A good friend of mine will be going to Canada this coming October for a six weeks training. She has been asking me for details on the airfare and the expenses since her husband and daughter is planning to follow her there during the last few weeks of her training so they can have a vacation in Canada.

At the moment she is still having second thoughts if she will let her husband and daughter follow her there as it will be a tough training and she has to pass the exams after the training, otherwise she will be demoted to a lower position so she really wants to concentrate. But on the other hand, six weeks of being away from her family would be difficult to bear also and she is thinking that she won’t be able to concentrate as well if she gets home sick.

If she will ask me, I really can’t stand even just a day without Howell and Bela and so next time I will go on training, I will definitely ask them to tag along with me. I remember, the last time I went to Canada for training, Howell followed me there as she knows that I will be really home sick if he won’t follow. So we are really saving up as early as now since I might have a training come 2009 or 2010 so they will definitely go with me and we will try one of those Orlando vacations too after my training in Canada.

So to my good friend, my advice would be to book your husband and your daughter’s flight so they can follow you there in Canada. So aside from giving you moral support for your exam, you can have a great vacation after your training with your family.

For this week's coffee break question:

What's in your everyday bag?

I often receive this question from my husband, my sister and my mom because they say that my bag is so heavy. It’s like I am carrying a big rock inside it.

So what’s in my everyday bag? I am the type of person who likes to carry a big bag around since I carry with me a lot of stuffs:
* A big wallet which contains all my credit cards, membership cards, ATM cards, and even calling cards
* Perfume and my Oil Mist
* Umbrella
* All my bills that are due for the month and even some bills from the past months (I only intend to bring my bills due for the month but I always forget to leave the past months bills at home or I am often times too lazy to clean up my bag that’s why I sometimes end up carrying a few months bills on my bag)
* Small notebook where I list my to do list
* Palm Pilot where I store my Excel files like my credit card spending, my monthly budget, my leave records, etc
* Cellphone and charger
* Kikay kit – which only contains a press powder, mirror and a lipstick that I rarely use
* USB thumb drive and DISA Card
* Keys
* St Jude Novena book

I never imagine my bag contains this much stuff. No wonder it is that heavy. LOL.

Few weeks after our wedding, my husband and I bought a house with a big backyard in the countryside. We have the house renovated and while visiting there, he could not stop of dreaming of what he can do with the vacant space.

He was planning of making a carpentry shop for him to work on during our weekend and holiday visits. We lived and worked in the city and forty-five minutes away is this, our peaceful haven in the northern part of the city.

We loved our place and when the construction of his shop was completed and when he saw his workbench, he was very excited in building buffet table furniture for our new home away from the busy and fast life of the city. My husband is a builder as well as an artist; he can easily build something out of scrap or from a piece of wood.

I remember one time, he brought home five several tree logs chain-sawed from fallen trees after a strong typhoon. From these logs he builds a chair, a table and buffet cabinets in our backyard. He bought a thick circular glass and placed it on top of three logs to make a special backyard table set. He is a collector and he loves cabinets, he always bought magazines to get more inspirations and styles so he can mix them together with his own style of building cabinets.

He believes furniture like buffet furniture are similar and simple to build but if you saw something that caught your attention, you’ll know for instance, that is an especial work of art. Magazines weren’t always enough for him, he browses also from the Internet to see what are popular styles and look for the dynamics he like to add in his craft.

He likes our house be filled with guests and parties especially on holidays so he’s making our house equip with cabinets, chairs and tables that can accommodate all of our events.

My brother is currently running his own business. He buys and sells cell phones and even cell phone accessories at Greenhills shopping center. But then again, because of our country’s crisis, his sales tend to go down slowly because his business is being affected by the continuous price hike of goods and other products.

Because of these, he’s planning to expand his business online to improve his income. He’s hoping that in this way, he will be able to earn more. But he is still having his second thoughts to push through with this plan because he’s a little worried about the terms in paying. Of course he wants to have a security service since he is talking about big amounts of money.

I suggested him to have an access in authorize.net so he can have an assurance and he can have the complete service that he’s actually looking for. I hope this will be a great help for him to do his business.

My husband worked over time the whole day Saturday and my daughter was not in the mood for her swimming class so my daughter and I just stayed a home the whole day Saturday.

But we had a busy Sunday since we went mall hopping. I am having second thoughts again as to the party venue for my daughter’s third birthday so I asked my hubby if we can drop by at Fun ranch to check the restaurants there. Howell was armed with his SLR camera and video camera since there are a lot of great spots at Fun Ranch for a photo opps. But it was raining when we arrived at Fun Ranch and since we only have one umbrella we have to stop by this shed to wait for the rain to stop. And there was a small pond with lots of Koi fish so Bela really had a great time watching the fish. And of course, my husband couldn’t stop clicking his camera, so Bela and I gamely posed for Howell.

I really haven’t blog much about it, but my husband is one imaginative and artistic person. I remember when we were still dating, instead of giving flowers for special occasion; he would do his own piece of art work. Before he made an art work displaying my name made form diskettes, mouse balls and data cables. Then he also made an abstract painting as his gift for me for mother’s day. He has a lot of great ideas and I think this is one of his ways to relieve his stress.

And so when we fetched him from the office this afternoon, he is carrying with him an old dart board. I thought he will use it to play dart at home and I never thought that he would ever use it as a canvass for his new art project. But I was wrong. Look what he did with it. (You can read his story about it here.)


It is just a test on how it will look as he plans to paint the dart board with light colors and draw a web too so it will highlight Spiderman.

Finally, I was able to sit down and list down and compute all my credit card expenses when we went to Singapore and I think I am broke. LOL. When we were there I really didn’t bother on the expenses as I just wanted to have a good time and I don’t want to restrict our expenses when it comes to food so I just swipe and swipe my credit card. And since most of the establishments and even some cabs accept credit cards, I really used it almost everyday for all our financial transactions. But I am happy as at least even though I did not restrain myself in spending, I think I still don’t need to avail of credit card debt consolidation program. I totaled all our expenses and I am just 4,000 over my budget.

I remember, I have a friend who went for a vacation there and since she went there during the Great Singapore Sale, she really shopped till she dropped and when he went home after her vacation, she was really broke and she even has to avail of a debt consolidation program to consolidate all her debts for all of her credit cards.

One thing I learned when going on a trip is you have to really set a budget and you must stick to it. I am not saying that you have to restrain yourself and will starve yourself to death so you don’t have to spend that much, but at least you should be disciplined enough to determine which ones you have to spend on and which ones you can skip for the meantime if it is over your budget. Otherwise, you will really end up broke and you might need to get a debt settlement just to pay all your credit card expenses after the trip.

My friend does have acnes and she is irritated and very frustrated about it. It all started when she was in her 4th year of high school. She got an allergic reaction from a medicine and the allergies in her face got worst which resulted to acnes. At first, she didn’t consult her dermatologist but when she realized that they are getting really worst, she then decided to have a consultation.

Until now, she still suffers from this skin disease but she’s continuously taking medications to cure the acnes. She even uses Proactiv acne cream to treat the irritation that has been happening to her for years now. She really spends lots of money so that she can have her beautiful skin back. She hopes that her acnes will disappear completely so she will have her confidence again.

I really hope that this will be fine for her. Of course I don’t want my friend to suffer more and I don’t want her to be scrutinized by people.

How much sleep is enoughto keep you rejuvenated for the next day?

I used to be a sleep addict too. I remember when I was still single, I can sleep until 3 or 4 PM without lunch and breakfast. I will only get out of bed because my mom has been knocking at my room to wake me up so I can at least have my late lunch. So that is literally more than 12 hours of sleep and that is what I need to keep me rejuvenated for the next day.

But things changed since I became a mom. Now I’m used to sleeping around 1 or 2 Am and I have to wake up around 6 AM to prepare to go to work. I did have a hard time adjusting to this new sleeping schedule but after a while, having only 3-4 hours of sleep is already enough for me to keep me rejuvenated for the next day.

We just got back from our Singapore vacation and I just realized I have to start looking for Hong Kong hotels for our November vacation too. Although I am still not decided yet if we will book a hotel at the Kowloon side or Causeway Bay side. Every time we are at Hong Kong, we always book a hotel at the Kowloon side but we wanted to try a different area this time so we can try the other shopping areas too on that side of Hong Kong. But I got so busy with work and with my other stuffs that I almost forgot that I have to book not later than end of August so I can get the cheapest rates for hotel and just to be sure also that we will also be able to get a nice room at the hotel that we want. I don’t want to experience the same thing that my colleague had experience when they were booking for hotels in Beijing. They were not able to anticipate that August is the Olympics month and they did not book a hotel in advance and now they are having a hard time looking for their accommodation. So I better make a decision now, discuss our itineraries do we can finalize which hotel to book.

But if you will ask my husband, he wanted to look for Orlando hotels so he can bring Bela to the biggest Disneyland in the world. But for now, that would just be a part of our dream and hopefully with the grace of God, we would be able to save up so we can bring Bela to Disneyworld. So for now, she just has to settle with Hong Kong Disneyland.

Have you heard of music therapy? A lot of researches have shown that listening to music such as new country music stations on the radio has a great effect on a person’s body and psyche. A lot of health care professionals are using music to heal. They say that music can help care cancer patients, children with ADD, for pain management, and even to help ward off depression.

I am a believer too that music has great effects on the body and can help ease tension. Even my grand mother who loves tuning in to Florida High Definition Radio stations told me that listening to music gave her the strength to go on a tiring day and it is also her companion specially she is already retired and is just at home the whole day.

Too bad my grand mother’s radio broke down and she is a little sad these past few days. So we are planning to get her a high definition radio, Polk Audio I-sonic ES2. This system is just compact so my grand mother can bring it anywhere she likes (which is really what she wants) and at the same time, even though it is compact, she can still get a full bodied and crystal clear sound.

One of the shows that we were able to watch at the Singapore Zoo was the “Elephants at Work and at Play” show. It was really entertaining seeing how the elephants played with the audience by splashing water on the audience, showing their tricks like how they pull a log or balance their way to a log and a lot of other tricks that my daughter really enjoyed. Even we adults really enjoyed the show too.

Yehey, I am able to resize all our pictures for our Singapore trip so I was able to finish the last part of my story for our Singapore getaway.

You can find all of the pictures and detailed stories here:

1. SG Day 1 – City Tour
2. SG Day 2- Singapore Zoo and Night Safari
3. SG Day 3 & 4 – Sentosa and Shopping

Enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend everyone.

Bela was almost late for school today. My father is the one who takes my daughter to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and yesterday, he had to do a short trip at mission valley auto to pick up the auto parts that he ordered for my cousin’s car. Good thing that he already made an online order so he just needs to pick it up from the shop and he arrived just in time to take my daughter to school.

Of course, my cousin was really grateful for doing this favor to him by my dad as he was able to send his car for repair after getting the parts. He works as a researcher in one of the biggest television network company here and he really needs his car when he is working. So he was really happy as the technician was able to fix his car. So tomorrow, he doesn’t have to be stress in commuting as his car is up and running again.

I have a friend who is in the construction industry business. He is having problems now as one of his clients failed to pay the amount due to my friend’s company. My friend has tried all the means that they can to get the payment but they did not succeed. Since his company is just a small company, this is the last thing that he wants to deal with. Of course he wanted to get the payment due for them, but then again he has to take care of other matters of the company which will give them income.

So what he did is get he got the service of a lien notice company to serve a 20-day preliminary notice to his delinquent client and to help him collect the overdue accounts from that client too. He was happy as he knows that he got a reliable attorney to deal with his concern and so he can now deal with other important things for his company.

I am still undecided as to what I will do on Bela’s 3rd birthday. I initially wanted to have a school party as we will celebrate her birthday in Hong Kong as a family so I just wanted a simple celebration for her 3rd birthday. But when I inquired from TU, they informed me that they can only allot 30-45 minutes for Bela’s birthday celebration. So I suddenly had second thoughts.

Now here are my options:

1. Bring food and cake at Toddlers Unlimited then have a small party at Jollibee with our close friends and relatives and another party at the orphanage.

2. A Safari theme party at our chosen venue with magicians or other performers and just invite Bela’s classmates and teachers together with our friends and relatives then have another party at the orphanage.
3. Party at the orphanage and a simple celebration at home.

Tomorrow, I plan to visit Jollibee in Blue Wave and the play area in MOA. Hopefully I can decide after that as I think I am already running late for preparations if want to push through with plan number 2.

A trip at Sim Lim Square (a haven for gadgets and computers) and Bugis village
A visit to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

These are the highlights for our Day 2 in Singapore. Pictures and stories here.

Wouldn’t you want to go to Dubai after seeing these pictures?


My friend sent me this email and I was really fascinated that I immediately want to look for Dubai hotels and booked a flight to Dubai. I haven’t been to any Middle Eastern country but I have a number of friends and relatives who work there and they say that Dubai is a great city. It would be a totally new experience for us since Dubai offers a different culture and for sure Bela would enjoy the many attractions that Dubai has to offer like the Dubai Ski, Wild Wadi, and Dubai Zoo and for sure my husband would love the adrenalin that he will get if he tries Dune Bashing. I would also like to have a tour of Burj al-Arab hotel as I heard that it is the only seven star hotel in the world and great Greece hotels, or hotels in Spain or US is nothing compared to this hotel.

I really haven’t checked but for sure we won’t be able to afford to go to Dubai this year. I booked another trip to Hong Kong this coming November (which reminds me that I better start looking for Hong Kong hotels) so we have to prepare for that first.

Dubai can wait. Maybe when Bela is a little old enough so she will enjoy this trip more as for now, nothing is more fascinating to her than seeing all the Disney characters at Hong Kong Disneyland.

I was able to sort our Day 1 pictures. You can view my kwento and some pictures here.

These pictures were taken upon our arrival at Singapore airport. I booked the first flight from Singapore to Manila for July 10 which leaves at 6:35 AM. We are lucky as our flight was not delayed so we reach Singapore airport around 10 AM.

While I was busy falling in line to get some Singapore dollars, my photographer husband didn’t get tired of taking pictures of our dear daughter. And even though she has to wake up early too, she looks like she still has all the energy as she gave her dad different poses. I figured, maybe she knew that she is in a different place that is why no matter how sleepy and tired she was from the flight, she was so active, cheerful, happy and excited.

We’re back from our Singapore trip. I will try to post our stories and pictures soon as I still feel tired from doing all the walking and the tours while we are there. Then I have to go to work today and can’t call in sick since my new boss arrived last week so I at least have to make a good impression. So even though I look like I have been taking diet pill as I look haggard and thin, I have to drag myself out of bed this morning to go to work today.

I will try to catch up with all your stories and do my blog hop as soon as I am finish with all the work that is waiting for me and I will try post our Singapore trip pictures and stories soon too as for now I have to catch up some sleep and rest first.

But I will be leaving you with this teaser picture of Bela with the Kangaroo.

Howell was asking me the other night if I will allow him to go on training again this September to the US since he saw a an opening for a training course that he can apply. He said that we can even go with him.

The last time that I went to the US was four years ago and I really, really wanted to visit my friends again there. Howell said that we don't have to worry about booking one of those San Francisco Hotels as it is covered by the company and there would be no problem if we stay in his hotel. But September is just a couple of months away and I don’t think we are ready financially for that trip. I even already booked for our airfare for our Hong Kong trip this coming November so I don’t think we would be really able to raise funds for that September US trip. Plus I might have to look for Thailand hotels too as Howell needs to go there by November also as the certification exam that he has to take is only available in Thailand.

I guess we already have enough travel planned for this year. I’m sure there would be more opportunity for us to go to the US, maybe even better when Bela is a little old enough to appreciate the trip. So for now, I just have to look for Hong Kong hotels as we just have to settle for Hong Kong instead of US for now.

My Internet connection is still down until 12 AM today. I noticed ever since they restored our connection, we are always experiencing intermittent connection. Sometimes I will be able to access the Internet, sometimes I can’t. And if ever I was able to connect, I will be able to use it for just a few minutes then I will get disconnected again.

Hubby was able to talk to somebody on the phone who looks like he knows what he was saying and doing, when we called their call center again for the nth time. For two weeks now, we have been complaining of our intermittent connection and it was only today that this guy discovered the error. He asked their support group to change something without settings. So far, I have been online for two hours now and I haven’t been disconnected yet. I am crossing my fingers and hopefully it will stay this way as this Internet connection is already giving me so much stress and headache and I am so sick and tired of dealing with Smart’s call center agent.

And by the way, I did not apply for a DSL connection over the weekend as hubby is against to having a landline at home. LOL. He said that he is already used to our quite life where nobody can bother us on the phone (which is very likely to happen) and so he still wants to give Smart one more chance as he is really not up to the idea of having a landline at home.

I was at the mall with Bela and Howell last weekend when I bumped to my former classmate from college. He was one of the top students in our class when we graduated and so I thought that he is now a team leader or a lead programmer in one of the top companies here. But I was a little shocked to find out that he is now in real estate.

After graduation, he initially got hired as a programmer trainee and while he has his day job, he took real estate courses from Nouveau Riche University. And he is one of those individuals who can prove that Nouveau Riche Scam is not true as he was really able to get the knowledge that he needs to make it big in the real estate business.

So if you will ask him if Nouveau Riche Scam is true, he will definitely give you a straight NO answer. Because of Nouveau Riche, he quit his day job and decided to leave the IT field so he can concentrate on his real estate business. He said that he is earning twice or thrice as what he will get if he works for the IT field.

He is so impressed with this university that he gave me their website so I can prove myself if Nouveau Riche Scam is true or not. He even encourage me to give it a try too as I might find my luck in the real estate business too like him.

I guess this is really true. My internet connection is down again since last night and since this morning I have been calling Smart Bro call center. So after spending a minimum of 1 hour per call, I still was not able to get them to send somebody to check my connection. What is pissing me off is they are very inconsistent and they have been giving me different answers every time I call so I feel that they are only giving me answers just to keep me from bugging them. And I really, really feel frustrated as I feel that I am begging for them to act on my concern which shouldn’t be the case.

So after spending the whole day feeling frustrated about it, I realized I really can’t do anything as they are the one who is deciding when they will send a contractor to our house for a physical check of my antenna. And so, patience is really a virtue…

Then I tried inquiring to PLDT for their myDSL plan and they say that their turn around time for new application is 2-3 weeks. So no matter how much I wanted to cancel my subscription with Smart (as I am really done dealing with them), I have no choice but to stick with Smart until my DSL application gets approved and gets connected. Again, patience is a virtue….

And so now I am using my cellphone to connect to the Internet which is like the speed of a dial up connection. So again, I learned patience is a virtue.

Hope I can get back to my normal online schedule soon.

We will be hitting the mall again tomorrow to buy some comfortable clothes that we can use for our Singapore trip. We were able to do our grocery for the toiletries that we will need for our trip last Friday as we went to Greenbelt after Bela’s class. I have finished preparing all the documents – passport, tickets, hotel voucher, Singapore map, etc and I have placed in one envelope so we won’t be forgetting anything.

Looks like we are all set for our trip to Singapore next week. I’m so excited as it is our first time there for all of us. I’m excited to check out the Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari and Sentosa and of course, I can’t wait to go shopping. I heard Singapore offers the best buy for gadgets so we might check out the gadget store for video camera’s and Howell’s camera accessories.

Hmm, do you think I will be able to have a good night sleep until Thursday if I am this excited for this trip? LOL.

My husband used to own a motorcycle. He and his officemates even have a group and they used to do a joy ride and they go to nearby towns and provinces. This is one of his stress reliever. But after I gave birth to our daughter he lost his interest in motorcycles and so he decided to sell it.

But on our way home yesterday, we saw a group of middle aged men, driving their Harley Davidson. According to my husband, Harley Davidson is the “IT” thing when it comes to motorcycles. And you know what his dream is someday? He said that when he is really rich, he will buy one of those used Harleys and have it on display in our living. Sounds like it would really be a cool highlight in our living room. But of course, we have to buy a bigger house first; otherwise the Harley will occupy the most part of the room.

So I was asked by Jan, what I love most about getting married. First is the thought that we are now one, that whatever happens, as long as we have the love and respect for each other, then he will always be mine and I am always his. The thought that I have someone whom I can always rely on to through thick and thin. The feeling of security as he hubby is always there to protect and take care of us. The feeling that every morning as I open my eyes, he is the first person that I see. The feeling that I have someone who will love me undonditionally.

Like what Jan has said, the list can go on and on and all I want to say is that I am happy that I married Howell.

As I was checking out the blogs of my blogging friends, I noticed that some of them are making a travel wish list on their blog and so I thought that would be a nice topic to blog. So let me start my travel wish list with my dream to experience holiday rentals in Limerick, Ireland.

I have always been fascinated by the wonderful natural scenery of Ireland, its fascinating castles and the new culture that Ireland has to offer for me that is why I would love to go and visit Ireland someday with my husband and daughter. We would definitely love to go to County Clare and check out the Cliffs of Moher to have a great view of the Aran Islands and the Galway Bay.
And since my husband is into mountain hiking and trekking and is a true lover of nature, he would definitely love mountain hiking in County Galway . This would be a really wonderful experience for my husband as he really dreams of hiking through the Twelve Bens in Connemara or try biking around Clifden. For sure, my daughter will enjoy doing it too with my husband and this would be something that will be forever kept in our memory book.

A holiday to Ireland would be a dream and a wish for now. But maybe someday, when my daughter is old enough to appreciate this kind of travel, we might go there and experience all of these great things that we can do in Ireland.

My brother is currently having a lot of trouble with his car since last week. He really can’t use it properly because there are some certain problems that have occurred that should be given an urgent repair because if not, it can damage the other parts of his car and of course he doesn’t want that to happen for it will be a much burden to him.

He’s been too problematic since he doesn’t have enough budgets for now because the parts that are needed are too expensive and unfortunately, some parts are still not available. He asked me if hubby does have some contacts on where he can buy the parts in a lower price. But then, I just told him to try the midwest auto recycling and search for the different parts that he needs for a cheaper price.

Lucky for him, he was able to find the parts that he needs and fortunately, they are really cheaper than what he expected and he’s now planning to purchase it as soon as possible.

These are some of the famous lines from the T.V series Gossip Girl. I’ve heard about this for so many times especially from my sister and cousin who are very hooked in this series. All I know about this is that the story revolves around a group of teenagers and the different gossips hurled at Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf who happens to be best of friends and the main cast of this series. As early as their age, they become more aware when it comes to dealing with relationship problems but still, they can manage to keep up their good work in their academics.

The first time I saw one of the episodes was when my sister was watching it in DVD. I actually got interested when I saw some episodes and I’m planning to have some time to watch the whole season. I’m really looking forward to have a DVD marathon of the current season so that I will not be aloof anymore every time my sister and my cousin are talking about this.

I’m really excited to watch it and find out the reason behind their addiction and admiration in this T.V series.

After our video camera hunt at Greenbelt this afternoon, I went to Landmark to buy some stuff that we will need for our Singapore trip – toiletries, Bela’s diaper, Bela’s milk, etc while Howell and Bela stayed at Music One to check on the DVDs on sale. It was already late when I finished my shopping and as I passed by the Greenbelt area to meet Howell and Bela, I noticed that the Greenbelt restaurants and bars are already packed with teenagers and office workers. It suddenly brings back those days when I party till the crack of dawn. LOL.

I haven’t been in the Greenbelt area for a long time now and it is still busy and crowded specially on a Friday night which is a gimik night. I may have miss those times where I can stay up all night and party but I guess I am over that stage now and a quite evening with hubby and Bela would be the best way for me to spend my evenings. And I love it.

Airsoft is a really famous recreational activity nowadays. Many people are trying to play this kind of sport and they even invest for their own suits and guns. I’ve heard so many things about this game and it seems like it is so much fun and very exciting. Even Howell introduced this to me and he tried to explain some details and mechanics of the game.

Howell is encouraging me to try it since he’s been into this game for a couple of years now. In fact, he is planning to invest spring airsoft pistols so he can have his own airsoft gun. He always wants me to join them every time they are going to play. Of course, I really want to try it but I’m still having my second thoughts every time I see the big bruises that hubby has after playing. I don’t want to get those kinds of bruises but merely it is a part of the game.

Because of that, maybe I will just leave this stuff behind with hubby because I think this sport is not for me. But then again, I can still join them and give my support and cheer for them.

Have you tried the Roti Supreme at Banana Leaf? We had a late afternoon snack at Banana Leaf a while ago (Although I don’t know if this is still considered as an afternoon snack – Nasi Goreng Nenas, Baby Back Ribs, Lamb, Roti Supreme). I have tried the Roti Supreme with my friends but Howell hasn’t tried it yet. Roti is one of our favorite appetizers at Banana Leaf but we haven’t tried the Roti Supreme. It is just like the ordinary Roti but it has banana fillings and you can dip it also into the curry sauce. It was so delicious as the sweetness of the banana blended well with the spiciness of the curry sauce. I thought Howell will not like it as it is a little sweet but he enjoyed it too.

We went to Avant Greenbelt today after Bela’s class to continue with our vide camera hunt. We visited appliance and gadget stores at Robinson’s place yesterday but we failed to find a mini DV video camera that meets our expectations. Since the trend for video camera is going towards using hard disk and DVD as storage media, stores only has a limited stock for mini DV video cameras and most of them are already old models. They are cheaper, yes, but at least if I will be spending couple of thousand bucks for a gadget, at least it should be something that we really, really like.

Our solution: We won’t be buying the video camera before we leave for Singapore but instead we will just borrow my cousin’s video camera. Anyway, he is the one who offered it to us since he doesn’t want us to make an impulsive decision since we are pressured to buy one since we are leaving in just four days. And then we will just look for a nice video camera in Singapore. Who knows, maybe we might be able to get a better deal there.

So our video camera hunt is over for now. Wish us luck for our video camera hunt in Singapore.

Hubby is very fond of collecting stuffs like action figures, magazines, posters and much more. He even started collecting different kinds of currencies, coins and some presidential dollars and he’s planning to place everything in a frame. He does have a plenty of them at home and sometimes, he gets so irritated and annoyed whenever other people touches his stuffs without his permission. He’s just too organized especially with his toys. He doesn’t want to mess every single detail of his things which made me think that he’s starting to become an obsessive compulsive person.

Honestly, sometimes I find it hard to understand the reason behind this kind of hobby. I mean, why do people have to spend money for expensive toys, action figures and other collectibles yet all they do is to display them without taking it out from their boxes? I find it sometimes weird because for me, toys are meant to be played. But then again, I learned to understand hubby and in fact, sometimes, I am the one who insist him to buy some collectibles.

I’m just curious. Why do people go crazy with Havaianas? Isn’t it just an ordinary slipper? What makes it different from other slippers which are definitely cheaper than Havaianas? Why do people are so eager to buy at least one pair? Is it because it’s the latest fashion? Or they just love the feeling of having one?

I have to be honest. My daughter owns 3 pairs of havs and I was the one who bought it. But I am not so addicted to it that't why 3 pairs are enough for her. But unlike my sister, she is one of the Havaianas collectors. She now has 7 pairs. 4 Top, 2 Joy and her latest was the Flash Ethnic which is a limited edition. She’s still planning to buy some more and I’m just wondering, why does she have to buy different designs when literally, the styles are quite the same. I mean, it’s just flip flops. Why does she have to spend a lot of money for just a simple flip flop? Yes, it is a big trend nowadays but I don’t find it too fashionable, like what others may think.

Maybe, I’m just not so used with flip flops that’s why I can’t understand people who are so addicted to Havaianas. I would rather spend my money to buy clothes. I think, that will be more fashionable and very practical.

Since today is Friday, I am thinking of some cool plans for this weekend with hubby and my daughter Bela. Honestly, I really want to relax and have a nice trip since we haven’t seen hubby for 3 weeks and I bet Bela wants to have some great bonding with her dad as well.

It seems like I want to go to Tagaytay but I don’t think the weather is good for us to travel. So maybe, we can just go somewhere near like the mall and there we can have our lunch or dinner together or maybe we can just stay at home and I’ll try to cook some delicious foods for hubby and Bela.

Well, I think cooking is a great idea but unfortunately, I don’t know how to cook. I know that’s the biggest problem. I will definitely need the help of my mom or my aunt so I will be able hubby and prepare a nice dinner for them. Honestly, I am so not used into cooking that’s why I don’t know if I should still push through with this plan of staying at home and cook.

I think by now, I should learn how to cook. Can anyone give me an idea on how to start this cooking thing?

Last 2 weeks, Bela and I attended a luau party. It was a very nice party and they got a perfect venue that was really great for a luau party. The party started at around 3:00 pm. First, they played different games and then after that, foods were served. After the guests were done eating, the puppet show started followed by the bubble show. The kids were really having fun during the entire program except for my daughter.

Bela was not that interested with the different shows made by the performers. Maybe because she had seen those for so many times during her own parties and other previous parties that we attended. Instead, she enjoyed the different instruments that were displayed at one corner of the venue as part of the decorations for the party’s theme. She stayed there for a very long period of time and she even tried to play the instruments. She really enjoyed playing the djembe drums and she kept on telling me that it is the same as the one she had at home.

Too bad I was not able to take some pictures since I was so busy chatting with my friends that I haven’t seen for so long.

Our friend, who by the way is one of our principal sponsors when Howell and I got married, will be leaving this month as they finish their posting here in Manila. They will now be assigned at Boston and they will probably stay there for another four to five years. They are already starting to pack all their stuff and they are sorting which ones are for their air and sea shipment and which ones they will bring with them as they leave.

I can’t imagine living a life like this. Imagine they have to move form one country to another and each time they have to learn to adapt to their new life and learn the new culture in their country of destination. And then every time they have to leave they have to pack and unpack all their stuff. That would be stressful for me. But I guess that is the life of a diplomat.

But according to my friend it is not that bad at all since every time they move they get the help of professional movers like Boston Movers to help them move all their stuff. Plus another perks that they get from doing all of this is that they get to try to live to a new country and experience new culture and that for them is a good adventure that they can treasure for the rest of their life.

I was off from work today since it is our holiday (Canada Day), but I was out the whole day. I accompanied my grandmother and dad at American Eye to have a general checkup. They just had an eye check up last week at Chinese general Hospital and my dad was diagnosed to have glaucoma while my grandmother was diagnosed to have a cataract and needs to have an operation.

I had my lasik surgery done at American Eye and I’m pretty confident with them so I suggested that they have another check up here. My dad’s ophthalmologist didn’t see anything wrong with my dad’s eyes and he does not have glaucoma (thanks God) but my grandmother really needs to have a surgery. But we prefer t have her surgery here rather than in Chinese General since American Eye really has the latest and high tech equipments compared to CGH. We will schedule for her operation after our SG trip.

I was craving for Racks famous ribs so we had late lunch at Racks in Greenhills after American Eye. Then we went to the office of the Philippine Tourism Authority to get Tax Exemption certificate of Bela. (I will make a separate post about this).

I was dead tired after a busy day so I will hit the sack now and catch up with you guys tomorrow.

Eds and Em tagged me with her meme. Thanks mga sis!

*** Start Here ***

Friendly Rules:

1. Simply copy the inspirational story and in the end write down the lesson you have learned out from this.
2. Put your own blog name and link. Pass or tag this to your friends to inspire them.
3. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.

— The Best Gift Ever —

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college.
For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom
and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had
purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study.
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him.
He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.
Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold.
Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said,
“With all your money you give me a Bible?”
And stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very
successful in business.
He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old and thought perhaps he should go to him.
He had not seen him since that graduation day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son.
He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.

He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still
new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.
His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11,
“And if ye, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?”
As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible.
It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired.
On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words…
PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God’s blessing because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this. Pass it on to others. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for…

PLS. SEND THIS TO AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE SO AS TO LET THIS GREAT LESSON FLOW AROUND.

End Copy

Lesson Learned: We always receive a lot of blessing sin life and we should always remember to count our blessings. Another morning means our creator has allowed us to love one more day and that alone is a gift. Another lesson that I learned is that we should try live each day as if it were our last.

I’m tagging Vien and Big Eyed Gal.

It was my mother’s 83rd birthday last Sunday and we had a small get together at our house. Every time there is a family occasion like this, all of my relatives are present from my aunts and uncles including their wives and husbands to all of my grandmother’s grand children so you can just imagine how many people are in the house.

And since it was also the match between Manny Pacquio and David Diaz, my husband’s family was also in our house to watch the match since we subscribed to a pay per view of the match to our cable provider. So my family plus my husband’s family means that our house was really packed. Even the kitchen bar stools were used so everybody can have a sit. Those who are not interested to watch the Pacquio – Diaz match, like my father and my two aunts, preferred to stay at the garage while the rest of my relatives and in laws watch the game in the living room. So we have to place plastic chairs and counter stools at the garage so they have something to sit on.

It was a great family get together and a perfect timing since my relatives where able to spend some time with my in laws too. So even though our house was a total chaos after the party, my husband and I were happy as we were able to make everybody happy. But we both agreed that we need to upgrade our home furniture and think of a way to make additional seating in our house especially if there is a party.

I was doing some reading and I discovered that bar stools is the answer to our problem. It can even spruce up the interior design of our house while providing additional seating if ever we host another party. And the best part is, there are a lot of discount bar stools that I can choose from which will match the interior design of our house.

My aunt will be celebrating her birthday next month and we better have these bar stools before her birthday so our house will be ready for another party.