Hello, 2011!

More than 1hr to go and we will bid farewell to 2010. This year saw a lot of challenges for my family and I. There was a bit of a struggle but overall, this was a good year and I couldn't be more thankful for all the wonderful blessings that we have received.

A new year comes and it brings hope that whatever life throws at us, we will come out of it stronger and better persons. Life will not always be peachy and might not always go according to our plans. We just have to trust Him that whatever He has planned for us is always the best and what we deserved.

From my family to yours, here's wishing everyone a prosperous new year! Cheers to 2011!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jeremy!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jeremy!

I thank God everyday for bringing you in to our lives. You and Jamie are the best gifts we have ever received. We love you, Kuya! :)

Anime-zing Party!

We had our company Christmas party last Sunday and I had a blast! Hubby and Jeremy came along. Too bad Jamie wasn't feeling well so I didn't bring her anymore.

It was nice to see old friends and new team members. As I have probably mentioned a number of times in the past, I work from home and have been for almost 5years now. It's nice to see the faces behind the voices, or the private messages :)

Our theme this year was Anime-zing Christmas party. I didn't join the cosplay as I don't know who to imitate hehe! We had Japanese food which happens to be hubby's favorite so he kept on returning to order sushi. I joined the games and our team won the grand prize! Woot! And not only that, I won a spanking brand new Vtech cordless phone! That's a major upgrade because I didn't win anything last year. My heart was set in winning the netbook but I can try again next year, of course :)

We got home late but it was all worth it. More power to TGK-Asia! Good luck and here's hoping for a bountiful 2011!

Pay day Tuesday

Wonderful morning to everyone!

For breakfast today, I had french toast with coffee. When hubby and Jeremy wake up, they'll have french toast too but with sausage. I'm sure they'll love it.

2hrs to go before my shift ends and I am hoping to get some much needed rest. And then in the afternoon, maybe I could squeeze in some hip hop abs for 30mins LOL! I badly need to lose some weight. I don't want to resort anymore to crash dieting or taking diet pills. This time, I want to eat just right with exercise on the side. Sounds good :)

Enjoy the rest of the day!

P.S. Woot! Thank God, it's Pay day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's already Thursday here in my side of the world, so I'll be the first to greet our friends in the US a Happy Thanksgiving day!

This occasion is not celebrated much here because we focus on Christmas. But today, I would like to take the opportunity to thank God and everyone who has helped me one way or another.

Today, I am thankful...

...that I have my family. For the gift of having kids and a hubby who loves me unconditionally :)

...for my health. I know I have gained a lot of weight recently but that only means there is food on the table and nowadays, that's a lot to be thankful for :) But yeah, diet to follow LOL!

...for my family's health. Amen.

...that I have a job that I love. Almost 5 years now and I still feel enthusiastic reporting for work. Maybe it helps that I work from home hehehe!

...for my friends, who I admit, I don't have much anymore like before. I am thankful, though, that I got the real ones who stuck with me :) You know who you are *wink*

...for the problems as I know, those are meant to teach me a lesson or two. I am teaching myself not to worry so much over things I don't have control of. I know how difficult the situation might be but there's always an end to it. God will help lead the way :)

Thanks Nuffnang and J&J!

Finally received my gift package from Johnson & Johnson this morning! Thanks a lot for the wonderful gift, and of course, Nuffnang, for the opportunity. More to come!

Shopping and Pacman

40 days to go til Christmas!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I did and almost done too. Hubby and I took advantage of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao's fight against Antonio Margarito yesterday and drove to Divisoria, bargain paradise, late afternoon. You know, whenever Pacman has a fight, people just stay at home glued in their seats to watch the bout. Even the crime rate is low. So what better time than yesterday for some shopping. Teehee!

True enough, we were in Divi in just 20mins. I enjoyed a lot as there were not much people and I was comfy too as I was wearing my fitflop. It was put to the test. I can say it lived up to its promise of bringing comfort and exercise at the same time while walking. We just bought some gift items and stuff for myself too. We left after just 3 hours because I was with hubby but if only I was with a friend, I don't think I would've left that early hehehe!

I hope to return before the month ends and finish my shopping. I'm sure the place will be soo packed come December. Besides, Jeremy's 4th bday is fast approaching and I have some planning to do next month :)

Brazo de Mercedes

I posted last time that I will be trying my hand at making homemade Brazo de Mercedes. Well, I finally got the time today and summoned enough courage too. And now I present...





Rona's Brazo de Mercedes :P

I forgot to take pictures when it was still whole LOL! And now you can only see what's left of it. For my first attempt, it looked like a crepe hahaha! I didn't use the whole batch of meringue and I should have but anyways, Jeremy ate all of it and he loved it! Maybe because the custard was sweet and if I may say, delish.

I then baked the 2nd batch of meringue and it looked better this time. I spooned the custard and rolled it and put it in the fridge to set. I then slept and when I woke up, it was almost gone. And for me, that's a good thing :)

So, what's next? Buco pie, anyone? :)

Merry Christmas!

58 days to go til Christmas!

It's getting cold in the early morning and the nights are longer. I can smell Christmas in the air. Even our neighbor has started playing Christmas songs. Most probably we'll put up our Christmas tree after All Saint's Day. I thought we would be spending Christmas in our very own home but sad to say, our loan papers have not been finalized yet and it could take 2 to 3 months before the funds are released. Thus, we can't transfer yet. Sigh. Oh well, we didn't have enough money anyways to cover for some construction and finishing that needs to be done so maybe it's a blessing in disguise? WTG for positive thinking LOL!

I haven't done any Christmas shopping as I don't have money yet so for now, I have to make a list and think of gifts to give. Those that are affordable and at the same time useful to the recipient. After all, it's the though that counts, right? :)

I just love Christmas. It is Jesus's birthday and December is also the birth month of Jeremy and hubby. Lots of reason to celebrate :) We'll have a simple celebration just like the past years as it has been our little way of thanking Jesus for all the blessings that He continually showers upon us. Thank You and we love You!

Ice cream cookie sandwich

I woke up early today and since I didn't have anything to do to while away time, I just baked choco chip cookies and made ice cream cookie sandwiches :D My choco chips will soon expire so better make use of them hehe.



I also plan to make chocolate lollipops tomorrow and then brazo de mercedes on Sunday. Wow! I love love brazo de mercedes so I found an easy to follow recipe online and I hope it doesn't turn out to be a disaster when I try it this weekend LOL!

Just one more day and it's TGIF!

Yay! Walkstar 3 for me!

I have read a lot of good reviews about fitflop. Even my dear friend, Abi, got one for herself hehehe! Hmmm...maybe that's why she appeared taller when we met last month LOL!

Anyways, I bought one for myself yesterday at Res Toe Run. It's a Walkstar 3 in Chocolate Napa. I would've wanted to buy the Lipstick color but no more size 5. And hubby also said chocolate is a versatile color than the red one so I guess no choice too hehe. I hope to buy one more, maybe the Pietra design, no? :)


Just this year, I learned that I have dextroscoliosis. I'm not sure how it happened but the doctor found out through my chest x-ray. Maybe that's why my back aches when I try to sit or stand straight. I hope fitflop lives up to its promise of alleviating back pain and scoliosis :) I tried it this morning and it felt great wearing it. I didn't the mind the walking part at all. Let's see in the days to come :)

Another day

Just a few days to go and it'll be October. Days just seem to breeze by and I don't even notice it. I guess that's what happens when I love what I'm doing at work and I don't have to force myself to doing my job :)

By the way, I just wanted to add that hubby and I still went to S&R during their 3-day sale and we went on a Saturday. After lunch. Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people. The queue was manageable. We got to buy the things that we need but I had to restrain myself from grabbing everything I liked because we were on a tight budget. I also chose the things that were on sale so that we could save too. Otherwise, if I'll just buy the things in their regular prices, that defeats the purpose of going there on sale, right? LOL!

I plan to save up and prepare for the next year March sale. I'll come better prepared financially and with a game plan to boot :D

Happy Wednesday! The weekend is almost upon us :)

Welcome to the Jungle!

Remember last Wednesday I said my hubby and I are going to S&R's 1st day of their year-end sale? We did and it was past 1pm when we got there. Bad move. There were no more push carts available. The queue to the cashiers already snaked (like a giant snake) around the warehouse. There wasn't even enough room to maneuver around the displays as it was so crowded. I think the problem is they don't have enough cashiers. I mean, they do this twice a year and they should have prepared, right? Right. Even the line to buy food (I was craving for their roasted chicken) was uber long and there were kids everywhere who I'm sure were wishing they were just at home playing LOL!

Hubby and I just checked out the deals and found out that we don't need most of them anyway. And for me, it was just not worth it so we went home. We planned to return on the last day of the sale which is this Sunday. Our gameplan is to be there right before store opens at 8am and as quickly as we can, get the things we need and he'll already queue in the cashier while I scour for other stuff to buy. This doesn't guarantee that we'll be done shopping in a breeze but at least it's better than standing in line for 4 hours or more.

After what we have experienced though, we have decided against returning to S&R on Sunday. I'm sure there will be throngs of people who like us, want to go back on the last day of the sale. Maybe we can go there on a Monday and check out the items. Some might still be on sale, you know LOL! I noticed the prices of the items we like doesn't differ much so we can go back anytime. I just want to buy some of those party cups and plates in red or maybe a pack of Libby's sausages. Til next year's sale, S&R! I hope we can find the strength to brave you next time :-D

S & R Sale - Sept. 15 to 19

I am so excited today. Hubby and I applied for a membership at S&R and we decided to do it because it's their year-end(?) sale from Sept. 15 to 19. We're definitely going today which is the first day and we'll brave the crowd of shoppers who want to get good deals.

We tried their NY pizza combo and it was delish! For only 99php, we had it sliced in two and we shared the bottomless soda for 39php. The pizza had a lot of toppings and I can say it's better than the other pizza I've tried. Jeremy had ice cream for himself and for the first time, he wasn't able to finish it LOL! Well, I think it only had about 3 spoonfuls when he gave up hehehe! I want to try their rotisserie chicken later. I read good reviews about it and can't wait to try it for myself.

So, my shift is done in about 23mins. I'll eat a quick breakfast and will sleep in a few. Hubby will fetch me around 12nn so better get ready for the jungle later :D

Woot! It's Friday!

Yay! Friday is here and I can't wait for the weekend. But first, need to go to the office later and work my shift there. It's our team's monthly Performance Evaluation Feedback session and I definitely can't miss it. Lots of food too :D

Have a great Friday everyone!

P.S. To all Moms, please don't forget to check out the survey on my blog. There will be gifts for your babies as a token of appreciation :)

Safety First

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

People nowadays always seem to be in a rush to get to somewhere but that is no reason for us to disregard our safety. This is why we have to obey traffic rules all the time and be considerate of the pedestrians walking in the street. It must be difficult too, for disabled people to catch up with all these but it’s a great thing that NMEDA (National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association) is around to promote safe driving and equipment for disabled people. NMEDA dealers make sure that this is accomplished by selling handicap vans and vehicle modifications for disabled people.

They also have a personalized “in-person” evaluation to be sure that everyone is getting the perfect driving solution that meets their specific needs as no two disabled persons are exactly the same. Of course, should there be any additional training or information that customers might require, NMEDA dealers will be more than happy to help. In this way, disabled persons can be given the chance to get back on being independent again.

Aside from NMEDA dealers, they also have Quality Assurance Program (QAP) dealers. QAP is the only nationally recognized accreditation program for the Adaptive Mobility Equipment System. One can be assured that companies provide a systematic and documented approach to quality that will benefit its customers in the long run.
We must not forget how difficult it is as well for the caregivers but not to worry as NMEDA qualified dealers will provide all information needed as to how their products can greatly help a disabled person get back on track.

I tried to check NMEDA for dealers within the area and found 4 of them! Now, getting all the help I need will be very easy. You can try to look for some in your area too, and it would be great if you can let me know if there is a qualified dealer in your location.

Hey, it's Wednesday!

Wow, can you believe it's already Wednesday? Just 2 more days and here comes the weekend again. I hope it doesn't rain this time as we are planning to go to the playground with the kids. They had a lot of fun last time we went there so yeah, it would be great to see them having the time of their lives, in a very inexpensive way :D It warms my heart to see them running and playing with the other kids.

Fun times. Please rain, stay away this weekend, okay? LOL!

Bright Beginnings For Our Children

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

Being a mom of two adorable kids, I am always on the lookout for new products in the market that will work best for my children. Not only that, it has to be affordable and has to have many health benefits too. If the packaging is eye catching, it’s definitely a plus so that the kids will be enticed to reach out for it. I found Bright Beginnings available at diapers.com and thought to myself, it’s a new way to give healthy formula to kids. Nowadays, organic is the way to go and if we can feed our children with antibiotic-free and with no added growth hormones formula, I’m sure all moms out there would love to give this a try. Bright Beginnings has an ergonomic design that is helpful and informative at the same time, as it lists the nutrients that can be found in the formula. I like the design as it used refreshing colors for the label and straightforward too. Everything I need to know is right outside the can and it makes decision-making easier.



If you want to order this great product, you can go to Bright Beginnings available at diapers.com and order from there directly. They have exciting promotions available that you can check out too. You can buy 1 can if you’d like to try it out first or buy 6 cans in one go. Nothing but the best for our children.

I'm back!

Good morning everyone!

Wow, where have all the months gone? My last post was sometime in April and now we say hello to August :) One more month and we'll enter the BER months. Hmm...I can already smell Christmas :D

I didn't realize it has been that long since my last entry. I think I was just plain lazy LOL and couldn't think of anything to write about. But hey, I'm back! I hope this time I can update this page as much as I can. I also need to catch up with the opportunities that I failed to grab last time.

For the meantime, I'm just 30mins. away from end of shift. I can't wait to sleep.

Have a great one!

TGIF!

I have been busy these past weeks and proof of that is, I haven't been posting on my blog and I didn't get opportunities that I have been invited to bid on. Oh well, I guess I just took the time to play with the kids after my shift at work. And to get some precious hours of sleep, of course.

After months of super hot and humid weather, it finally rained last night. It wasn't very hard but it sure helped improve the temperature. It wasn't so hot while I was sleeping and I even managed to crawl under the blanket. Wow, that's something new! Because of the summer season here, allergies made it difficult for us. Us, being myself, Jeremy and Jamie. Yep, too bad they inherited it from me. We'd get dry cough and colds although after numerous check-ups, our lungs were clear and our cough were only caused by allergies. It turned out we're allergic to dust, smoke, heat and what have yous. Not to mention, I found out during a routine x-ray that I now have dextroscoliosis. Good thing it is nothing serious and will just have to undergo xray every year. My hubby jokes around and say why do I get ailments that are for the rich people LOL! I don't know the answer to that either :P

Anyway, just 1 more day to go and then I'm free for the weekend. We have one more summer outing on Sunday at Caliraya Resort and I'm sure this will be lots of fun. I'll spend some quality time with colleagues at work. This will be my 3rd summer outing this year and if the rainy season doesn't start yet on May, we'll arrange for our family's last summer hurrah this year. Otherwise, the rain is a welcome change too. I just hope it wouldn't be typhoons like those from last year.

For the meantime, just 1 hour and a half and I'm off to bed. Happy Friday again peeps!

Baking days are here again

Good day!

Just taking a break from a toxic day at work. Daming calls! But of course, I'm not complaining except for my sore throat LOL! Anyways, I have been baking again and thought I'd post a picture of the oreo cupcakes I baked last month. It has buttercream frosting and my father said it was a bit sweet for him but the young ones thought it was delish :)




I'll try to bake new stuff from now on and will post pics so you get to see them too :)

Take care everyone!

New hobby

So, I finally finished the scrapbook for Jeremy's 1st bday (and he's now 3 years old LOL!) I had pictures from our Baguio trip last December printed so that I can start on a new scrapbook featuring our travels last year.

There's just one problem.

I can't seem to find dem pictures LOL! Sometimes I'm so good at hiding things even i couldn't find them :P

Oh well. I know they're just somewhere...better start looking around :)

Welcome, 2010!

Happy New Year!

I am so excited for 2010. I don't know what the future holds for me and my family but I'm positive that this will be a good one. Actually, I have decided that whatever happens, I will embrace it as I know it is part of God's plan for me. I got to watch the New Year mass officiated by Fr. Jerry Orbos on channel 2 and it deeply moved me. I know I worry too much for things that are yet to come and I realized I must surrender everything to Him and let things go His way. I felt lighter after listening to the prayer. From now on, I will do everything I can and let God do the rest. Amen!