~ a sneak peek ~

Handbook 2009

2009-02-26T11:36:00.000+01:00

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and most importantly, prayer.

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in 2008.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the
past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:

40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about

:)

in the meantime...

2008-09-11T10:46:00.016+02:00

i've been out of blogspot for a while now and have been busy with my new hobby that is baking. i thank you for your visits, and apologize for not keeping up to date, domestic duties are endless and i only usually have time to browse other sites than update mine. anyway, i do keep my baking site quite active, whenever i have new goodies from the oven, so if you guys want to check them out and keep up to date with what's up with us, do visit! :) plus of course, there's the rest of our lives in photos and videos at our multiply site, the blogging has taken a backseat there as well.

i've done a few cakes to date and here's some of those custom-made ones i did. see you around! :)

despedida cake

14th birthday cake and cupcakes

birthday cake

the next level :)

2008-08-09T07:25:00.002+02:00

i've dared to try the next level of cakes decorating that is fondant. here is my very first creation, for a friend's daughter's 1st birthday. she didn't have any theme or design request so it's all me, i hope they like it! :)

this is definitely a first for me, no practice at all... well, if you think making a plane, train, truck, bike and bus with playdough counts, then i did have a little bit of warm-up the day before :).

the fondant i made a few days before, since i wasn't very confident about it and was open to re-doing it again in case it didn't work. but thankfully, it was perfect! especially for a beginner :)

i did pray a lot before starting making the fondant and the cake so that's my secret weapon! :)

and i have to admit... i can't stop staring at the cake! so, today i'm immortalizing my creation just before it gets eaten at the party later. :p

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-08-05T15:03:00.002+02:00

Life before and after Christ changed them.

*Oh How He Loves us*

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.
Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so.

So we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

That he loves us,
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves

audio:http://www.fredmckinnon.com/media/how_he_loves_us.mp3

about the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chx6s3qXKt4&feature=related

Fw: Ironman - the best ever!!!

2008-08-05T11:56:00.002+02:00

very touching video... can't help but share it :)

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'. The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile 2.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island . Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this race at.......

project: baking :)

2008-07-25T17:51:00.016+02:00

i've been out of circulation for the longest time! it feels like ages since i last updated this blog. and why is that? well, i have to admit that i've fallen in love.. and dear hubby knows about it and has nothing but full support :) i've been crazy about baking since the my first cupcakes! and from then and i've been working the oven for at least three cakes a week, and i'm loving it! it's been almost two months now and i've been doing the baking (by repeated orders, at that! :)) religiously as the family enjoy the yummy "scraps". here are some of my creations, i've been updating aprilcakes site in multiply when i have new goodies baked so do check it out, too! very special thanks to my loyal photographer and number 1 supporter, my dear husband and to the two little happy eaters who always say "i love your cakes/cupcakes/cookies, mommy! they're soooo yummy!". :)

these cupcakes are for today:

just in case you've forgotten my first works :)my mango cream cakes. the first one:

and the second one:a special carrot cake:

my best selling chocolate cakes:
same taste, different looks:

and another look:

my attempt to a baked cheesecake:and my experimental mocha cake:
and the one that went to market: and lastly, i would like to introduce the star of my baking (apart from me, that is! :p), my newest baby... my kenwood chef titanium 1000 watts kitchen machine. i just love it!!! i can now say i will never look at another kitchen machine, ever! i love that it made my mixing so easy, i enjoyed baking much more the moment i got this. it is not cheap, yes. but i see myself growing old with it! hehehe. the family just loves it, too... we are cake people! :)

i am so looking forward to taking the next steps... like fondant cakes, character cakes and fun toppers. but those will happen slowly, so do checkout my cakes site for updates! ciao! :)

stay healthy

2008-07-24T06:27:00.000+02:00

got this from a friend. something worth knowing!

Reasons for sleeping and waking up early.

Evening at 9 - 11pm: is the time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.

Evening at 11pm - 1am: is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am rather than no meal at all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

Live Life Without Limits!

AND PASS THIS EMAIL TO WHOM YOU CARE

The top five cancer-causing foods are:

1. Hot dogs
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.

2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams .

5. Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------

The main causes of liver damage are:

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.

6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.

7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule."

DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH...... ......... ...

AND PASS THIS TO ALL WHOM YOU LOVE & CARE FOR......... ......... ....

get paid online, and it works! :)

2008-07-11T11:02:00.003+02:00

Come join this site called BestPaidOnline and make money with me.

They are a Pay To Read site. This means you get paid to read your E-Mail or surf the net, hey you're surfing now... Wouldn't it be better if someone paid you?
What are you waiting for come and join now... you know you want to...
Click Here or copy this into your address bar:
http://www.bestpaidonline.com/?r=fab1801

Welcome aboard from the staff at BestPaidOnline.com!

calzen

2008-07-10T14:15:00.004+02:00

now, this is just something i feel i should write about! my four-and-a-half year old is really making me proud :)

his "formal studies" will start late august this year but he's already a few baon from our sort-of home-schooling sessions. he can basicaly read easy words already, those phonetic and simple ones... well, reads phonetically so you can't expect he can read "the", "photos", "kitchen" and other more complex words the way they are supposed to be read, but he can read them. and boy, am i proud!

this afternoon, while blues clues was running on the tv and the little one was asleep. i told him his friend will be visiting, so he got excited and said "ok, let's clean up!" - i always tell him to clean up when we'll be having visitors... (so please try to avoid giving us a surprise visit! hehe). after cleaning up, he got a paper and a pen and i continued cleaning up a bit more. then i heard him mumbling "cah... cahhll... cah... lllvvv.. caalllvvv... iiinnn". i just ignored it and then he went up to me and showed me what he was working on. he handed me a paper that said "CALZEN", i almost cried the moment i saw it... babaw no? :) pero i just felt so proud and happy! well, he gets a bit confused with V and Z so corrected him with that and may need reminder with how "I" is read and pronounced sometimes, but hey, he's got it! and that really makes me proud, it's the first time he tried spelling a new word, he usually just spells common ones like dog and cat. :)

these little milestones just make us ecstatic, excited and proud, don't you agree? i hope and pray he keeps it up! :)

The Flame of Friendship - keep it burning! :)

2008-07-09T18:32:00.001+02:00

The Flame of Friendship

The Flame of Friendship.

A symbol of spirit of unity.

The burning icon of love.

Undying picture of hope.

The hot symbol of oneness.

The Flame of Friendship.

And now it’s your turn to flame yourself! Meet new friends. Discover friendship. Make bonds. Copy this post starting from the PICTURE ABOVE to the end and add your blog on the list below.

Let’s start FLAMING!

Tiklaton: We are the witness

Janeth’s Vicy’s Life Journey

My Precious Pitstop

Thea is Blogger Happy

Thea is Berry Scrappy Too

Scribbles of My Life

In This Game of Life

Shimumsy’s Republic of A Princess Vien

Our Journey To Life

Life. Love. Family. Work. Travel.

Reflexes
A Sneak Peek

Thanks Roselle, for the tag and I now pass this friendship flame to Ralline and Lohanna.

Magnitude 5.4 quake rocks parts of Luzon, Metro Manila

2008-07-08T10:11:00.001+02:00

July 8, 2008 breaking news from Inquirer.net:

Magnitude 5.4 quake rocks parts of Luzon, Metro Manila

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:13:00 07/08/2008

Most Read
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News Most Read RSS
Close this

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) A 5.4-magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin rocked parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila on Tuesday morning, the second tremor of such magnitude in three days, the chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

The quake was part of an “earthquake swarm” or series of tremors that started last Thursday, caused by the movement of the East Luzon Trough off the northeastern seaboard, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said.

Solidum said “earthquake swarms” were common and could last for over a month.

The epicenter of Tuesday's earthquake was on the same location as last Sunday, 98 kilometers east of Baler town, Aurora province, with a depth of 13 kilometers, Solidum said in a phone interview.

Intensity 4 was felt in Quezon City, Manila, and Baler, intensity 3 was felt in Makati City and Dingalan town in Aurora, while intensity 2 was felt in La Trinidad town and Baguio City in the north, the Phivolcs chief said.

The tremors over these past days do not confirm rumors of a strong earthquake in the capital next week, Solidum said.

He said there was no way to predict when and where an earthquake would strike, even as scientists could estimate how much magnitude a fault was capable of producing.
Liza Cana

Proof that Men Have Better Friends than women..

2008-06-27T09:47:00.001+02:00

** I'm still here... paramdam lang at busy masyado sa kung ano-anong bagay :) **

Proof that Men Have Better Friends than women..

Friendship among Women:
A woman didn't come home one night. The next morning
she told her husband that she had slept over at a
friend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best
friends. None of them knew anything about it.

Friendship among Men:
A man didn't come home one night. The next morning he
told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's
house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends.
Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said he was still there.

best form of flattery

2008-06-13T12:14:00.002+02:00

i just received a call this morning from my very first customer and she placed another order! what more can i ask for? this is the best form of appreciation and affirmation i can ever get - a returning customer... and she's the one who got my # from the church fund raiser, not a friend nor a referral from a friend, but a genuinely pleased customer. i asked how the cupcakes were and she said they were perfect and she said she gave out my business cards to her friends and one will be having a birthday soon so i should expect a call soon.. i really need to get myself a stand mixer. it's sale season but i haven't seen any good buys, yet! :)

i'm soooo happy i could scream (oh, i did that already, the moment i put down the phone after our conversation! :p). and i have another order for this sunday while i was making sans rival today. yes, hard work, it is - feels great! :))

the dash

2008-06-12T15:20:00.003+02:00

a message forwarded by a friend. sharing with you this beautiful 3-minute poem movie. click the link at the bottom :). have may you a great "dash" ahead! God bless!

---
The Dash

In July 2006, a short 3-minute movie was launched on the Internet called
The Dash. Since then, over 40 million people from around the world have
watched it and over 20,000 a day continue to watch it as a result of
people passing it along.

The movie has been more successful than we could have ever imagined.
More importantly, however, it has inspired many people to reflect on their
lives and ask that all important question: "Are my priorities where they
should be?"

I hope you enjoy this movie and share it with those who are near and dear
to you.

Click here:

www.dashpoemmovie.com

our new driving companion

2008-06-06T20:59:00.011+02:00

i am officially retiring from one of my duties... i'm taking off my nav-girl hat now, so, meet tomtom one europe t, my replacement. it's about time! advanced happy father's day! :)

we have high expectations. an out of the blue purchase, it better be worth every franc! here's to a more relaxed and practical trip road trips ahead... and that includes avoiding traffic! :) cheers to our newest travel companion!

didn't make the cut

2008-06-06T11:13:00.007+02:00

remember britain's got talent's charlie green and madonna decena? well, they did make it to the semi-finals but their performances weren't good enough for the finals. i wasn't very impressed with both their performances in the semi's. madonna's act, i thought, was just weak compared to the other contestants and she should have chosen a better song. i don't know, maybe a miss saigon one? while charlie's new song was just not right... i think his dad's friend took advantage of the exposure, thus, putting a big risk on charlie's most important performance in the competition. he should have sang a michael buble song instead. but his talent is star quality, nonetheless.

oh, well! at least they already had the experience and exposure, it should be a big break for them. and besides, there were really much better perfomances and the winner, george sampson did deserve the win! check him out:

full steam ahead!

2008-06-05T14:59:00.007+02:00

it's now official! i'm taking the road of baking cupcakes and cakes to a full swing. wish me luck! :)

after bringing my lovely creations to putluck get-togethers and a recent kermesse (church fund-raiser), and receiving very pleasant reviews on them, i've finally decided to give it a go. and i'm so excited! i just received an order from my very first, truly impressed, customer. i say truly impressed because they got to taste the cakes in the fund-raiser... so they don't even know me. what happened last sunday was, i voluntereed to participate in the fund-raiser and just left the selling the committee members and wrote my mobile number on a piece of cardboard with the cakes for those interested in ordering for birthdays or special occasions, my over 2 dozens cupcakes were practically gone before the event finished. i am just so happy and proud! after the call from the customer last tuesday, i decided to set-up a multiply site, make a business card and flyers. now i'm really looking forward to having more people try it, so please wish me luck on my new baby! the first order is this weekend and i've another booking for next week. :)

my creations :)

2008-06-02T17:17:00.009+02:00

next week, simon is turning (terrible) two, but we had a party last saturday with other friends for a grand celebration. click here for photos of the octuple birthday celebration.

i happily made cakes for the two little celebrants who both celebrated their 2nd birthday. i also threw in some cupcakes. it was a lot of work for a day, but i'm loving it! :)

and since i keep missing opportunities in paid blogging, i'll just have to earn the hard way :p ... here are my creations... will these layouts do for a flyer? i also got to practice my photoshop skills (he-he-he). i'm still waiting for my tools, which explains why the decors are quite the same... hopefully they arrive soon so i won't have any more excuse! :p

yes, this one below is from the last entry :)

my sinful chocolate cakes... :)

the new batch:

i'm really enjoying doing this craft! :)

first and last

2008-05-30T17:39:00.002+02:00

Thanks, Jody for the tag :)
Participants: 1. Me and Mine 2. Creative in Me 3. Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. Supermodel Wannabe 7. FunFierceFaboulous 8. A Sweet Taste of Life 9. My Simple Joys 10. In This Game of Life 11. Scribbles of My Life 12. ADD YOUR BLOG!

First
* First real job: Accountant (Nestle)
* First screen name: abrilata :p
* First funeral: my uncle, dad's side
* First pet: dog, i think!
* First piercing: ears
* First tattoo: none yet!
* First credit card: JCB
* First kiss: 1st bf (not hubby! shh....)
* First enemy: baka yung mga kalaro ko nung bata pa ako. hehehe

Last
* Last car ride: last sunday from a birthday party
* Last kiss: from the little simon and franco, before they slept

y is for yanina

2008-05-26T16:46:00.007+02:00

this is what i am up to lately. and i've just ordered two books and cookie cutters with the thought of doing this for a long time from now on... :)

made these today as a mini birthday treat. i hope she likes it! been practicing for a couple of days now in time for the little boy's 2nd birthday :)

Gever Tulley: 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do

2008-05-23T15:06:00.005+02:00

Tagged : Arte Y Pico Award

2008-05-19T09:09:00.004+02:00

Awarded by blogging buddyRoselle. Thank you very much, I appreciate it a lot!

Now there are some rules, I need to pick five other blogs to get this award..

For those of you receiving the Award, here are the rules:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

Make sure you visit the link above.

I would like to present this award now to my very good friend and neighbor Haydee, dear friend Ralline, blogmates Shiela, Joy and Amor . Have a good week ahead! :)

WW#5: My Boys

2008-05-14T11:31:00.000+02:00

In My Life

(Lennon/McCartney)

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

In My Life... I love you most!

rush hour in china

2008-05-13T13:16:00.004+02:00

better make sure you fit! well, at least the guards are helping! :)

a very last minute trip to Prague, Czech Republic

2008-05-12T11:49:00.020+02:00

this is one feat for the books. last weekend was ascension holiday and we had no plans for the long weekend. our family friends were set to go on a trip to prague - two families and a single - together. we, on the other hand, didn't quite plan on anything - we were home bound. well, we do want to join them, but the airfare was quite high and the overnight train trip was expensive, as well. so, we decided to just have a go to prague another time, under a more reasonable price ;)... but i have a mole on the sole of my feet, and if you know our pinoy pamahiins, people w/ that are lakwatsera's. and i guess, being lakwatsera by nature, the long weekend was too tempting to just stay home or within the country.

so friday came and we still had nothing planned, i surfed the net, and looked at the airline websites again (as i've been doing for the past week). out of the blue i decided to check the flights from a different airport... and what do you know! i found the best flight schedule i could think of. i was actually looking for a latter date trip, but the dates weren't just right, so i consulted hubby, asked him if he could squeeze in two days of leave... he said he couldn't, i was sad. it was the perfect schedule for us, low-priced airfare, the little one was still free, the eldest was at a reduced airfare rate and the days and time were just right... although the weather forecast mild showers, still it was just perfect! i was still asking him the same questions until he finally thought maybe he can give it a shot. so he filed his leave and we're set to go! i booked the flights and the accomodation in a blink of an eye and told our friends who were already there that we're on our way to join them in the excursion, and we'll be staying for 4 days! yipeee! :)

prague is just a beautiful city, #1 in our list right now. you see, we went to paris, and was really really impressed, and then we went to barcelona and barcelona topped paris for us. and now, prague is just at the top of our charts! the city is so rich in history, charm and is just amazing. from the old town, to prague castle, the vtlava river, the charles bridge and the entire city itself... is just full of history! it is indeed a gem of europe, one of the most beautiful cities, indeed and it was especially enchanting at night. and the food was great, too! :)

we were truly blessed to be able to go and hear mass in the Church of Our Lady Victorious – where the miraculous Prague Infant Jesus is. it was the coronation feastday of the sto. nino, so many pinoys mostly from cebu were on a pilgrimage there and we even had free lunch because of the occasion. :)

so if you're planning on touring europe, i highly recommend paying a visit to prague for at least 3 days. and if you're up for more photos, just click here for some images of the old town, the prague castle, the vtlava river, the charles bridge and much more! enjoy! it's one of my dream destinations come true, indeed! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2008-05-11T06:35:00.001+02:00

Thanks, Jody dear, for the greeting! :)

Sending warm hugs and sweet kisses to all my dear mommy friends and blog-mates. Wishing you a day full of love and wonderful surprises! Mwah! :*)

Tagged [Bloggers Around The Globe]

2008-05-08T08:10:00.006+02:00

I was tagged by Meeya - thanks, girl! :)

Let all the bloggers around the globe come together in unity by blog linking. All you have to do is add your name to the list. Don’t forget to specify the country where you are from and of course, link your name to your respective blog. If you have two or more blogs, add and link ‘em all. Then invite 8 or more bloggers to do the same. Here we go!

Julia from Philippines, Catherine from Malaysia, Shi from USA, Mitch from Philippines, Hailey from Philippines, Sexymom from USA, Liza from Philippines, Sasha from Philippines, Thess from Netherlands, Marie from Philippines, Evi from Canada, Christine - Marikit from AU. Christine - Strawberrygurl from AU, Meeya (Marikit, Memes, and Finds) from USA, April from Switzerland and YOU

so to continue the trip around the world, i'm tagging Haydee in Switzerland, Lohannah in USA, Mich in Singapore, Joy in Australia, Marlet in Hawaii, Amor in France, Ralline in the Philippines and Hugi in India. :)

I WON!!!! :)

2008-05-07T09:17:00.011+02:00

i'm soooo happy today!!! :))))

i opened my gmail and saw a comment from Lou saying i won the contest she started a few weeks back. i'm so excited, this means big news to me because it's one of the rare moments of my life... i'm not very lucky at contests or raffles, actually, so i'm really thrilled! now, i can't wait to look for something for dear mommy who's currently in the US, feeling homesick and missing her friends in manila... the $100 prize money i plan to get something for her for mother's day this sunday, i'm thinking a bunch of flowers - i can't remember the last time i gave her flowers...and a little present, i wonder where i can order. this is really exciting! :)

again, thank you to Lou and happy, happy, happy birthday to sweet, smart Antonio. wishing you more blessings, good health and answered prayers. you have made some people very happy this week :) mwah!

public holiday thursday

2008-05-02T10:51:00.005+02:00

Yesterday was Ascension Day and Labor Day holiday here . We spent our afternoon in Chateau de Prangins that housed the Swiss National Museum for Western Switzerland. No picture taking was allowed inside so we only got to pose outside and only 3 photos were "postable" :). After the trip to the museum we went to the beautiful Tulip Festival in Morges, where the tulips are now in full bloom... below is MY shot, click here for more postcard-perfect photos :).

Are the under-5’s being under-fed?

2008-04-29T15:23:00.003+02:00

(another one... this time from bbc.co.uk - proves how tricky having kids is!)

Are the under-5’s being under-fed?

Children aged 1 to 4 have very specific nutritional needs, so if they eat a healthy diet designed for adults it can give them too much fibre and not enough sugary goodness. A recent report from one local authority area found that their nurseries weren’t all getting the balance right, and controversially claimed that some were giving kids ‘excessive amounts’ of fruit and veg. So if childcare institutions can’t get it right, what hope have parents got? We hear from mums and carers on what they think is important to give their under-5’s, and Jenni talks to Sam Montel, a nutritionist from the Food Standards Agency and Judy More, a paediatric dietician, to find out exactly what you should feed a toddler.

*****
(from eatwell.co.uk)

Toddler
Just like adults, young children need energy (calories) from food and nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals, to make sure their bodies work properly and can repair themselves.

If you want more information than is given here, contact your health visitor or GP.

What to give Babies and toddlers
At this age, children grow very quickly and are usually very active, so they need plenty of calories and nutrients. A healthy and varied diet should provide all the nutrients your toddler needs.

Remember to include these sorts of foods every day:
* Milk and dairy foods - these provide calories, protein, vitamins and minerals.
* Meat, fish, eggs, beans, peas and lentils - these are rich in nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals. You can give boys up to four portions of oily fish a week, such as mackerel, salmon and sardines, but it's best to give girls no more than two portions of oily fish a week.
* Bread, and other cereals such as rice, pasta and breakfast cereals, and potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes - these starchy foods provide calories, vitamins, minerals and fibre.
* Fruit and vegetables - these contain vitamin C, and other protective vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre.

How a toddler's diet is different
Although toddlers can eat the same food as adults, before they're two years old children can't eat large amounts of food at one sitting. So, until then, give your child meals and snacks packed with calories and nutrients (nutrient dense foods) such as:
* full-fat milk and dairy foods
* meat
* eggs

Don't forget to give them fruit and vegetables and starchy foods as well.

But if you tend to eat high fibre foods, remember that young children's stomachs can't cope with foods such as wholemeal pasta and brown rice. Also, too much fibre can sometimes reduce the amount of minerals they can absorb, such as calcium and iron.

By the time they're five years old, young children should be eating family food, which is more bulky as it contains lots of starchy foods and plenty of fruit and vegetables. But make sure it doesn't contain too much saturated fat, which is found in butter, hard-fat spreads, cheese, fatty meat and meat products, biscuits, pastry and cakes.
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What to avoid
Take care to avoid the following foods:
* Raw eggs and food that contains raw or partially cooked eggs because of the risk of salmonella, which causes food poisoning. If you give eggs to your toddler, make sure the eggs are cooked until both the white and yolk are solid.
* Whole or chopped nuts for children under five years old because of the risk of choking. It's a good idea to crush or flake them.
* Shark, swordfish and marlin because these fish contain relatively high levels of mercury, which might affect a child's developing nervous system.

You might also want to avoid giving raw shellfish to your toddler to reduce their risk of getting food poisoning.

There's no need to add salt to your toddler's food. From the age of 1 to 3, children should be having no more than 2g a day. If you're buying processed foods, even those aimed at children, remember to check the information given on the labels to choose those with less salt.

There's no need to add sugar or honey to food for your toddler.

Don't give sweet drinks such as fizzy drinks and fruit squash because they cause tooth decay. If you do give fruit squash or sugary drinks, make sure they're well diluted with water and drunk at mealtimes. Between meals, it's better to give water or milk to drink.
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Full-fat or semi-skimmed milk?
From two years old, you can start giving your toddler semi-skimmed milk. Fully skimmed milk isn't suitable as a main drink until they're five years old, because it doesn't contain enough calories for a growing child.

Vegetarian diet
If you want to give your toddler a vegetarian diet, it's important to make sure their diet is balanced and includes all the necessary nutrients.

Make sure you give them foods rich in nutrients such as milk, cheese and eggs. This will mean their diet won't be too bulky and they'll get plenty of protein, vitamin A, calcium and zinc.

Iron is found in many vegetables and pulses (beans, lentils and chick peas), in dried fruit (such as apricots, raisins and sultanas) and in some breakfast cereals, but it's more difficult to absorb from vegetable sources than from meat, so:

* give your toddler foods containing iron each day
* try to give foods high in vitamin C - such as fruit and vegetables or diluted fruit juices at mealtimes - because these make it easier to absorb the iron
* don't give young children tea or coffee, especially at meal times, because this reduces the amount of iron they can absorb

If you want more information than is given here, contact your health visitor or GP.

Seven medicines you shouldn't give your child

2008-04-29T09:25:00.004+02:00

(from Babycenter.com)

Children are much more likely than adults to have adverse drug reactions, so giving your child prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medication is serious business. Here are some medicines you shouldn't give your preschooler:

Aspirin
Never give your child aspirin or any medication containing aspirin. Aspirin can make a child susceptible to Reye's syndrome — a rare but potentially fatal illness. Don't assume that the children's medicines found in drugstores will be aspirin-free. Aspirin is sometimes referred to as "salicylate" or "acetylsalicylic acid." Read labels carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you're not sure whether a product contains aspirin.

Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines
In October 2007 a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted to recommend that these medicines not be given to children under 6 years old. Little or no testing has been done to determine how effective they are in young children (although studies have shown them to be no better than a placebo in kids under age 2) and what dosages are safe. And an overdose can cause dangerous side effects. So if your preschooler is miserable with a cold, try other options, like a humidifier and plenty of liquids.

Anti-nausea medications
Don't give your child an anti-nausea medication (prescription or OTC) unless his doctor specifically recommends it. Most bouts of vomiting are pretty short-lived, and children usually handle them just fine without any medication. In addition, anti-nausea medications have risks and possible complications. (If your child is vomiting and begins to get dehydrated, contact his doctor for advice on what to do.)

Adult medications
Giving your child a smaller dose of medicine meant for an adult is dangerous. If the label doesn't indicate an appropriate dose for a child, don't give that medication to your preschooler.

Any medication prescribed for someone else or for another reason
Prescription drugs intended for other people (like a sibling) or to treat other illnesses may be ineffective or even dangerous when given to your child. Give him only medicine prescribed for him and his specific condition.

Anything expired
Toss out medicines, prescription and OTC alike, as soon as they expire. Also get rid of discolored or crumbly medicines — basically anything that doesn't look the way it did when you first bought it. After the use-by date, medications may no longer be effective and can even be harmful. Don't flush old drugs down the toilet, as they can contaminate groundwater and end up in the drinking water supply. See what our expert says about how to safely dispose of expired medication.

Extra acetaminophen
Some medicines contain acetaminophen to help ease fever and pain, so be careful not to give your preschooler an additional separate dose of acetaminophen. If you're not sure what's in a particular medicine, don't give her acetaminophen or ibuprofen until you've first gotten the okay from your doctor or pharmacist.

A cautionary note
These two types of medications aren't 100 percent off-limits, but you should carefully consider whether and how to give them to your child:

Chewables
Most preschoolers can handle chewable tablets, especially those that are fast-melting. But keep an eye on your child when you give him a chewable, especially if he isn't proficiently chewing solids yet. If you think chewables might be a choking hazard for your child, crush the tablet and put it in a spoonful of soft food, like yogurt or applesauce. (Of course, you need to make sure your child eats the entire spoonful in order to get the complete dose.)

Some herbal remedies
Many herbal remedies are gentle and safe, but just because something is natural, or derived from a plant, doesn't mean that it's safe for your preschooler. Herbal products can cause allergic reactions, liver damage, and high blood pressure. In certain doses or when combined with the wrong medications, they can be fatal.

Check with your child's doctor or an alternative medicine practitioner before giving your child any herbal products. And always let the doctor know about herbal remedies your child's taking before she prescribes a medication.

In Barcelona

2008-04-24T14:56:00.007+02:00

we celebrated my birthday with a 3-day trip to barcelona. one of the perks of living in switzerland is it's so central european that you can practically have daytrips to neighboring countries. of course, the country itself is beautiful and full of interesting sites that you don't really need to go far - unless you've already exhausted all the must-see places and would like to go on a road trip. :)

so this year, my birthday trip is to barcelona. last year it was paris, sounds bongga 'no?, but financial-wise, it's just like going to boracay in pinas - well, i am a bargain hunter so others would have it more expensive! we spent 3-whole days bonding, walking, sight seeing, eating, picture taking and more walking! all i can say is, barcelona is a beautiful city, i liked it better than paris, actually! we had low expectations before we went so we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty the city had to offer.

when we arrived in barcelona, it was raining so we were a little bit disappointed, but we didn't want to waste our time and our trip, so after we left our luggages in the office of the apartment we were staying in, we started walking around the old town. check out photos here from day 1. there were already lots of interesting sites within the old town and all were walking distance and then went to the casa mila and other nearby attractions. we ended the day at about 11pm, from a paella dinner by the bay in barcelonetta.

day 2, we woke up at around 8am but didn't go out until 11am, we started slow, had breakfast in our apartment and then went out. and guess what? it rained again! but again, there's no stopping us from touring, so off we went to park guell which was just impressive! the rain was on and off when we were at the park but finally and thankfully when we were about to leave at around 2pm, it was all sunny and shiny for the rest of the day. we then went to very popular tourist attraction - the sagrada familia, still under construction since 1882 and they're looking at at least 30 more years for it's completion. we also went to the placa espanya, mont juic, and in poble espanyol where we had tapas dinner and pizza for franco. we got to our apartment at around 11pm, again!

we were finally granted a beautiful day on our last day, my birthday. we had our lunch at the moll d'espanya in port vell - it's not a mall but a park beside the port, went to torre agbar, walked along barcelonetta and finally proceeded to the train station to take us to the airport. oh, i must say, i did a bit of shopping in barcelona, too! where shopping is just heaven! so many shops... so little time! :)

so... until our next adventure... we have another long weekend coming up but looks like we're going to take it easy this time... where to? i don't know yet! :)

Britain's Got (Another Filipino) Talent

2008-04-23T09:18:00.004+02:00

This I got to post! From Manchester's Pinoy Madonna, here's a British-Pinoy (his mum is Pinay) already a little star from Droitwich, Charlie Green. Can't help but smile while watching him. Thanks to miyam for the link, I haven't seen this on TV yet, or maybe I missed it! I will definitely be watching the show because of these Pinoys! Charlie is just impressive, a breath of fresh air, indeed! Makes me want to start training my very own francroban :p.

Britain's Got (Filipino) Talent

2008-04-22T10:20:00.012+02:00

another pinay makes waves in a talent show, Britain's Got Talent - with the Pinoy-OCW story to tell... watch this! :)

"Madonna Decena misses her two daughters desperately but she has had to travel alone to Britain to earn enough money to improve their quality of life back home.

***

Arguably, the star of the show was Madonna. No, not the leotard-wearing lady-of-the-manor, but Madonna from The Philippines, who arrived in the UK just six months ago.

Tearfully she explained that she had to leave her two children behind with their grandparents, until she had raised enough money to send for them. Her rendition of I Will Always Love You made sure there was not a dry eye in the house."

last weekend's outing

2008-04-15T12:17:00.006+02:00

more photos here.

here's a glimpse of annecy, france where we went to last sunday afternoon. DH went ahead of us to serve in choir at the mass so we took the train and he picked us up at the station. i even met a french guy in the train and we spoke for the whole 15 minutes of the ride in french... NOT! :p we spoke about life here, why he's here, how we were here, family.... and then our conversation ended up him giving me his contact details so i can "refer" him to friends... he looks like a decent guy, maybe around early 40's... any one up for the challenge? just say "I". hehehe. :)

anyways, the town of annecy is very charming, a 1h40m drive away from home. they have a big park, a castle and small canals that gives you the ambiance of venice sans the gondola's. the old town is full of character, and there were ice cream shops in every corner of the old town... but much to our disappointment, the ice cream didn't meet our expectations. while waiting in line for our turn, an embarrassing mommy moment transpired. here's how it went:

Me: Franco you ok there? Stay close, ok?
Franco: Yes, mommy.
(the little boy stayed in line, as well, patiently waiting. then he suddenly approached me looking very excited...)
F: Mommy, I see the biggest, biggest, biggest... PWET!
M: Huh??!!
F: Mommy, look (pointing to the lady in front of him, blocking his view). See, that's the biggest pwet!
M: Sshhh... Franco, wag ka maingay. Don't say that, that's not nice.
F: But mommy, I can't see the ice cream because the big girl is there with her big... (still pointing!)
M: Stay here na lang on the table and chair ok? Just wait for me, and don't point and be quiet!
F: Ok. (smiling innocently)

(i was trying very hard not to laugh, but it was very funny so a little smile escaped and i had to look away)

I felt a warm rush to my face, even though they were french and probably don't know what pwet mean... but the finger pointing to that direction and if they heard "the biggest, biggest" would most likely give them THE clue. kids say the darndest things, indeed! whew! :D

a trip to the zoo

2008-04-09T13:54:00.000+02:00

we spent out saturday on a visit to a zoo about 1h 20m away from home. the boys had fun, there were a fair number of animals including a kalaw and a kangaroo! it was a nice place to spend a day. there were lots of chairs all over the place so parents can rest while the little ones are either busy playing or petting the animals. here are some of the animals we saw... for more photos, click here. hope you had a relaxing weekend! :)

on cars

2008-04-08T09:47:00.002+02:00

lately we've been thinking of getting a new car. you see, our current car is a sedan-type and with kids always in tow, it gets a bit crowded with all their gadgets, toys, snacks, etc. so i guess we will eventually need to get a bigger car. we've been looking at buying either brand new or used cars from a reliable dealer. and what are the important things to put on the list when looking to buy a car? here's mine: the price, the mileage run (if already used cars), the number of seats, the gasoline consumption, insurance cost, space for luggage, comfort, brand, safety features, maintenance cost... among others, not in that particular order, though. this website on used cars offers a very comprehensive list of choices, covers the important things you need to know when buying a used car by giving excellent advise on questions to ask the sellers like why they are selling their vehicle, if they are the original owner, or how many miles on the clock. they also give you tips on how to inspect a used car both before and after a test drive (there are nine points pre-test drive and at least seven points post-test drive: best advice is to look at the car during the daytime and to also listen for any strange sounds as well as to paying attention to any unusual smells!). they also have safe buying tips and as if that weren’t enough, they also provide you with an 18 points buyer’s checklist! at this day and age, buyers should be armed with all the wisdom and research, especially when buying used cars.

PH#4: glass

2008-04-07T11:56:00.003+02:00

Photo taken a year-and-a-half ago in a "mirror house" in Luzern, i can't remember what the name of the place is, but it's some kind of a mirror labyrinth :). our friends' daughter in the picture. more photo hunters here.

Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

2008-04-05T23:32:00.000+02:00

in case you haven't heard of this yet... ... what say you?

*****
From The Times

March 10, 2008

Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Pope Benedict XVI said that an increasing number of people in the secularised West were making do without God

Richard Owen in Rome

Drug pushers, the obscenely rich, environmental polluters and “manipulative” genetic scientists beware – you may be in danger of losing your mortal soul unless you repent.

After 1,500 years the Vatican has brought the seven deadly sins up to date by adding seven new ones for the age of globalisation. The list, published yesterday in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, came as the Pope deplored the “decreasing sense of sin” in today’s “securalised world” and the falling numbers of Roman Catholics going to confession.

The Catholic Church divides sins into venial, or less serious, sins and mortal sins, which threaten the soul with eternal damnation unless absolved before death through confession and penitence.

It holds mortal sins to be “grave violations of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes”, including murder, contraception, abortion, perjury, adultery and lust.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell”.

Although there is no definitive list of mortal sins, many believers accept the broad seven deadly sins or capital vices laid down in the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great and popularised in the Middle Ages by Dante in The Inferno: lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride.

Christians are exhorted instead to adhere to the seven holy virtues: chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness and humility.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences, said after a week-long Lenten seminar for priests that surveys showed 60 per cent of Catholics in Italy no longer went to confession.

He said that priests must take account of “new sins which have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalisation”. Whereas sin in the past was thought of as being an invididual matter, it now had “social resonance”.

“You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbour’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos,” he said.

Bishop Girotti said that mortal sins also included taking or dealing in drugs, and social injustice which caused poverty or “the excessive accumulation of wealth by a few”.

He said that two mortal sins which continued to preoccupy the Vatican were abortion, which offended “the dignity and rights of women”, and paedophilia, which had even infected the clergy itself and so had exposed the “human and institutional fragility of the Church”.

The mass media had “blown up” the issue “to discredit the Church”, but the Church itself was taking steps to deal with it.

Addressing the Apostolic Penitentiary seminar, the Pope said there was “a certain disaffection” with confession among the faithful. Priests had to show “divine tenderness for penitent sinners” and admit their own failings.

“Those who trust in themselves and in their own merits are, as it were, blinded by their own ‘I’, and their hearts harden in sin. Those who recognise themselves as weak and sinful entrust themselves to God, and from Him obtain grace and forgiveness.”

The Pope also complained that an increasing number of people in the secularised West were “making do without God”.

He said that hedonism and consumerism had even invaded “the bosom of the Church itself, deeply undermining the Christian faith from within, and undermining the lifestyle and daily behaviour of believers”.

Eastern Catholics do not recognise the same distinction between mortal and venial sins as the Western or Latin Church does, nor does it believe that those people who die in a state of sin are condemned to automatic damnation.

The original offences and their punishments
Pride Broken on the wheel
Envy Put in freezing water
Gluttony Forced to eat rats, toads, and snakes
Lust Smothered in fire and brimstone
Anger Dismembered alive
Greed Put in cauldrons of boiling oil
SlothThrown in snake pits

Source: The Picture Book of Devils, Demons and Witchcraft; Ernst and Johanna Lehner

Modern Evils

Environmental pollution

Genetic manipulation

Accumulating excessive wealth

Inflicting poverty

Drug trafficking and consumption

Morally debatable experiments

Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

it's huge!

2008-04-03T09:14:00.015+02:00

no, it's not a wordless wednesday nor a photohunt entry, i just wanted to show ~~off~~ :-P to you guys our newest purchase, a brand new 50" full-hd plasma... it's just huge (i think!) and very heavy. it's taller than my 22-month old! and oh, we got a new dvd player, too... not a blu ray yet, though - still not that crazy about it since the discs are still expensive and i don't think there's a lot of rentals out yet (but how would we know, we aren't updated!). we might wait another three years for that - yes, we waited that long for this plasma since the prices were just too high for us when it was new in the market, even though we were really tempted... self control, eh?! (or should i kurips kaya?!). at least our watching-movies-in-an-actual-movie-house deprivation will be a little bit compensated - it's been just two cinemas in 5 years - kakaawa, ano? :)

it is a huge box, delivered in the morning of holy thursday!

i don't think the little one likes it out of the box... hmm...

in it's very own place... we should get a new tv unit, it's getting crowded already.

PH#3: high

2008-04-02T10:41:00.001+02:00

my photohunt for the week is from our Holy Week trip last month.

Valle Verzasca Dam, Ticino, Switzerland
The Contra dam (or Verzasca dam) is a 220-meter high arch hydroelectric dam in the Val Verzasca, Switzerland. It was constructed between 1960 and 1965.

The dam forms Lago di Vogorno, an artificial reservoir. It was designed by Lombardi Engineering. Made of concrete, the structure dams the Verzasca River and retains over 100 million cubic meters of water. The builder and owner is Verzasca SA, an electricity generator which has an 80-year concession to expire in 2046. It generates 105MW of electricity. The designer, Dr. Lombardi, considers it one of his most aesthetically pleasing dams, primarily because of the slenderness of the concrete arch; the smaller volume of concrete also kept construction costs low. It is the 25th tallest dam in the world.

The dam is one of several at which the filling of the reservoir has triggered small earthquakes.

The dam leases access to a commercial bungee jump operator. The opening scene of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye was filmed here. In the film the dam doubles as the fictional Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility located in the northern Soviet Union during the Cold War.

WW#4 - The Boat

2008-04-02T09:10:00.007+02:00

while strolling along the lake on our way to church last saturday, we chanced upon the ferry leaving the port. another photo opp! :)

check-out more wordless wednesday entries here

Things to Remember

2008-03-28T10:42:00.002+01:00

I find what I look for in people. If I look for God, I find God. If I look for bad qualities, I find them. I, in a sense, select what I expect, and I receive it. A life without challenges would be like going to school without lessons to learn. Challenges come not to depress or get me down, but to master and to grow and to unfold thereby.

In the Father's wise and loving plan for me, no burden can fall upon me, no emergency can arise, no grief can overtake me, before I am given the grace and strength to meet them.

A rich, full life is not determined by outer circumstances and relationships. These can be contributory to it, but cannot be the source. I am happy or unhappy because of what I think and feel.

I can never lose anything that belongs to me, nor can I posses what is not really mine.

To never run from a problem: either it will chase me or I will run into another just like it, although it may have a different face or name.

To have no concern for tomorrow. Today is the yesterday over which I had concern.

To never bang on a closed door: Wait for it to open and then just go through it.

A person who has come into my life has come either to teach me something, or to learn something new from me.

(Author Unknown)

wordless wednesday #3 - charming

2008-03-26T10:57:00.003+01:00

need i say more? :D

more wordless wednesday entries here

holy week

2008-03-25T09:56:00.008+01:00

we spent our holy week out of town in the italian region of switzerland, canton ticino. it was there that i found, from the internet, a holy week tradition from back home. the small town of mendrisio holds this tradition every holy week on maundy thursday featuring the passion of Christ and on good friday's religious and liturgical characters' procession. as far as i can remember, this is the first time i was able to watch the procession live, i only got to watch it on tv back home. it was quite an experience, even when there were lots of people, the moment the procession started, everything went quiet and solemn. i can only admire the participants of the procession because it was freezing cold that night, the temperature was no higher than 2 degrees celsius and it was windy. some were even barefoot and wore very light clothing yet they all went on with the show - so to speak. it was worse the next night, on their good friday procession because it was drizzling.

see more photos of the maundy thursday procession here.

click here for more photos of the procession on good friday.

it feels great spending 4 relaxing days as a family and being able to attend the easter vigil mass on saturday, it was 2 hours and started at 9pm (another first for me!). i'm so glad our last minute trip went well - we practically decided to go for it in the morning so i was busy packing up until 1pm, had no time for lunch as we targeted to leave at 2pm. we had our lunch in the car that day! i'll be posting more photos from the neighboring towns we visited soon. until our next adventure! :)

Happy Easter! :)

2008-03-24T10:14:00.003+01:00

the easter egg...

the happy painter... (err, painted?)

HDPE for some bucks

2008-03-24T08:25:00.004+01:00

what is HDPE anyway?

HDPE (short for High Density Polyethylene) is a commonly used plastic which can be recycled. It is used for many packaging applications because it provides excellent water barrier properties and chemical resistance. mostly used in snack food packaging, cereal box liners, plastic bottles for non-carbonated drinks, milk bottles, and basically anything you can think of that is just in your kitchen. good news is, "Scrap HDPE" is the collected material which is then sold to be recycled. just think of it as a way of doing your part in being environment friendly, this way, we will help conserve energy and resources by recycling and at the same time, earning a few bucks for your own.

as a mother, my driving force would be the thought of having my children grow up in a green, clean world. this is will be my tiny part in helping preserve the environment. :)

best web hosting

2008-03-24T08:07:00.005+01:00

the dilemma being faced by today's hi-tech world basically revolves on the web, especially when one decides to put up his own website, be it a business or personal site, one will encounter the difficulty of choosing a reliable and trusted web host. it's simply very difficult to decide on the best best web hosting company you should take, if one is not knowledgeable or just a bit lazy to do his own research, then one can get into the danger of getting unrealiable web hosts. well, here's a good news! kaushalsheth has done it's homework and have come up with a shortlist of the best web hosting companies, avoiding confusion and stress on research! i would like to one day just put everything in one site and having the choices trimmed down for me is really one great relief - imagine not having to go about with all those research, making the mistake of choosing an unreliable web host and ending up just all stressed-out and your money down the drain! so click on to find out more, you won't regret it! :)

Photo Hunt 2: Metal

2008-03-23T18:24:00.000+01:00

taken from the recent geneva car show, lots of fabulous cars in that expo. i just can't remember which car this is. :) for more photo hunters, click here!

guess what i found!

2008-03-23T17:58:00.002+01:00

another racket for cashing in on your blog! :) this time it's bloggerwave, gives us bloggers the opportunity to earn extra money on our blogs! they aim to be europe's biggest advertising media on blogs so let's join the fun! register now, it's free and this will be an exciting opportunity for us to join the growing bloggerwave family! we sure could use that extra cash for a little something nice! :)

we're back in town! :)

2008-03-23T17:10:00.002+01:00

we just got back from a 4-day excursion in the italian region of switzerland. it's our second time there, but this trip was more enjoyable and very relaxing. will post photos and probably some kwento soon. we're now back to reality... the laundry in the works and adobo dinner to welcome us! will catch-up soon! :)

bad headache

2008-03-19T18:00:00.004+01:00

i have a bad headache right now, and it's because we still have not yet decided whether we'll be going on a long drive for the easter weekend. well actually, we've already decided that we'll go out of town from tomorrow, but... we received an email a few hours ago saying that the new tv we ordered has already been sent. meaning, there's a big chance it will be delivered tomorrow. question is, what time? yes, we've already called the company we bought the tv from (we bought it online), but there was no ringing but an automated answer saying the number is unavailable at the moment, just great! when i tried calling again around after 5pm, there was finally a ring... but, of course, it was after office hours already and the answering machine said to call from 9-5. grrr!!!! so now, i have a really bad headache, no hotel booking yet and still clueless if we can leave tomorrow. i've practically spent the whole afternoon looking for available reasonably-priced hotels, and calling some of them. i guess i'll be doing that again tomorrow morning, oh well! i am after the procession of the passion of Christ on maundy thrusday at 8pm in another town 4 hours away from here, so i really want to leave tomorrow. i just hope the customer service attends to their emails quickly so we know what to expect.

spring forward!

2008-03-19T09:20:00.003+01:00

spring officially start this weekend! yipee!!! although there's still a bit of the cool winter air, there's no snow in our part of the country anymore, and we don't see much of the snow caps of the nearest mountains, as well! very soon, our winter jackets will go back to their boxes and wait for yet another winter or perhaps as early as autumn for their comeback. we're all excited about spring... spring simply spells out sport & entertainment for everyone! so, while the weather is still in transition, i will be checking out at list where you can find a wide range of business listing on any trade you can think of, and they even allow user reviews. quite useful for someone like me who wants to get in touch with businesses directly when doing my research on products, places, or services. i will definitely look at their sports section for that tennis racket DH is eye-ing... should be worth checking-out! :)

wordless wednesday #2 - hubby's new addition to his collection

2008-03-19T09:12:00.002+01:00

it's been a few months now since hubby got hooked at the taste of whisky. his first taste of it was a blue label johnny walker (i think), from then on, he started his search for "the best whisky". the photo above, his latest find, was given to him by a friend, so that's ok... since these drinks can be very expensive! but his favorite, so far, is talisker. he plans to take a better photo of that one next! oh, he does drink moderately. =)

plans for the weekend

2008-03-19T08:34:00.000+01:00

none yet! i've been spending online hours researching for where to go for this long weekend. i've actually already found one, but it would require DH to go on half-day tomorrow we have to be ready for a 4.5 hours drive after lunch, if that happens! but he doubts he can take the afternoon off because of work deadlines... he said he'll try. hopefully we'll have somewhere worthwhile to go to for the weekend, it's 4-days straight so we really, really have to go somewhere!!! :D

so going about with my business on the net, i decided to search for music to add to my ipod, and what do you know! i chanced upon this rap forum where you can link up with actual rap artists! cool, huh? well, i'm not so much of a rap fan these days, but i was a teeny-bit in my teen years - had a huge crush with a local rap artist, actually! i'll browse the site and see if it will give re-birth my rap music (or should i say, rap artist) enthusiam. :D

still, my search continues for a weekend getaway...

Photo Hunt 1: I Spy...

2008-03-17T14:15:00.001+01:00

... with my little eye, five horses. can you find all of them? tell me where you see them in the photo or what colors they are. click photo to view larger image. enjoy! :)

this was taken at camp john hay in baguio city when we were on our christmas holiday in the philippines.

ok... here's the answer. did you see all the five horses?

less-than-perfect credit rating?

2008-03-17T12:58:00.007+01:00

i can imagine how difficult it is to be bankrupt and no bank would welcome you with happy smiles. well, good news! there's now hope for those people who are in financial difficulty to start again. bad credit loans is a free consumer resource dedicated to helping those with a - simply put- bad credit rating. they cover credit cards, home loans, credit repair, auto loans and credit reports and score. they have a team of experts who continually monitor the credit marketplace to bring to consumers the best "bad credit credit cards" offers currently available. by collecting and studying daily top offers right on their website, bad credit loans will help the financially struggling to get up on their feet, start anew and rebuild their credit image. it is their goal to equip consumers with the knowledge and resources necessary to help them find and choose the best credit offer suitable for their current needs without having to worry about their credit history. so click on below and learn how to have a fresh start at your credit line, they would like to lend a helping hand. good luck! =)

a lot better now

2008-03-17T11:33:00.001+01:00

i just wanted to report that the kuya is a lot better now, he's still on his antibiotics - it was prescribed for 10 days, so we should finish that. but he's definitely back on track, still with a little bit of rashes but are no longer red nor itchy. thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes, he's now at a home stretch to full recovery. stay healthy! :)

i wonder...

2008-03-17T11:01:00.002+01:00

we've been renting for 5 years now, and have always wondered how our lives will change once we purchase our first home. had we been in australia, we'd be entitled to a first home owner's grant, which is a good amount of money to furnish the house. it won't, of course, be that big an amount to reduce one's mortgage, but it is very much welcome to anyone. here in switzerland, there is no such benefit from the government, the only advantage would be tax-wise, the amount of payment you make on your mortgage will be deductible from your taxable income, saving you a little more from taxes. i don't have full understanding of mortgages yet, but we are now on the look-out! who knows, maybe in a year or two, we'll be moving in a new home we can call our very own... until then, i'll do my reading about it because of curiousity. :)

Simon Andreas: Then and Now

2008-03-15T13:01:00.002+01:00

And now it's Simon's turn:

Here are the Rules:

If you still keep your baby’s first 3 days photos, We would love to see them. Label them as 1st, 2nd or 3rd day (as shown below). After that, please post the most recent one, one photo will do. You can post as much as you want though. I’m sure you will realize and tell yourself “seems like yesterday”.

THEN:

Day 1: In the birthing suite, after the bath after feeding:

Day 2: In our room, having a nap with 2-years, 8-months & 12 days old kuya:

Day 3: Having a nap again, while the rest were having lunch:

NOW:

At La Pelouse in Bex:

Naptime, but mommy didn't put me in my own bed so I just slept on the best available one:

At a friend's house in Villars:

At the Geneva Car Show:

Baby bro. is now 1 year, 9 months and 7 days old. I'm tagging all other moms (and dads, too!) for this meme! Join the reminiscing!

Franco Lorenzo: Then and Now

2008-03-15T12:58:00.002+01:00

Taking cue from Princess Amelie , here are Franco's photos:

Here are the Rules:

THEN:

Day 1: In the birthing suite, after the bath and about to feed:

Day 2: Transferred to the maternity ward:

Day 3: Dressed-up to leave the hospital:

NOW

At a friend's house in Mt. Pelerin:

At the Avenches Carnival:

At the Geneva Car Show:

And again at the Geneva Car Show:

How time flies, indeed! He's now 4 years, 5 months and 17 days old.

scarlet fever

2008-03-14T15:54:00.010+01:00

that's what the doctor said kuya franco has, and he's the 3rd case the paedia's seen today. good thing i decided to go and see the doctor - not usually the case. have you heard about it before? i have, but never really knew what it was, now i had to make myself aware of it. i just don't know what it's called in filipino, would any of you know? here's from one of the websites i checked:

Scarlet fever is caused by certain strains of the group A streptococci bacteria (which also causes strep throat) and it is common to think of scarlet fever as strep throat with a rash. Symptoms usually develop about 1 to 7 days (incubation period) after being exposed to someone with strep throat or scarlet fever.

Scarlet fever is most common in children under 10 years old and begins with a fever and sore throat. Other symptoms can include vomiting, headache, chills and abdominal pain. Many children with this infection have a high fever initially, which may reach 103 to 104 degrees F. Without treatment, the fever may last 5 to 7 days, but usually quickly goes down within a day after starting antibiotic therapy.
click here to read more.

the moment the doctor said it was scarlet fever, i was absolutely sure he got it from the garderie because there was a note on the door of their room that they had 2 cases of scarletina and another case of i forgot what.

it all started on wednesday, we picked up franco from the garderie, had dinner after and at the dinner table, he said his throat was painful - but he wasn't really complaining, so i just had a look, didn't see anything wrong and went on as usual. he did say he was feeling cold a couple of times and just got the throw rug from the couch to keep him warm, nothing else was out of normal and we slept peacefully that night.

around midday yesterday after lunch, i felt he was so warm and he looked very tired, so i told him to rest and sleep. i didn't take his temp immediately because i thought he was just warm because he was bundled up with a blanket, so i just took him to his room and he slept. in the evening around 7pm, hubby came home and greeted the boys. franco, told him he's not feeling well, so he checked his temp and he was really hot now, his temperature it registered at 39.3ºC, we saw he had rashes all over his body and he was complaining it was really itchy and was scratching all over. the paedia's clinic was already closed so we had no choice but to wait until morning to see the doctor, we didn't want to rush him to the hospital. i thought it was another viral thing - which was very popular this season and is usually accompanied by rashes, but are not itchy - so i just gave him paracetamol for the fever, thankfully the fever went down and he was feeling a little better. but he didn't have a good night's sleep that night, he kept waking up complaining of the itch and i kept hearing him crying for a few seconds - i couldn't sleep, as well. we just gave him another round of paracetamol and made him sleep in our bed.

morning came, i couldn't get up early since i was up all night because of the scratchies :). got up at 9am and at around 10, together with the little one, we went to the doctor but he couldn't see us at that moment so we were scheduled in the afternoon. good thing the clinic was just across the road so going back wasn't an issue. poor franco was still complaining of the itch and tried to hide from me when he was scratching because i told him not to scratch, i did apply baby powder to hopefully help relieve the itch a little. he was disappointed that the doctor didn't get to "listen to his tummy" with the "Y-like thing in his ears" because he was "so, so sick", but i told him we'll come back in the afternoon.

in the doctor's clinic, when he saw the rashes, he asked for the symptoms and i answered yes to most of them and after checking franco's weight, listening to his breathing, checking his ears and throat, looked closely at the rashes, ask for the temperature and more, he said he had scarlet fever and that he will need to take antibiotics for 10 days and that it was contagious for the first two days of treatment... therefore, there is a big chance that simon will get it too. the doctor even said, if the little one will have fever on sunday, wait until monday to bring him to the doctor. at least we are aware now and yes, i think i'd welcome it for simon right now - although they may have slightly different medications, we will be able to treat the fever and the ithcy-ness. i'm beginning to feel itchy myself because of all the scratchy talks :) help pray that franco will get over this infection soon and the good news is... he will never get it ever again and will be immune from this condition for life (and then we'll just have to deal with chicken pox)! i sure hope hubby and myself are.

i got PPP approved!

2008-03-14T14:37:00.000+01:00

after about five days of waiting and was on the verge of losing hope, i finally got the approval email on pay per post! i got to know about pay per post a few months back from my blog buddies, but didn't pay much attention because i wasn't really interested. but i've heard so many raves from blog buddies that i couldn't resist the pull any longer! i had to go with the flow and of course, the thought of earning cash for blogging did sound like a win-win racket. so, after days of waiting, here i am, officially a brand new postie. i'm looking forward to exciting opportunities, this will be a good exercise at my blogging and will in a way make me research on new things, as well. so, why not join us make money and spread the love! :)

for those who are not familiar with paid blogging, it is basically the latest craze in the blog-sphere where you get paid for writing about websites, products, services, companies or write your own reviews, feedback and opinion about these advertisers. it's basically recommending them to your readers, so better write things you believe in and that you know will actually sell to you. i think it's quite easy once you get the hang of it... besides, you can choose among many opportunities. i'm still very new at it, so i'm hoping for the best! :)

so now, i can start planning on what to do when payout comes... plan for my next purchase... hmm... the sale season is just around the corner so this will be a great time to start practicing my marketing skills! good luck!

TAG: Fill me in

2008-03-13T14:46:00.005+01:00

I AM… a stay-at-home mom of two boys.

I WANT… to travel as much as I can, for as long as we can afford it.

I HAVE… a new mobile phone.

I WISH… I could be fluent in French.

I HATE… back stabbers.

I FEAR… i won't be able to finish photobooks of ALL of our pictures, they're piling up too fast!

I SEARCH… for new things to teach my kids and myself.

I WONDER… how it feels like to live a country that is covered with ice.

I REGRET… not having brought my Dad to see Australia.

I LOVE… God, life and my family.

I ALWAYS… cook.

I AM NOT… a very patient teacher.

I DANCE… when in a party and nice music.

I SING… in the shower.

I CRY… when I'm hurt, at sad and touching movies.

I WRITE… in my blog when I have the time.

I WON… the title Calendar Girl, in an initiation for new employee in my first job 10 years ago.

I AM CONFUSED… when somebody doesn't understand what I am explaining.

I NEED… to get some exercise.

I SHOULD… start to look for a stand for the old TV, since the new TV will arrive in a few days.

THE LAST THOUGHT YOU GO TO SLEEP WITH IS… praise and thank God for all the blessing in my life.”

Next to tag is Maan, Jigi, Amy, Roslyn and Mickee

a new find

2008-03-13T14:05:00.001+01:00

i've been on the net a bit longer than usual today, it's because i can't push myself to fold the laundry and change the sheets. so from morning until this afternoon, with cooking lunch and eating in between, i was able to order our new tv and some books for my pre-schooler. i got excited about my eldest's reading skills, so i just clicked away and ordered the books i felt he can easily read.

but, not being able to earn money on my own made me think over my impulse buying habit... until recently. i think i might just fall into that habit again, because of all the buzz of blog marketing... and that spells out earning some money for me! and snapbomb is my latest find! they won't be able to pay off my monthly credit card bills just yet, but hey, it's worth a decent meal or if i'm addicted enough, might just pay off a trip to the grocery! :) so, join the craze, sign up and start earning the snapbomb way.

Hop on Pop

2008-03-12T08:00:00.001+01:00

Here's my 4-year-and-5-month-old doing a bit of reading. I started teaching him on and off (more off than on) before Christmas (maybe about five to six 10-minute sessions in total) and then again just over a week ago (maybe six times now)... can't seem to keep my word to teach him 10-minutes everyday. He is an eager learner - I'm the one who gets bored, actually! He mostly reads by memorizing the words and he hasn't perfected it yet, but that's good enough for me! :) And I see it helps that the pictures are telling the story too... puts his imagination at work, as well. He will start on the local school system (5-half days a week) in August. I'm hoping to have all the energy to teach him English and some Filipino on the side while he learns French and in French in the local system. Wish us luck! :)

Check-out Franco reading See, Oh, See part 1 and part 2, too. :)

Refiner's Fire

2008-03-12T03:38:00.000+01:00

Refiner's Fire

Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within

*** Malachi 3:3 says; 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' ***

This verse puzzled some women in a bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

author unknown

* Thanks to capncrisp for the forwarded story. It's beautiful!

Weekend Snapshots :)

2008-03-11T15:49:00.015+01:00

last weekend, at avenches and a few weekends back in chateau d'oex, vaud

together now

2008-03-07T16:21:00.007+01:00

it's exactly 1 month and 1 week now since the boys moved to their own room and their own beds. the baby cot is still there, we haven't found time (and storage space) to pack it up yet but we're hoping to wrap it up soon-ish (the -ish thing i picked-up from AI7 contestant Danny - I enjoy watching him too bad he got voted off this week, he reminds me of a childstar back home in the Phils.)! anyways, we re-arranged their room so the two beds will stay together in one corner, we don't have a bed guard/barrier/fence that's why simon will need to stay near the wall and franco on the other bed with the hope that because he is bigger now, he will not be falling off the bed while sleeping. so far, he's managed only two falls since (my poor baby!).

here's how they're enjoying their beds, there would be a lot of times come morning, franco is already in simon's territory and the little one is near the foot of the bed. they seem to still be playing even in their sleep! i couldn't find a decent angle so bear with me on the shots :)

by the way, we did try to convince franco to move to that room before, but he kept coming back to our bed in the middle of the night. and it wasn't easy because he moves a lot in his sleep, would kick our faces, keep moving towards my direction so i would be on the edge of the bed, and i am a light sleeper, sooo..... it was only when he had company that he finally settled to sleep on his own bed, but not without a time or two that he would again go to our bed in the middle of the night... hopefully, he will graduate from that habit soon! :)

My very first web award :)

2008-03-07T10:53:00.003+01:00

Wow! I'm speechless! :) Thanks very much, dear Haydee for this award! I'm touched! Perfect timing, for our upcoming trip! And now let me present this award to my kumareng Ana... miss you, dear!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-06T11:14:00.015+01:00

Thursday Edition
I just joined the Wordless Wednesday bandwagon :)

love this song

2008-03-06T10:08:00.001+01:00

6 Quirky Things about Me

2008-03-05T09:14:00.001+01:00

I've Been Tagged ... 6 Quirky Things about me

6 Quirky Things about me
..thanks Jigi, this is a bit of a challenge! :)

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six unimportant things/habits/quirks about your self.
Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog.Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Unimportant things/habits/quirks about my self:

1. I love starting new (extra-curricular :p) projects (like scrapbooking, knitting, etc.) but more often than not, I fail to finish it. I get impatient at times, plus the fact that I've two little boys who are always tailing on me!

2. I am so bad at remembering names, it takes me probably 3x before it sinks in! (I will need to keep in mind that it helps to say the name of the person once they are introduced).

3. I'm a big bargain hunter and impulse buyer (especially where there are sales!), and then, there would be times that once I get home, I'll need go back to the shop to return the item I bought, because I realize that I really don't like it... it's just that it was on sale at a very good price! But most of the time, the item would just sit somewhere in the house, still in it's original packaging :p

4. I am right now self-studying piano for about a week... and I tell you, it's not easy and I'm not good at it! :p

5. Yesterday, I was front of the PC for a whole three hours (while the kuya was at school and the little one was sleeping) without getting up, because I wanted to finish season 2 of Amazing Race Asia... but I don't think I'd do or have the chance to do it again! :)

6. I've watched The Notebook (my favorite serious love story movie so far) for the nth time already last night but it still made me cry, but I try not to show hubby! I'm a brave woman! :p

Now, I'd like to get to know new blog buddies quirky-ness 1. Haydee 2. Francine 3. Farah 4. Garf 5. Amor 6. Rika

Friendship Chain

2008-03-04T08:59:00.002+01:00

Thanks to dear Haydee for the thout! :) This is long overdue, can't believe I did not post it! :)

~~Begin Here~~

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technoraty explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Makes more new friends.

Rules :

1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1. La Place de Cherie 2. Chez Francine 3. Le bric à brac de Cherie 4. Haydee Etcetera
5. The Ansermet's 6. A Sneak Peek 7. Frapr 8. Add yourself here

~~END HERE~~

Now, I am extending the invite to preggy Jigi. If any of you are interested to this "Friendship Chain", please go ahead and join.

GUIDANCE

2008-02-28T08:52:00.001+01:00

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God, as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead

and to guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,

please share this message with someone else.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards;

so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance !

All About Kids' Learning and Playing

2008-02-26T11:27:00.004+01:00

I got this wonderful article from one of my egroups, about how children play and another article on the advantage of your child being a bit more "matured" than the others in his class, and it gave me peace as to having Franco start the long journey of schooling this year, instead of last year - when most of his batchmates started. if it was my choice, i would have "forced" him to attend schooling last year, probably because of pressure from friends whose kids - about franco's age - were already attending a-5-day-a-week schooling.

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514&sc=emaf

Taking Play Seriously
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17play.html?ref=magazine

When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/magazine/03kindergarten-t.html?scp=1&sq=kindergarten+redshirting&st=nyt

They're quite long reads (i haven't read them all yet, as of writing), but I'm sure if you're on the same boat that I am, you'd find this very interesting. Enjoy!

pogi...

2008-02-26T05:07:00.005+01:00

... na ako! heheheh...

i suddenly had the urge to have a haircut yesterday... and it had to be yesterday! so, without any appointment and without knowing that most of the salons here are closed on mondays, i went out to the nearest salons and three of which were closed! so i went across the road to the commercial centre and had my hair done there... the boys were with me, by the way! so it wasn't a very relaxing visit, good thing the hairdresser was accommodating and it was when we were finishing up that simon got a bit cranky and it was because he was already sleepy - and he doesn't just go to sleep when sleepy while out of the house. what did the trick were the gummy candies, cereals and smarties... kept them busy for a good hour! i also packed a bag of toys... anything to get that haircut i couldn't wait to have done.

i was tempted to get the katie holmes 'do, but i chickened-out! i don't think i can maintain the bangs and i thought i'd look trying hard and pa-cute! so, i got this instead... bagay ba?
... and hubby said he's got a new wife, because i haven't had above the shoulder hair since 1999, i think!

four times four meme

2008-02-25T10:22:00.006+01:00

thanks madame Haydee, for tagging me, this is very interesting! made me thinking! hehhehe :)

4 Jobs I've Had (the last four ones)
been an accountant all my life (except for those part-time and summer jobs during college), maybe i'll just state the positions I've held :)
- Financial Planning Analyst, Aristocrat Technologies, Australia
- Business Analyst, Nokia Australia
- Business Analyst, Nokia Philippines
- AP Accountant, Caltex Shared Services Center, Philippines

4 Movies Watched Over and Over
- My Best Friend's Wedding
- The Wedding Singer
- Pirates of the Carribean
- Cars (courtesy of my eldest son)

4 Shows I watch ( right now... )
- CSI
- Grey's Anatomy
- Dr. House, M.D.
- American Idol

4 Favorite Things To Eat
- Caldereta
- Lechon Paksiw
- Pandan Chicken
- Penang Beef

4 Places I Would Rather Be (i should say i'd like to visit, because i'm happy to be here or basically anywhere for as long as i'm with the kids and hubby - can't agree more with Haydee!)
- Maldives
- Palawan
- Paris (again)
- Rome

4 Things I Look Forward To This Year
- learning to play the piano
- Franco's going to the local school
- an overseas trip (visit the U.S., hopefully!)
- spring and summer! :)

replacements

2008-02-25T05:15:00.005+01:00

we will soon embark in a new challenge.

this...

will be replaced by this...

while this...

will have to give way to this...

wish us luck!!!

winter fashion sale :p

2008-02-22T15:34:00.002+01:00

this posting is quite late, but anyway... we got back from our pinas holiday just in time for what's left of the winter sale season here. so here are some of the goodies i got for the boys... and mind you, kuya franco insisted on taking his picture :)

this set i got from a store that had a buy 1-take-5 promo ... the little one doesn't seem to care of what's happening, he is just too busy with his truck!
while these ski suits i got 50% off...

... but i'm not quite sure if the boys will still fit in those suits next season. oh, well! at least i'm happy with the bargains i got!

when in europe...

2008-02-22T14:54:00.003+01:00

... you cannot NOT travel to neighboring countries, especially in our case, we live in central europe, you can literally just wake up and suddenly decide to drive to france, germany, italy or austria or just go online and get the best deal airfare on offer --- that is, if all your papers are all in place! :) which reminds me, we need to renew our schengen visa and submit it by monday so we can join the easter holiday rush.

now the question is, now where do we go? we've been to paris last year and did a lot of sight-seeing and went to disneyland for the kids. we checked-in in one of the not-so-expensive hotels i could find online. we had a grand time and are planning to go back soon, and when we do, i know just the place to find great deals on a paris accommodation. the site offers accommodation from as low EUR40/night! now, that's a really great deal comparing from our last trip there. we will definitely see paris by night, go to those signature shops, enjoy people watching in one of their streetside cafes and hopefully, if the little boys will be well behaved enough, we can actually go in the museums.

but paris will have to wait... for now, on our list is brussels, in belguim. yes, for those yummy chocolates, and it is an intruiging city, i heard. with it's wonderfully preserved architecture serving as a spectacular backdrop to the bustle, color and humor of the bustling city. i bet having breakfast from an al-fresco cafe will be quite interesting, indeed! and we can probably go to those sunday markets and pick-up a bargain and perhaps just walk seedy but charismatic Marolles of the South and see that famous statue of the young boy. i'm sure the city is very promising so, after more research, we'd definitely make it worth the trip.

next on the wishlist is berlin, germany. a city definitely rich in history! i'm sure the entire city has a lot to offer wide-eyed tourists like me, from museums, monuments, plaza's, old churches and even a zoo and aquarium for the little ones' interest. sound like a fun place to be for a family trip. we will definitely visit what's left of the berlin wall, the symbol of the Cold War- a symbol of a divided city, a divided nation, a divided Europe and a divided world.

it will also be a great time to visit amsterdam, in netherlands. i'm no green thumb but i'd love to see colorful flowers in spring and those intriguing, unexpected places of interest (*wink* - not for kids, though!). i wonder if there'll be windmills around? :p

and lastly, going a bit further, we'd like to visit london, hubby's got relatives there so they'll be our tourist guide there! can't wait to pose with those royal guards who don't smile, big ben, the london eye, and of course, their famous bridge!

ahh... the joys of travelling! and the best part is cheaper than hotels offers great last minute and whole year round deals on accommodation! so what are we waiting for? let's pack up our things, it's time to go! :)

let's get smorty

2008-02-21T09:51:00.004+01:00

how does "blog for money" sound to you? tempting isn't it? :) well, i have yet to see the $$$, but based on feedbacks and friends' reports they've already seen their share... so why not spread the word, eh?! :)

i just joined and got approved by Smorty, one of the many blog advertising services on the net. and how does it work? well, Smorty is a service connecting advertisers with bloggers. Advertisers can pay bloggers to write opinion posts with links back to the advertisers site. you use your own words, own style and wait... until your entry gets approved on your blog advertising entry, that simple! and no fees involved, except they one they pay to you! :) i see a win-win situation there!

so check it out by clicking here, quite exciting, really! :) it would be worth a shot. since blogging has been quite a trend since a few years back, being paid for blogging makes being a SAHM a bit more exciting and keeps let's me be more creative and inquisitive, as well! so, bloggers in the neighborhood, press that power button and go on clicking... you'll never know! this looks like a start of something great! :)

online shopping carts

2008-02-21T09:11:00.007+01:00

i've been bitten by the online shopping bug! just this month, i've placed three online orders from three different shops! i find it just so convenient, although a bit tricky at times... just this last order i received, i need to return two items since they did not exactly match the items i ordered and finalized from my shopping cart. i find shopping carts - technically called an ecommerce software, really user friendly and very useful. you'll get to double check and review your orders before you finalize them, and just put anything you fancy in the cart, take out items you don't really feel like buying before you "check-out".

i haven't an online shop yet, but when i do, i would be needing a shopping cart for my customers to use. and i have just found a great company for that ecommerce software need - Ashop Commerce. Ashop Commerce is a leading provider of hosted shopping cart software. It offers a complete solution for merchants to sell online. so, shop-owners and those planning to open online shops, check-out their 10-day free trial, it might just be the best ecommerce software solution for your online business. :)

trying blogging for cash

2008-02-21T09:01:00.003+01:00

this has just been approved by smorty and blogsvertise. so, i am now awaiting my "tasks" to start the ball rolling. so, it's going to be busy, busy, busy! my next post will be my first task, so keep watching! :)

food for the gods

2008-02-20T16:54:00.001+01:00

as requested by Francine , who asked for the recipe from my christmas goodies post, here's a food for the god's recipe i gave away last christmas. and do feel free to make a bit of tweaking to suit your taste... it gets better! :) enjoy!

Ingredients:
2.5 cups pitted dates
2.0 cups walnuts
3 tsp baking powder (Aunt Marys' yellow)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 cups Plain flour
4 Eggs (800 grams) OR 5 (600 grams) small eggs
1 unsalted butter. 250 grams
1.5 cups water
1 3/4 sugar caster

Procedure:
1. Cut pitted dates into half to make up the 2.5 cups
2. Cut walnuts to make up the 2 cups
3. boil pitted dates into a low fire, add 1.5 cups of water, stop mo pag kumukulu na.
4. After kulo, add bicarbonate. Set aside
5. Strain the flour, then add the baking powder. Set Aside.
6. Pre heat ur oven, 160 deg Fan Forced oven or 180 deg for conventional oven
6. Mix butter and sugar using a mixer, then add egg one by one. Stop ka pag naging light and fluffy na yun mix mo..
7. Then mix all together. (butter, sugar, egg) (Boiled pitted dates) (Walnuts) (flour)
8. Do not overmix it. Then put it into a baking tin.
9. Oven for 30 mins, do not open your oven within this 30 mins.
10. After 30 mins, check mo using a bbq stick kung may dumidikit sa stick, pag wala na ok na yan, pero pag meron pang dumidikit sa stick mo, another 5-10 mins pa..

This measurement is for one rectangular baking tin.

happy baking

valentine's day

2008-02-18T18:55:00.003+01:00

although we've agreed not to celebrate valentine's day, hubby said he feels "bad" about not having to... so, even without the flowers (he said, he tried! and i was hoping he would! :p), we sort-of celebrated the day by having chinese dinner - take-away... not bad at all!

... also, i received this clip i wanted to share, very funny.... but not really! :p

francis' birthday

2008-02-11T09:34:00.000+01:00

a sort-of last minute decision birthday party... thanks to the el bimbo for the photos since we were just really busy to think about taking photos during that day!

to a dear husband and father, francis, happy, happy birthday! we love you so much!

hoping you enjoyed your kare-kare, roast chicken, palabok, bbq spare ribs, veggies and prawns, buco pandan, leche flan and of course the cake (buti nagkasya pa lahat ng candles! hehehe) ... i didn't realize how tired i was with all the preparation until i was able to have dessert and sit down! the effort was all worth it! :)

How to Stay Young n Happy Always :-)

2008-02-05T08:32:00.000+01:00

How to Stay Young n Happy Always :-)

1. Throw out nonessential numbers.
This includes age, weight, and height.
Let the doctors worry about them.. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.
(Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning:
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain get idle.
'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things in life

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him or her!

6. The tears happen:
Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with us our entire life, is our self.
LIVE while you are alive.

7 Surround yourself with what you love:
Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall, even to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

And if you don't send this to at least four people - who cares?
But do share this with someone you care about.

7 Signs that your child loves you

2008-02-05T06:04:00.001+01:00

It's been soooo long since my last entry, have lots to blog about, really but I guess the mood is just not set. So, for now, here's a little something I got from Babycenter.

Signs that your child loves you

1. Your newborn stares into your eyes — he's actually working hard to memorize your face. He doesn't understand anything else about the world, but he knows you're important.

2. Your baby thinks about you even when you're not around. Between 8 and 12 months old, he'll start to scrunch his face and look around when you leave the room — and he'll smile when you return.

3. Your toddler throws wicked tantrums. Nope, those screaming fits don't mean he's stopped loving you. He wouldn't be so hurt and angry if he didn't trust you so deeply.

4. Your toddler runs to you for comfort when he falls down or feels sad. Kids this age may not truly understand the meaning of "I love you," but their actions speak louder than words.

5. Your preschooler gives you a flower picked from the garden, a finger-painted heart, a sparkly rock, or another gift.

6. Your preschooler wants your approval. He'll start to be more cooperative around the house, and he'll look for chances to impress. "Look at me!" will become a catchphrase.

7. Your grade-schooler trusts you with secrets, like his first crush or his most embarrassing moment. You're his confidante, even if he shies away from your hugs in public.

we're baaacckkk!!! :)

2008-01-22T04:45:00.000+01:00

we arrived sunday lunchtime from a month-long very enjoyable and activity filled holiday back home in the philippines and was able to squeeze-in a side-trip to hongkong. we have loads of pictures to upload, and it might take a bit of time for us to choose the photos, sort and upload it... so if you visit our site often, just click here to checkout our latest uploaded photos which we will update within the week (hopefully!). enjoy and welcome back! :)

so, what kept us busy during the 31-day holiday? well, we had two weddings, a baptism, a 1st birthday party, 2 family reunions, two beach holidays, an outing in baguio, visited daddy, met friends from highschool, college and previous work, 2 trips to hongkong and the boys had the time of their lives bonding with their cousins... what a way to spend a holiday! :) oh, we unfortunately got sick during our first few days, but hubby was the unluckiest, as he got sick for 10-days straight. but aside from that we all enjoyed seeing family and friends again, we should start saving up for the next trip! :)

home-baked christmas goodies

2007-12-16T23:29:00.000+01:00

my very own, home-baked "darn good dates bars" :p made 15 boxes of these goodies and feedback was all good... so far! :) Merry Christmas!

a singing star in the making....

2007-12-10T09:24:00.001+01:00

you raise me up - by francroban :p

with the lyrics of his own... and it goes a little something like this...

"you raise me up, so i can come the mountain...
you raise me up, to walk mmm...mmm... tusibi (?)...
i am strong, when i am dandan soldier...
you raise me up, tomorrow i can be."

and oh, his lyrics changes everytime he sings the song :) but he does have a good singing voice, don't you think so? may potential, kita nyo naman, kinukulot pa ang ending ng number nya! :)

the two weekends that passed

2007-11-19T13:29:00.000+01:00

two weeks have passed since my last entry, my lazy bones are just getting the best of me, because of the early snowfall here (record in 55 yrs!) - but it snowed around 3x here down in vevey, while i'm assuming almost everyday in places in a bit higher altitude in the last two weeks. besides, it's just so nice to stay in bed and keep warm - after all the chores are done.

so, where were we in the weekends of the freezing weather? well, of course we have to keep safe, keep warm and stay... in our jackets! :p apparently, the cold weather got us in the mood to go out to explore and play. :)

last, last weekend, we spent the day in the old town of fribourg. we just went around town, to see their old Cathedral de Saint Nicholas, the drive entering the old town was just amazing, the whole town looked like a painting, the gloomy skies set the mood, too! here's a shot from the bridge, the kids are in the car since it was just too cold! more photos here. After the strolling, we went to where we really planned to be, an overnight MER. :)

and last Saturday, having no plans for the day, we woke up late had brunch and went out to go to where a lot of snow fell. braving a -8 degrees weather (leaving our place with a +2 degrees temperature), we dived in to the fresh, still flaky snow and just enjoyed an hour in it... an hour is all we can take, actually! we were not fully equipped, and our feet were just freezing already - good thing i geared up franco with his ski suit and snow boots so he really had a grand time! we weren't very happy with the photos so we're planning to come back, may this coming weekend... but we first need to buy our own snow boots, because it looks like we'll be frequenting that place this season. i think we're beginning to get the hang of winter :).

and the countdown begins...

2007-11-07T14:20:00.000+01:00

as of today,it's now only ... 47 days til christmas! but my countdown below will be counting down realtime. hehehe

Get Myspace Christmas Countdown

chestnuts roasting...

2007-11-03T05:38:00.000+01:00

... in the oven.

and it tastes as good as the ones from the street vendors and stalls in the malls. yummy! but there's just one thing missing - that hypnotizing and tantalyzing aroma that, everytime - as in everytime it reaches my nostrils will automatically take me to the stall to buy 300 grams worth of it, so share with the family, of course! it's not cheap, mind you... so, when someone sent me an email on how to cook it at home, the same day i went to the groceries and bought 400 grams of it. it is just sooo easy - so i'm sharing the method of cooking with you guys, as well... here goes:

"Preheat your oven to 210 C. Make a cut across the round side of each to keep them from exploding, and arrange them either on a rack or on a cookie sheet. Roast them until the skins have pulled back from the cuts and the nutmeats have softened (exactly how long will depend upon the chestnuts, but at least 15-20 minutes). Remove the nuts from the oven, make a mound of them in an old towel, wrap them up, squeeze them hard -- they should crackle -- and let them sit for a few minutes."

enjoy it while it's hot (but not too hot, of course!) - only a little over 7 weeks to go 'til christmas!

costume night

2007-11-02T10:09:00.000+01:00

since DH is not at all into the halloween hype, precisely because of the origin of the celebration, i decided to just dress up the boys in costumes just so when the trick-or-treaters knock and ask for goodies Franco won't feel out of place - especially since he will be the one to hand over the candies.

well, i did actually manage to convince DH to go to chillon castle where there was a programme called "la nuit de la crypte" where children are invited to be in their costumes and tour the old castle, and there were story telling, magic shows, etc....a little bit creepy because of the venue, but that's actually the whole point of it! but apparently, we were really not meant to go there, since DH has a meeting at 5:30 for an hour and he got home at 7pm which was already too late.

so, here's the pirate and mickey mouse on halloween... but i think next time, i'll dress them up as angels instead. of course, the PA should be in the picture, as well!

birthday cake number three

2007-11-01T07:53:00.000+01:00

...following the success of the birthday cake i made for franco , i was requested to do two more birthday cakes, the second one i made was another chocolate cake but was a round one, i wasn't able to take a picture, i forgot about that! and the latest is this one, a vanilla and chocolate layered cake. i managed to take photos of the cake sans the decors yet, while it was sitting on the fridge.

i made the cake from flour to icing, but i can't take credit for the decor because i was not really confident on doing that yet. the finishing touches were done by calvin's big sis and her friends... so here's my latest masterpiece, for calvin's 2nd birthday!

... despite the challenge of having almost zero sense of taste due to bad colds, i was able to pull it off! hubby had to be my taste tester (which wasn't very reassuring, actually! :p) here's the finished product:

and the verdict? - parang propeyshunal (daw)!!! yahoo! :p - of course that was hubby's opinion, but that's the most honest (or biased ba?) one i can get! hehehehe

an open air museum

2007-10-26T06:15:00.000+02:00

sometimes, last minute trips are the best way to go. last friday, friends who had nothing planned on the weekend gamely agreed to join us on a day trip to ballenberg - an open air museum that featured switzerland as it once was, more than 100 years ago - the houses, mostly. it's amazing how different the architecture of buildings each canton had. it also featured "men at work", making lumber - trimming the trunks to make planks, among others. the day was great except for one factor - it was freezing cold and we were not-so dressed up for the occasion. i think temperature was around 3 degrees, it would have been fine if it wasn't so windy! but all in all, it was fun! we spent the whole day at the exhibit and took shelter inside the charming houses. we then capped the day with a very hot and spicy indian dinner in Interlaken. you can check out our photos here

the whole day was not enough for a by-foot expedition and freezing weather, so by 4pm we decided to leave - the place was just huge at 660,000sqm, we missed the alpine region of the exposition, which i think is really nice. maybe we can go there another day, but that will probably be next year already since the museum is closed from 1st november until 31st of march every year - necessarily, at wintertime. here's the map of the place, so the next time we come there we will be going thru the East Entrance Brienzwiler to see the Alpine, The Valais, Bernese Oberland and Ticino regions.

a third one

2007-10-24T13:28:00.000+02:00

... scrapbook layout, that is! :) i've managed to make my 3rd manual scrapbook layout, it's not ritzy at all but i'm sharing it anyway since i managed to finish it in one sitting yesterday while the boys were taking their afternoon naps. hopefully, i'll make more... since i did have more than a hundred photos printed out for the purpose.

the alphabet tag

2007-10-23T09:41:00.000+02:00

Got tagged by Jody, thanks! It's laundry day today and I wanted to sneak this one in :)

My abcd ....
Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

Seven facts about me:

I am a currently a SAHM, it's been almost two years now.
I have two little cute boys, videos are below :).
I am super happily married to Francis for almost 5 years now.
I learned to cook about 3 years ago and am really enjoying the art now.
I am a bargain hunter.
I love to travel.

A - Age: 31

B - Band Listening To Right Now: None. Yesterday, was listening to Hillsong music.

C - Career: Accountant, currently Domestic Affairs Manager a.k.a. SAHM.

D - Drink or Smoke: Nope.

E - Easiest Friends To Talk To: Fara, Haydee, Jade, Grace, Mardi, Mae, Jaypee.

G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy Worms - the sour ones!

H - Have a Boyfriend: 3 :p

I - In love: With my family.

J- Junk Food You Like: Chips, Chocolates, Dried Fruits

K - Kids: Two boys, Franco & Simon

L - Longest Ride Ever: Vevey, Switzerland to Las Pinas, Manila 24hrs door to door

N - Names For Your Future Kids: hmm... Girl - Alessandra, Boy - Isaiah (first thing that came to my mind at the moment)

O - One Wish You Have Now: pwede bang two? Peace and Health for everyone.

P - Phobias: hmm... I am scared of open waters, I am not a swimmer.

Q - Favorite Quote: "When we look back and wonder how we ever made it through, we realize it’s not because we’ve been clever but because God has been wise, not because we’ve been strong but because God has been mighty; not because we’ve been consistent but because God has been faithful.”

R - Reasons To Smile: Being alive, having my family together and intact.

S - Sleeping Hours: 10/11pm-7/8am

T - Time You Woke Up: today, 7:30am

U - Unknown Fact About You: I can draw/paint... but haven't practiced at all.

V - Vegetable You Hate: Okra

W - Worst Habit: hmm... sometimes preferring to go barefoot when you should wear slippers!

X - X-rays You’ve Had: chest, for annual physical exams.

Y - Yummy Foods: Pinoy BBQ, Japanese and Thai cuisine

Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries

I'm tagging... whoever runs along this post and wants to share some facts about themselves :)