I was checking bcbsnc health plans online when I remembered that I haven’t posted results of my ultrasound here.

I went for checkup with my OB last November 7, 2009. Since my OB said that I am already on my 7th-8th weeks of pregnancy based on my LMP (September 16), she recommended that I undergo a TVS. And here is the result:

LMP: Sept 16, 2009
Menstrual Age: 7 3/7 weeks

Scan: TVS
Gestational Sac Visualized: Yes
Location: Intrauterine
Borders: Thick and well-defined
Fetus Recognized: Yes
Number: Single
Well-Formed: Yes
Heart Motion: Yes (114/min)
Body Movement: No
CRL: 0.44 cm

Other Findings: The right ovary measures 1.76x1.42x1.34 cm. The left ovary measures 2.18x2.18x1.78 cm. The corpus luteum is seen on the left. An area with subchorionic hemorrhage measuring 0.96x0.46x0.30 cm, is seen on the posterior fundal area.

Remarks: Single, live, intrauterine pregnancy about 6 1/7 weeks by CRL with cardiac activity noted. Both ovaries are normal size with the corpus luteum on the left. Posterofundal subchorionic hemorrhage is noted. EDC based on today’s scan is July 2, 2010.

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I am now taking Duvadilan and Duphaston for the hemorrhage and Folart for my vitamins. I am trying sometimes to drink Anmum but the taste is making me feel sick so I will try again on my second trimester. I will have my second checkup this coming Saturday and I will find out also about the results of my laboratory exams and hopefully everything is ok. When I had Bela, I had problems with UTI so I am really praying that I will not have the same problem again this time.

We arrived in Rome around 7 AM then we went down the subway to check the map so we can find our way to our hotel. Our hotel is just a few stations away from where we are at and it is on the same line so we don’t have to change trains (which we are really thankful because we are carrying big luggage).
Our room is already available when we arrived so we we’re able to check in right away. We just left our luggage, took a bath, and had breakfast at the hotel and walk to the Colloseum as it is just walking distance from our hotel. It was already around 10 AM when we reached the Colloseum and there was already a long queue to go inside so we just decided to join a group tour to skip the line. The cost of the tour is Euro 20 per person and the tour includes a tour guide and entrance to the Colloseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum.

I enjoyed the tour of the Colloseum though it was really hot inside (I think it was 33 degrees when we were there). We took lots of pictures and I even wanted to stay longer but we have to go out already to continue with the tour of the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum which is just at the opposite street of the Colloseum.

After the tour, we just bought sandwiches at the small shops near the Colloseum and we walked again to go to Bocca de Vereta (Mouth of Truth) then we rest at the Bocca de Vereta Plaza.

Then we took the subway to go to the Trevi Fountain. It was the most beautiful fountain I have ever seen. No wonder tourists kept going here and you really have to wait so you can go closer to the fountain for a picture. There are also souvenir shops near the Trevi Fountain and we did some souvenir shopping here.

After the Trevi Fountain, we walked to the Pantheon and got audio guides for our tour. Then we went to the Spanish Steps and we were so tired already that we decided not to go up to the top. We had dinner at Mc Do near the Trevi Fountain then we decided to go back to Trevi Fountain after dinner to take pictures of it at night. It was already past 9 PM when we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel.

You can view more pictures here.

Now that I am finish preparing for Bela’s birthday parties, I can now start with my Christmas shopping. Yesterday, I was finally able to sit down and finalize my shopping cart at Amazon for our Christmas gifts for Bela and for my cousins too. I initially plan to buy at Etoys but unfortunately, they don’t accept our local credit cards so I decided to check out Amazon and I was really lucky because prizes at Amazon are cheaper and they also comes with free shipping.

As for my other relatives:

1. Hubby saw Transformers robots on sale at Toy Kingdom so I might buy those for my male cousins and god children.
2. My parents need a new steam cleaner so I am thinking of buying one for them as our Christmas gift.
3. For my aunts, female cousins, my sister-in-law and Bela’s teachers at MSS, I am planning to buy the Belle de Jour Planner.
4. Then I will just got to Toys R’ Us in Robinson’s place to buy toys for all my other cousins and god children.

I know it is just a few days to go before Christmas so I am really hoping that I will be able to get through this difficult phase of my first trimester of my pregnancy as I still have a lot of things to do in preparation for Christmas.

I snagged this picture from my kumareng Peachy’s Flickr Account. This picture was taken during their last family getaway at Shangri-La Mactan and I am really jealous. Wouldn’t you be after seeing this view? I can already imagine that it would be one relaxing vacation. We will just stay there for three days to enjoy the beach, the sand, the sun and the food. I can already imagine myself lying in one of those outdoor cushions while Bela and hubby are enjoying their time at the beach. Then we will have a sumptuous buffet meal. They also have an arcade and play area where Bela can spend time if ever we get tired of the sun (which I really doubt we will. LOL).

Hubby was asking me if I want to spend our anniversary there this coming January. I will be on my second trimester by then so I might be feeling a little better. And hope during that time, the hemorrhage in my uterus will be gone so my OB can give me the go signal to travel. I wish, I wish, I wish.

While my friend from college is busy looking for gulf shores rentals for their anniversary celebration, my friend from high school, Mela went home to Manila for three-week vacation.


She met up with us last night to catch up with the old times. I was bed rest for a week already but I made sure that I was well rested for the whole day yesterday so I can meet up with them. It has been a while since the last time I saw my girl friends from high school. The last time they meet up, I was busy as it was my final exams in my masters so I was not able to make it and how I miss these crazy and funny girls. LOL. So I really requested that we just meet up somewhere near our place so I can make it.

We had dinner at Congo Grille and Mela treated us for a sumptuous meal. They even had desserts but since I am in my first trimester, I have weird food preferences. Though I love sweets when I was not pregnant, my taste buds reject sweets this time so I instead had ripe mango with bagoong (Yum-Yum). LOL. After dinner, we moved to Starbucks as Congo Grille is already closing and we are the last customers there.

Me-anne and her husband Edong arrived when we were in Starbucks already. They had coffee while I had hot chocolate and we spent another good two hours chatting and laughing. How I really miss them.

Welcome back to Manila, Mela and it was really nice to see you and the Lynx Rayvens again.

I just snagged the photo above from Lala’s Facebook account but I will upload more when hubby downloaded the pictures from his camera.

I am really falling in love with Venice and I can’t get enough of it. So for our second day in Venice, we explored the same places that we visited on the first day as soon as we are finish eating our breakfast.

On our way to Plaza de San Marco, we drop by at the Rialto Bridge again and at the Rialto Market for some souvenir shopping. I was able to buy a lot from the market like murano glass necklaces for my cousins, my in-laws, my colleagues and Bela’s teachers. I also bought Ciao Bella shirt for me, Howell, Bela and my dad.


Then we drop by at the Ferrari store also as it was close already when we saw it the other day. I convinced Howell to buy something from the store as his souvenir and he decided to buy a Ferraro die cast toy which he said is 3x cheaper compared to the price here in Manila. He is one happy camper after his shopping trip at the Ferrari store.

Then we join the tour of the Dodge Palace. The palace was so big that I was so tired after hours of touring and exploration in the palace. Then we had lunch in one of the pizza shops that we found in the small streets near the Plaza de San Marco. Then we spend the whole afternoon resting at the Plaza and near the Grand Canal.

While making “tambay” along the Grand Canal, we met a group of Filipinos who are also tourist in Venice. One of them was a priest assigned in Rome and he is touring his mother in Venice who travelled together with siblings Meg, Danny (who are from Manila) and Kuya Chito from Denmark. They invited us for coffee and we also had dinner we them. We immediately hit it off and it was like we have known each other for a very long time already. We had so much fun that it was already 20 minutes before our schedule train ride going to Rome that we parted ways with them. Howell and I are running again to the train station. Howell left me at the train station with our other stuff while he run and pick up our luggage from the hotel. We barely made it again to our train ride.

It was a long and tiring day and I was expecting a decent train ride but I was so disappointed. We took the TrenItalia train and it was so hideous. The aircon was not working, there is limited leg room as they fit 6 seats in one cabins so my knees are already touching Howell’s and there is no room for us to stretch, then they accepted walk-in passengers even if there are no more seats available so those passengers are standing outside along the corridor. Since it is an overnight train ride, I thought that I will be able to sleep but the noise created by those passengers standing along the corridor and the limited leg room, I was almost awake the entire night. So never, never use TrenItalia especially if it is a long distance ride.

You can view more pictures here.

Are you looking for an alternative way to invest your money? Then why not trying investing in precious metals like gold and silver.

Gold is a very good investment as it is universally accepted. You can easily buy and sell it for easy conversion to cash. Also, precious metals like gold doesn’t depreciate in time so it is a safe way to invest your money instead of just letting your money sit in backs and will just earn a small amount of interest.

If you want to make an investment such as this, then contact any Monex representatives as their staffs are highly experience and they can definitely give you the best offer in the market. After ordering from them, they can easily arrange to have the precious metals delivered to your house or they can arrange for its safe storage.

My husband and I are looking for investment options and we will definitely check out the investment in precious metals that Monex is offering.

We will be having a themed Christmas party for our family reunion this year. My aunt asked for my help to help the boys in our family with their costumes and as I was surfing the net for Christmas costumes, and I landed at the site of NFLUniformset.com. My family is real sports fan so I am sure they can’t say no if I ask them to come to the party wearing the uniform of their favorite NFL teams.

I checked out the site of NFLuniformset.com and they have a lot of cool NFL Merchandise like uniform set, sports equipment, masks, hats and even a NFL uniform set team locker which would be a great decoration for the party. Check this out:

I am sure all the boys in our family will be so proud and excited to come to the party wearing this cute NFL uniform set. Who wouldn’t? If you check out the site of NFLUniformset.com, you will find a lot of great NFL merchandise. Even collectors are buying from this site as they can put on display this NFL uniform sets and put it as part of their collection.

Check out their site if you are one NFL fan also.

This post is brougt to you by the site mentioned above.

Do you want to know what are on sale today?

1. Overstock. Overstock is giving out 10% on all your entire order, plus $1 shipping fee only. I will definitely check out their site for some Christmas gifts for my daughter’s teachers.
2. Etoys. Get $10 off plus free shipping on your $100 and above purchase of a variety of Lego items. Get 10% off also on dozen of Nickelodeon items. And 25% off on assortment of Melissa and Dough items.
3. BestBuy. Best Buy is also having Weekly deals where they give discounted rates and clearance blowouts on gadgets, electronics, etc.
4. Crocs. Choose between free ground shipping or 10% off your total purchase.
5. Gap. They are offering 30% off during their Friends and family event in store from November 12 – 15.

It is not yet Thanksgiving Day and my Inbox is already filled with announcements of sales. I really have to stop spending my money on my PayPal account so I will have money for shopping just in time for the holiday season.

There was free wifi at the hotel where we were staying and so we were able to talk to Bela again via Yahoo Messenger before heading to Venice. Our reservations also come with free breakfast so we had breakfast first at the hotel before finally checking out to catch the train going to Venice.


The train station was just walking distance from our hotel and by 10:30, we are already riding the train going to Venice. As soon as we get off the train and went out of the station, we were greeted by the Grand Canal. It was the best view I have ever seen so far and I was like “Wohhh.” I got really excited and I immediately asked hubby that we go look for our hotel so we can drop our things and explore Venice.

We were so lucky that the hotel that we booked is also walking distance from the train station and so we didn’t have to navigate the small and confusing streets of Venice to look for our hotel. The room that we reserved is still not ready so we just left our luggage at the concierge and we immediately went out to explore Venice.

We decided to explore Venice by foot as they say that this is the best way to enjoy the city. We went to Rialto Bridge, Rialto Market, went inside St. Mark’s Basilica and pass time at Plaza San Marco. We also decided to try the Gondola ride as it is just 4 PM and we have nothing else to do. We really saved up for the Gondola as I told hubby that we can’t leave Venice without riding one. The ride cost Euro 80 for two persons good for 45 minutes. After our gondola ride, we just stayed in Plaza San Marco to enjoy the view and had some more pictorial sessions. Then by 8 PM, we moved to the Rialto Bridge and stayed there until 9 PM to wait for the sunset.

When it was already dark, we walked again to our hotel. We had dinner first at Break Ristorante (one of the restos near our hotel) before finally being able to check in to our room. I love our room. It was big and clean and it has a grand view of the Grand Canal.

You can view our pictures here.

I like this picture taken by hubby while I was in Kuala Lumpur (does it looks like I am applying for one of the jobs listed in pa job listings?).

I just got back today after I attended a four day workshop in Kuala Lumpur. I initially thought that it will just be one boring conference as I have to sit down and listen to hours and hours of lectures but I was wrong as it proved to be one really productive workshop that I have ever attended.

It is so nice to meet up with my colleagues from within the region that I only get to talk via email and phone conference before. Just like what I said, it was really nice to put faces to the names. It was great to listen to all their wonderful ideas, rants, tips and I was so comfortable interacting with them that I did not hesitate to speak out my mind also.

And although I am still tired because we arrived at 5 AM from our 4-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, I was really glad that I did decide to apply to participate for this year’s ITP workshop.