Weekly School Blues

My daughter wasn't able to go to school for the whole week. Our helper has left and therefore I can't send her to school because no one will be left behind to take care of the li'l one. We have to look for solution this week as early as this week, so my daughter won't miss school anymore. Or else I just have to wait for my Hubby to come so we could take turns in sending her to school and taking care of the Li'l one. :) I guess this is one disadvantage of having no transport and living far away from the city center.

That's why many people opt for online education which is indeed very convenient for everyone. You can study anywhere you are as long as you have a computer and internet connection. I've heard of Brightstorm that has great courses for high school students. It has got interesting and cool video lessons that definitely won't bore you teenager. They've got great teachers that your kids will surely love. Anyways, if you're curious about Brightstorm you might want to Sign up for a free brightstorm account and freely take a tour of the site and explore this great site click this for your free account: partners.brightstorm.com/sheridan!

Going to the Pool!!

We're going to the pool with the Balulang Kids anytime now. Every Saturday, there's a Bible study with our neighbor kids and today is a scheduled day out with them.

This is the first time we're going to the Tropical Pool in Bulua. I've heard it's a great place for kids to swim as they've got a special kids area. They're going to build a hotel near it , it seems. Anyways, for sure I'll be taking some photos and show this place.

Have a Fun filled Saturday to you ALL!

The Future Soldier?

Meet Zif Azriel, Tricia's four year old cousin. I think he wants to become a soldier that's why he chose that costume for his birthday last month. I just remembered that his Mom had a bit of difficulty looking for his military costume. So she told him about it and guess what he replied, " It's okay. Then I won't be a soldier anymore but maybe I can be a security guard." It's amusing that it's like he's giving up his 'dream' of becoming a soldier and immedietely wants to change his career. His Mom can't help but laugh over his reaction. Good that they were finally able to buy a military costume because I think procuring a security guard costume is more difficult. Anyways, to make his soldier theme for his birthday more memorable for him, his mom also decorated his birthday cake with a military car and soldiers plus he also got to have a new toy gun. The birthday celebrant was indeed so happy!! He and the kids all had great fun during his birthday as they played some games, sang songs and ate delicious food! I'm sure Zif Azriel will be able to remember that birthday for a long time as he was able to pretend that he was a soldier complete with his costume even if it was just for a day.

Anyways, talking about military gear. There's this website that sell all kinds of 5.11 Tactical gear not for kids though but gears for adults from tactical pants, shirts, footwear to shades. I've just browsed through the site and I've found out that they have over 20,000 pairs of pants in stock. I'm sure there stocks vary in sizes, styles, colors and design. This website is indeed great for those in the military or those who are into tactical games or simply those people who wants to use tactical gear.

My Big Small Boy

My Li'l One is growing bigger and bigger each day. Not to mention he's also getting more active now. Everytime when someone tries to carry him, I never fail to hear " Bug- ata uy!" ( He's so heavy!). If you also let him walk, he will be all around the place and touching everything. He's not saying a lot of words yet and now I can relate that girls are really much faster than boys in terms of their linguistic capability.

Anyways, I'll update about my son soon in his blog.

My First Parker Pen

I got my first personalized Parker Pen from my Ate Gina. She's one of the people I really look up as she was the one who nurtured me as a growing Christian. I remember that she gave that pen to me during my Despidida in church because I was leaving for college. I really valued that gift not just because it's a Parker pen but because it's got my name on it and it was given to me by a great friend and 'sister'. But then , halfway through the semester, I lost it. I'm not so much into material things but that time , I cried over a pen! I guess that pen somehow symbolized a lot of things for me, family, friends , church and etc. and losing it made me homesick all the more. :) After that, I bought another Parker pen for myself, but the 'value' is as much as the 1st one given to me. I can't even remember the 'end' of that pen anymore, whether it got lost or ran out of ink.

Anyways, personalized gifts really make a gift much more meaningful. You might want to consider giving personalized holiday gifts for your loved ones this season. There are a variety of items to choose from personalized pens to personalized flashdrives.

My Li'l Princess Diary Updated

I've been quite busy with my own blogs that I already forgot to update my kids blogs. Now, I'll really try my best to update my Li'l Princess Diary and The Li'l One's blog as regularly as I can. I'm sure my kids will be able to appreciate this in the near future as they will be able to know how they were when they were little. I myself even gets amused as I read the first blog about Tricia in (Friendster) when she was still a few months old.

A Perfect Gift for the Future

People seldom give gifts that can be used in the future. We usually give material gifts that can be used in the present. But do you know that there is this gift that has the future in mind and can even save the lives of your loved ones?

I'm not sure if you've heard about stem cell preservation but this will truly be a perfect gift for women. I've found out that

C'elle's groundbreaking technology enables women to collect and cryopreserve
(store at a very low temperature) stem cells for potential cellular therapies
that may emerge in the future. Preliminary scientific research suggests that in
addition to potential use by the donor, these stem cells may possibly be used as
well in the future to benefit other family members who are genetically related
to the donor, such as a parent, sibling or child to treat a number of possibly
life-threatening diseases including diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis,
stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Wouldn't it be great to give something that can save the lives of our loved ones in the near future? If you want to know more about it, you can view the C'elle Client Testimonial and hear great things about it.

Multi Tasking Mom

I'm pressed for time, I've got a lot of wriiten tasks that's going to be due in a few hours time. Since our house helper left, no one is there to take care of my li'l boy while I do my 'tasks'. My mom can take care of him but not for long since my boy is too active and heavy.

So now while writingthis post, my right hand is busy typing while my left hand is feeding my boy some milk. Yes, that's multi tasking! I hope I could think and write fast so I can finish my 'tasks' on time.

Christmas Shopping

Online shopping is getting more famous these days. Thanks to more secure payment and delivery system that makes online shopping more convenient and safer. So, what do you have in your Christmas list this year? If you happen to have prescription eyeglasses in your list of things to buy, then I suggest that you check out The popular online eyeglasses shop. They've got cheap glasses starting from $ 8 Complete Rx Eyeglasses. Interested? Then check out the Holiday Glass Frames From Zenni Optical.

Missing Appa Part 3

Now I can truly say that being away from Hubby for more than 2 months is just too long. If I myself feel that way, how much more my kids especially my Li'l girl who doesn't have much idea about time.

So, today was another night when my girl was crying again and said that she 'missed her APpa and want him to come faster.' I couldn't help myself but feel sad too. I just hope and pray that this will be the last time that we would be apart from our beloved. I didn't know that it would be this hard, since we were okay when we were apart for 3 weeks. But it's too late to regret now, and instead thank God for the strength and protection for the whole family even if we're thousand of miles apart. Thank God that from 68 days , now we're nearer as another 17 days more to go before Hubby arrives. Thank you Lord!

Princesses and Queens

My 4 year old is fond of "princesses and princes' at this stage in her life. I can't count how many crowns she has worn, glass slippers she has liked and pretended that she's a princess. Even yesterday, she told me that she's a princess, I'm the queen and her granny is the old queen. I chuckled when she had to specifically emphasize that granny is the 'old queen'. Thinking that Granny's back might become more painful with the word "old", I asked her who told her that granny's old. She answered, " Granny said, she's old". Heheh! Anyways, have I told you that there was this time that I scolded her when she was only about 2-3 years old and she cried and said, " Amma, don't be like a wicked queen!". And at that point I realized that I introduced Snow white too early for her. :)

Anyways, I'm sure when my Li'l Trish gets older she would love to play the princess bride game. It would be nice if the good queen herself :) can also play with the little princess. It will be a great time to bond with my Li'l girl and at the same time be able to guide and monitor her playing time. By the way, the Princess Bride Game is from the movie the Princess Bride and it comes in a 5 pack of Princess Bride PC/MAC Games that will make the perfect gift this season.

BOOKSALE

I have found new place for me to hang out! It's the Booksale Shops here in the Philippines. I have always wanted to enter in one of their shops in SM but everytime we go to SM, it's either my kids are cranky or we're in a hurry. Then, last week, I'm supposed to have ample of time to visitthe shop but then I found out that the shop is no longer there. Sigh!

But yesterday, when we went to Gaisano City, I found another Booksale branch and finally was able to go inside. And wow! I found tons of children's books that are a lot cheaper than the ones found in National Bookstore. The choices are quite varied too. There are also a lot of books on health, home and etc. Books that are normally 300-600 Pesos in the other bookstores are only less than 200 pesos there. But that's not the place to find the newly published or released books. If one chooses well, treasures can really be found in that cheap bookstore.

So, Tricia and I spent quite sometime there and as usual I couldn't help

but buy a book for me and Tricia. :) Now, I know where to go next for my ME time.

Of Charice Pempenco and Nat & Alex Wolff

It's amazing how kids are so talented these days. Just this evening I watched in the evening news that Charice Pempenco once again amazed the audience of the show, Good America. She sang the song, " I Will Survive". Hearing her sing with such powerful voice can really give you goose bumps. When I saw a portion of the clip from her performance in Good Morning America, I noticed that her dance moves and performance has tremendously improved. She's really a very talented girl and I think if I'm not mistaken, the manager of Celine Dion commented that after he watched Charice Pempenco performed, he remembered the first time he saw Celine Dion. I'm sure this petite and super talented Filipina girl will succeed in the business. She is truly making us so proud of her. Way to go, Charice!

Talking about talented kids, have you heard about Nat & Alex Wolff of The Naked Brother's Band? I think they're among the kids favorite bands as they are also featured in Nick. Anwways, this Saturday, Nov. 22, kids can tune in to live chat with Nat & Alex Wolff , as part of their new premiere, "Operation Mojo". I'm sure their fans will be excited for this news.

The Power Blog Award

I've got these awards from Ate Litlit and Lanel. Thanks so much girls! My Li'l girl just saw this powerpuff image and she gasped and said it's her favorite picture. :)

Anyways, it's been quite some time since I've posted tags and awards in this blog. Actually, I miss those times when awards and tags just overflows. There were times that I would be sleeping so late because of posting all these awards. :) Thanks so much for this awards!

For the Business Minded

Do you have a small or medium sized business and wants to be connected to the right people? Then www.salesconx.com is a great tool for you. Salesconx is the online market place and expert network for business referrals. It helps companies of all sizes connect with their target customers. They have an extensive network of selling and business professionals that can introduce their contacts to you. Your business might be small or medium sized for now but who knows with a lot of referrals and business contacts, it can grow bigger.

Trisikad and Motorela Princess

The Princess of the Trisikad and Motorela is non other than my 4 year old girl. She just loves commuting to and from school. And when she's excited she chatters a lot which makes some passengers stare at her and I'm sure they're wondering whether she's my daughter or not since she looks very different. There were a few instances though when one or two passengers couldn't a help but ask whether she's my daughter or not. Then after I answer their first question, a series of questions followed where our topic reached Malaysia, Thailand and the fact that our kids don't have a family name. Do I hear a gasp? Then, I'll have to save the explanation for another post.

Anyways, it's nice to be back home where you can freely talk to people and explain things without difficulty.

Healthy Body . Healthy Heart

If you've noticed, my previous posts were more focused on food, diet, slimming and etc. But I guess there's no better motivation to change my bad eating habits which I mask as "Food Trips" than focusing on my health.

When I did my general check up 2 months ago, it was found out that my level of cholesterol was high. After that, I was more conscious of my food intake and my health in general. But just about 2 weeks ago, my craving for yummy, fatty, oily and unhealthy food has surfaced once again. Not until, a few minutes ago when I came across a site that listed "High Cholesterol" as a risk factor for SCA or Sudden Cardiac Arrest. I'm reminded once again (and I guess I need constant reminding) that I have to take care of my health and be a good steward of the life that God has given me. Our life is indeed so precious and we must live it in the fullest for God's glory.

Anyways, here's a site that gives a lot of information about SAC, it's risk factors, warning signs, and immediate treatments such as CPR or implantable cardioverter defibrillator(ICD) which is also necessary to shock the heart back to normal rhythm.

The Night Owl

I'm a Night Owl. I am fully active and awake at night while so weak and sleepy in the mornings. i was always a Night owl even when I was still in school, who wouldn't be when you have thousand of plates to draw and exams to study. But now that I'm a Mom, the night time or rather the wee hours in the morning is the only time where there is peace and quiet when the kids are asleep. The time when I can work ( do my writing tasks), relax, read and have my Quiet time. Ironically, even if I'm tired from the activities of the day, but I'm refreshed by the quietness of the night, spending some time for me and communing with my God.

Have a blessed Night!

Of Fit n Right Juice and Diet

Yes, my food trip is still on and this will already become a boring post if I enumerate once again everything that I put inside my mouth.

Anyways, have I found the answer to my food cravings already? I just love to eat. The problem is not my 'eating' but the result of eating so much of fatty and oily food. Yes, a thicker me and a bulging belly. I've found some encouraging advertisements from Del Monte's Fit n Right where the endorsers testified that they've lost such and such pounds in just a few weeks. Well, who wouldn't get encourage when they really trimmed down in their 'before' and 'after' photos. So, when I went to supermarket, I saw the product and I even saw a woman with dozens of Fit n Right bottles in her trolley. I'm sure she also got persuaded from the advertisement. But when I saw the price of the product it was 21 pesos per bottle and it's recommended to drink 3 bottles a day! So, that makes it 63 pesos a day ... and if you want to see results you have to use it for a month right? Then that will total to thousands of pesos a month! So, I passed by the juice section and shook off the idea of trying it out.

Anyways, I've also found a site that promises to lose up to 15 pounds in 32 days. It's called a Flat Belly Diet. They're actually recruiting a limited number of participants who want to try the Flat Belly Diet and blog about it. Those eligible will get to receive their free book, website membership and a lot more! Sounds like a good offer huh?

Zuma!!

For those who don't know, Zuma is a computer game where you hit the same colored balls and avoid these going inside the hole. Zuma has been introduced to me by my Mom who brought her CD all the way to Thailand when she visited us there. I told you, I've got a cool mom! Hehehe! Anyways, we downloaded the game inside our PC and I tried to finish the game but got stuck on Stage 12-4. I never seemed to pass through that stage until my Hubby had to reformat our PC and I never got to play tht game again.

And then when we came, my Mom still plays the game to pass her time. I followed suit and play whenever our internet connection is so slow or suddenly gets disconnected. And one fine night, I played tha game for the nth time and was so finally I passed through Stage 12 and went in Stage 13-1 but missed!

The next day, I tried again and realized that I have to go through Stage 12 first before Stage 13. Aiyoo..and I thought I would be on Stage 13 already. But I still play everytime I'm free and finally after a few tries .. I finished the game! so, now I don't have a game to play anymore while passing the time when our internet connection is slow..heheh! Hmmm... maybe I'll try Text Twist?

The Food Trip Goes On!

I was popping some Mister Donuts Smidgets into my mouth several minutes after lunch when my Mom reminded me that I just complained earlier that I was already full. True indeed.. I was so full from our lunch where I had spare ribs with rice, mango shake and a tropical salad at Mandarin. But when Tricia asked some Smidgets from the box we bought from Mister Donuts ( which was meant to be a surprise for Tricia's cousins) , I just couldn't help but pop some inside my mouth too. And not only that, when we arrived home I also had a piece of our native delicacy called "Binaki" and "Biko" paired up with a cup of hot coffee. And before I knew, it was already dinner time and sure enough I also ate a plateful of rice and fish for dinner.

What's happening to me? I also don't know. My craving for food is still on. How am I going to shed off these extra pounds before Hubby arrives? hahaha! I could just remember that I told my Hubby before we left Thailand that he'll just be surprise to see a slimmer me in the Philippines. I guess he will indeed be surprised... surprised to see a BIGGER me..hahaha!

What am I supposed to do then? Jump in my skipping rope a thousand times a day? Run around our grounds 10 times every morning? Or maybe take some fat burners like Fenphedra ? Oh I don't know what to do. Let me take a sip from my cup of coffee first before I think about munching some Skyflakes crackers before I sleep.

Day Out With My Li'l Girl

Ever since we arrived here in the Philippines, I realized that I haven't been spending as much time with my 4 year old girl as we were in Thailand. My Li'l girl is just so busy with her newfound independence, playing with her cousins, hanging out in my sister's house and etc. while I'm also quite occupied with Lyle. I remember that when we were in Thailand , we used to have a Girls' Day Out almost every other week. I surely miss those times and even the times when she was always with me. Hehehe!

So, last Saturday my Mom and I scheduled that to be a Day Out for her. So, we went to SM city and our first stop was Toy Kingdom. But before we entered I already told her that she's just there to look and play with some of the toys and I'm not sure if I could buy for her. Sounds cruel huh? No. My girl is already quite used to this setting, I mean going to a toy shop just to take a look and try out some toys. She's already very happy with that and I'm glad too that she's not the type to throw tantrums, cry and roll on the floor if she doesn't get to buy what she wants.

The glittering sandals.. this lights up when the small switch at the sole is turned on.

But as we went around we saw her favorite glittering sandals on sale! It was originally 225 Pesos but on sale for only 75 pesos ( that's only about 50 baht). Praise God that it was cheap so I get it to buy for her. We spent quite some time at Toy Kingdom as she enjoyed looking around especially the Barbie Dolls. It was great to see her moving around freely and enjoying her time. We also spent some time hanging around the mall and I enjoyed my time as well too.

Avoiding the Christmas Rush

Even though there's financial crisis all throughout the world, but people can't help but buy gifts to their loved one this special season. I just saw in TV that some people have already started doing their Christmas shopping. But for some people like me, haven't started anything yet. I'm still waiting for the rain of blessings to come before I could start anything. Heheheh! So, I guess I'll be one of the many people who'll be rushing to the stores at the last minute to buy gifts for Christmas. There are also some people who wants to avoid the hassles of going to crowded malls to buy Christmas gifts and instead they shop at the very comforts of their home. Yes, I'm talking about online shopping.

So, if you're one of the people who'd rather shop online , then you might want to try to give Great Eyeglasses For Less. Eyeglasses can also make as great Christmas gifts. You can get Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni and get eyeglasses for as low as 8$ . Not to mention that Zenni Optical was on FOX news! Yes, you read it right, Zenni on Fox . Check it out!

Yummy Sunday #1

I know I'm late, it's already Monday now but as the saying goes, 'better late than never' . :) I just want to post something that I had last weekend during our day out with my daughter. We went to Pizza Hut at SM City Cagayan de Oro. We ordered their promo meal for only 99 pesos; a personal pan pizza, a glass of Pepsi and Mushrooom soup while my mom had Chicken with Rice, A glass of Pepsi and Creamy Mushroom soud ( still for 99 pesos). It was my first time to try their cheeseburger pizza and it's ok.. but I like their creamy mushroom soup most but unfortunately Tricia liked it so much too that she finished my bowl and even her Granny's one. :)

For more Yummy Sunday Post just click the badge above. Have a great week ahead!

The Countdown Part 2

Another 31 more days and Hubby will be here with us in the Philippines! Wow! 31 days.. that's only a month to go! Yipee! Oh, I can't wait and as I've said over and over again, I just hope and pray that the days will just go fast.

I'm really looking forward for our year break to officially start. It's our prayer that this break will indeed be a blessed one to refresh us, renew and let us spend quality time with our families in both countries. And as for any break, I'm looking forward for some kind of vacation in some places too. I think there's really no need stay in vacation rentals, but if we know some people in those places, we could stay in their house or guest houses. It's exciting to go on a break! We've been waiting for this for years and finally, it will come to pass. Thank you Lord!

Sick Baby on Board

Praise God that my baby is getting well now. He has been having high fever since Wednesday so we went for his check up yesterday. He was already feeling hot and weak when we were riding the taxi. Then suddenly, he vomited out everything that he had taken in that morning. And boy, it was a lot! My pink girlie blouse was full of his vomit and also his shirt and pants too. My Mom and I hurriedly dressed Lyle up and cleaned up my shirt( I didn't bring any extra shirt for me) .The taxi driver saw what happened and I thought he would get mad because his taxi will become smelly and dirty. But good thing, he just commented that his son also experienced the same thing.

When we came out from the taxi, there wasn't any trace of any vomit on my shirt anymore but as expected, the smell stayed. I put a lot of cologne to mask the smell. I then asked my Mom and house helper if I smell bad and they both said, not anymore. So, after the check up, we decided to drop by the mall to eat lunch and buy some groceries. I still felt uncomfortable with the my shirt but I didn't have any choice but to go to the grocery since my kids milk have already finished.

So we rode another taxi. And on our way, the driver asked our helper who was sitting beside him, "What's that smell? Seems like someone vomitted? is it the baby?" I just kept quiet and I immediately knew that my shirt still smells bad. So, off we went to the nearest department store to buy a new shirt for me to change. :)

Anyways, these are the things we get to experience as a Mom. At times we get messy and smelly but sometimes these are not our main concern anymore but our kid's health and welfare. :)

A Blogger's "Must Have" List

There are 3 things that you must have if you're a blogger.

1) A Computer - This can be a desktop computer or a laptop as long as there's a monitor and keyboards.
2) Internet Connection - Wifi, ADSL, Broadband, LAN
3) A Digital camera - It can be a Nikon D90 , KODAK, Olympus or whatever brand as long as it's digital.

Numbers 1 and 2 are obviously the most important things because without them, of course you won't be able to blog a thing. Number 3 is also a must : to document everything you do, eat, buy, see and etc. When I was a newbie, it felt so weird taking pictures of the food I ate or the things I bought. But now, it's already a norm to be taking photos of everything 'for the blog' that even family members and friends are already suggesting which shots to take. I could just remember the time when my daughter made something ( I forgot what that was) and I was surprised when she said, " Take a picture of this Amma, to put in your blog!" Hahahah! I never thought that the word "blog" would ever be in a 4 year old girl's vocabulary. But obviously, that must be because the Mom is a certified BLOGGER. Hehehe!

Christmas is in the Air

This is a photo of Lim Ket Kai Center, as you can see Christmas is already in the Air. Everywhere you turn you get to see Christmas decorations and hear Christmas carols. Right after All Souls Day, the malls and majoy shopping centers already put their Halloween decorations down and started putting up all the Christmas decorations. Some people are even already busy buying Christmas decorations.

As for us, I still don't have any idea who to decorate our house. I went to check out the prices of the Christmas decorations at the mall and it was just plain expensive and couldn't afford them. I checked the Christmas trees and everything was more than a thousand pesos with the smallest and cheapest at 1,300. I checked out a table Christmas tree thinking that maybe we can have a dwarf Christmas tree at home, but the price was 399 pesos! Oh it's just shocking! Well, shocking for me whose always in a budget ( or out of budget??) .

So, I guess it's time to be creative and practical... so, next week, we'll check out what Bohol Trading and TH Cagayan have. I was thinking to just get some cheap cloths, get some twigs or raw materials and have them all painted in red , green and gold. Anyways, let's see what we can do to decorate our house on a limited budget. :)

Food Trip!

Oh, I don't know what's happening to me, I've been craving for food so much! Today, when we were at Lim Ket Kai I had Chicken with rice at Jollibee, then shortly after arriving home, I devoured the Pastels we bought from Robinson and paired it up with a hot cup of coffee. A little bit later, our house help cut down bunches of bananas and boiled them, so I ate some bananas and goobled down a glass of coke. Then in less that an hour, it was time for dinner and I ate my dinner. Then, I saw a piece of Siopao on the table and I ate them too!! My Mom also got surprised with my sudden change of appetite. Oh, I hope I won't be like this for a long time. I hope it just have something to do with my hormones or mood. If not, then i might end up like a big balloon that even bottles of weight loss pill won't help. But good thing, there's always hope with exercise and proper diet.

ME Time!

Now that my 4 year old goes to school, I've discovered some Me time! She goes to school at 10am to 12 noon. Many times, I just waited for her to finish her class but then I find it a bit boring to just wait and not do anything. So, last Tuesday I went out by myself and went to National Bookstore at Cogon Area. Oh, how I remember my single days, when I would literally spend an afternoon at the same bookstore just browsing through books about home design, novels, self help and religious books. Those were the days when I was just by myself with no kids to think of. I always love hanging around at this bookstores and taking note of the books I would like to buy in the future.

The 2 hour stay at the bookstore was truly a refreshing time for me. Now, I know what to do, while my girl is in school, I can spend some ME time : doing something that I used to enjoy alone like a trip to the bookstore, doing some window shopping, going out with my close friends or buying some second hand clothes at Cogon and the list goes on.. I guess I'm looking forward for this needed time since sometimes, taking care of kids and less time for ourselves can be a bit draining at times.

The Family Vehicle

Introducing the family vehicle! We have had this loyal 'multicab' for about 8 years now. I remember that I went with my parents all the way to Cebu to buy this vehicle and it traveled with us by ship back to Cagayan de Oro.

Now after 8 years of faithful service to the family - and our family is BIG, I think it's almost nearing its retiring age. I guess its just so tired already and wanting to give up. Thank God for this faithful vehicle, I hope that once it retires, a new car, van or truck (?) can replace it. :) I wonder if this will happen, but maybe we can start praying for this. I'm not sure then if there would be a need to get a car insurance quote at that time.

Drained....

I still have a lot of writing tasks to do but my mind is already refusing to work. I feel so drained. This is the consequence of not doing the tasks immediately, waiting for the last minute and then later realizing that time is running out and tasks are left undone.

No, I'm not complaining but I'm even grateful to God because more tasks mean more savings for our upcoming Big Trip. It's just that I've learned my lesson for the day: I must do my tasks immediately as soon as I receive them. No need to wait for the deadline to be near. The same thing with other "tasks" in life, I have to do the things that I can do today, no need to wait for tomorrow or else everything is too late.

My Sedentary Life

I know , I have to get moving, be active and do something. But I can't help but laze around the house, enjoy the coolness of the air, hear the sound of the rushing river and sleep... ZZZzzzzz... I don't know what's getting into me but I love to take afternoon naps these days- afternoon naps that can go on for 2 hours and a half! Wait, can that still be called a nap? :)

I really have to do something, I have to move around ,take a walk, exercise or maybe chase my Li'l boy around. With all these activities, I won't need to get on treadmills and as a result I might lose a bit of weight and be more active. :)

Lyle's New Milk

Our Baby has been a Dumex - Dulac baby since birth. Dumex is available both in Thailand and Malaysia and it's quite cheap, only about 350 pesos per kilo. But when we came here in the Philippines, we couldn't find the same milk and therefore decided to change to one of the cheaper milk called Lactum.

By the way, milk products are quite expensive here that even if we chose the 'cheaper' brand but one kilo still costs more that 600 pesos. The other brands like Pediasure can reach up to 900 Pesos per kilo! That's why we were so surprised that when we went to one of the department stores here, all the milk was placed inside a locked glass case. So, when you want to buy one, the person in charge will just give you a piece of paper, then you pay for the milk first and only then, they will give you the milk. So, my sister and I just concluded that maybe many people have tried to steal milk which explains the locked, glass case. Thinking of that also breaks my heart because it means a lot of people maybe couldn't afford to meet the most basic need of their baby and they end up stealing from grocery stores. :(

Anyways, back to my son's milk, I'm glad that he immediately liked his new milk and even want to drink more often now. So, that also explains his weight gain and 'chubbiness'. Thanks to Lactum! As their advertisement says, "Panatag si Mommy!" hahaha! By the way, this is not a paid ad. :)

Weekly School Blues

Our Li'l girl has missed school for many days last week. It's not that she doesn't want to go but in fact she's always excited to go. But it has been raining last week and the Amma ( that's me) has also been quite lazy to send her to school. As mentioned in one of my previous post her ' journey' to school is quite a long one which requires us to walk and ride public transport three times.

We have a Multicab just parked in front of our house but the problem is we don't have someone to drive it. I'm not confident to drive anymore and I'm afraid that imaybe it'll stop at the middle of the road and I wouldn't know what to do! Hahahah! Other people are busy as they compare car insurance but I'm not sure if our Multicab has one! Hehehe!

Walking..Walking..Falling

I finally was able to get a chance to capture my one year old son walking. It's really amusing to see him walk round and round seemingly without any direction. We took this video at SM. Cagayan de Oro City. He seemed to be so happy walking in the mall. So, here's a sample of my boy walking...walking...and then slipping..and oppppsss!... falling! I'm going to get more of videos of him walking as requested by his Appa who's in Thailand right now. Who knows, I might be able to capture him not just walking but running!..Oh no...not too fast Lyle...Amma's not yet ready to chase you around. :)

Ororama Megacenter Burned

I know this news is a bit late but for those who don't know yet, the Ororama Megacenter in Lapasan near Agora Market, Cagayan de Oro City got burned. The whole building was not totally burned but they said just portions of the ground floor, 2nd, 3rd floor and the stock room. If you pass by the shopping center, you won't even know that it has been burned because it still look so intact from the outside.

With all the newer malls sprouting in the city, this shopping center is already considered a bit old. But because of its good location this shopping center is very accessible especially from those who reside at the eastern part of the city. I remember that we used to eat at Shakey's Pizza which was located at the ground floor and have my Mom's eyeglasses made at St. Jude Optical. Now that the shopping mall is burned, I'm sure the shops will reopen someplace else.

But speaking of eyeglasses, I've also heard of cheap eyeglasses that you can buy online for as low as 8$. I did some calculations and that means, eyeglasses for less than 400 pesos! Cool! Zenni Optical has also been featured in the Chicago Tribune for selling quality eyeglasses for a cheap price. I'm not sure who to buy eyeglasses for since my Hubby just got a new one and I don't have any problems with my vision. What about you? You might want to buy cheap and quality eyeglasses for your loved ones. So, better check it out!

And He Walked!!

Finally, my 1 year and 3 weeks old boy can walk now! A few weeks before his birthday we could already take a few steps but fall. But today, we saw him walking so straight without falling. Yippee!! But he still looks a bit awkward when he walks, because he walks fast like in a tiptoe with his arms outstretched. Imagine a penguin walking, that's how he looks like especially with his big tummy. Cutee!!

Anyways, I'll post the video soon!!

Of US Elections and Campaigns

The world is on the wait on who will be the next President of the United States. Will the next President be the first African-American president? or will he be the oldest first-term president and first female vice president? It'll be a history in the making.

I'm not so much in tuned with the US presidential elections, I hear bits and pieces from the news, blogs and people around so, I myself don't know who would make a better president. It's just my prayed that he will indeed be a man of wisdom and the best to rule such big country that has decisions that can affect the whole world. Such great responsibility huh?

Anyways, as the elections has come and campaigns have ended, I wondered as how far each candidate has gone to win the elections. How much have they spent for their campaigns? Have they used all the other hi tech gadgets like Voice Broadcasting ? Voice Broadcasting is a mass communication technique where telephone messages are broadcasted to hundreds and thousands of recipients simultaneously. I'm sure this could have been a helpful tool for them. Though this techniques is not only beneficial to political campaigns but as well as debt consolidations leads, mortgage leads, travel leads and a lot more.

39 Days To Go

No, this is not a Christmas countdown but another 39 days to go and my Hubby is soon to come to the Philippines! We're all so excited! I thank God for letting the days go fast. When we left Thailand on the 8th of October,we counted that there were 68 days before we were soon to meet again. And now, it's only another 39 days! We've passed the 60's, 50's, 40's and now we're in the 3o's.. I'm sure the rest of the 39 days are going to pass by faster! Hahah!

It's really quite difficult to be away from your Beloved for quite a long time. We've always been telling ourselves that we will avoid to be away for so long, but I guess we can't help it especially that we're a cross cultural marriage living in a 3rd country. But, I hope that this will be the last time. Though we learn a lot of things during these times of physical separation. One most valuable lesson for me is that I learn to trust God more. Sometimes, when you're away from your loved one, you can't help but worry about his health, safety and etc. So, at this very time God is teaching me to trust HIM that even when we are away, He is there to take care of him, protect him and keep him safe. Amen! Thank you Lord for your assurance.

Ok..I think I've babbled enough.. this was just supposed to be a countdown for my Hubby's coming.. Good nyt!