On A Wonderful Day Like Today

~~~baby names! I just couldn't get enough of it that I feel my husband wants to change topic everytime I bring it out in our conversations. Well, I don't think it's because he's disinterested. He just keeps telling me to wait until we know baby's gender before I give a name. I guess he's right. There are a million names that we can give the baby and I shouldn't waste time daydreaming. The right name will come when the right time comes. I love you baby!

When I'm feeling bleh~~~ I look at the picture of my husband and little Zoe (such as this one) and I feel better already. Their smiles are contagious! :-)

The Chinese communities worldwide celebrated their New Year today. For the most part, we are swarmed with good luck charms, horoscopes and "tikoy" (a delicious traditional Chinese rice delicacy). Even on television, there are endless features on what kinds of signs are lucky for this Year of the Ox and what type of Home Business Ideas will definitely soar for this year. They even add in several tips on how to attract money into their Home Based Business by putting several charms and crystals in the place of their business. With all these beliefs surrounding us, it may tend to make people believe that success in business is mainly based on luck. Of course, it is not. It also would depend a lot too on hard work, creativity, customer service and product quality. For someone like me who has no experience in doing business, it would also be good to get proper training on what is the latest and most effective way to earn honest money these days. Experts may tell you now that e-co...

Please pardon my "katamaran" for posting so late the awards which I have received from blog-friends. I never seem to find the right time to write a post about it and to thank all of them for such un-deserved awards. First, from Pat~~ thanks a bunch Pat! I really felt so FAB after receiving this. and then from Ai ~ hi Ai! I hope your little daughter's better already. Take care of your health too! and finally from Tet ~ Tet, you are so thoughtful and I love receiving awards from you!! Thanks!!!

Hi! My family and I just arrived from a 4d 3n vacation in Iloilo/Bacolod. It was so fun but tiring and expensive ~~~ Nevertheless, I wouldn't exchange that wonderful time with my family for the world! We only got to take a few pictures during this trip because we were mostly busy chasing the little girl around. Hahaha! You see, she's really into her terrible two-moments now. Anyway, I promise to post the pics here (maybe tomorrow if I remember to bring my usb cable). I'll also add some side kwento from the trip. On baby #2 naman ~~~ well, I'm hoping and praying that I'll continue to feel good. I still don't experience any morning sickness or something of that kind. Hopefully, unlike the last time, I don't need to take time off from work because of this pregnancy. I've gain some weight during the weekend (blame it on all that delicious Ilonggo food!) and I hope it's all good and healthy for the baby. :-) More updates soon! But for now, I gotta go back...

I just remember now how eye-opening my Christmas was. Because of the many conversations I exchanged with family members and friends, I was able to see how hard life really is right now. I realized that much of the things talked about during our reunions were on financial problems and the deteriorating economy. In fact, one of the topics during my ODP reunion revolved around the growing problem of doing business especially in the banking sector. Many of my friends who work in bank operations have been given very high targets for the year. They really have been feeling weary for they already foresee that it would be very hard for them to reach their targets. I learned that the problem that is common is with loans. Many are losing in business that some are unable to pay their long term loans through regular amortizations and are now asking for Loan Modification . Some businesses, for example, in steel and manufacturing, have been sorely hit by the recession in the US and European markets...

Just sharing some pictures of (soon-to-be-big-sister) Zoe, taken during the long holiday break:

Sometimes, I really think if I'm on the right path as far as my family life and career are concerned. I have a fairly stable and well-paying job for the past 12 years. I already finished my graduate studies 5 years ago. I have been happily married for the past 3 years (and counting). My daughter Zoe may be starting to go to school this June and I'm having another baby by the third quarter of this year. Some may say that I'm already successful but sometimes I really wonder if success is the same as staying with the right priorities in life. Making changes is really hard especially for someone like me. I would probably stay where I am unless I am forced to move. I think that the only major factor that can make me give up my job or to transfer to another job would be my family. With a new baby coming this year, I think it's high time to reassess. I realize that what's really keeping me from moving on is because I'm lazy to explore my options. One of the ideas which...

I really need to start packing... We will be on a short vacation from tomorrow afternoon until Sunday. I think it would be great time to bond as a family. I'm so looking forward to this... this... this... and lots, lots more!

How do you deal with a teenager who is failing in school, addicted to computer games, often misbehaves and even lies to you? I do know that teenagers really go through a tough time growing up (for I have experienced it myself) but I really do not know anymore what to do with our teenager at home. In my family, we were all raised with love and trust. My parents instilled in us the virtue of responsibility, honesty and industry. Although we had our share of rebelliousness in the past, my sister and I were more or less well-behaved. We never really gave our parents a headache. In fact, I even think we made our parents proud by getting into the state university and graduating with honors. The problem now lies in our adopted brother. You see, we had F when he was just 3 years old when his father (my dad's cousin) asked my parents if they could take care of one of his children since, because of poverty, he could no longer provide for the needs of most of his children. That was the beginn...

...definitely for the better ! Key words for 2009: Pray.Hope.Trust.Love.Baby!!!

I'm planning to sell my new Belle de Jour Power Planner 2009 . Anyone interested? I'm giving it away for only P450 + actual cost of shipping. Email me here if you want this!

Zoe woke up on Christmas morning and found a big box for her from Santa Claus. The card says - "To dear Zoe, From Santa!" "Dad, let's find out what's inside!" Eagerly waiting... "I wonder what's this pink thing..." It's a BIKE!!!! "Let me try it, let me try it!" "I'm giddy happy!" "Ain't it cute?" Off she goes! "Thank you Santa!"

True to tradition in my family, the day before Christmas, we prepared some Christmas give-aways and shiny 5-peso coins for those kids (and parents too) who pass by our house and greet us with a "Merry Christmas po!" on Christmas morning. And although we all know that these people sometimes greet just for the sake of getting something (particularly money), we in our family, nevertheless, take advantage of this day to be a little bit more generous to the others. This year, our loot bag composed of 2 pieces of daladan fruit and a variety of candies. We also handed out some money to the kids. When Zoe is a little older, we hope to be able to instill in her this virtue of charity and the actual experience of sharing your blessings to others. By this, she will live the tradition and hopefully pass it on.

Warning: This is a back post. We still had to go to work on December 24 so it was a mad rush to get home (took undertime from work) to arrive just in time for the 7:30 p.m. anticipated mass in our village chapel. When we got home, Zoe already had taken a bath and was dressing up already. We decided to make her wear her lavender gown (it was a Feast Day A anyway) - this one she last wore during my Dad's wedding last May. :-) She looked so cute that many people made comments on how she was dressed so nicely for the celebration. During the offertory, our family offered something special to be given to the priest. This was like a thanksgiving for the many blessings, both material and spiritual, which we have received for the past year. After mass, we took some more pictures and then put Zoe to sleep already. For the very first time, my Dad was not with us during Noche Buena (he was in Batangas). Anyway, we said our thanks, prayers and happy birthday's to Jesus before eating our No...

Hi everyone! It's already 2009. Happy New Year to you! It's the first day of the year and I find myself blogging again after a rather long rest from blogging. The house is quiet and it's nice. I could smell something good coming from the kitchen (I wonder what's for breakfast). My hubby is still asleep while Zoe is with her yaya outside so I have the whole first floor to myself. I want sana to write a longer post but then I just realized now that, in a few hours, my relatives will be arriving again and I still haven't cooked a single thing for lunch! So maybe I'll just log in again later tonight when the party's done (oh well, if I'm not too tired). I still have a lot of stories and pictures to post! Meanwhile, I wish you all good health, happiness and love this new year and the years to come!