Happy Halloween!

Boo Pooh!

Happy Anniversary!

...3 years of marriage

...10 years of love

...11 years of friendship

Happy Anniversary!

Parents of Little Flower Beatified

This may be unknown to many but I am sharing here the news article about the recent beatification of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower.

Parents of St Therese of Lisieux beatified
Monday, 20 October 2008 15:46

The cardinal who celebrated the beatification Mass of the parents of St Therese of Lisieux urged those present to thank God for their own parents.

"I have thought about my own father and mother, and I would like you also to think at this moment of your father and mother, so we will thank God together for having created us and made us Christians through the married love of our parents," said Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, former prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes.

"Receiving life is a wonderful thing. But it is still more admirable for us that our parents should have led us to the Church, which alone is capable of forming Christians. No one can become a Christian by himself," the cardinal said at the October 19 beatification Mass for Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin in St Therese Basilica.

Among the approximately 15,000 people attending the Mass was a six-year-old Italian, Pietro Schillero.

When he was 13 months old, his parents prayed for the intercession of the Martins to cure his fatal lung condition; in 2003, the Church recognised the cure as miraculous.

In a message read at the beatification Mass, Pope Benedict XVI said that the Martins had "proclaimed the Gospel" through their exemplary lives, passing on their "ardent faith" to their children. The Pope said he hoped their example would be "a source of joy and hope for all parents and all families".

Cardinal Saraiva Martins said St Therese, who died of hemoptysis, or bleeding of the lungs, at age 24, had described her parents as "more worthy of heaven than earth".

The "secret of success" of the Martins' Christian life, the cardinal said, had been their readiness to "walk humbly with God in seeking the advice of the Lord," while also "placing all aspects of their lives in harmony with Church teachings."

He added that the Martins were a "gift to parents," widows and widowers, and those facing illness and death.

"Louis and Zelie are a gift for spouses of all ages, through the esteem, respect and harmony with which they loved for 19 years," the cardinal said. "They lived the promises of marriage, the faithfulness of engagement, the indissolubility of the bond, the fruitfulness of love, in happiness and in trials, in health and in
sickness."

Marie Zelie Guerin married Louis Martin, a watchmaker and jeweler, in 1858. She died of cancer in 1877, at the age of 46, after giving birth to nine children.

Four of the Martins' children died in infancy. The five who survived all entered religious life.

This piece of news interests me a lot because I just love their story as a family. Their life story is definitely a must read for parents and for those who are planning to get married and raise a family in the grace of God.

Vacation Plans for Next Year

Lately, I've been thinking about our travel plans for next year. Actually, I think it all started with the advance booking I made for our travel this January to visit my dear sister. And then only yesterday, I got to also book another lovely trip to Cebu just for me and my husband in time for a Valentine's weekend at Marco Polo Cebu Hotel (but I still need to find time to pay for it through PAL).

Now, I can't seem to get my mind off making another trip for next year and hopefully, it's out of the country. It was a frugal year for us this year so we opted to skip the out of the country trip. In addition, although we were both aching to go to Hong Kong or to Singapore again for our second honeymoon, we simply could not take leaving Zoe at home with the nanny for five straight days.

Anyway, as for plans, we are aiming high this year. We want to go to Hong Kong and Macau and if given the budget, maybe we can try to go also to Germany and visit my relatives there. Speaking of Germany, I've recently heard about this online Intercasino. This site is in German and it can help you play the game with more ability and strategy. I'm not sure if my uncles and cousins are really into this but anyway, I'm just so looking forward to the possibility of seeing all of them again.

This post is a paid review.

Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe

I was craving for some seafood pasta yesterday so I asked hubby to make a detour to Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe along C5 road for a quick dinner before we head to Shopwise for our weekly grocery.

I'm blogging about the place since it's actually our first time to dine here. The place is really cozy and homey.

And we were both surprised that their lemonade is colored in an attractive blue color. :-)

For the husband, he ordered his ultimate comfort food ~ Callos.

I had a fettucine with salmon and capers (not posting the pic here because it turned out blurred). Anyway, it tasted good but the serving is a bit small (at least for someone with a huge appetite like me). Hahaha!

Lights, Camera, Action!

As I blogged here last week, our humble home was chosen to be a shoot location for a television show. Nah, it's not really for something big but we thought it would be a new and great experience to have our house used for something for tv.

Anyway, here are some snippets:

Here's a picture of our house--- supposedly a house of a rich couple, that is played by Toby Alejar and April Tolentino (if you guys don't know her, well, I don't know her too LOL). Anyway, Dexter Doria was also in the cast. Apparently, this is a telemovie by Carlo J. Caparas.

Here's my dad's room where they had some heavy drama scenes.

I checked out the bathroom and saw lights there too. My husband pointed out to me that it's needed to illumine the whole room (yup, that's our fullview mirror hidden right inside the shower cubicle).


Some pics with the artistas:

I had some small talk with Toby Alejar during one of the breaks. I told him, "So, you play a bad guy right?". He answered, "Yep, actually, more of a bad husband". "Well, we don't have that kind of fighting and bickering in THIS house", I said. He said "That's very, very good! Anyway, this is all just acting." :-)

Anyway, surprisingly, the members of the tv crew were very professional in handling our furniture at home. They even had a complete check of the items at home and even swept the floor of the living room, bedroom and bathroom to make sure it's a squeaky clean as how they found it.

So watch out for it this November. It's Count Your Blessings (M-F, 5 p.m.). You just might see our family and graduation pics in the background. LOL!

Zoe - a Jollibee Toy Scout

Thanks to the thread at n@w about the new musical Jollibee toy in the market, my husband and I were able to take Zoe out for merienda yesterday and buy that much-sought after toy. As expected, Zoe was all smiles when her Dad handed her Jollibee toy. This is actually her 2nd Jollibee toy (one of her older cousins gave her old one but that one didn't have a musical function).

Anyway, just sharing some of the pics of Zoe with her Jollibee toy:

Zoe's a happy Jollibee kid!

Dampa Again

Because I've been "complaining" on how stressful things are at work, my husband managed to take me out for dinner last Friday in order for me to destress. Hahaha. Okay sa pag-destress no?

Anyway, after leaving the office at 9 pm, we headed to Dampa in Julia Vargas to eat and unwind. Dampa has always been a great experience and it's almost always guaranteed to take your blues away (and hunger) away.

Here we are ~~~ (Dad, how come you still look fresh even after working for almost 16 hours?)

We ordered the usual: calamares and garlic buttered shrimps




Yumyum! Thanks Hunny!

Booked!

Hooray! I'm so happy that I was able to book for Iloilo this coming January (although we didn't get the cheapest rate). We'll get to see my sister again and it will also be the annual vacation of our yaya (her family is in Iloilo). I think the yaya has been working extremely hard and she deserves the vacation. :-) Thank God for credit cards and Christmas bonuses!

I'm Turning Japanese!

Your Funky Japanese Name Is

Rukinoya

What's Your Funky Japanese Name?

Easy Online Training

In these times when many of unsure of the economic condition in the country and even around the world, people find it extra hard too to find good and stable jobs that promise a secure life for them. But we need not worry, really. There are other career options that one can consider that will remain in demand amidst the worries regarding the downhill movement in the economy. One of these options is in the medical assistant field.

In addition, maybe you are a housewife or already a professional, maybe a teacher, a clerk, a bank employee or what have you and you are considering a making a career shift to improve your annual family income, you may want to take up this new career field. To complete a whole training and get a certificate or diploma, all you have to do is enroll in a medical assistant school. You need not leave the comforts of your own home and attend the traditional classroom lessons or meet strict deadlines in order to complete a course as a medical assistant. There are online courses that are available and at the reach of many. Plus the real deal is that the online courses being offered are really quite affordable.

Burnt Out

Yup, that's ME today.

On TV!

Guess what? I just got a call from someone from Channel _ asking if they can rent our humble home for a day of shooting for one of their shows (for a fee of course). That's on Sunday. Whoaaa! Well, whaddya know? The "House" is going to be on TV!

I wonder who are the celebrities who will be coming? Abangan!

Mga Kwentong Zoe

I have this habit of calling the house every lunchtime to talk to Zoe. Yup, she already knows how to use the phone and already communicates fairly well. When I ask her what she's doing, she would say either eat, car-car, banana, milk (actually, she says 'gatas'). Sometimes, she also asks me what am I doing. I say work, computer, opps (hahaha), or eat. She makes this very loud laugh (a shriek actually) that is so contagious that I wonder if my officemates think I'm crazy coz I also tend to laugh with her.

Anyway, I asked the yaya today what the little girl is busy with. She told me that Zoe spent most of the morning inside the house, playing with her "lutu-lutuan". She also engaged herself in putting her books and crayolas inside her little bag and then out again and then in again...then says "BYE-BYE" as if she's off to go somewhere.

This little kwento made me panic during the whole lunchbreak. Omigosh! Zoe wants to go to school already!!! I haven't even started school-hunting! Bad mommy!

Actually, I asked hubby this question last week ~ "If my mom were alive, would she want her granddaughter to go to school (trad or progressive) at age 2?" (My mom was a teacher for 37 years). My hubby said "we'll never know the answer now". Sad to realize this, I wanted to push the idea aside na lang and not think about where and when to send Zoe to school. But today, after some contemplation, I could hear my mom tell me, "Ask your sister or Dad. They are teachers too, you know." Okay, okay. Why did I forget that? Foolish me (maybe I'm just stuck to the mother knows best thingy). Thanks Mom, I'll call Ate soon about this. :-) Anyway, whatever is the decision, I'm sure it will be the okay.

I Think...

...I'm coming down with a flu.

Photo credit here.

I Can See

I have been wearing eyeglasses for my astigmatism since I was in fifth grade. I had this bad habit of reading while in the car or while lying in bed and many times, without sufficient lighting. I only had an inkling that my eyes were getting bad when we had a crochet project and I just could not do the stitches myself. I couldn't see where my fingers and the yarn where sticking! When I finally found out that I needed to wear eyeglasses, my imagination immediately ran wild and I had visions of myself wearing thick eyeglasses or worse, going blind by the time I reach 60 years old or something. Of course, this is would probably be like an exaggeration now because now, there is no need for me, or for anyone, to worry because technology has the answer to eye problems. I had been curiously reading about LASIK information and it has been such a relief to know about this technology.

For several years now, there has been LASIK technology that is already available for those with nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism problems (like myself). In fact, did you know that NASA has even been using these eye improvement technologies to improve the performance of their mission-critical personnel? The most modern version of LASIK is the iLasik™ Procedure. It makes use of two lasers that evidently results in a method that is safer than the earlier versions of LASIK. Cool, huh?

One Word Tag

Thank you Dyes for this interesting filler!

1. Where is your cell phone? TABLE
2. Your significant other? T_NG
3. Your hair? LONG
4. Your mother? NANAY
5. Your father? BAIT
6. Your favorite thing? FOOD?
7. Your dream last night? NOPE
8. Your favorite drink? COKE
9. Your dream/goal? SAINTHOOD
10. The room you’re in? OFFICE
11. Your hobby? READING
12. Your fear? SIN
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? STATES
14. What you’re not? SLIM
15. Muffins? CHEESE
16. One of your wish list items? LAPTOP
17. Where you grew up? CAINTA
18. The last thing you did? TYPE
19. What are you wearing? JEANS
20. Favorite gadget? CELLPHONE
21. Your pets? KIKAY
22. Your computer? CLONE
23. Your mood? HAPPY
24. Missing someone? MOM
25. Your car? TOYOTA
26. Something you’re not wearing? MAKEUP
27. Favorite store? RUSTAN'S
28. Like someone?
29. Your favorite color? PINK
30. When is the last time you laughed? NOW
31. Last time you cried?

xox!

Need Help on Debt Consolidation

It's payday once again. Sadly, for many, their net pay is not enough to cover everything that needs to be paid. The prices of basic commodities have been rising and there are still various bills to be taken care of.

In our case, we honestly are feeling the economic crunch and had been more conscious in trying to avoid any unnecessary expense. This means limiting our dining out and staying away from the malls (there are I think at least 3 big malls on a 3-day sale this weekend!). We also are now more careful in budget planning. On top of that, my husband and I already made a pact some days ago to use our forthcoming Christmas bonus and 13th month pay to zero out most of our existing credit card balances (of course, after we have settled the annual payment for Zoe's college educational plan due this December). Actually, just thinking of the huge interest rates these credit cards are charging makes me want to scream! I often ask myself, "How did I get myself into this big mess? Is this all my fault? Vina, when will you ever be able to clear your debt when there are just too many expenses at hand?"

But there's still hope I guess. First, I still need to be thankful for our present jobs for bringing food to the table. Compared to those without jobs or those without food to eat, right? As long as we are both employed, we can see through the end of the tunnel. Actually, I also have been contemplating on getting a non profit debt consolidation loan to end this vicious cycle of debts once and for all. One of the more practical solutions available nowadays, debt consolidation can be a great aid in paying for existing loans and revolving credit card debts that seem to be never-ending.

Smile

Dyes sent me something to smile about! Thank you!

Smiling is infectious,

You can catch it like the flu.

Someone smiled at me today,

And I started smiling too.
Toss this smile along to your friends who brightened up your day

or those whose days you want to brighten up.
Smile!
Each day is a wonderful reason to celebrate!

10 (More) Reasons You're Not Rich

I received this article from one of my egroups and thought it's worth sharing.

10 (More) Reasons You're Not Rich

by Jeffrey Strain
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 provided by The Street

Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.

The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.

The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.

Here are 10 more possible reasons you aren't rich:

You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved.

You feel entitlement: If you believe you deserve to live a certain lifestyle, have certain things and spend a certain amount before you have earned to live that way, you will have to borrow money. That large chunk of debt will keep you from building wealth.

You lack diversification: There is a reason one of the oldest pieces of financial advice is to not keep all your eggs in a single basket. Having a diversified investment portfolio makes it much less likely that wealth will suddenly disappear.

You started too late: The magic of compound interest works best over long periods of time. If you find you're always saying there will be time to save and invest in a couple more years, you'll wake up one day to find retirement is just around the corner and there is still nothing in your retirement account.

You don't do what you enjoy: While your job doesn't necessarily need to be your dream job, you need to enjoy it. If you choose a job you don't like just for the money, you'll likely spend all that extra cash trying to relieve the stress of doing work you hate.

You don't like to learn: You may have assumed that once you graduated from college, there was no need to study or learn. That attitude might be enough to get you your first job or keep you employed, but it will never make you rich. A willingness to learn to improve your career and finances are essential if you want to eventually become wealthy.

You buy things you don't use: Take a look around your house, in the closets, basement, attic and garage and see if there are a lot of things you haven't used in the past year. If there are, chances are that all those things you purchased were wasted money that could have been used to increase your net worth.

You don't understand value: You buy things for any number of reasons besides the value that the purchase brings to you. This is not limited to those who feel the need to buy the most expensive items, but can also apply to those who always purchase the cheapest goods. Rarely are either the best value, and it's only when you learn to purchase good value that you have money left over to invest for your future.

Your house is too big: When you buy a house that is bigger than you can afford or need, you end up spending extra money on longer debt payments, increased taxes, higher upkeep and more things to fill it. Some people will try to argue that the increased value of the house makes it a good investment, but the truth is that unless you are willing to downgrade your living standards, which most people are not, it will never be a liquid asset or money that you can ever use and enjoy.

You fail to take advantage of opportunities: There has probably been more than one occasion where you heard about someone who has made it big and thought to yourself, "I could have thought of that." There are plenty of opportunities if you have the will and determination to keep your eyes open.

Legally Blonde (The Musical)

My dear sister will be directing another musical in their school. They've already done Les Miserable, Wicked, and something else (forgot na what it was) in the past. Anyway, for this year, they're already preparing to do Legally Blonde, the Musical. The kids are really excited!

Anybody here in blogsphere who has a soundtrack that I could borrow? :-) This musical sounds so interesting...

Hello Everyone!

Hot Myspace Generators

Wiwi, the Poo-poo

I got this book for only 40 bucks at the Book Sale in Megamall when we were there last weekend with my Ate. I bought it with the secret hope of making Zoe potty trained after a day or two. Guess what? After starting last Sunday, she is now successful at making "wiwi" and "poo-poo" in the CR for the past three days!!!

Here's what's written in the book:

Potty Training For Dummies is your total guide to the mother of all toddler challenges. Packed with painless solutions and lots of stress-reducing humor, it helps you help your little pooper make a smooth and trauma-free transition from diapers to potty.

You’ll discover how to:
- Read the signs that your tot is ready
- Motivate your toddler to want to give up diapers
- Kick off potty training on the right foot
- Foster a team approach
- Deal with setbacks and pee and poop pranks
- Make potty training a loving game rather than a maddening ordeal

I don't know if we're just lucky or what but bottomline is -- I'M A PROUD MOMMY!

p.s. Much of the credit also goes to Yaya Cat for being a patient "Ate" to Zoe during those many awkward moments. Thanks Cat!

Zoe Invades Greenbelt

After all these years of going to Makati, we just realized only last weekend that we actually have not yet brought Zoe to Greenbelt. So we did just that when I had to go to a TAG meeting last Saturday morning.

Thank You!

Thanks Pat for this! :-) I really appreciate it!

Take a Closer Look

I'll make a little experiment.

Question: Does this picture make you salivate and have that "tam-asim" feeling?


If yes, then we're on the same boat! :-) LOL.

I just love those mangorind candies. I could eat it all in one sitting.

Holiday Merienda

This is kind of a back-post. Pictures taken last Wednesday, October 1, during the non-working holiday.

We decided to just stay at home the whole day last Wednesday. We munched on these for merienda.

Banana-que:


Bread with pesto spread:


Corned beef spaghetti:

Thank heavens for holidays!

Just Want to Say...

Parenting on a Shoestring

I read about this Mercatornet article (of the same title) and it gave me several realizations as a parent.

I realized that parenting is not about those trips abroad, those expensive toys or having that colorful time-out mat to discipline your kid. It's about showing your kids that you truly love them and that you set the proper example on how to live as a good person regardless if the rest of the world is acting in chaos or in lack of virtue. And regardless is you have money in abundance or not.