Invest If You Have The Means To Do So

People have been tightening their belts when it comes to expenses. I am not immune to it as I have tightened mine as well. We can never tell what tomorrow will bring us. Even some plurker friends have attested to news of laying off. It is so scary! I hope that all this will end by March.

Anyways, if this is what's happening now. I would still suggest people to check out Wilmington, NC Luxury Real Estate especially if they have the means to buy real estate. Land is still the best form of investment. It can be low now but after a few months, it will come up again. It is just like fashion, it never really goes away.

Enzo's Birthday Celebration

After lunch at around 2 pm, we were all so tired and wanted to lie down but we had another affair to go to. My left arm was already aching at that time and all I wanted to do was to rest. To cut it short, we were the last ones who were able to arrive at my parents' home.

Enzo, together with his parents, brought food over so we could have a chance to celebrate his birthday with him. He already celebrated at OB Montessori the previous week. I had a chance to talk to my sister J and my brother's gf about school for kids and the different methods teachers use and which ones are effective to the kids. It was a very lengthy and informative discussion. While all this was going on, the kids were playing and having the time of their lives that Enzo even said that he wanted to stay at the house and he will just come home next year. Hehehe!

Since I was too tired to take pics, these are just the picture that I was able to take at that time.

Julia and Enzo opening gifts

Julia blowing out the candles of her Hanna Montana cake

My daughter tired after one fun-filled day.

Happy Birthday Julia and Enzo!

Time To Appreciate

January is almost over and it was one busy month with all the birthday celebrations that we had to go to. If there is one person that I still haven't given my gift, it is my sister J. You see I am looking for a papa hello kitty. She gave me this before when I was little. She saved up all her daily allowance just so she can give it to me on my birthday. Back then I did not how I should appreciate and take care of my gifts, especially one that was as precious as a papa kitty. So I would like to repay the gesture by looking for one papa kitty. Sadly, I could not find at any gift gate stores. I think they are the only ones who carry the hello kitty brand. I have no plans of giving her a fake papa kitty. I want to give her what she gave me. I just want to let her know how much I appreciate her presence in my life. She was really responsible even when we were so little. She is such a good person sans the temper. Hehehe.

Since I haven't found it yet, I thought of a better idea, I am now thinking of giving her Ceiva digital photo frames. I think she would appreciate this very much. She is sooooo into digital pics and she is so busy with work that I am sure she misses her kids all the time. Plus the fact that one can upload the photos to the photo frames directly from the phone, digital camera or even from an email. There is no need to connect to the computer. So I think this is perfect for her. The papa kitty can wait. This digital photo frames can't. Plus the fact that I am sure she will appreciate it even more.

Julia's Party At Kenny Rogers (Part 2)

After swimming, we were all famished and so the party proceeded to Kenny Rogers. I think this is Julia's favorite restaurant. It must be the reason for the choice. Aside from the fact that the food is yummy. Hehhee. The kids were all irritable from hunger and exhaustion. Even the birthday celebrant did not want to have her picture taken anymore. Heheh. But once we got ourselves filled, everybody were back to their usual selves.

the very irritated but beautiful birthday celebrant hehehe

... the celebration did not end there as my nephew, Enzo, also celebrated his birthday at my parents' other house that afternoon.

Julia's Party At Ace Part 1

Last January 16 was my only niece's birthday. But since it was a friday, the family opted to celebrate it the following day at Ace Water Spa. Initially, the swimming party was supposed to be at their condo but since it was so cold we did not want to. So my sister changed the venue from their place to Ace.

So just like my birthday last year, we woke up really early so we will arrive at Ace at 7ish. But I think we were able to arrive at around 8 already. We really had fun but more importantly the birthday celebrant had fun. She is developing quite nicely too. Hahahha It is such a shame that they do not allow picture taking inside the pool area. You should see my daughter already swimming like a fish.

Note to self: swimming lessons on summer

Anyways, here are the pictures taken before we left at home and at the cafe area at Ace.

the birthday celebrant, sipping the free soup

Hoping For More Family Bonding Time

I want a family vacation! This is what I yearn now. I want some bonding time with not just myself, my daughter and my husband. I want everybody in the family to just do something together. I want one of those All inclusive family vacations. It could be in a beach such as the one that Azul Beach Hotel in Riviera Maya has. I heard they have family-friendly amenities, perfect for every family. Parents are pampered while kids have some many things to do to occupy their time.

With the recent news of my aunt having the big C, this makes me want to have the family vacation more. Time is too short not to have fun with friends and family. So I am definitely hoping for a lot more bonding time with my family.

Another Bonding Time At Serendra

After my daughter's periodical exams, I brought her to Serendra to unwind. Hehehe. At that time, the weather was still perfect. It was still cool and windy. Although, the sun's rays were already brighter. We got there at around 1:30 pm. Since we both haven't eaten lunch yet, we ate at Brother's Burger. It has been such a long time since I last ate there. I missed it.

Afterwards, it was all my daughter's choice on what to do and where to go and so she wanted to play. So she did that for 4 hours.
I wish I can be as carefree as she is (or as light... teeeheeee). Sarap talaga maging bata.

Cheska And Nicole

Since we were not able to spend Christmas Eve nor New Year's Eve at my husband's side of the family. We remedied that situation by spending one whole afternoon, after New Year's Day, with them. My daughter was able to play with her cousins the whole afternoon. She brought along her bike and her new Baby Alive doll given to her by her Tita Jula. I allowed her to play outside provided that I am there with her. Hehehe.

My Very Own TV Widget

Do you know that I already have my own facebook? I know I am late when it came to facebook. I have no excuse why this is so but I have always believed in better late than never. Lol! My sister who is so busy with work even has her own facebook which is why I know how remiss I am when it comes to social networking. I somehow understand why people find facebook much more addicting than friendster. One of the things I love about it is you can embed widgets on it just like you can put things on a blog. Make it personalized as much as you want to, reflecting the real you on the world wide web. You can even put in a tv widget on your facebook page if you want to.

My friends and family know how much I love watching tv (when I can). So just imagine if you can put an Amy Poehler Cozmo TV widget on your social networking site. It can be on facebook, your blogs, Myspace. It can be anywhere.

If you do not believe me, check this out.



You can actually modify the widget as much as you can. So go and grab yourself one by visiting cozmo tv or you can get your own widget here.

Happy Birthday Eli

Today is my nephew's 5th birthday and I want to greet him a happy birthday. We actually celebrated over the weekend. I have so many things to tell so I would just have to enumerate it first lest I forget about it:

1) Julia's Birthday Celebration at Ace Water Spa
2) Eli's Birthday celebration at Manila Ocean Park
3) Attempt At Kite Flying At Luneta
4) Eli's Birthday Celebration at school
5) Mavic's Birthday Celebration
6) Car Tint
7) Canned Car Experience

and others I have sooooo many things to say and I seem to still lack the time.

Anyways, happy birthday eli.

Strawberry Blond Cheska

Check out my daughter wearing her wig! She was supposed to wear this as part of her ms. usa costume but she did not want to. Good thing she wears it every now and then. She even wore this one time when we went to her grandmother's house. Everybody tried wearing it at that time and had a kick out of it.

School Plans

I am seriously considering other options because of the global economic crisis that we are starting to feel especially with the news of people being laid off and the price increase of goods. Who knows how long my steady stream of internet income is going to last? That is why I am thinking of taking up school mba. Actually, after I graduated, my sister has been pushing me to take up mba but at that time I did not want to and felt that there was not any need to. But now I can see that I do especially if I want to go back to the corporate world. I want to be better than what I was before. I want to become prepared, more knowledgeable in my field of expertise.

This blog post is based on the information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Where Kids Rule

A couple of days after Christmas, my 2 nephews came to visit us. Since they were only given about a day and a half to spend time with us (not counting the night). We had to think of something fast that is fun to do. So we brought them to Fun Ranch.

They road the bumper boats twice before we ate lunch at Max's. The funny thing was my mom gave the both of them NDS each and so all three of them (including my daughter) were playing with their respective NDS while waiting for their food. They even played Mario Kart with each other. That's the main advantage of the NDS you can choose the multiplayer option and play with each other. Afterwards, we rode the carousel and then proceeded to Active Fun and my daughter had the time of her life. I almost had a heart attack when I saw her sliding down those big slides with her cousins. But I saw how much fun she was having and so I laughed along with her. There was even a time when I climbed the highest level but there was no way I could get down because my daughter slid down the big slide which adults are not allowed on, so I had to find a way to climb down. If you have already been there, you would know how hard it is to go back down.

Afterwards, the kids jumped up and down the big inflatable castle like thing. They did that for about an hour. Then they tried out the train express thing that is located on the second floor. We encouraged them to try the F1 car race thing but they did not want to. At that time, I think they were too tired. Plus, our time was up and so we had to return them back to their dad's family.

Hopefully, this summer they will come back and spend more time with us as promised. I am also thinking of celebrating my daughter's 5th birthday at Fun Ranch. Let's see, shall we.

Our Afternoons

It is nice to stay out under the sun especially if it's cold. I do not really mind staying under the sun when it's chilly outside. That is why we have been spending our afternoons outdoors. However, I would not mind a little patio furniture including patio umbrellas so I could sit and type away on my laptop while my daughter is riding on her bike or playing with her ball. That is why I super duper love wi-fi because I can be anywhere in the house and still have internet access. However, maybe my daughter would not really want me doing that since she prefers that I watch her all the time when she is outdoors. So a little wicker furniture will do, to make my stay outside a little more comfortable.

I can just imagine myself having a glass of iced tea with a book while sitting on a wicker rocking chair while looking up once in a while to check on my daughter. Of course I have to have my umbrella, I would not want to get wrinkly from all the sun. All my sisters know that I could not live without my trusty umbrella, rain or shine. Lol!

Mall Of Asia

After breathing in some fresh saltwater, we looked around for a restaurant where we can eat breakfast. We were disappointed when we found out that the mcdonald's branch beside MOA does not carry breakfast items. So we grudgingly contented ourselves with burgers and fries while waited for MOA to open. When it finally did, we checked out the tallest Christmas tree in Manila. My daughter also wanted me to take pictures of her everywhere. She rode the carousel. We rode the ferris wheel, we ate ice cream, walked around. We did everything that we possibly can before our legs gave out from sheer exhaustion. I had even gotten lost when I looked for Watson's because I wanted to buy baby wipes because my daughter had ice cream all over her. After a couple of hours, we could not walk anymore and so we decided to head back home. It was barely even past 2 at that time when we wanted to go home. Plus the fact na dumadami na ang tao.

Winds Of Change

A friend of mine told me that she will be moving. Actually, it is not only her but it will be the whole family. The news made me very happy for her because it will be a great career move for her and it will create a more stable future for their children. Especially since she does not know what will happen to her since the company where she is currently working for has cut down on her working hours. So she has decided to work for a company who has offered her a job with a much higher pay and longer working hours. The bad news is she would have to move. So she made a decision and she will stick by her decision.

Anyways she has already contacted a boston moving company so the things that the family will be bringing with her will be taken cared of. So that's one worry off her list. She has lots of things to take care of. Moving is hard. You cannot bring everything with you. You have to leave friends and family behind. You have to leave everything that has been familiar to you.

I just wish her the best in her endeavor. She is such a brave soul and I know she will survive and thrive wherever she may decide to be. So good luck A!

A Fateful December Morn'

My husband spent everyday of the whole month of December with us, much to my delight and my surprise. So I have been bugging him to take our daughter to Manila, beside Mall of Asia, so she can breathe in some salt water. They say people who have cough and colds should do that often to rid themselves of their cough.

So there was one fateful December morning when my husband roused me from my very deep slumber. He wanted to take us to MOA. Since it was still very early, we were the only ones who took a shower. We carried our sleeping daughter to the car. When she woke up she was surprised to find herself beside a sea wall and under the sun.

So at that time, we took in a lot of Vitamin D much to my disgust. Lol! I do not really like soaking under the sun much. But it was worth it. I think the Vitamin D and the fresh morning air helped a lot. She lost her "halak" after.

Free Linking

There are so many tips on how to increase the traffic of your site. It takes a lot of work and a lot of your time. Some work, some do not. Over time, I have learned how to determine which one works and which ones don't. One tip I can give you is, all you need to learn is just Link building because it beats all the other methods.

There is a site that offers free link building tools. What's great about it is, aside from the fact that it's free, it just does not give you tools for link building but it gives tutorials and advices on how to create, improve and promote your website. So check it out and register for a free account.

SNK Christmas Party '2008

The next day was the church's Christmas party and I was assigned as an usherette during the Sunday Service. I am sure my husband was still tired from the EK trip that happened just the day before. I still was. Anyways, the thing with being an usherette was I had to write down all the names. I do not know most of them so I was in trouble. What we did was we let all the attendees just write down their names. Hahaha!

Just to let you know, my daughter and I wore matching outfits from Bayo. Hehehe.

I would also like to congratulate YC c/o Ed for spearheading the Christmas party raffle. The target amount was reached. So kudos to the team.

Some of the pictures that were taken at that time.

My Daughter And Boots

The weather calls us to wear something that will give us warmth. It is time to take out those jackets, sweaters and Boots. No matter how much I love the weather, I would not want to catch a cold. I feel like we are the only family left who does not have a cold. Surprisingly my daughter is ok and has not caught anything yet. Although, I heeded her doctor's advice to bring a jacket always so whenever it gets a little cold, she can wear it, so as not to trigger her nocturnal asthma. It worked! Plus I no longer bring her to malls which contributed to the fact that she could not get any virus from anybody. Since I do not bring her to malls, I no longer frequent the malls either. So I have not broken one of my New Year's resolutions which is to spend more wisely. I have not bought anything based on whim yet. Lol! I do not know how long I could last. My husband has been counting the days. Hahaha!

Do you know that just a day ago, I saw my daughter wearing her boots while riding her bike? Maybe the cold was getting to her but she found it nearly impossible to do so. She removed her boots after several tries. She really looked like a cowboy at that time. I let her wear what she wants to wear because she grows so fast anways and some of the clothes and shoes that she has she has barely worn. So if she wants to wear her boots at home, she can.

Enchanted Kingdom Last Part

After eating, we lined up at the Rialto for some Lego Racing. The line was still manageable but to kill the time, we took some shots of ourselves. The Lego Racing thing was such a huge disappointment to me but my nephew Enzo had a blast.

Afterwards, we all did our own thing. Romel, cheska and myself tried out the rollerskate ride thing which is like a mini caterpillar thing. That ride was nice. Although the line was unbearable. Cheska definitely enjoyed herself at that ride. The line was definitely worth the wait. It had that certain level of excitement that kids like. And then we all met up and tried the huge ferris wheel. We rode with Jula and Kiko. Jula and I have a thing for heights so we were scared the entire time. Kiko and Romel were not even allowed to breathe because they might shake our seat just by breathing. My daughter loved it though! She kept on looking down while her Tita Jula held on to her for dear life while I held on to the bar and was at the edge of my seat the entire time.

Then we went on to Grand Rialto. This time we rode with Julia, Eli, Jing and Elmer. So we had a grand time getting wet. Good thing we brought extra clothes.

After the Grand Rialto, we ate our dinner and then my daughter watched the show with my husband. I sat at one of the benches with a couple of my sisters and my bil. While Julia and Eli jumped at the jumping thing that was already set-up. My daughter tried it out too while waiting for the fireworks to start at around 10:30 pm. It was so cold already that I had to give my jacket to my daughter because her jacket had gotten all wet at the Grand Rialto while I wore a pair of her baby legs. My sister Che tried out the Space Shuttle thing twice. At first with her husband, Jay, and then with Julia. Suffice to say, she had motion sickness afterwards.

All in all, we had a grand time spending time with each other and checking out our limits. So thanks to my sister Che, her husband Jay and Cai Cai for celebrating Cai-Cai's 1st birthday with us.

- The End -