Friday, October 5, 2012

Happy Birthday Mel

We celebrated my friend Melanie's birthday last week by going to our favorite videoke place. Our friends made the reservations and I went out to buy the cake for her. It was a lovely and tasty cake from Sugarhouse (Midnight Chocolate Cake).

We obviously all love to sing and to eat so it's really a no-brainer when it came into deciding how we would want to celebrate. And so we rounded up our (their) favorites: Rhianna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Celine Dion and many other current and old hits. Here's our group picture: myself, Cha, Mel, Sam and Thea.We ordered pizza, buffalo wings, nachos and drinks. They've been trying to learn how to stop drinking so the alcoholic drinks were at a minimal level (I didn't drink but just ate lots, hahaha).

Here's us really getting in the mood to sing and dance.

And I still remember this time - we were singing "Stop" by the Spice Girls but was so bad at the choreography!

Stop right now thank you very much
I need somebody with a human touch
Hey you always on the run
Gotta slow it down baby, gotta have some fun
Do do do do!
Do do do do!

Oh well, maybe next time we will come more prepared.

It's our anniversary month!

I've been neglecting this blog for some time (coz I'm secretly hooked on IG). But am taking a minute to post this recent photo of me and my ex-boyfriend. Hahaha. It's October and we are celebrating our anniversary once again.

Happy 7th Wedding Anniv!
Happy 14th BF/GF Anniv!
Happy 15th Anniversary as Friends! :-D

Thanks to Nina for the pic!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Swimming in September

My kids' birthdays this year fell on a weekend coinciding with the wedding of my best childhood friend C. Since I was assigned as the Matron of Honor during the wedding (more pictures about that in another post), we decided to bring the kids along to the place where the wedding reception was to be held and stay overnight there together with the family of the bride. The venue was at the Presidio in Sucat. The place was a nice condo community with units which you can rent for a reasonable price. It also had other amenities such as a function room, playground and swimming pool. Thus, the day after the wedding, we were able to take advantage to bring the kids for at least a half-day of swimming. Good thing we had the swimming pool all to ourselves and our friends that day plus the weather was just perfect.

Sharing some pictures of my kids Zoe and Luigi who turned three and six, respectively. See how excited they were to go to the pool.

Getting ready...

Brother and sister together...

Another shot...

Taken from where I was sitting...

Pictures with friends Ate Chezca and Jacob...

The kids really enjoyed and I vowed that they would stay in the pool all day if they had the chance. They were there for like more than two hours and enjoyed every minute of it. As for me, I was quite happy the area near the pool had an internet connection. At least was able to update my Instagram and other accounts. I even found the time to download smileys for facebook at MyEmoticons.com. Those emoticons will also be helpful to use for my gmail chat and email messaging. It's cool!

TAG is Back!

After a long hiatus, the TAG website is again updated and is sporting a new look!

Thanks to the brilliant suggestion of my friend Nina to go for a color that softer for the eyes, I was able to help out the team by installing and customizing a new light blue look for the site.

TAG stands for TV Advocacy Group, a team of volunteer women who have given themselves the task of monitoring TV shows and helping viewers to be sift through the good and bad. TAG was conceptualized in November 2004 by three pioneering ladies who were determined to make a difference in the field of television, the difference being to improve the content of our local television programming.

VISION

To establish an association of TV viewers who can effectively influence the content of local programming on free TV. This means getting network owners, producers, directors, stars and advertisers to hear the association’s opinion on particular media content.

MISSION
To positively influence the content of local TV programs in terms of:

values portrayed
decency in speech , dressing and action
contribution to intellectual development of viewers
promotion of healthy love for country
respect for religious beliefs

Come visit TAG's site now at http://tvadvo.com.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Silver Awardee

We had a fantastic surprise last week after learning that our daughter who is in 1st grade had received a Silver Award for the first quarter. Her academic grades and character assessment were good and this qualified her to get such award. Her Math, Science, Social Studies and Filipino were all at A while Religion and Language at A-. Her only B grade is for Reading. On the Character rating side, she mainly got O and VG.

We actually got to chat with our mentor and she shared all of Zoe's points of strength and points for improvement. We also had agreed to set a goal for her to do activities that will help improve her Reading and Comprehension. As a product of this, I really would try my best to find time to read and discuss with her more books so she will gain that confidence and real liking for reading. I understand that she only turned 6 years old last weekend and may be struggling to cope with her classmates who are about 1 year older than her. I might explore finding a tutoring service for her just like how many other parents are doing now.

Talking about reading, even when I was young, I really loved to read. This is evidenced by my thick glasses which I have now. Ha, ha, ha. My dad and I have an agreement that he will bring me to National Bookstore every month and he would allow me to buy 1 book every time. One day, I chose this book entitled "Heidi". I loved this book and was hooked on reading from then on. I explored the likes of Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Dickens and many many more (with no regrets whatsoever!). I hope I will be able to share this love for reading with my daughter Zoe.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Happy Birthday Zoe and Luigi!

My kids celebrated their birthdays last weekend. Zoe is now 6 while Luigi is 3. :-D We had simple celebration with family.

Like last year, we made our kids pick their own birthday gifts (with a fixed budget of course). :-) Zoe got a My Little Pony toy while Luigi got a basketball hoop set.

Their cousin Amane was present to celebrate with the kids.

For the party, we served spaghetti, bbq, lechong manok, pichi-pichi, cake and ice cream!

Before eating we sang the birthday song twice so both the kids get a chance to blow their candles. The party was actually held on Zoe's birthday since we were out of town (to attend a wedding) on Luigi's birthday the day before. More stories on that later on.

We love you kids!!!! Happy birthday!!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Shopping this Weekend?

Ooohh! There are so many sale events going around town this weekend and the next that I’m actually locking up my wallet to avoid any unnecessary purchases. There is an SM 3-day sale and a Body Shop Go-Green Sale. So tempting too are the DC Shoes End of Season Sale and Planet Sports Sale. Whaa!!! There is no other solution but to control!

My wallet is already “aching” with payday being so many days away still. I really need some honest-to-goodness credit card advice so I can manage all my existing debts. For that, I need to know more about about credit cards and be able to look for creative ways to bring my credit down.

Indeed, money does not grow in trees. Money, as far as many are concerned, would have to come from a lot of hard work and a bit (and maybe a lot too) of knowledge and common sense. I think they go hand in hand since what is hard work when you just lose it to a bad investment or unnecessary purchases? Yep, I could say this because I’ve been a victim of all of these in the past. That is why I highly recommend that for hard workers (like me!) to try to look up those financial advice websites so you can get a good return for the money you earn.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Trip to Nuvali

Our family spent some time together at Nuvali which is en route to Tagaytay. :-) It was my sister's last day in Manila before heading back to Iloilo so it was a great chance for us to bond a little. :-)

Sharing some pictures.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Millionaire

I wanna be a millionaire, so freakin’ bad. La-la-la-la-la! This song by Bruno Mars is going round and round my head, especially during those days that decent living seems to be getting too expensive.

With the recent rains and flood coming our way in Manila and bills piling up, it’s been especially hard for many families like my own to even think of saving or investing when much of the money that is coming in, is going out. LOL. But I do want to feel a bit of hope. And mind you, the answer might not be getting a new and higher paying job. I read some timsykes reviews today and felt a bit better. We have other ways of making it good and it’s not always about getting a new job or selling your house to move to a smaller place just to save. As the saying goes – “Never say die”. J Try and try until you succeed. That’s essentially what I read about tim sykes. We need to be wise in our spending and investments.

So, if life is tough these days, then we just have to smile. Life is good. To be alive is great. We live for God. He gave us a purpose for being here. Right?

Monday, July 30, 2012

Hello Monday!

Hello Monday! The weekend passed by so fast. Luigi was sick startingThursday and was brought to the ER for a check-up last the following day because he was having bouts of fever that we could not explain. I had to go the office that day and had to leave it up to my husband to take care of him. So blessed that my husband is on night shift, thus, is able to attend to the kids during day time. Thanks be to God, our little boy is okay already. He seemed to have had Gastroentiritis and that's the reason for the fever and vomiting. He still is a bit grumpy now but his temperature is already stable. Thank you to all who prayed for his recovery.

With Luigi being sick, we decided to stay at home for most of the weekend. On Saturday, the whole family just watched the London Olympics Opening ceremony (enjoyed looking for the flags in our world atlas while each country is called during the parade). After that, my hubby and I just went to the grocery, had a quick treatment at the dermatologist and had a refreshing foot spa at the salon. On Sunday, it was raining hard so we decided to go to Mass in our village instead of the other church which is next to McDonald's hahaha (Sunday is always McDonald's Day for the kids). We haven't gone to mass in our chapel for quite a while and was happy to see that the walls are freshly painted and the altar area had new marble floors installed. After mass, we then went to the market to buy fresh meat, fish and veggies good for the whole week. Then we had a hearty lunch of chopseuy and left-over lechong manok. Yummy! In the afternoon, I tutored Zoe for her long tests in Filipino and Religion. Then that's about it.

Now, it's back to work for me. There is no school so this means there is more play time for the two kids. How I wish I was a student again so that every time there is a storm, there are no classes!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

This Moment's Craving...

Conti's Mango Bravo cake. This one is a topnotcher in my list.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Colorful

“The world is so colorful...with good friends around."

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Joke Time

While doing renovations in our house, one of the workmen paused to look at a flattering photo of me wearing makeup and a fancy gown. I heard him let out a low whistle and ask my son, Joshua, "Who's that?"

"That's my mom," Joshua answered.

"Wow," the man said, "my mother doesn't look like that."

"Yeah," my son said, "well, neither does mine."

—Tammy L. Vitulano from Reader's Digest

Moral of the story - Mommies keep looking good all the time!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

My Husband at 40 :-P

LIFE BEGINS AT...

Happy birthday my dear Hunny! We love you!

Monday, May 14, 2012

An Ode to Mother's Day

As an ode to Mother's Day, I wanted to blog about the best mothers I know. And so, here's a trip back to memory lane...with pictures of my dearest Nanay and my Lola Maring and Lola Gavina.

Blast from the past: Mines View Park, Baguio City circa '79

This one is a picture taken in Sampaloc, Quezon, my parents' hometown. If I remember it right, this place was in their old elementary school.

Lastly, a rare picture of my two lolas holding hands and smiling together. Lola Maring (left) is my Tatay's mother while Lola Gavina (right) is my Nanay's mother. Lola Maring passed away when I was about to graduate from college while Lola Gavina passed away when I was already working. I actually got to introduce my then-boyfriend, now-husband to her and her comment was - he's "pogi". Hahahaha!

I know that all three of them: my Nanay and 2 Lola's are enjoying the company of God, his saints and angels. That is the place they all had longed to be when they were still on earth and I'm sure God had generously prepared a place for them in his House.

Anyway, just want to say from earth to Heaven - thank you so much for the bringing me up in this world and taking care of me. I know you are watching over me day in and day out. I love you all and miss you sorely.