you know.

Photo Effects Galore!

I was browsing through some blogs yesterday and found several people doing the 365 picture project. I think it’s kinda cool! I would want to have started something like that too if only I have the time, especially now that I got myself a nifty camera from the States. But things are, as usual, pretty busy so I would have to side that aside for now.

Anyway, I think I would rather satisfy myself with using online funny photo effects during my free time. If you are follower of my different blogs, you would notice that I am a certified fan of fun photoshop effects. I think my kids are the main driving force for my keen interest in funny pictures effects and in photos in general.

Having said this, I am just so pleased to have tumbled upon another cool site that offers a new photo effect – everyday! Now, you and I now have a reason to be creative with our pictures day in, day out.

I checked out the site and was just at awe at the numerous free choices that they have for blogger moms like me! (There are so many that it literally took me so many minutes to try out each and every single application!)

And naturally, what would be the subject of my photos but my two adorable kids?! I love these pictures to bits! Lookie here! Cute! Cute! Cute!

Happy picture-taking everyone!

Rattling Away

Luigi has been developing a good grasp lately that we would be surprised to find him holding his own rattle while left alone.

Actually, I think that he's such a charmer! We would "show-off" this new ability as if saying ~ "Look Mommy! I can hold my rattle now!"

And even with this "little" feat, I get teary-eyed already and feel so proud of my baby.

She's Going to Preschool!

Zoe just had her assessment at a nearby preschool yesterday. The assessment and interview would be a method to gauge which is the most appropriate level or class the student should be placed.

Not surprisingly, as this was my daughter's first time to get assessed, I was a freakin' stage mother. LOL. I wanted to prepare her for the test but I guess one can never be really prepared for something like this, right? My auntie who is visiting us from the US is a school administrator and she would share with us what usually happens during an assessment. But even with that knowledge, anything goes really. The result would really just depend on Zoe's level of maturity and how she shows it.

At any rate, whatever level she might be placed in (results come after 3 working days), I am already happy just to see Zoe excited to go to that school. You see, when I told her that she's going back to visit the school again, her eyes beamed as she happily asked me: "Lalaro ako ulit? (I'll be playing again?)". When she said "play" she was referring to the huge swing sets that the school had at the back of their building. During our last visit, she almost didn't want to go home because she enjoyed the school's playground equipment so much, particularly the red and green swingset that they had. So when it was time to say goodbye, she waved bye-bye to the teacher as well as to the swing. Cute!

What did Zoe receive last Christmas? - Part 2

To continue this post, Santa pulled through last Christmas and was able to drop by the house to give Zoe this wonderful gift:

~ A twist car with sounds! (We got rid of her old bike already since it was damaged by Typhoon Ondoy last September.)

...the happy girl on her new car:


...taking it out for a ride:

In addition, Zoe also received an organ from her Mom and Dad, since they both know how much she likes music.

...opening the gift:


...almost done:


...lalalalalala!

New Plants

We visited my uncle in the nearby town last Sunday for lunch. They served us the usual food traditional in our hometown in Quezon and I found it so yummy.

Anyway, after eating lunch, my uncle told me that he will give me two plants for our house. He told me to buy new planters for it. It's actually a lovely little plant. It can be a good indoor plant because the leaves are wide and shiny. And I think it would add a bit more decorative quality to it if I put it on indoor planters, particularly the ceramic type with designs on it.

Thank you Tito Botch for the new plants!

New Living Room Set Covers

As far as I'm concerned, we've had these sofa covers (below - picture taken circa 2004) for ages and through the years, they've become tattered, soiled and dirty.

Hence, with the coming of our balikbayan relatives this month, we decided to have these covers replaced by a new one once and for all.

This is the cloth I found from Fabric Warehouse at Glorietta 5 (at P145 per meter):

And using this cloth, we commissioned a lady to sew the new covers for us (P900 labor) and it turned out like this:

How do you like it?

Great for the Elderly

I’ve recently discovered a fantastic product for your bathroom that is seen to be safer and more elderly-friendly: walk in tubs!

Walk in tubs are something you can consider when you are contemplating on buying a tub for your family. It is presumed to be safer compared to those ordinary bath tubs wherein you always have to be extra careful when sliding down and going up from the tub. It is designed to assist the person better when entering the tub. Thus, it is good to use for all kinds of people and especially friendly to those who are a bit more elderly who usually require more support and balance in order to bathe properly.

Zoe's 1st "Foto Me" Pic

Our dear daughter is already ready to go to a regular preschool starting June this year. Thus, we are in the process of school-hunting now.

Today, she is scheduled for an assessment in a nearby school, just about 10 minutes away from our home. Here is the picture she had taken last night to be used for her school application.

Ha-ha-ha! Look at her "puro ngipin" smile here. She looks so strained but still a cutie anyway!

Anyway, I wish her assessment goes well today. Too bad, I won't be there to see it.

Stainless Sinks

I have always admired the beautiful stainless sinks that I see whenever we check in a hotel. I always wondered where I could find those and how much it would cost to have one installed in my house.

Good thing, I recently found this online store which sells beautiful branded stainless steel kitchen sinks. Gone are the days when it is only in classy hotels and restaurants where you can see nice sinks, because now, you can have your own stainless steel kitchen sink at your very home with styles that can compete with the ones you would only probably see in expensive and classy places. What's better is that this store sells it for a low price and with an option for same-day shipping. It's really a great find!

Busy, busy, busy

I just came back for a one-day vacation leave today to host a party for my relatives and I still feel a hang-over from last night's activites. How I'll describe yesterday? Well, busy, busy, busy!

At the family front naman (my priority!!!), it's busier that ever. With my husband's new work schedule this week (for which I am slowly adjusting to), I am still trying to manage to keep up with the family's list of to-do's...oh, it's a long list, by the way.

And then back at work, it's busy as usual and I can't wait to finish all my projects on time.

Anyway, wish me luck!

What did Zoe receive last Christmas?

Before I answer that question, here is a hint.

These are what she got for Christmas for the past two years.

She got a Care Bears Light and Sound Ride On when she was a year old. Isn't she a cutie?

When she turned two, she got a Disney Princess tri-bike. She's getting bigger and more independent here.

So what did she get for Christmas this year? Well, I'll mention in on my next post (sorry for the suspense). But it's pretty obvious, don't you think?

Meantime, let me just say that this year's Christmas was very happy. We now have baby boy Luigi with us and that made us feel so blessed indeed. We may not have as much abundance in money, luxuries and other material things this year but we are happy, together and healthy. That's what really counts. So no reason to sulk or be envious of what the others have and that we don't have. We have learned to count our blessings and from my point of view, our blessings have been A LOT, thanks be to God.

Anyway, I am off to look for some food suppliers now for my relatives' family get-together scheduled next week. I plan to utilize a business web directory to help me where to start looking. Learning about how to use a web directory is a heaven-sent tool for busy moms like me.

What I realized the past days.

Continuing on my previous post where I sounded so sorry for myself for the mishap that happened to me last week, I look back and reflect on how God has been really good to me despite the "kicks" He sends every now and then.

You see, that same afternoon that I had the accident, I heard about the Haiti quake and could only pray and feel bad for those thousands of people who got affected. In this kind of instance, it seems that there is nothing they can do to fight God's plan for them. They only have to learn to surrender to it, knowing that with this "bad" experience comes a certain "good".

Seeing the pictures and reading the stories of the people of Haiti's ordeal made me feel humbled.

God, I now know that I do not have a reason to sulk and complain at all.

What Happened to me today.

For the past two days, I secretly felt that something “bad” will happen and what’s worse, I felt that that “bad” thing will happen to no one else but me. I don’t know where the feeling came from but it sure was there. And a lo and behold! Murphy’s Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will") did happen and it left me with aching bones and several scratches.

Today, I fell on my tush in the middle of the street as I was getting off the van that I was riding to go to work. I was about to go down (I know my voice was loud enough to inform the driver that I was going down, promise!) when the driver suddenly stepped on the gas without looking behind, leaving me (with my bags and the big tray of spaghetti that I was lugging for our breakfast potluck today) down on the ground. And worse still, I was wearing a skirt!!! I heard shrieks from the people riding with me as I fell. It was like in the movies when a kidnap victim is trying to jump off the moving car to get away from her kidnappers! It was crazy!

Luckily, I managed to get up after a kind lady who was standing in the side walk helped me. I felt horrible! My knees were shaking as I got up and as I saw the van sped away without stopping to help me. My elbow had scratches and a big dark bruise. My shoulders hurt too. My wrist watch also had several ugly scratches on the crown and on the glass (and I think that saved me from bearing more wounds on my hands and fingers). Good thing, the spaghetti tray that I was carrying, though it got deformed, was intact.

Anyway, I already reported the incident to a contact from the group of drivers who service the people going to Makati. And you know what the driver said? He said that he didn’t notice anybody falling off from his van. What a liar! Anyway, tomorrow, I might see him again and I’ll really face him head to head.

Meantime, I just want to go home now. I could only think of hot tubs and relaxing spas now. Thus, I’m calling the maid in a minute so that she can prepare the bathroom at home where we have a Private Brand Hot Tub. And then I could relax and sulk (ahem) for an hour or so on the tub tonight...and try to get rid of all body aches and negative thoughts once and for all.

Speaking of thoughts, one happy thought is that you can actually buy your tubs online where you no longer need to pay retail prices and state sales tax (except in the state of Florida). Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

Yellow Paintings

We're getting our new yellow sofa covers tomorrow from the shop and I'm thinking that what could complete the look is a brand new painting for our living room.

I was browsing the net and found these as inspirations (I think all are nice):

Which do you like best?

Love the Weather, Love the Bed

My husband and I took advantage of enjoying the cold weather that we are having these days by bringing out our Donna Karan Home bedding. Believe it or not, this bedding and comforter was a gift to us our way back during our wedding and we never had a chance to use it until now. Talk about finding a long lost treasure! Now, we sleep like a king and queen. And as my husband puts it, “Feels as if we are in a hotel tonight, Honey.” Ha ha!

While browsing the site online, I learned that they not only have beddings but the whole range of home accesories. They also have nice drapes and lovely bath accessories which I definitely want to have too! If only I could have the whole line from DonnaKaranHome.com and the money to buy it.

I heard that they have a SALE! (wink, wink)

Ordinary Time

Tomorrow will be Monday and in the liturgical calendar, it'll be the Monday of the First week in Ordinary Time.

For a Catholic, we could take the start of the Ordinary Time as an indication that we have to go back to our daily grind, sanctifying the ordinary things and finding that there is a something special in all things ordinary if we look with our spiritual eyes: the soul.

The Christmas celebrations and holiday may be finished now but the struggle to love continues.

Wonderful Window Treatments

As you may have read in my old posts, I have been forever looking for a chance to have our living room set re-upholstered. So last week, I finally found the cloth I wanted and was able to contract a woman who could sew the new sofa set cover. And since the living room will now be in yellow and white, I now need to also have a new set of curtains to match it.

Later did I realize that I just can’t buy ready-made drapes in the department store because our windows are larger and higher and the size of the curtains that are usually being sold in the department stores are a tad bit shorter for our windows. Therefore, I looked and looked and found this online shop the other day which sells compatible (and ready-made!) curtains which are perfect for our living room and dining room windows! And boy did I found myself just drooling over their lovely and classy styles! It was curtain heaven, if you ask me.

How I wish I can have these wonderful window treatments right in my very own house soon!

Coming Soon

I just got word from my cousin Nina that she already received my new point and shoot camera from Amazon.com and in just a few more days, I'll finally get it, courtesy of my relatives coming home from the US. It's a happy new year, indeed!

Thanks Nina for helping me save a whole lot on this purchase! Sa uulitin! Hehe.

My Weekend

Weekend's almost over! Whaaa! Time seems to fly so fast. I haven't even time to do that things I need to do, much less make a quick order for a couple of printer cartridges from Cartridge Save. (But I guess I need not worry about that - they usually deliver the next day and the transaction is almost hassle-free.)

About my weekend, Luigi turned 4 months last Friday. Again, we had pancit and ginataan to celebrate. Overall, Luigi is developing pretty well. He loves lying on his tummy ever since he successfully learned to do it two weeks before he turned 4 months. He also already knows how to roll over to one side and lift his head higher than before. He continues to make cute sounds ("ah-googoos", shrieks, hums) and I'm sure he will be a charmer when he grows up! He also still directly feeds from me every morning and night on weekdays and all day on weekends. It's so exciting! I'm so proud of his accomplishments especially this week.

Yesterday was the first class for 2010 at Kindermusik for Zoe. As usual, she was hyper about school. She really enjoys the classes and has a natural inclination to music. We only have to train her better to learn how to sit down when she needs to (she sometimes can't stay put!) and teach her a bit more English (for we almost always preferably talk to her in the native language).

At the home front, I've done a lot of cleaning today: wiped the shelves, weeded out the drawers in the living room, rearranged the photo frames in the bedroom and many more. It's so tiring. Anyway, I'll try to include more pictures in my next posts. Till, then, enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Cute!

I'm posting these pictures to show and journalize that, once upon a time, Luigi was a small little baby (3 mos.) with a head almost just as big at our Winnie the Pooh stuff toy and a cute little smile that could melt any mother's heart.

Ceiling Fans Galore!

One of my favorite things about our house is that it has a very high ceiling. My dad designed it that way so that it looks grander, more elegant and has better good ventilation for the different rooms in the house such as the living, dining room and bedrooms compared to when the ceiling is just flat and simple. And so when the architect was building the house, instead of just having plain lighting panels on the ceiling, my Dad suggested that we also canvass for a ceiling fan so that there is an added touch to the design plus additional fans especially helpful during the summer months.

In the course of our search, we found various styles of ceiling fans. I stumbled upon the products available at Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans and saw so many delightful choices and brands such as Hunter ceiling fans and Minka Aire ceiling fans. Oh, I love how rustic and stylish these types of ceiling fans go!

Anyway, before we transferred to the new house, we were able to install not just one but three ceiling fans, that is, one in the living room and one in master’s bedroom and a simpler one at the guest room. Talk about love for ceiling fans!

2009 Good Films

I admit I wasn't much of a movie buff during the past year 2009. In fact, I could hardly remember when was the last time I actually went to a moviehouse to see a flick.

Anyway, after watching the movie "Up" before Christmas (oh how I cried!), I vow to try to watch more worthwhile films in the future...and here is my guide to those good movies which I missed but can still go back to.

Here's what's on the list:
-The Blind Side
-Bright Star
-Capitalism: a love story
-Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
-Departures
-District 9
-Drag me to hell
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
-The Hurt Locker
-Invictus
-Slumdog Millionaire
-Up

Thanks to Mercatornet for these recommendations!

Super Bowl, Clean Bowl

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 2000 Flushes. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a homeowner, one of my pet peeves is a clean bathroom, particularly a clean toilet. I hate finding the toilet with stains, dirt and grime. That is why I always make sure that I use a good cleanser that can fight off those unwanted germs and bacteria and leaves the bowl smelling fresh and clean.

If you are someone like me who aim for clean and germ-free toilets, then I am inviting you take some time out to join this very enticing sweepstakes. Did you know that during Super Bowl Sunday, there are about 90 million toilets being flushed during the halftime break? In connection with this, 2000 Flushes is inviting you to Enter to Win the 2000 Flushes sweepstakes entitled "Is Your Bowl Ready for the Big Game?". If your interested to join, all you need to do is fill out a form on the sweepstakes microsite and you are can possibly win a very handsome prize consisting of a $10,000 worth of a bathroom makeover or remodel.

And that's not all! Every week until March 5, 2010, there are 99 winners of a free product (coupon for free 2000 Flushes product). There is also a downloadable $1 off coupon that participants can avail of from the sweepstakes site. So easy, right?


Distribution of products by 2000 Flushes, a WD-40 Company, to Participating Parties (media, bloggers, or other third parties or individuals) for the purpose of review and/or endorsement are done so in faith that the Participating Parties will be in compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and other related regulations, applicable statutes, regulations, or requirements of any government authority as they relate to subsequent posts or promotional material featuring 2000 Flushes or any of its products resulting from distribution by 2000 Flushes.

Luigi's 1st Christmas

This Christmas is our baby Luigi's very first Christmas. And what a joy it is to have him with us! He is truly a big additional blessing in our family.

It was so much fun shooting Luigi. He is a very happy baby: cooing and giggling the whole time we were taking pictures of him. A natural, I should say. :-)

I'm Off...

I’m off to the mall tonight after work to further canvass materials for the re-upholstering for our living room set. My husband and I talked earlier and we settled on just re-upholstering first our old sofa set instead of taking the big plunge of buying a new set. We decided that it would be more practical at this time to wait and save up some more before our big furniture purchase this year.

The plan is to re-upholster the old sofa and then bring it up to the family room in the attic when we get to buy a new furniture set. We are planning to convert the family room that now serves as Zoe’s toy room into an entertainment area where we also plan to install a big TV and some gaming consoles. Anyway, as for the new living room furniture, I am eyeing on those high quality designed modern furniture I found online. I am simply enamored by the lovely designs that I saw. You are sure to get 100% authenticity guarantee when you purchase from them. Plus, would you believe that they accept Paypal? I’m so happy.

Was Wondering Why...

I was wondering why there seems to be a falling apple at the Google site today. Hmmm. So out of my curiosity, I decided to "google" January 4. The site lead me to a discovery that January 4 is actually the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton, in year 1643 to be exact.

Newton is popular for the Newton's apple: a principle that explains the theory of gravitation. He considered one of the most influential persons in science and history.

Cool!

Kicking the Habit

I’ve been so moved to really do better this year 2010. I have so much to improve on, you know. On the topic of bad habits, I’m trying to get rid of some of my personal bad habits. So here’s another round of (New Year’s) resolutions which I thought I needed for myself:

1. I need to stop going to bed with makeup on. Sometimes (or all the time, I must say), I feel so dead tired at the end of the day that I head off to sleep as soon as I change into my sleep clothes. I hate having to wash my face with water (I feel that it causes my eyesight to get worse than how it already is) but I am all too lazy to grab a cotton and use my cleansing oil.

2. I also need to get out of the habit of going for seconds. Yup, I am an emotional eater and I talk a lot too while eating dinner. So when my talking isn’t finished yet, my eating isn’t finished either. LOL. Well, you can clearly see I’m a crazy girl.

3. I need to stop buying shoes…and more shoes! Maybe I should divert this addiction into bags this year. Hahahaha!

4. I have to be more on time in paying bills. Punctuality has to be in all areas of your life and that includes paying the monthly bills before it’s due.

5. I also resolve to brush my teeth a bit longer. Well, it’s a whole myriad of doing things longer actually. You see, I have a tendency to rush around my morning ritual and that includes hurrying to take a bath, dressing up, brushing my teeth and many other small things that I do without thinking much. Bottom line really is: WAKE UP EARLIER so I don’t need to RUSH anymore.

What do you guys think? Obviously, my list of bad habits is just about small things, thank God. Unlike others who cannot kick the habit of smoking or drug addiction, for example. Oh, that’s so much of a bigger struggle if you ask me. Addiction Treatment is no joke for someone who is in denial. Drug Treatment, even if it’s readily available, is something that is not yet an option for many who are hooked on drugs and need to go for drug rehab.

Anyway, I’m hoping I would make a follow through on these resolutions of mine. Wish me luck!!!

For Sale - BDJ 2010

Hi! I'm selling an extra Belle de Jour planner.

Like last year, I'm giving it away for only 450 php + shipping fee (if applicable).

Email me here if you're interested!

House Preps

Some relatives are coming from the States this month and we’re very excited! I think they will be staying with us for a month. In this regard, we are trying to make the necessary house preparations for their coming.

First off, I scoured through our closets and made sure that it’s all in order and ready for use by our relatives. We also have been scouting around for the past week for new upholstery for our living room set. But it’s so hard to find nice textile that will fit our needs so I’m also open to buying a new living set altogether. I’ve managed to visit this site where they offer a variety of styles in modern furniture. They have great furniture that’s great for those living rooms that are almost always the main attraction in any house. There are also elegant pieces for bedrooms which designs are very updated and elegant. Most of the styles are couldn’t be found locally so I’m almost tempted to order online!

Partial New Year's Resolution List

Is making a new year’s resolution already passé? Well, I think not. It’s always great to resolve to do things better every now and then…well, at least not just every new year. The coming of the new year gives us another chance, a reminder, that we can strive to do better in many things.

So here’s my partial list of resolutions regarding order in little things:

1. Always bring my office bag straight to our bedroom: no more letting it lie around the dining table or the living room.

2. Try to make a tedious financial accounting of our family’s daily expenses (I’ve a new notebook for that already!!!).

3. Put away all pending paperwork in the office in a place where it isn’t an eyesore and where it won’t be forgotten the next day.

4. Make new 2010 folders for the bills, statement of accounts, etc. etc.

5. Throw away old receipts, print outs, used envelopes every day, if possible.

How are the above as for new year's resolutions?

It's Clean Up Time

How did you celebrate your new year holidays? For us, we basically stayed at home (except for a day for a couple’s date and shopping around Greenhills). Yesterday, in fact, while battling a bad case of migraine, we managed to make-over our mini living room at our house extension (aka maid’s quarters).

This living room used to be “my” living room. You see, I used to live separately from my parents when I was still single. They sort of build this extension house for me. This house had a living room, 2 bedrooms, a side kitchenette and a bathroom. It can actually be a separate house altogether. But when I got married, we transferred to the bigger house and settled in the attic area. My old room at the extension house was turned into the yaya’s room while the mini living room was neglected and through the years became a laundry and ironing room.

I decided to clean up the living room, as part of my new year’s resolution. The past typhoon and flood had destroyed some of its cabinets and floors and it’s now at a sad state. I’m actually thinking of buying a new revolutionary vacuum at Dyson Hoover to clean up the floors from the stains and dust. But until I do that, I settled with packing away all the laundry and ironing stuff that the helper had not tried to put into order. I rearranged the furniture and put aside the ironing board underneath the staircase. I also sorted out the plates and other whatnots in the cabinets and pulled out some gems (glass trays, crystal glasses) that I had never been used --- I don’t need to wait for a special occasion to use them, right?

Happy New Year to All!

Happy New Year World!

It's a brand new year for all of us and I am mighty thankful for the countless blessings which God has brought upon us in the past year and in this new year. May we all stay healthy, happy and bountiful in graces.

God bless!