It will be a busy weekend for us. While I will be joining my Project PEARLS family for our Saturday feeding and activities in Ulingan, my husband will be busy for the photo shoot of Bela.

He attempted to have two photo shoots this week with Bela but since Bela is tired already since it is a school day, he was not able to get great pictures since Bela was not in the mood already for a photo shoot.

So I told hubby that he better schedule it on a weekend instead. So hubby is freeing up his schedule this Saturday and Sunday for the shoot. He had prepared his photography tools already and he even borrowed an electric guitar as additional props to the drums, beat box, and organ that we have at home.

I on the other hand will have to check smallflower.com tweezerman to get beauty tools and products so my sister will have all the things that she will need as she do the hair and makeup of Bela.

I am so excited and I am looking forward to this weekend. I am claiming that it will be another fulfilling and productive weekend.

I found this in Facebook:

Isn’t it cute? I will include this in my dream board. With all the stories about infidelity that I have been hearing from friends, I feel that it is a blessing from God if couple can stick together, till death do they part.

I am grateful that God has given me a loving husband whom I know will stick with me through tick and thin. And I am confident that when we retire, we can do this t-shirt thing, just like in the picture, and we will join a group tour wearing this t-shirt which says “Together since 2005.”

Hubby is working overtime today, thus we can’t do our usual Saturday morning routine, which is to go to Ulingan to volunteer for Project PEARLS’ feeding program there every Saturday. We have been absent for weeks now since I went to Siem Reap for work and then our Saturdays are always full of other work and family activities.

My good friend Ate Annie and her daughter have started a fund drive to raise rain boots for the kids in Ulingan. They were able to collect more than 400 rain boots and they plan to distribute it next week plus they will also sponsor a feeding program and do an art therapy. I am freeing my schedule so I can attend this.

And for today, we will be off to Tagaytay after hubby’s duty as they have a visitor from work who wants to see the Taal volcano. We actually have plans for today but I am sure my daughter can’t miss the chance to play with turnbuckles, ropes and horses in the horse back riding place that we always visit when we are in Tagaytay.

So I better start preparing now as we are leaving in an hour. Happy weekend everyone.

I am so excited as my social life is active again with all the parties lined up for us from September to November. You see, children’s parties are my only time to meet up with my mommy blogging friends. We get to talk everyday via Instagram and Twitter but it is still different to have a chance to talk in person so we are all looking forward to these parties.

Just look at how busy our Calendar is:
• September 15 – Sandy’s 7th Birthday @ Valle Verde 6
• October 21 – Byko’s 1st Birthday @ Oasis
• October 28 – Ashley’s 1st Birthday @ Acropolis Clubhouse
• November 4 – Our Christmas party at Prestige Tower
• November 15 – Bela’s 7th Birthday party

Meet Jenny Rose. She is my family’s scholar and she is one of the preschool students studying at the PEARLS Day Care learning center.

Education is one of the best things that we can give the children of Ulingan as it is their only way out of poverty. In Ulingan, kids as young as 3 years old are already working in the charcoal factory helping their parents or are gathering nails from woods that they will sell for P17.

Thanks to the scholarship program of Project PEARLS, we were able to send around 200 children to school this year.

It is nice to see the kids in Ulingan attending school instead of inhaling the toxic fumes as they help their parents in the charcoal factory.

Join our advocacy. Give Project PEARLS a chance.

In my short stay in Siem Reap, I have learned the following: 

1. I may not be the arts and culture type of girl, but I so love architecture and history as I fell in love with all the temples that we visited in Siem Reap. On the top of my list is Pre Rup and Bayon temple.

 2. There are a lot of vendors outside the temples and if they offer you their goods, don’t say “later.” I said this to one of the girls on our way inside the temple and on our way out she kept on insisting that I buy something from her as she waited for me because I said later.

3. Most hotels have free wifi and some are not even protected by password so we were able to get free Internet connection all the time. But we have to make sure also that our laptop has an updated virus scanner, especially when connecting to unsecured networks.

4. If you will visit the temple, make sure that your shoes are comfortable and water proof. LOL. I was wearing my Toms on our first day and it suddenly rained that my Toms are drenched. Then I realized that it is the reason why the tourists are wearing either flip-flops or Crocs. Good thing I brought 2 pairs of Melissa shoes also.

5. Restaurants surrounding the temples are more expensive compared to restaurants downtown. One meal of rice and viand cost around $4 in the small eateries around the temple when it only cost $2-$3 downtown.

6. Bring a lot of cash when in Siem Reap as majority of the establishments don’t accept credit cards. Even the big restaurants around the temples, the office where you can buy the tickets for the temples and souvenir shops don’t offer a credit card facility. Some shops will have a sign that they accept credit cards but the staff doesn’t know how to use it that we will end up paying in cash.

7. Souvenirs being sold by the kids outside the temple are definitely cheaper compared to the big souvenir shops downtown. The water globe that I bought from one of the vendors in Ta Phrom temple cost only $3 while it is priced at $15 in the big souvenir shops downtown.

8. 3.5 days is not enough to visit all the temples and don’t think that you have seen them all if you visited one as each temple has each of its own characteristics.

My husband and I together with my father-in-law, just got back from a short vacation in Siem Reap. I had been selected to provide IT support for a conference that our company attended there so we found it as a great opportunity again for a short vacation.

We decided to just stay only in Siem Reap and not visit other Indo-Chine countries like Vietnam and Thailand, as I don’t want to stay for more than 7 days as we will be leaving the kids behind for this trip.

For our 3.5 days stay in Siem Reap, we have hired a tuk-tuk as our service. Out Tuk-Tuk driver, Thommas, really provided us with excellent service because not only he served as our driver but he also was our tour guide as he took us to all must-see temples, shopping places, restaurants, and more making our stay in Siem Reap very enjoyable.

His daily rate is very affordable, plus you will get to enjoy the ride more while riding the Tuk-tuk, with the fresh air and the beautiful scenery that you can see during the ride. He also speaks English very well making our communication with him very easy.

Next time you are in Siem Reap, contact Thommas to give you a one of a kind and very affordable Siem Reap tour. Here are his contact details:

Thommas 
Mobile: +855 – 977289909 (To call him when you are already in Siem Reap, just use this number: 0977289909) 
Email: leyhaklucky@yahoo.com