It was United Nations Week for our little preschooler and we dressed her up as Ms. Romania.

Honestly, I had a hard time looking for a costume for her. I really hope I did justice to the country she represented. :-)

Here is Zoe being prepped by her yaya Cat.

I was on a 3-day diet....and failed. Well, it's not like I cheated on the diet or something (nah! I was actually religious in following it). But I think I failed miserably because even with all the healthy tea that I drank, however delicious it was, I still felt so dizzy, cranky and sick the whole time. This was enough indication that this diet was not for me. Worse, on the day after the 3-day diet, I was still sick and nauseous. I threw up twice while trying to eat a regular breakfast and my head was just aching like crazy. Blame it too on the two nights where I stayed till past midnight in the office, trying to beat my deadlines and all.

Anyway, I'm officially off the diet since my husband just had to protest, seeing my condition over the weekend. I'm ready to just exercise and eat healthier. I'm planning on maximizing our Wii to get back in shape. Actually, we're trying to set-up our family room from a "couch potato room" into a fitness room.

Really, I think that you don't have to deprive yourself of yummy stuff such as Christmas candy and Christmas crackers this coming holiday season in order to be fit. The key is always in constant exercise and doing everything in moderation.

Love, love, love this picture!

It makes my heart flutter with joy.

In the eyes of many, you may be imperfect kids and us, your imperfect parents. But God chose us (of all people!) to raise and take care of both of you. For what reason he granted us great lovable blessings like you, only Him knows. But one thing is for sure, He is perfect and we will strive to be like Him, TOGETHER.

...and now, we have two kids in tow!

But you know what? I learned that being "rich" is actually still not the best feeling in the world. I realized that having much money is nothing compared to happiness from having simple life with a great husband, heaven-sent kids and best of all, the grace of God.

Thank you, Lord, for all these super-duper great blessings.

Is this piece of beauty good enough to buy using my retirement money?

Ok. I'm still here blogging away. Gosh, staying here at the car-wash cum cafe makes me drool. All the nice cars coming in and out makes me wish we can buy a new car right now.

There were several cars that came in this morning with the nicest accessories and chrome trim. I love it! It's all so cool! So I'm thinking that when the time comes that we are very decided to get a new car, I would make sure that we have the budget to add some bling-bling to our new car. Hahaha!

We actually had an offer to buy a car from my Dad's friend. It's the type of deal which is so irresistible. If only I had my retirement money now, I would immediately jump at the offer. But the problem is, my money is still in the works so I think we would have to pass. Hopefully, when we do have the money to buy, that car would still be available. (Heads up please to the people doing my final pay computation --- hope you can give me the check soon!!!).

So, anyway, any takers for a red Toyota Corolla? I'm selling it for a very reasonable price.

My hubby and I are currently here at a car-wash cum cafe shop near our place, having our car washed, eating pasta, having coffee and accessing the free wi-fi. Yeah, we left the kids at home so we can chill even for a few hours.

Anyway, we have been discussing over and over again our pending decision to sell our present car. This came about after my dad recently exchanged his red pick-up with a SUV. The owner of that car, who is leaving for the States soon, incidentally is also selling another car at a truly good price. My initial feeling: I WANT! But of course, we need to sell our old car first in order to afford buying that car, or any other car for that matter.

Moreover, I realized that I haven't even received my first paycheck at my new job plus there are many other things are on top priority, that is, more than a new car. I actually even availed of online payday loans in order to make ends meet for this month. Besides, we are also having an on-going construction at home. As I wrote about in my "house-everything" blog, our house got robbed a few weeks ago that is why we've hired a person to put up a higher wall with barb wires at our backyard now. Then after the wall repair, we will also need to fix the bedroom door of Yaya Cat which the robber destroyed. We also need to put up new grills for our windows at the back. Oh, and before I forget, I'm having a big cabinet made at the attic for the kids' toys and books. Whew! That's a lot of expenses I'm not looking forward to. LOL.

So again, what about the new car? Well, if it's for us, it's for us. God will find a way if He wants to. :-)

...but I never expected to ever experience eating there three times in one week!

Yes, that happened to me on my last week at MBTC. First, I was there will some bosses from one division. Then my hubby and I went there for lunch to celebrate his birthday. Then on my last day, my immediate boss brought me there for a one-on-one lunch.

The result? A super yummy experience with around 4-5 pounds around my waist. LOL!

Anyway, sharing some pics of my Thai festival experience which coincided with my last week in MBTC.

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Conjuangco Aquino was inaugurated as the Philippines' 15th President last June 30, 2010.

With this newly-elected president, many have high hopes for a better and more developed Philippines. Will he be able to do it? Well, let's all wait and see. Personally, I am not expecting a lot from his administration. For sure there will be changes but...I don't expect a huge difference to set in terms of the Filipinos' overall economic well-being. There will still be lots of debts and lots of people below the poverty line.

My only hope is that he will be able to create more jobs as much as the old administration did. I was only "unemployed" for 2 weeks last month but I already felt the financial crunch of not having to receive a salary for half a month. I learned that you simply cannot change the way business goes. It's "business as usual", with or without a job. The bills still keep coming: the Meralco bill, PLDT, mobile phone bill, Manila Water bill, the cable tv bill and not to mention all of my credit card bills. It was very stressful just thinking about it! I even met up with a friend to discuss possible cash loans which I could avail of so as not to default in my payment with my credit cards! I was so shy to ask for help.

Anyway, God granted a way for us to get around those financial demands. If not for that cash loan, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. :-)

Another late post but anyway...

I hope you're not getting tired about my postings on Luigi's monthly celebrations. He turned 9 months last June 8. That's a day after his daddy's birthday so we just settled with a cake and some pancit.

Our baby boy is looking more and more like a Cabbage Patch baby. He still has so little hair! But in fairness, his teeth are sprouting and so is his appetite. He eats almost everything we give him and I'm quite happy. You see, the pedia asked us to feed him lots of food since he's still a bit below the ideal weight. So I hope he gains more and more weight as the days go by.

Anyway, here is a snapshot of my dears on Luigi's 9th month cake-blowing.

Happy birthday my dear little boy! I love you!