Vote for me!

This is what I get for not going online as much as I usually do for the last few days...Sigh, was clueless that the voting already started LOL!

ONE DAY LEFT FOR THOSE WHO LOVE ME TO VOTE FOR MY LAYOUT!!!!!

Don't be shy :) Click that link above, voting is at the sidebar! Mine is listed together with three other digital layouts (One is by a fellow Bebot Diane whose LO is amazing (others think so too, because by now, she's leading by a mile LOL! Hi Diane!). If you need reminding this is how my entry looks like:

And remember, vote for me IF AND ONLY IF you think I deserve your vote hehe. No pressure really! It's enough that I got posted in another blog *wink*

My kind of Bathroom

...is something like this:

image from lightingshowplace

When we build our own house, the bathroom (and the kitchen, too) will be non-negotiable. It has to be my taste. It has to be a place where we can relax (you know the feeling that you want to stay there and probably sleep too? LOL!). It will be a home within a home. Am i making sense at all? Just look at the image above. So homey! Even the bathroom lights complement the rest of the room's elements. Perfect! It's good that I get to blog about this so I have something to look back to when we actually build our home in the future. :)

Friendship Contract

This was shared to me by Buchay, thanks! So sorry, I haven't been hoppin' around (therefore, I dunno yet who's done with this) but I consider everyone who comes by this blog my virtual friend. Feel free to snag! :)

After serious and cautious consideration…your contract of friendship has been renewed for the New Year 2008! It was a very hard decision to make. So try not to screw it up!!!

My Wish for You in 2008

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires! May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words …May 2008 be the best year of your life!

Huwwwwaaaatttt?!?!

Where did time go? January is near it's end. I can't believe it's already the 25th and the first month of 2008 is almost over. Our 6th Hunnyversary is coming up and then Valentine's. I wonder what Hubby is planning to give me? I wish I can sense the DSLR coming, but I doubt it, LOL! In all honesty, I just wanna go somewhere and celebrate away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We found this very nice B&B in Tagaytay, so we might check that out. As for my gift to him, I saw these new pocket watches, aren't they nice? Do you think he will like it?

I was away from the internet for a few days and I'm not gonna explain (as if it matters, LOL!) but I will get back to share our date night last Monday. Yep, Hubby treated me to a (not-so) romantic dinner when we realized we had no one to play with that night. For now, there is a meeting I should be attending so bye for now :)

Butterflies

Get up from bed...
Right on time...
Feel the butterflies,
Weird.
Eat some breakfast...
A bowl of rice porridge.
Arrive just on time...
Run.
Walk.
Brisk walk.
Run.
Walk.
Brisk walk.
Run.
Brisk walk.
Walk.
Walk.
Butterflies again.
Continue walking.
Cold sweat on the temples.
Keep on walking.
Stop.
Suddenly Stop.
Run.
To the toilet.
Puke.



Altogether now....



Eeewwwwwwwwwwwwww.


Mwehehehehe. :)

Oi oi oi :)

In case you haven't seen 'em, I finished two layouts last week and I posted them in my other blog. Check 'em out here and here. TFL! :)

Starting him young :)

My brother in-law is such a golf fanatic (and so is his dad). So it is just normal that his son, my nephew J, is learning the sport at an early age. My sister supports this hobby too. This picture was taken at Pebble Beach in Monterey where Tiger Woods used to play golf.


Last I heard, the kid already has his own golf clubs (I'll have to ask if they're Nike golf clubs because I've seen a set like this on the net, and they're impressive, looking so nice and neat) set given to him by his grandpa. And this early, his swing is above average for his age.


Move over, Tiger! :)

What's in the bag?

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what's in the bag? ( no it's not a contest! I just cannot contain myself!) LOL!

The bag has a box, a black box!

And in it is another bag (envelope type), now in brown. What's inside?!?!

Yay! It's THE Album! I was worried it might not turn into what I expected but I am quite impressed with it (this is my blog so I can say that! LOL!). The rest of the shots (some are blurry) are here. Thanks for looking! :)

Here to bore you...

Can't think of another title! Creative juices are minimal! :)

Anyway, am currently home and will pick li'l bro later from his Grad song practice. So am bloggin' away while we wait for his call (Ane is snoring at the moment LOL!) . Last Saturday, I said I was gonna play but deciding to go at past 8pm wasn't a good idea after all because by then I wouldn't be getting my money's worth. Good thing the E's decided to go and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, instead, at the Promenade. Here's my short review of the movie and a little bit of spoiler, hehe.

After the movie, we ended up in NP Kopi Tiam again because: 1) Mami C and Papi M wasn't with us the last time we were there, 2) they're open till 2am on Saturdays (technically Sundays), and 3) The place is so cozy we might be staying here on Saturday nights until we grow tired of the place, heheh. I didn't have coffee that night, thinking that I slept the whole day, and I don't need something to keep me awake. Ane and I shared Binondo Mami again (I just had the soup and the Siomai...don't really like noodles in general). And then MEG shared some of her Japanese Cheese Cake that looks and tastes ordinary but I find myself wanting to buy some today ;)

On Sunday, I woke up to my Mom's call. She asked me to pick her up from the Annapolis parlor and bring her to Bulacan. Argh. I had little or no choice but to oblige. But we (Mom, Brothers, Ane and I) had a nice lunch (believe me!) at Casa Reyes in Connecticut...we had a pleasant chat, too. I sooo love their boneless chicken barbeque and their java sauce goes very well with the meat. I also tasted their Fresh Lumpiang Ubod and it's really nice too. We didn't order much (as we were in hurry) but our simple feast proved to be enough for our tummies. Can't wait to taste their BBQ again! Oh we also ordered some Turon ala Mode, but it's just ordinary.

That's about it. We just went to mass in the afternoon (I even forgot to bring the Sto. Nino my goddaughter gave me, sayang, it could have been blessed) and then had my pedicure before going home. :)

Unit owners...soon.

The unit's gonna be turned over real soon. Technically, it's not ours but there's a long story behind it I'd rather not discuss here. Bank transactions are in order and they're already corresponding with the developer. We will schedule an inspection and we'll see how it goes. We don't plan to actually live in it...we decided to rent it out. I'm giddy with excitement, though (the way I felt when we we're filling in our home, LOL!).

We plan to semi-furnish it, to up it's value in the market. A shower heater is non-negotiable as it is what we personally want in all our bathrooms! We're thinking of putting a gas range and a dishwasher, too. The first two fixtures would be easy-peasy to decide on, as they are regular/normal fixtures. As for the last one, I think there is a need to read a dishwasher review to check our options. Dishwashers aren't common here (at least for us!) as these consume extra electricity (means more expenses!).

I'll share with you what happens and when we are all done. Yay!

An award!

From Diane :) thanks sis!

A heart so pure, so innocent...

Very timely story when the Catholic community celebrates the Feast of the Sto. Niño today:

I was talking to my Mom and her Amiga tonight after hearing mass. It's about the Amiga's grandson, JM whose mother just gave birth to another boy. The baby has a delicate heart condition that he was not discharged from the hospital right away, also because of monetary reasons.

Little boy JM, age 4, knew that he became a big brother and was excited to see the baby. When told that he has to wait, he asked why. They told him their money isn't enough yet to bring the baby out from the hospital, and guess what he said?

"Kahit ako na lang sa hospital, makalabas lang si baby." (I'm willing to stay in the hospital, so they will let the baby out.)

If only it was just that simple, eh? I cannot grasp how this kid can say that. But it is touching that a kid his age is willing to sacrifice out of love...and is just trusting that everything will be okay as long as the ones he love are okay too.

It's past 5pm on a Saturday

and I just woke up from my nap. A pretty long nap coz I laid down at 9am (I skipped lunch altogether)! It's one of those days again when I feel tired from everything that all I wanna do is just sleep the day off. Looking back at the week that was, I can't tell whether I was productive or not. So basically, I am "tired" and I'm not even sure what made me feel this way. Sickening, I tell you.

Anyway, I *need* to stay awake from now on because there's this article I need to read about succession plan, something that can probably help our businesses generate more income. It's that time of the year when we need to plan and settle on our goals for this year. Or maybe we should have done that before the year 2007 ended?

Plus, in a while, I'm driving li'l bro to a party (and pick him up later of course) and while waiting I'll probably play a few sets at GBC because I need to stretch, move and try to be sociable :) And I need coffee too, to perk me up.

There's one thing that made me smile though, when I turned Ivy on...that I was given more assignments by pub than I got from the past few weeks. :) That means only one thing and I'm happy! (just doesn't show in this entry, LOL!).

Laterz!

And I'm supposed to be working out...

now. But guess what? I woke up, readied myself and realized I have no gym clothes in the brothers' house (side: last night I was laughing my a** off at Ane coz he couldn't find work clothes here for today and we thought we are bound to go home to Malabon at 11pm. We found one of his pants in my bro's cabinet though. And now, I have nothing to wear!?! Ang bilis ng karma!) argh! My PT is so nice he isn't deducting me a session for informing him late. Hay.

I guess I'll go back to sleep? Hohum!

Passing by...

It's the early morning of Wednesday and I just had to drop by and say hi :) I have a PT session later this morning and I need to sleep! I'm still awake because I had to finish some labels/tags design my mom asked me to do, plus I finished a new LO (second layout in two days, oh yeah!). I'll share that probably later today, I'm still waiting for the one I finished yesterday to be approved for posting in another blog. It's my take on a challenge actually.

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I met up with my college blockmates at TGIF Serendra on Saturday and then later that night, with the E's at Kopi Tiam. It was a long but fun night. I have uploaded the pictures in my Flickr, so you might wanna check those out. You will also find there some shots we took at the wedding we attended on December 28. And and and, if you haven't yet, please check out the first ever album layout that I finished last week! :)

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Went to the doctor on Monday, for checkup and because Ane was left behind outside the building (no available parking yet), he wasn't able to join me inside the doctor's office. Oh well, the doctor advised something that Ane should have heard himself because he suspects I was just making it up, LOL! It has to do with changing 'something' about our lifestyle ;p Anyway, I was prescribed a new med to take with the existing ones. It's supposed to have a laxative effect and I figured I'd be tied at home until my body is able to adjust to it. But as of now, no effect yet. The doctor was happy that I actually shed some pounds and this new med will probably make me lose more weight (does that mean I can eat more now?!?!) once my bowel movement change. Oh well, everything is lookin' up...for now. :)

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I wish I can share more, but I gotta catch some zzzzzzz's now...I don't wanna pass out in the gym later :) TTFN!

Gold!

The Peso has been going strong against the Dollar, therefore investments have become shaky in the sense that one cannot be too sure of what will happen in the next few months. A website says the best investment at the moment is the purchase of gold -- in coins or bullions. I've once mentioned here, and the site also says, that gold can increase one's purchasing powers and there is a high level of assurance that the wealth is preserved. Monex or MDC has been America's leader in gold investment. Now is the best time to invest in gold. MDC can personally deliver the goods or can help in setting up a bank depository or storage. Let's be wise and put or money where we can get high ROI and is stable.

Past and Future

My Mom has a funny way of amusing me. She shared to me two stories last night that she herself finds weird...simply because she can't remember and she refuses to believe. :)

First, she told me she found an old picture me. The one taken during my third year HS ball. I gave her a copy and she found it weird why I would write at the back: "though I am being a bad girl..." etc etc. She can't remember why I would write those words. This morning, I realized exactly why. Back then, we were barely surviving. Although, we were sent to very good schools, we only had enough. So I was touched that they allowed me to attend the ball in a 5-star hotel. She even bought me a dress at Rustan's with matching shoes and bag & even gave me budget for a hair and make-up session at a nice salon. That was something. I knew they spent more than what they should but they still wanted to give me what they think is best. That probably made me guilty because at that time, I also started having a boyfriend much to their dismay (but no, he wasn't my date for that night, which sucked!). I was definitely a bad girl for not listening to them. Parents can be forgetful of the bad times, eh?

Second, she told me about a dream she had. But before telling me the dream itself, she assured me that dreams, especially hers, can be the opposite. So she tells me that in her dream, I was rushing to her and was crying real hard. I was crying that I could not even talk. When she was able to calm me down, I told her I was brokenhearted because our doctor was honest enough to tell we can't bear children at all. Funny, my mom is dreaming about our dilemma. Could it be that she's pressured herself for us? LOL!

That's it. I just figured I'd share these here. :)

Tag Five

Here's a tag (a long overdue one!) by Buchay:

1. Name one thing you do everyday.

-Oversleep! LOL!

2. Name two things you wish you could learn.

- Learn to play any musical instrument.
- Learn to write better.

3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood.

- The neighbor's guava tree that I was still climbing until I was twelve!
- Our backyard that turns into a pool when it rains too hard, really those were the days when it was still safe.
- Trips to Luneta (very typical) on Saturday mornings to jog then breakfast afterwards.

4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do.

- Juicy burgers.
- Maki.
- Biko with lotsa Latik!
- Lengua.

5. Name five things that make you feel good.

- Coffee.
- Snuggling with Hubby on a cold day.
- Sundays with my brothers.
- Staying in a hotel for no reason at all.
- Chatting with friends (about serious and not so serious stuff!)

Not sure who to tag anymore...LOL! :)

Messy Entry

Two days in a row and I still have a terrible headache. Ack! Hubby also went back to work yesterday and I stayed home (I got so used to having him around that I miss him already!), well at least almost the entire day. I have a lot to share but I can't seem to organize my thoughts! So please bear with me :)

First of all, I would like to thank the ladies who left me messages in my other blog about the album I made. Really made my heart skip! Thank you for your kind words...made me feel I have a 'future' in designing layouts :) Hugs to all of you! I brought it to Fans, but since I forgot to bring money for deposit, I have to bring it back tomorrow. LOL! They checked my files, though, and they're perfect for printing. I just need to edit the cover a bit and we're good. Yay! Can't wait to see the actual album.

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If you've been to my other blog today, you'll notice I wrote something that happened in the gym. Yeah! I went back to the gym yesterday morning. My last visit was December 14, and that was too long a break! My PT was too nice to me, he didn't push me to my limits. But here's the catch! He commended me FOR NOT GAINING WEIGHT during the Holidays! Yup, I was able to stop myself from eating too much. I'm officially 122lbs (although I weighed in the morning without clothes and it's 120lbs)...I was 128lbs when I started. So hoorah for me! I plan to lose seven more pounds but my PT said I'm actually within the range already.

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On Sunday, Hubs and I had dinner with my church friends. RC was leaving for Qatar on Tuesday, so he's probably there by now, trying to get things settled. We were all caught by surprise when he told us about this trip. He fixed his papers starting two months ago and didn't realize he'd be leaving this soon. We met up at Hap Chan in Caloocan and stayed there for almost three hours. Because this was such an unplanned get-together, two of our friends wasn't able to join us. RC is that guy behind Hubby (uuyyy, love that red wall!). It's kinda sad that he has to leave his wifey and kiddo behind but then this is the best option for them at the moment. So 'tol, take care! And pray! (Thanks to B for bringing your cam!)

While on the subject of despedida, I went to another dinner on Monday at Super Bowl Glorietta for Ross' send-off. She's going back to Kansas to continue her Masters. She's off on the twelfth and we'll probably see her next in December. I had a fun chat, talking about highschool stuff and classmates. It's nice to be updated sometimes! :)

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I'm seriously craving some cheese thin-crust pizza. Ever since I tasted that one from Roma Mia (four cheese), I can't stop thinking about it. One from Amici would be fine too, I guess. I tried that one from Shakey's and even the one we sell but my tastebuds are saying 'No!'. This is the downside of denying myself some food due to my dieting. I tend to drool but I'm happy I can still control myself. But please, just a slice of a four-cheese thin-crust pizza will make me a satisfied girl. Weird, I'm craving this bad and I'm not pregnant yet (for the record!). Hubby just texted how scary I can get when I actually start making 'lihi'. LOL!

In my previous entries, I wrote how I actually developed a liking for milk tea. I've tried the cold ones and over the weekend, I tried two the new Starbucks offering -- hot tea lattes! I can't say how much calories are in the cold drinks but now, knowing I can order tea non-fat lattes , I'm smiling. I've tried the Black Tea Latte but I prefer the Caramel Red Tea Latte. I love love my drinks! (Side:Everytime I order at Starbs, the barista would ask me for my sticker card but I would gladly reply that I ALREADY HAVE MY PLANNER! Yep, I forgot to blog about it but I've had it since before Christmas! :))

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Are you on Sky? If yes, have you noticed how bad the shows are? A lot are re-runs and I miss the old shows! ETC and 2nd Ave are now on free tv but the quality isn't the same as before. We only get to watch cable when we stay at my brothers' and the idea of subscribing again for our home goes to the trash, now that we won't be getting our money's worth. So we probably won't be needing some HDMI switches anytime soon.

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That's it for now! Marimar already started! :)

Update

In my domain blog. It's about the album I worked on which I finished today :) Visit me and please leave me some gentle love, I am an amateur afterall :)

Thanks!

And I thought I was done...

I.am.so.inefficient.I.hate.myself.

That's how I exactly feel at the moment. Last night when we got home, I started editing the "finished" album, all pages, because I realized I didn't comply with the 0.5 margin the printer requires...plus I did some changes "my boss" asked me to do. I finished everything by 537 this morning (including uploading in Flickr). And then I received a call this morning from the boss asking if I can tweak one page a little more.

So I got back to him just this afternoon and guess what I just realized?

Eighteen out of 21 pages are done on the wrong canvas size. AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!! The additional work this error entails isn't that much but this could have been avoided from the very beginning. Sigh. Gotta get back to work so I can bring this to the printer tomorrow. Just dropped by to vent for a few seconds. :(

It's the weekend!

Oh well, my "weekend" actually started immediately after the New Year Celebrations because Hubby is not back to work until Wednesday! We've been busy fixing some papers that almost never made to the deadline. We almost lost precious money because some people didn't do their jobs! Ugh! Anyway, we were finally able to fix everything yesterday and then we spent some time with friends. Oh, I spent time with friends, because hubby had another "party" to go to but met us for coffee afterwards. So I had a nice Italian dinner and caught a movie (Las Desperadas night with, imagine, two of the men! LOL!).

Right now, Hubby and brother are waiting for me to finish this so we could go to Greenhills. Hubby will play (am excused, girl thing!) and li'l bro is meeting some of his friends. While waiting, I'll probably look for some fiber optic cables at Shoppesville. We need some at home.

So I will leave you for now and i will answer a tag later! :) Ciao!

New Year Stuff

I know I'm a bit late for these tags (we're five days into 2008! LOL!) but I guess I'd also share with you, my dear readers some traditions and resolutions. :)

Pretty MJ would like to know some of the traditions we do during the New Year: Well, for one, we make sure that we are home when the clock strikes 12. So this is the second time that Hubby and I spent together in our humble home. I also put fruits on the table (we have a picture of it). Hubby and I braved the supermarket (for I'm not a market person) on the morning of the 31st! Silly I know, but the rush makes it more exciting, eh. We also turn on all lights and open all windows. And then I cook something that is hot, with noodles, and has soup: sotanghon. That's about it. :)

And then Juliana listed her resolutions and tagged me so I could do the same. Oh well, I haven't made any resolutions for years now (I tend to break 'em anyway) but I promise myself I'd be more happy, more productive, more patient, more content and a better person this year. It's a long shot, I know, considering all other factors in my life at the moment but I'll try ;P

How about you, do you have these stuff to share? :)

Greek adventure

During netsurfing, I would stumble upon new (at least to me) sites that I find interesting. I've always written in this blog how much I would love to travel around the world, so when I saw a site that offers information on Hotels in Mykonos Greece, I definitely looked around. My usual targets have always been Paris, or any other European country so Greece is something new to think about.

Anyway, I realized Mykonos Hotels can be located in Google map, that is pretty much helpful in planning a trip. See, I'm a map person :P. And that finding the perfect Mykonos Accomodation is easy to find online especially if the site offers information on dining (a must!), sightseeing, and nightlife. There. Another destination added in my list :)

Proud Big Sistah Moment

Yay! First official post for the year 2008! I stayed in bed ALL DAY yesterday (bummer, stomachache!) and had bank errands today. How are you all doin'? I hope you all had a very meaningful and happy celebrations.

Anyway, I received some wonderful news at 1230am...Look!

Yep yep! My dear LBB is accepted at DLSU to enroll in a CBE double degree, his first choice. Ain't that smart? Still waiting for the results from the other schools though before he decides where to go eventually :) Cheers! I hope this is a good sign that we're steering to better things this 2008!

Just dropping by to share the news. Gotta start working now (plus, my header needs to be changed! LOL!)...Til later, alligator!

ps. Ane is on a six-day off from work and I'm smiling. We weren't able to plan anything but that's more than enough time to be together. I just wished we knew a bit earlier.