We stayed overnight in Pearl Farm and we decided to take the last ferry ride (4:00 PM) back to Davao Marina from Pearl Farm on our third day so we still have almost the whole afternoon to spend more time at the beach.

We left our cottage around 9 AM and called for shuttle service going to the restaurant for our buffet breakfast (which is included in the package when I booked our hotel accommodation thru Asia Travel). After breakfast, we decided to checked out Malipano Island (owned by Pearl Farm also and where Dawn Zulueta’s Private Villa is located) and is a three minutes ferry ride from the Main Island. Ferry ride is free and it leaves every thirty minutes to take guests to Malipano Island from Pearl Farm and vice versa. We stayed here for an hour since we enjoyed swimming at the beach and Bela enjoyed playing with her new playmate, Jocobo Zulueta Lagdameo.
We went back to the main island around 11:30 AM. Since we are still so full after our heavy breakfast, we decided to have a late lunch and enjoy the infinity pool for the last time.

We ate lunch around 1 PM. My sister and I initially wants to have an a la carte lunch instead of the buffet since we are still so full but upon seeing the desserts station, we decided to have buffet lunch instead.
After lunch, it is time to go back to our rooms to prepare for our 4 PM departure since they only gave us one room for late check out (which is 3 PM). It is already 3:30 PM when I checked out from our room and the boat going back to Davao Marina is now ready for boarding.

When we reached Davao Marina, we left our things there and we were picked up by our cab driver again since we wanted to do some more shopping at Aldevinco and we also bought Durian candies and Pomelo from the fruits stores near Aldevinco. Then we just had take out dinner from Mc Donalds since we have to go back to the Marina since they scheduled our free shuttle service going to airport at 7 PM for our 8:30 PM flight.

The flight was I think 15 minutes delayed but all in all we never really had any major problems with Cebu Pacific.

You can view more pictures of our Day 2 in Davao here.

I will post our Day 3 adventure in Davao (Pearl Farm) a little later. I just like to make a post about how I find our stay at Pearl Farm Resort.

If you will ask me, I still prefer the resorts of Bohol than Pearl Farm. Bohol is more quite and more relaxing since there are not much people going on day tours at the private resorts in Bohol. At Pearl Farm, when the first trip of the ferry arrived, the resort was a little crowded for me especially since all day tour guests can just stay at the open cabanas near the Infinity Pool.

Plus the sand in Bohol is finer and the water is clearer compared to Davao. Bela doesn’t even want to walk barefooted at first since she finds the sand yucky because of the small shells and rocks that mixed with the sand and it is not that fine as compared to the sand in Bohol. The beach front is also shorter compared to the long stretch in Bohol or Boracay. Plus Pearl Farm is even more expensive than the resorts in Bohol.

These made me do some research for our next holiday vacation and that is when I came across some information about Carribean all inclusive family vacation. I am sure we can’t afford this vacation anytime soon but reading about it makes me feel excited and I will definitely find a resort here that offers the same relaxing experience. Imagine you will really be pampered by hotel staffs and you will get to stay at secluded white-sand beaches on the Mexican Riviera Maya. That would really be one relaxing and stress free-vacation.

But over all, our stay at Pearl is just okay. The rooms are clean and well maintained and the staffs and even the general manager are really friendly and they attend to our request very quickly.

The first ferry going to Pearl Farm Resort leaves at 8 Am and we should be there 30 minutes before departure to reserve a seat. We woke up early and by 7 AM we are already checking out of Marco Polo hotel.

We were picked up by the same cab driver that took us to the Philippine Eagle Center on our first day. Since it is still early, there was no traffic and we reached Davao Marina around 7:30 AM. At the Marina, they already have a front desk where they processed our accommodations and tickets for the ferry ride.
The ferry left a little after 8 AM and after 45 minutes; we are already at Pearl Farm Resort. We were greeted by their courteous staff who gave us welcome drinks and the key to our rooms. After listening to the short orientation, we called for a shuttle to take us to the other side of the island where our rooms are located. We are staying at two Mandaya Houses (Mandaya 3 and 4). The room was really big and we really love it. As soon as we got settled in our room, we immediately changed to our swimming attire and we tried the beach which is right outside our room and the pool just near our houses.

By 12 nn, we called for shuttle service to take us to the Maranao Restaurant (the only restaurant in Pearl Farm). We checked out the menu for their buffet and we all decided to have lunch buffet. We were so full after eating lunch. My sister and I inquired at their Ylang Ylang Spa and we deiced to avail of their East-West Massage. Our schedule is not until 3:30 PM and so while waiting, we tried the beach in the main island.
By 3:30, my sister and I are already having a relaxing massage at the spa. It was so good that I fell asleep while I am having my massage. When we’re done with our massage we all went back to our room to change and get ready for dinner.

Every Friday was a theme night (Pirate Night) and you are required to avail of a dinner buffet if you want to dine it at the restaurant. Price for the buffet was P800 per person and it is really worth it as there are I think 6 buffet stations each serving a different set of meals. There was even a Trivia game and we won a Pearl Farm cap (I was asked what hotel group manages Pearl Farm) and my sister won the Parrot stuffed toy (she was asked for the name of the official bird mascot of Pearl Farm). We went back to our rooms after dinner.
Howell and my dad availed of the room service massage of the Ylang Ylang Spa too. It is only 9 PM when the masseuse came to our room for Howell’s massage but I was so sleepy already. Right after Howell’s massage, we are all sleeping like a log.

You can view more pictures here.

The traditional way of looking for seasoned insurance providers or swanky insurance companies have been abated with the advent of modern technologies especially with the explosive growth of internet world. The internet has become the visual oasis, seamlessly efficient and accessible that provides a benchmark breaking performance designed that perfectly suit the demanding need of insurance subscribers trying to look for impeccable insurance quotes in the vast insurance network, whether it pertains to life, property, car, or whatever is the preference. In just a sleight of hand there’s a wealth of information that provides invigorating insights to help pick which quotes is better from the rest. It is something that really gladdens my heart as one of insurance customers.

The harmony of insurance online quotes is a luxury that intuits the sophistication of the insurance business industry that takes great pride to present insurance subscribers the smartest, fastest, easiest ways to get through the daily minutiae of the insurance world that give plenty of time for the hammock and help orchestrate well with my bargaining negotiations. It is something that always caused to pique my interest because everything can be done within my comfort zone, be it in the office or while resting in our home.

I find the system very interesting, easy and convenient. It really gave me ample time to select the best among the best before finally signing the insurance policy. I knew I have the right people on my side enough to give me the peace of mind.

I was checking out for pictures on our hard disk as I need to free up some space because it is almost full when I spotted this picture of my husband with the famous bowler, Paeng Nepomuceno.

This picture was taken during the championship game of the bowling tournament in my husband’s office. My husband is really a passionate bowler and he would really want to bring his team to victory but sad to say, he has a hand injury during the championship game. But good thing he uses kinesio tape for his hand injury. Kinesio tapes are very thin athletic tape that allows full motion so it really helped my husband feel comfortable bowling even if he has a hand injury and he was able to hit some strikes.

They did not win first place though. They only got the second runner up but my husband and his teammates are still very happy with their accomplishment and they really had a great time and that is what is more important.

This picture was taken when we went to Singapore Zoo last July 2008.

I was so scared to even approach the kangaroo, but not Bela. She eagerly poses with the kangaroo and she even played with them. I think I was the one who is scared for my daughter.

Bela really loves animals. She is not scared to get near a dog, a cat, birds or any other pet. I think the only animal that she doesn’t like are the spiders. I remember when Howell set up one of those spider traps at home; Bela was so scared when she saw a spider trap in it. I guess Bela is scared of those kinds of animals with tentacles or hairy legs like the spider.

This picture was taken when we went to Bohol last January 2008.

We were showing her the star fish but she doesn’t want to touch it when she saw the moving legs of the starfish. But during our last trip in Davao, we tried to show her a star fish and asked her to touch it. She got scared at first, but when she saw Wayne (a five year old boy that we met there) touching the star fish, she tried holding it also and she didn’t get scared after that. She doesn’t even want to let go of the star fish and she even wants to take it home with us. Look at her now.


I am glad she has overcome her fear for those kinds of animals and she won’t grow up to be like her mom who is scared of almost any kind of living things. LOL.

I was so happy when I opened my Inbox when I went back to work this morning since I read that they are converting our remaining leave credits for this fiscal year and convert it to cash. Every year, I always avail of this option. Who would say no to extra cash, right? And since by April we will get another 15 vacation leaves, I need not worry if I convert all my remaining leave balances to cash.

But then, when I got to the last paragraph of the email, it was stated there that only those who has leave credits exceeding 37.5 hours can avail of this option. And when I checked I only have 23 hours left.

Too bad, I would have converted my remaining 23 hours to cash. That would give me extra cash. But like what Howell said, that is just okay since I used all my leaves for travel or to be with Bela on all her school activities (in fact I did not miss any of Bela’s school activities). So there is nothing to regret about if I use up almost all my leaves.

I will just save my remaining 23 hours for more travel this year. LOL.

I am still on leave today as I scheduled a trial class for Bela at Mind Specialist School. So while Bela is taking a nap, I was able to take this opportunity to start with my Davao Adventure story.

We took the 7:55 AM flight via Cebu Pacific last January 15. The flight was again on time. The only problem that we had was the seats given to us by the one who checked us in were far apart from each other even though I specifically requested for it. But since the flight is not full, we were able to find seats that are seated beside each other.

It was drizzling when we reached Davao airport. The Marco Polo shuttle service picked us up at the airport (I thought it was free with my reservations but it turns out, I have to pay P600++ for the transportation when we checked out). We arrived at the hotel around 11 AM and they were able to give us a room right away even though check in time is 2 PM. We booked two superior rooms and we love our room. Even Bela love it. She doesn’t even want to go out of our room and she just wants to lie down there and sleep.
Since it is raining when we reached the hotel we decided to just stay inside the hotel and rest until lunch time. Come lunch time, we just decided to go to SM since it is near Marco Polo. We initially plan to go to Jack’s Ridge but since it is raining anyways, we just decided to settle for Yellow Cab at SM.
Our cab driver offered to drive us to Philippine Eagle Center after lunch for P1800. The Center is located inside Malagos Park. There is an entrance fee of P5 for the park and P50 for the Philippine Eagle Center. There is really nothing much to see at the Philippine Eagle Center (or maybe it is just raining when we went there so we didn’t really explore the center). Pag-asa, the Philippine eagle is inside a cage together with the other Philippine eagles and we just saw owls and a crocodile.
It stopped raining while we are at the Philippine Eagle Center so we initially plan to go to Eden Park after. But it started to rain again when we went out of the Philippine Eagle Center and there is nothing you can do at Eden Park when it is raining so we just decided to go back to the hotel.

Aldevinco souvenir shop is just across Marco Polo hotel and since Bela is sleeping like a log, we (me, my mom, my sister and hubby) went to the shop and left Bela with her lolo. We were able to buy a lot of batik clothes and pearl earrings at a very affordable price.
We finished shopping by 7:00 PM, and we asked our cab driver (who became our official tour guide) to pick us up at the hotel and he took us to a seafood restaurant at the back of Victoria Plaza Mall (oldest mall in Davao). The food is still not comparable to the cooking style of Dampa but my dad is happy as he was able to satisfy his seafood craving and the price is just ok.

After dinner, we went back to Marco Polo and called it a day. You can view more pictures of our Day 1 in Davao here. I promise to post pictures and stories of our second and third day in Davao soon. I just have to look for Lexington personal injury lawyer first as I promise my aunt that I will find give her the information that she needs today.

Have you seen my hubby’s collection?

These are just a few of the numerous stuffs that he collects. He is really a collector of all kinds of stuff. He collects anything from NBA action figure, to DVDs, to baseball caps, to old coins and bills and even sports magazine. But he is now starting to realize that he can already buy a second hand car if he saved all the money that he used to buy all his collections.

But since he is really a collector at heart, he would still not give up his love for collecting but now he is smarter when it comes to investing for his collections. Hubby just discovered about rare gold coins and he is starting to consider it as his new collection. He stumbled upon the site of Monaco Rare Coin Company where he got a lot of information about rare coins for collectors like him.

Hard assets is really a good investment and so hubby is really keen on investing on rare coins through the help of Monaco’s team of experts who can help him get the best offer in the market.

I am really for this kind of collection as it is also a good investment. I am sure hubby will not go wrong if ever he push through with his plans in buying rare gold coins.

This will be my mantra for tomorrow. It is still very busy at the office. I still have a lot of things line up for me to do and I am not even sure if I will be able to go home early tomorrow. Hopefully we won’t have unplanned overtime work tomorrow as I need to go home early as I want to get my nails done and I still need to pack my things. (Gosh, just thinking about all the things that I need to do tomorrow make me feel tired already).

This morning, we woke up late because hubby and I were both really tired since we both are busy at work these past few weeks. Good thing we still were able to make it on time for work.

So one more day and we’re off to the beautiful island of Samal and I can’t wait to have a dip at the relaxing pool and nice beach at Pearl Farm. We will be in Davao until January 17 only but I will be on leave until the 20th. I will definitely go to the spa at Pearl Farm for a relaxing massage. I really can’t wait….

I posted here last week that I wanted to go to Tagaytay during the weekend. But Howell was really tired after his photo shoot last Saturday that we decided to just go to Robinsons instead. But my dad was game for our initial plan to do some shopping at the Outlet Store at Paseo de Sta. Rosa and then go to Tagaytay after.

Since we woke up late, we left the house around 1 PM and we arrived at Paseo de Sta. Rosa around 2 PM (thank God there is no traffic). We checked out almost all the stores and I was able to buy a swimsuit at Speedo at 50% off, a swimsuit for Bela at 20% off and my mom, my sister and my dad was able to buy swimwear too at discounted prices. Howell was not up to buying swim wear at Speedo but he was able to buy running shoes at Adidas at discounted price also. We also check out the Havaianas outlet store but they still don’t have the glow in the dark slippers that my sister wants and they don’t have the available designs that I want for Bela.

By the time we were finish shopping, it is already 5 PM and hubby and my dad said that it is already too late to go to Tagaytay. So instead of going to Tagaytay, we just went to Amici at Tomas Morato for merienda then we went to church after that.

Being a mother and a wife did not prevent me to continue working with my career to bulldoze a highway that lives in the home of my imagination for my family’s good future. As it plumbs the depths of my senses though it may seem hard, I know I can successfully navigate and survived the accelerated energies being infused into my physical mind of the challenges of these transformative times. Being physically and mentally fit is the starting point of my race towards the achievements of my goal in life.

As I acknowledge the importance of being physically and mentally fit, to cope up for the much needed energy I subscribed to the use of diet supplement which has become the elixir of my life. It contain mineral complex that replenished my energy supplies promoting strength to my body. It preps me up the rest of the day, looks healthy with a body that looks toned and defined and always in season all days in and all days out. I’m so happy that the diet product I am using is a supplement that has a tried and tested formula born of extensive research with an authentic desire to deliver the closest thing to magic when it comes to restoring and maintaining the vigor and rejuvenating my energy cells that helps me keep on going and going and going, a proof that the formula really works and blends well!

Over the course of the year, we shied away from the traditional programs of our lives to take the much needed break to enjoy and relax and splurge for a vacation.

The beach is always and has become the favorite destination of my family to spend our vacation. And when it comes to beach resorts, the outer bank beach resorts nestled at North Carolina is the name that is on the lips of everyone in the family. Replete with a gentle breeze, a view of endless greenery boarded only by mountain silhouettes where the image of paradisiacal Mediterranean haunts into our imagination rippled to influence an ever greater whole that won our hearts. It’s a veritable paradise, a spectacular sight to behold where the science of nature’s beauty works at its best. We really found a universe in this charming place wrapped with genteel magic. Its tailor fit for a relaxing time ahead, a fine and ethereal place of peace and tranquility not asphyxiated by smog. A perfect back dropped for family bonding.

And to fully enjoy the cloak of relaxation that permeate our being, we always booked and rent one of the finest beach homes provided by Outer Banks rentals for the smooth and seamless stay of every guess at outer bank beach resorts. Rooms that was impeccably neat and comfortable with all the amenities working as they should add to the life changing experienced that spice up one’s life. The service that put great emphasis for the high interest and satisfaction of every guess which has been the management passion and tradition for two decades worth every penny spent for the stay at the island. It’s a gorgeous home away from home where we experienced all the aspects of beauty for exotic existence far from home.

Without any room for doubt or hesitation, we will surely spend our next vacation at the beach resorts of outer bank.

Are we ready for Baby # 2? I was just chatting with Jacqui the other week and we ended up talking about our plans for Baby # 2. She gave me a site where I can check the Chinese Calendar which I can use to predict the gender of the baby.

I got really curious. I often hear about Chinese Calendar but I never really know how to use it. My Chinese colleagues also told me that they use the Chinese Calendar for the gender of their babies. Some say it is accurate, some say it did not work for them.

As for me, there is really nothing to loose if we give it a shot so why not try it. If God will permit, we would love to have a baby boy for our second baby. I know hubby is dying to have a son so he has someone to share his tons of toy collection with and of course any father would want to have a son. So if we want a boy, base on the Chinese Calendar, I should get pregnant anytime within these months: January, February, March, April, July and September. (It’s good to know that we have 6 out of the 12 months to try for a baby boy. Hope God will give us one).


I showed the Chinese Calendar to hubby and he was more excited than I am as he is already asking me to schedule an appointment with my OB. LOL.

So am I ready for Baby # 2? I’m not sure. But I guess since I am interested with the Chinese Calendar, maybe it is a sign that I am open for Baby # 2 this year.

We’re off to Davao next week (imagine me with a big smile on my face). I’m so excited and I really can’t wait for Thursday.

This will be my second time in Davao. My first time was several years ago when I was sill working for Smart Communications. Howell has been to Davao also when his company had an event there. But this is the first time that we will go there together.

When we were there, we both we’re only able to visit Paradise Resort in Samal Island but I know that there are a lot of tourist spots that we can visit in Davao. So I did my research and we decided that this will be our itinerary:

THURSDAY, is our flight to Davao. Upon arrival, we will check in at Marco Polo where we will stay there for one night. We plan to visit Eden Park first. I need to check their schedule for shuttle service so we can just avail of that instead of taking a cab. Then we will have lunch there and hubby and my sister might try the zip line attraction while Bela might go horse back riding. Then we will go to Malagos Park and Eagle Farm. Then we might go back to the hotel and some souvenir shopping at Aldevinco (the souvenir shop in front of our hotel). If my family is still up for it, we might go out and have dinner at Jack’s Ridge (the restaurant overlooking Davao city).

FRIDAY, we need to wake up early so we can catch the first ferry ride going to Pearl Farm Resort at 8 AM. We will be staying there at the Mandaya House which I think is along the beach front. I’m sure that Bela would like to go swimming as soon as she sees Pearl Farm’s infinity pool. (Too bad I did not take weight loss pills before this trip so I can’t wear any sexy swimsuits as I need to hide my bulging tummy. LOL). We will stay at Pearl Farm until Saturday afternoon.

SATURDAY, we will take the 4 PM ferry going back to Davao City. We will just leave our things at Davao Marina so we can do more souvenir shopping before our 8:30 PM flight back to Manila.

I’m so excited already. I’m sure this will be one fun vacation again.

I was reading an article written by Pam Pastor in the Lifestyle section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer about how the Nintendo DS Lite killed her social life.

She said that she is so addicted to her Nintendo DS Lite that she brings it with her everywhere she goes. Even if she is out attending social gatherings, instead of mingling and chatting with her friends and relatives, you would see her in one corner busy playing with her DS Lite. She even admits that it is really difficult to talk to her. She said that she left a lot of emails and text messages unanswered because she is so busy playing with her DS Lite. She said that she can’t put her DS Lite down even though she is out because she still have a lot of dishes to cook (Cooking Mama game), cakes to serve (Cake Mania game), mysteries to solve (Ravenherst Mystery Case Files game) and princesses to save (Super Mario game) all with her powerful pink stylus.

I can’t blame her. I once got addicted to playing Cake Mania, Diner Dash and Ravenherst Mystery Case files that I usually stay up until 2 or 3 AM because I am so engrossed with the game.


But I now have a new love after I discovered the wonderful world of ipods. Howell bought an Ipod video for me and Bela and he loaded it with our favorite movies. Since we rarely go out to watch movies, I now have a chance to catch all the movies that I miss.

I am really enjoying my new toy and just like Pam, I bring it with me everywhere I go. And I’m sure I will not get tired of it as hubby still has a lot of movies to download for me and Bela.

What's your plan for the weekend?
SATURDAY
I will be working overtime today (boo hoo) and hubby will be covering a Christening at UP Diliman. The client is a colleague of Jacqui (Thanks sis for the referral). The event is at 4 PM so at least hubby will be at home in the morning to be with Bela while I work from 6 AM - 2 PM. Since the event is in the afternoon, I'm sure Howell will be home late.

As for me, I need to do some shopping for the stuffs that we need for our Davao trip. Hope I will not feel lazy to hit the mall tomorrow as I still need to buy a lot of stuff.

SUNDAY
I want to go to Tagaytay. I want to have lunch at Josephines and have desserts at Bag of Beans. Then on our way home, we can drop by at Paseo de Sta Rosa and check Speedo and Havainas Outlet store. But it all depends on Howell. I'm sure if he gets too tired from his Saturday shoot, we might just end up in Greenhills.

Do you often receive those annoying phone calls from credit card companies offering you to convert your card balance to their deferred payment plan or informing you that you have been pre-approved to avail of their personal loans or any other offers that credit companies usually offer their clients? Almost every week, I receive those types of calls. They say that since I have a good credit standing, I have been selected as one of their priority clients and they will be giving me an exclusive offer to avail of their promo.

Since I have a huge balance on my credit card for this pay period, I received a call from Citibank again and they are offering me a 1.5 interest rate (instead of the usual 3.5 interest rate) if I convert my current balance to their Pay Lite program. The agent has been convincing me to just use my cash for other things like investing it on a new business or deposit it in my savings account instead of using it to pay my balance in full so I can put my money to good use.

That would really be a tempting offer but I decided not to avail of their promo. I’m not sure if I can pay for the monthly dues diligently if I convert my balance to 12 months installment payment. And I know how Citibank treat their delinquent clients. If you fail to pay your monthly balance, they will pass your account to a Collection Agency that will help them collect payables from their clients. This collection agency helps businesses like Citibank develop the best debt resolution program to help businesses collect account receivables from their clients. And I don’t want to be bothered by collection agents. So as much as I want to keep my cash and use it for something else, I would rather settle my balance with Citibank.

I don’t drive and I have no plans to learn how to drive. For one, I can always rely on my husband or my father to drive for me. Second, commuting to and from work is really very convenient since there is car pooling services available in our area. And third, I don’t think I would want to bring a car even if I know how to drive because of the unbelievable price of parking fee here in Makati plus the gasoline price.

But Howell is lucky since he just works in the Manila area which is close to our house so he doesn’t consume that much gasoline every time he brings his car to work. Plus their company has a big parking space where employees can park their car for free.

Maybe if my company offers an auto allowance, similar to what my friend’s company is offering their employees, then I might find the drive to learn how to drive and bring our car to work. That is one of the great benefit that my friend receives from her company. Her company got the service of a management consulting firm to handle all vehicle reimbursement of all their employees. Each employee is given a driver reimbursement rate and they can reimburse all the car expenses that they incur for the use of their own car to fulfill their work for the company. Imagine she doesn’t have to shoulder the gasoline expense.

If my company offers the same benefit, I would probably schedule to attend a driving lessons right away.

1. What blogging platform do you use? I started with Blogger and even though a lot of my friends are saying that Wordpress offers more features, I still stayed with Blogger as I am already very use to using this platform and I am so lazy to learn the ropes of Word press as they say that even though it is more powerful than Blogger, it is a little complicated to learn.
2. What is your blog about? My blog is all about, me, my family, my lovely daughter, my passion for the color purple, our travels, my shopping finds, etc, etc. In short, I blog about anything under the sun.
3. When did you start your blog? Back in 2004 when I was preparing for our wedding. I noticed that most of my friends who are planning their wedding have a blog where they document all their wedding preparations so I joined the bandwagon and I created a blog also about our wedding preparations.
4. How did your choose your blogging name? (The name you use to make posts) I have no specific pattern. I just use anything that I can think of.
5. Do you blog for fun or work? Both.
6. Has blogging changed you in anyway? I never knew that having online friend would be possible but I gained a lot of true friends online all because of blogging.

Oh my gosh. I just received my bill from Citibank and I can’t believe how much my balance is for this statement period. My bill for this current statement period includes all my shopping purchases when we went to Hong Kong plus all my Christmas shopping which sums up to a few thousand bucks (let’s just say that the amount is triple than my usual monthly balance).

But I can’t complain though. I know I was able to get a lot of best buy when I did my shopping in Hong Kong like the crocs shoes that I bought at 25% off (plus the fact that the price in Hong Kong is way much cheaper compared to the prize here in Manila), plus my Elizabeth Arden perfume which costs around P3000 here and I was able to buy it at P600 and of course my favorite purchase of all, my LV bag.

So I guess I really have no reason to complain even though a big chunk of my Christmas bonus will go to the payment of my credit card balances. I’m happy and maybe (just maybe), I can just start living a frugal life (and cut my credit card expenses) starting this month. (Good luck to me. LOL).

Howell went home one night and he was excited to show me his discovery. You see, both of us took Masteral courses but sad to say we both we're not able to finish. it We completed all the required units but we we're not able to take the comprehensive exam that it required before we can do our thesis. I gave birth to my daughter and since then, I didn't find the time to review for the comprehensive exam and finish my thesis. Add to that the fact that we are both really busy with work.

So when he learned about university online, he got really excited as he thinks that this is the best way for us to finish our Masteral Degree. We can enroll in the same class and we can do our school requirements at home in our own convenient time.

I like that idea too. I'm getting bored with my work now as I feel that everything is just a routine and my work is not giving me new challenges and new opportunity to learn and so having a new way to update my knowledge would be a very good idea for me.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

On January 20, it will be exactly a year after we went to Bohol for a vacation to celebrate my birthday, hubby’s birthday and our anniversary. And I just realized that it’s been almost a year already and I haven’t posted our Bohol escapade stories and uploaded our Bohol pictures. But can you blame me? After I saw that I have close to 3000++ pictures that I have to sort I started procrastinating until I already forgot about it. But hubby has been bugging me to upload our pictures as it is the only vacation that we had last 2008 that I was not able to document. So even though this is already a year late, I guess it is still better late than never. So here it goes.

Day 1: Bohol Day Tour

We took the first flight to Tagbilaran via Cebu Pacific flight. The flight is early so we are at Tagbilaran by 7 AM. Since it is our third time in Bohol, we already have a “suki” tourist guide that I always hire every time we are there. So I just contacted him again and he was at the airport waiting for us when we arrived.

We had breakfast first at a small restaurant near the pier as all the other restaurants are still close. After breakfast, we immediately proceed with the day tour. We visited the Blood Compact Site, Baclayon Church, Chocolate Hills, Butterfly Conservatory, Hanging Bridge, Loboc River (we joined the cruise and had our lunch there), Tarsier Sanctuary, and we visited Prony, biggest python in captivity.

After the day tour, we proceed to Bohol Beach Club. I booked our hotel via Asia Travel and we did not have any problems at all with our check in. As soon as Bela saw the swimming pool (which is in front of our room), she immediately wants to jump in and enjoy the cool water so we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the pool. We call it a day after we had our buffet dinner.

Day 2: Bohol Beach Club

We just spend our second day at Bohol Beach Club. After breakfast, we changed into our swimming attire and enjoy the beach. The whole afternoon, we just lie lazily at the beach, eat, sleep, swim and just had a relaxing time at BBC.

Day 3: Panglao Island Nature Resort

We had a day tour at Panglao Island Nature Resort. This is one of my favorite resorts in Bohol but since it is really expensive, we just opted to have a day tour there. I can’t remember the exact price that we paid for the entrance but it is consumable and it includes the free use of the swimming pool. We stayed at PINR until around 5 Pm and our driver picks us up and we went back to BBC. After dinner, we had a massage and we call it a day after that.

Day 4: Dolphin Watching and Balicasag Island

We woke up early, brought take out breakfast from the restaurant and we met with our hired bangkero for dolphin watching. They took us to the middle of the ocean so we can see the dolphins. We were lucky since we were able to catch a lot of dolphins. Even Bela had a great time watching the dolphins. After the dolphin watching, they took us to Balicasag Island. They say that it is the best place for snorkeling but since we have to catch our afternoon flight we decided not to try snorkeling.

We left Balicasag around 11 AM and it was one of my scariest boat rides ever. We experience a lot of big waves on our way back to BBC and I almost cried since I really got scared not just for me but especially for Bela. Even my dad who is a seaman have asked my mom to put Bela’s life vest on (which for me is a signal that I have to panic) because we felt that our boat is nothing compared to the big waves that is greeting us. But with prayers, we were able to arrive safely at BBC but after that, I swear to myself that it is the first and last time that we will go dolphin watching in Bohol. LOL.

What is your favorite radio station? For me, it is 89.9, Magic. Every morning, I will share a ride with my husband and he will take me to the terminal where I will take my ride going to Makati while he goes to work in Manila. And on our way to work, we are always tuned in at 89.9 as we always enjoy listening to the program of Dj Moe, Grace Lee and Mojo, the Good Times with Mo show. Aside form the good music that they play (which are really our type of music), they always have interesting (and shall I say intellectually stimulating) topics that we enjoy listening to. They discuss anything under the sun from showbiz talk, to politics, to career. Name it and they probably would have discussed it in their show. What we like most about their show is that they are really funny and all three of them have good chemistry.

Their show is aired every Monday to Thursday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM so I really don’t get to finish their show as I don’t have a radio in the office. But it would really be great to listen to my favorite station the whole day. (So for any one who is asking what I want to receive on my birthday, I would really love a Starmate Replay radio. LOL. This radio is very durable and it even has a replay capability so I won’t miss anything.)

Good times with Mo, it is really a great way to start my day.

Happy New Year everyone! I have posted the activities that we have been busy with during the holiday season.

1. Christmas Eve here
2. Dec 25 with my family here
3. Dec 25 with hubby’s family here
4. New Year’s eve story here and here
5. Hubby’s Birthday here

~~~
May the new Year brings new hopes, new promises
and new reasons to celebrate your presence in your lives.
Have a Joyous New Year.
~ Howell, Abie & Bela ~