On A Wonderful Day Like Today

I'm just squeezing this in before the year 2007 closes in a few hours. I'm so grateful to God for all the blessings He has wonderfully sent us this year. May He continue to bless us with good health, safety, security, prosperity, and most of all, the gift of life and family. THIS IS YOUR SHOW dear GOD, not mine. My life is yours and not mine to own or control. Without you, I AM NOTHING but with you, I CAN DO EVERYTHING. So for the coming new year, 2008, I am again praying and trying and hoping that I can please you and love you back (even if you really don't need my efforts because you're already perfect). But I still want to do it and be better because I love you. Happy New Year!

Hi! I'm back to the office today. Gosh, it feels good to have that much-needed vacation. Our Christmas holiday went great! I have so many things that I want to blog about but I have to work muna. Meanwhile, here's my list of "bloggable" kwentos: 1. Lunch with officemates at Dong Wan Korean resto 2. Migraine attacks during the peak of the Christmas rush (it's a struggle to be bothered by migraine on ordinary days what more kung Pasko) 3. My date with my Ate (trip to the Ayala museum and food adventure) 4. Malling at MOA with my family (Zoe's first time) 5. Zoe's First Haircut 6. Christmas Eve Mass and opening of Christmas gifts 7. Christmas Day Reunion with cousins and in-laws (busy, busy, busy) 8. Gian's 2nd Barney-themed Birthday Party Important Foodie Lesson Learned this Christmas: Always store the buko salad in the freezer and not just in the ref. Otherwise, you'll be throwing away your money on spoiled food. Haha! I always knew that because my

I can't promise that I can go online this coming holiday vacation coz I'll be very busy with family gatherings. I'll just leave you all guys with this: May all of you have a Blessed Christmas!

Sorry Nice for the late 'thank you' for this award. Happy Holidays to you and your family! I'm passing this award to my new online friends: Maybelle , Pat , Agnes and Tet . Merry Christmas girls!

Thanks Nice for this tag. :-) Powered By - Top Calling Cards Company Girlfriends, what's your music type? Norms, Pretty and Juliana?

I was intrigued by this test found in my newest online friend Vannie's site (thanks girl), so I decided to take the test and see the result for myself. Meanwhile, here are quick fun facts from the site: 20,7820 unique people have taken this test. Based on these unique user's answers... 44.8% of test takers are gals, 53.1% are guys, ...the rest (2.1%) are confused. 17.1% of test takers get aroused by "iPhone," while 40.6% get utterly ill. 34.6% of all test takers would choose the Internet over sex, and 28.3% of married test takers prefer the Internet over sex. Only 3.6% of test takers own a Jar Jar Binks t-shirt, though 56.0% of them don't own a lightsaber (priorities == messed up). Here's my result: ACCCKKK! Looks like I'm a high nerd. (O-ha, yung nerdy pic pa ang nilagay ko dyan). Hehehe. Hmm..I admit that I do like reading / literature when I was growing up to the point that I'll be reading Shakespeare or Homer during my past time even if it's so

My one and only sister arrived in Manila from Iloilo last Sunday to attend a retreat. So before bringing her to Batangas, we dropped by Power Plant Mall first for some snacks. My Ate and Tatay: Zoe with her Daddy-yayo: Sorry but I just want to post this pic of Zoe looking as if marunong syang umorder sa Shakey's: Anak, ikaw din ba ang magbabayad? LOL

Yup. We left the house around 4:30 pm and arrived in my ODP Party in Sta. Mesa at 8:00 pm. Sobrang traffic last Saturday. Worse, Zoe had to poop in the car. Grabe. Anyway, it was so fun seeing my ODP friends again. We were almost 30 in our batch but only a few stayed in touch. Pero even if hindi nagkikita as often, friends pa rin syempre. We spent 3-6 long training (bonding) months in 2003 kasi before we all became officers in the company. Ang tagal na pala. (L-R Chris, Tif with Charlize, Howie (parang FPJ ang pose ah), Lucy (nasa honeymoon stage pa rin), meeh with Zoe, Arleen with Camille and Jay) Of course, na-miss naming kayong lahat na hindi nagpakita at nagtago. Merry Christmas!

For the first time, our Executive Offices Christmas Party was held in a venue outside the bank. We celebrated it last Friday, December 14, 2007, in one of the function rooms of Kensington Condos in The Fort, Taguig. Our theme was "Sound of the 70's Night". Unlike the past two Christmas parties, our 4th floor group didn't prepare any surprise dance number. Last last year, we danced to the tune of "Pinoy Ako" and bagged the 1st place. Last year naman, we danced to a mix of Jingle Bell Rock and Boom-Tarat-Tarat. Again, 1st place kami. This year, super wala. Hall of fame (err shame) na daw. Hehehe. To make up for the lack of presentation, we just helped decorate the place. Here are some of the memorable moments in our party: Early birds (wala pang prize?): Taken by no less than Mr. Chairman - pro sa pagkuha (ng table cloth) LOLZ: Smiling but non-victorious sa one and only game (pambato pa naman ng Team 4th floor): In fairness, dumating si Elvis: By the poolside

..and I hate it. Before you start thinking about something else, I would just like to rant that I'm late (again) - for work, that is. It's been the 6th time this month already. Beyond it, I'm already a candidate for a reprimand (very very bad!). The traffic has been so awful for the past weeks and it's draining all the energy left in me. Sometimes, I just want to go home, stay in the bedroom with Zoe and cuddle together. Good thing Hubby shares with me the "misery" of having to be late for work and late in going home because he often drives for me. I don't want naman to bring the car to the office because it will stress me out all the more. You see, I don't like driving for more than an hour because for sure migraine ang abot ko. On some days, it only takes 30-45 minutes tops to get to the office. On not-so-good days, it can take up to more than 2 hours! Imagine leaving the house at 6:45 am and arriving at 9 am. Really crazy! C-R-A-Z-Y! Grrr.. How I wi

My officemates and I had a mini-celebration last Thursday. For the very first time, we had an exclusive Christmas Party and Kris Kringle. It was worry-free since we just ordered food from Red Ribbon: Palabok, Cake, Chicken, Kaldereta, Empanada and Rice. Yum-yum! Here's moi looking happy to receive my revelation gift: What's inside? A 250 ml bottle of Cetaphil Skin Cleanser (as per my wish list!). Click here for more picturezzz. :-)

Thanks Abie for sending me this tag (better late than never): 1. Name one thing you do everyday. - Pray 2. Name two things you wish you could learn. - Learn a foreign language - Swim properly 3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood. - Santacruzan - Agawan-base, patintero, chato - Barbie dolls 4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do. - Kare-kare - Callos - Crispy pata - Strawberry shake 5. Name five things that make you feel good. - A good night’s sleep - Vacationing - Losing weight hehe - Finishing a good book - Payday / Bonus time 5 people to tag for this meme - Rafela - Prettylifeonline - Tet - Ai - Pat

Hi fellow-bloggers!!! Can anybody guess where we had our dinner-date last night? If you can guess where, then that means that you really like dining out like US. :-) All I can say it that the food there is yummy! Here are some of the clues: Mr. & Mrs. on a date (me looking tired after a day's work): Preliminiaries: Her order: His order: ANY GOOD GUESSES? Just comment. :-)

After seeing on the background of Alpha's blog pictures some nice extra large colorful rubbertiles, I finally got an inspiration to convert our family room in the attic into Zoe's playroom. (Thanks Alpha for telling me where to buy those tiles. I got them at 20% off in Handyman.) At 15 months, Zoe has been gathering lots and lots of books, toys and other playthings. So in order for all of it not to be forgotten and wasted, I've fixed up our family room and converted it into a play-ground cum library of sorts for Zoe. Here is the outcome: Looks like we have one happy baby. :-)

Zoe!!!! The evidence: Can't blame her. Mommy and Daddy love hotdogs too! Bring 'em on! :-)

I went to meet my neighbor cum high school friend-turned-kumare Tinay last Saturday. She's a balikbayan from Singapore. She has a baby girl too who is turning 1 year old this January. Her baby's baptismal and advance birthday celebration will be done here so we decided to meet before everything becomes toxic because of the party preps. Apart from the usual "remember-way-back-when" stories of our high school days and past love lives (hahaha!), we talked endlessly about our new commonality - our husbands and babies! Tinay used to be in the corporate life too prior to giving birth. We both love shopping and dining. Now, she's a full-time SAHM. They don't have a yaya since they live in a foreign country and it's kinda hard to entrust your baby to some one else more so if you don't have any family member who will oversee how the baby is taken care of. Hubby and I actually visited her in Singapore last June. There we saw that Tinay has transformed into a sup

I just realized today that my site has already been more than a month old! My golly. Time flies so fast! I don't think I've spent as much time online as I did before. But I'm happy. For the past 30 days or so (I started this blog on November 7, 2007), I've learned so much and I have gained so many new online friends. On this anniversary-of-sorts, I want to thank all of you in my blogroll for giving me a nice welcome in this blogging world. Hope that I'll get to meet all of you in person someday. :-) To my blogger friends: Abie, Aggie, Agnes, Ai, Alpha, Apols, Chelle, Darlene, Dauphine, Diane, Dorxie, Eds, Erra, Jacqui, Jane, Jean, Jesse. Jody, Joey, Joy, Joyce, Juliana, Kathy, Kelly, Kitts, Mari, Maybelle, Melisse. Mhay. Mich, Nice, Nikki, Nol, Norm, Pam, Pat, Peachy, Petra, Pheng, Prettylifeonline, Raf, Retche, Sheila, Tet, Tin, Toni, and Yvetchie ...here's something for all of you: Thank you, take care and happy holidays!

Yup, I still went there last night. Yesterday was actually the 1st day. Bought a lot of stuff again. Grrr. So today, I declare myself officially done with my Christmas shopping and officially broke. Harhar. It will run from December 06 - 16, 2007. On weekdays, they open at 12 noon up to 10 pm. On weekends, they start earlier at 10 am. I heard that some ABS-CBN personalities will be there to perform. Pero kagabi, ala kaming nakita. Anyway, okay din to bring your kiddos with you coz they have a play area for kids and foodie stalls like Mcdo, plus the place is well ventilated. Among the things I bought - clothes for Zoe (again!), gift items for inaanaks, friends and officemates, khaki RL shorts for hubby, 50-peso blouses for moi, and many more. For those mommies who are looking for clothes for their baby boys, this is the place to be. I saw a lot of boy's clothes there. Happy last-minute shopping everyone! 18 days to go!

...going to the 7th World Bazaar Festival at World Trade Center tonight. I called them up and they said they're open up to 10pm. Whoa!!!! Stop me pleaazzzzz!

Zoe seems to be growing to be a TV-addict... Her daddy usually sets the wake up alarm of the TV in the morning. It's more effective than using the alarm clock or the cellphone. Anyway, as the TV "went off" today, set initially at Channel 2 (station number 8 in our cable), a commercial of Kris Aquino's "Deal or No Deal" was showing. Zoe woke up from the sound and hurriedly tried to stand up. Lo and behold! She was crossing her two hands making the "NO DEAL" sign! At first I thought I was just imagining things but then she repeated that motion over and over again until the commercial finished. Oh my!!!! Banker, taasan mo na ang offer kasi ayaw ni Zoe mag-deal. :-)

I was with my friend Anne last night and I found out that she has discovered blogging too. Anne is a consultant on menu planning and budgeting (yes, there is such a thing). I've availed a few months back of her complete menu planning kit which consists of a monthly family menu plus a nutritional guide. It's been very helpful in planning our daily meals and in putting variety in the food we eat. For example, my dad is 61 years old and we need to set some diet rules for him. For his benefit and that of the rest of the family, I told him to stop buying pork and beef (or at least minimize it) since we want to keep his cholesterol level low. We have been sticking to a healthier diet of fruits, vegetables, fish and chicken (sans the skin). Compared to having nilaga and sinigang at least once a week, we only have it once every two weeks na lang. Besides, with the menu planning kit, I'm able to try out new meals which are yummy but without the fat. We've also stopped buying toc

Here's Abie's question: What would you want to receive this Christmas? Since it’s seldom that someone asks me what I want to receive this Christmas, I’m taking this hint and writing down my “material” Christmas wish list 2007: 1. Books! – HP Book 7, Series of Unfortunate Events (the whole set), more Agatha Christie books and the remaining titles of the The Cat Who series which I don’t have yet. 2. Electric Oven – We gave away our gas range with the oven when we had a house renovation and installed a new one but without an oven. Totally want to rejuvenate some old baking recipes soon. 3. More gym clothes para ganahan ulit akong mag-gym. I haven’t been back there since September. Super lazy to go. 4. A new planner – can be the Starbucks 2008 planner or just something like my old leather agenda. 5. Does money count? LOL. Super thanks Abie!

I'm amused by Jenny's story about Belle learning how to do the "Bless You" or "Mano Po". It's because Zoe has been practicing this "trick" too. We would joke that Zoe will now start to earn this Christmas since doing the "mano po" is also like asking for aguinaldo from her godparents and other relatives. Jenny's question is: What's your Christmas Day schedule? We usually attend the Misa de Gallo (that's on Christmas eve) in our village chapel. After the mass, we play Christmas songs in our stereo as well wait for the clock to strike 12 midnight. At 12, we have the traditional Noche Buena. In that family dinner, the head of the family (my dad) leads the prayer and the blessing before meals. We usually thank God for the blessings for the year and ask Him to take care of our other family members who are away (my sister who is in Iloilo and my relatives abroad). We also mention the names of our departed loved ones so that they

Financial security has always been a priority in our family. Thus, when we received our annual bonus this year, the priority was to pay the annual premiums for our life insurance . While I’ve been insured for several years now, my husband decided only last year to try getting online quotes from various insurance providers. Being a smoker, he’s quite averse to the idea since getting a life insurance might cost more. After getting some background from online quotes, my agent personally discussed with him the options available. He finally availed of a term insurance designed for the head of the family. Around that same time too, I also decided to get a life insurance with discounted premium options for our baby girl. So where did our Christmas bonus go? Most of it is safely tucked away for the benefit of our family.

As inspired by the blogs of other mommy bloggers, here's my post regarding our tree. Our helpers just finished decorating our simple 7 foot Christmas tree. Our theme is still pink and silver (our wedding colors). We've had these decors for three years already. Since I don't have the budget to buy a new set, I decided to just use it again one last time (or whatever). I'll just buy a new set of decors next year. In addition to our tree, I just bought some outdoor decors from the DBP Tiangge. This one costs only 450 pesos. Zoe loves it! Next project -- our Advent wreath and Belen. I already bought a plain green garland in Tabora St. but I'm still looking for candles (3 violet and 1 pink). Do you know where I could find these?

How do I love blogging, let me count the ways...first: I've gained new friends, second: I've gained a new sense of direction (blogging helped me reflect on things), third: there's paid blogging. Hahaha. I've been contemplating for a few days now whether I should venture into the paid blogging business or not. Being a mother with a full-time job in a bank, I feel quite unsure whether I can juggle my time with the many things at hand. First and foremost, there's my family. Then I have my job. But then I also realized that if I can have more order and discipline within myself, I can manage our home, do my job well and still have time for more things. Besides, I guess it won't hurt to be doing paid blogging coz I really love blogging. It's my new-found hobby. So why not then? I've actually tried registering at Blogvertise.com . This site has given me a good feeling about writing online. It made a good impression on me with its personal touch and warm welcom

Do you have a blog or are into Facebook / Friendster? Here's an interesting read from Mercatornet -- http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/what_you_say_online_can_be_used_against_you/ Lesson Learned: Be on guard. Always be careful with what you say whether online or in person. :-)

Thanks to my online friend Prettylifeonline for giving my this award. It's great to receive something like this ON A WONDERFUL DAY LIKE TODAY! :-) I'm now passing this on to my other blog buddies: Abie, Mich, Joy, Alpha, Peachy, Kelly and Jacqui :-) Thank you for welcoming me into your bloglife. :-)

The Church celebrates today the start of the season of Advent. This is a time when Christians wait and prepare for the coming of Christ who came as a baby in a manager on Christmas Day. He also comes into our lives every single day and will come again at the end of the time. It is often a challenge and a struggle for many people to unite their faith and culture at this time of Advent. As much as we try to focus on being ready to meet and make room for the baby Jesus silently in our hearts through reflection and firm resolution to be better each day, our culture undeniably affects us too. Sometimes, we become too wrapped up with the endless parties and festivity, often becoming distracted in our preparation for the real feast of Christmas. God precisely gives us Advent to provide us the time to focus. He understands that we need time to prepare for His coming. Advent helps us collect our thoughts and desires so that when the day of Christmas finally comes, we, with our pure and clean he

Yesterday, Zoe officially joined the Jollibee-lovers club. As young as she is, Zoe has fallen in love --- with Jollibee! She was star-struck as we passed by the Jollibee statue that we had to stop for some photo ops! The picture says it all. This picture was taken in Jollibee Glorietta 4. After taking the picture-taking, we decided to head to McDo for merienda, as planned. Hahaha. :-)

I have been a fan of Gingersnaps since I got preggy. I bought most of my prego clothes from them. My hubby fondly remembers falling asleep in one of the sofas in their Powerplant branch while I was so busy fitting their clothes. Super unforgettable talaga since it took me around 2 hours just "inspecting" their items. Talagang antok (at gastos!) ang inabot ni hubby ko. Compared to that particular incident, our Gingersnap Sale experience is just the opposite. We visited their warehouse last Friday, November 30. Although we got a little lost while looking for the place, it was all worth it. We only spent around 15-20 minutes there (arrived around 4:45 pm na) but it was so productive! Hehe. Plus, hubby did not fall asleep! Hahaha! He even helped me get the best items and paid for all of it too! Woohoo! Here are some of the clothes which we got for Zoe. Complete na wardrobe ni Zoe up to next year LOL! Hoping to go back there and be able to buy more for my inaanaks and friends'

Truly I am a sucker for sales and discounts. Basta sale nandun ako. Lately, I've been fortunate enough to be stumbling on very good buys. It all started with the annual bazaar at DBP. I was able to buy shorts, pajamas, a pair of jeans and a nice flowery dress for Zoe and some Christmas decors for a very cheap price. Next was the Richwell Sale in Libis. I was able to get a Carebears Ride On and Winx shoes for Zoe plus some other toys for inaanaks. Tapos last Friday, I chanced upon this info about the sale of Gingersnaps in Pasig. We rushed over there around 4:45 pm even when it's about to close at 5pm. And super steal talaga! For 20 minutes only, I was able to buy dozens of shirts and dresses for Zoe at a super low price! Low as in low! I will blog about my purchases later on. And then today, I went to 168 and Tabora St. and was able to bring home one "sako-full" of goodies! We'll you see, I've got lots of people to give gifts to this Christmas and I thought th

Last tag na, promise. Thanks Peachy for this love chain... The rule:When you get tagged, you have to add your name next to the person who tagged you and by doing so you are letting the list grow. Limadang.com RamblingMoo.com blogginginmypyjamas StylewithPassion Chinneeq Dora-zooropazoo Babyshern HiPnCooLMoMMa Rachel’s Soulful Thoughts When Silence Speaks My Love. My life. My everything. On A Wonderful Day Like Today Don't break the chain! I'm tagging Jacqui and Mich!

Sorry Mich for the super delayed tag. I enjoyed this one. Thanks sis. 1. How long have you been blogging? I started around mid-2005 prior to my wedding. I eventually deleted that then created another one which was my pregnancy blog Feb 2006. 2. What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors? I've always loved to write. But if I'm good at writing, well, that's the question, LOL. No mentors really, just started to be inspired by the blogs of other people here and abroad. 3. Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun? Still purely for fun but I'm contemplating on venturing into paid blogging too, but not sure yet. 4. Tell me 3 things you LOVE about being online. Family and friends are just a click away. Information is also just one click away. Shopping is also (fortunately and unfortunately) a click away. 5. Tell me 3 things you STRUGGLE within the online world? It's hard to stop when you pop. Sagabal minsan sa work. Some people can giv

Sorry if I'm doing a marathon of the tags. This one is from Norms and Joey. Your Lakbayan grade is C! I guess I need to expand my Philippine travels pa. :-) The farthest I've been coming from Metro Manila is just Iloilo (by plane) and Ilocos Sur and Cagayan Valley (by land). Here's the link for this those who are interested to do this tag: http://forge.codedgraphic.com/lakbayan/

Got tagged by Kelly and Norm: 1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them. 2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below). 3. Pick your month of birth. 4. Highlight the traits that apply to you. 5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them. 6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it! Here’s mine birth month : MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally . Firm Standpoint . Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream . Strong clairvoyance. Understanding . Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling . Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking . High spirited. Spendthrift. My Birth Month The Twelve

Thanks Eds for the tag. 5 things found in my bag wallet, cellphone, pencilcase (for my receipts), umbrella, camera 5 things found in my wallet money!, atm cards, credit cards, membership / discount cards, starbucks planner sticker card 5 things found in my room bed, tv, dvd player, zoe's crib, aircon 5 things I’ve always wanted to do paint, travel again, own a business, eliminate all my debts, lose weight LOL 5 things I'm currently into doing mommy duties, xmas shopping, blogging, net surfing, dining out 5 people to tag for this nikki, apols, norm, alpha, kathy

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The air is cooler... Everyone's on the race for Starbucks 2008 Planner! LOL Even Coke has the Christmas-feel... And who can deny it? There's trafic everywhere! Here's calling everybody to help stop the commercialization of Christmas!!! Many people forget (and that includes me) that Christmas is not just about the cool air, the lights, the shopping sprees, the gifts or the material things. It's about Christ's birthday--- about Love! :-) Advance Merry Christmas everyone!

I've been seeing a lot of the Xmas trees among my blog-mates. Makes me feel "huli--huli" na coz we haven't pulled out our tree yet. So meantime, here's my model treeeee! This is the Christmas tree in Powerplant Mall. Love the red and gold trimmings! Really Christmas-y! :-)

Yup, "I feel the earth move under my skin"...lalaladadadada. It was around 12:27 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2007. Just when I was at the Penthouse of one of the buildings here in Makati attending noontime mass and just after the consecration part, we felt shaken by an earthquake. I held my mini-pouch to my chest and looked at the others, some of whom looked scared as me. Surprisingly, the priest didn't stop saying the liturgy while the ground was shaking. But after everything was normal, that was the time the priest asked if we were alright. I hate to admit it, even if I was at mass, at the very presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I still got scared for a minute, promise. My first crazy thought was, naku, kami ang unang marerescue kung tumumba tong building na to since nasa Penthouse kami! Hahaha. Tapos, after the mass, I thought twice if I would ride the elevator. Praning na. Takot ako baka dun ako matuluyan :-) I texted my hubby who was in QC and he said he didn'

...not losing weight. After a long and tiring hunt for the best Christmas buys in Greenhills yesterday (Sunday), we decided to have these for MERIENDA: Yes, we had rice, bulalo steak and dinuguan at Razon's... ...plus a sweet and wonderful finale! It's the best-tasting halu-halo for me. I was so excited to eat it, I forgot to take a picture before digging in. :-) I know that it's ultra high in cholesterol and calories but it definitely made us feel that life is indeed great when you're able to talk and spend quality time with the love of your life (though I'm getting fatter by the minute). LOL.