Since Alex's birthday, I've been teaching her some animal sounds. She doesn't know much but she does it in a funny way.

Mama: Alex, what's the sound of the duck?
Alex: ka-ka (it means quack, quack!)

Mama: The Lion...
Alex: mghrrhdhhghiirrrr (she makes a growling sound something like making Poo!LOL!)

Mama: Moo, cow...
Alex: oooooooohhhh...

Mama: What did the dog say?
Alex: hihi...

Oh yes, she says hihi. And we don't know where that came from! LOL!

There are times that we tend to depend on ourselves and only ourselves. This is because we are scared to ask for help. Probably because of pride or we just don't want anyone to know that we are having problems. I think nowadays, it is a must to let people know that we are ok and we are doing fine. What am I talking about here? I'm talking about someone (I'm not even going to say how am I related to this person), but he has been doing drugs all his life. And he hasn't stopped it until he asked for help. Thank God for drug treatment that he was able to have his life back. So, the lesson here is unless you ask for help, you will never get it through your problems. Unless God has plans for you, He will definitely do wonders!

We went to my in laws last night with Alex to borrow some stuff. While we were talking, FIL mentioned that he saw these really nice sofas and chairs at the mall today and would really suit our family/entertainment room. Of course, Hubby said that if we will have those grand sofas and chairs, we should also have a plasma TV mounted in our wall. What!? I was thinking that this is too much! Because when I read somewhere that if you want a plasma TV mounted in the wall then you will need plasma lcd wall mount brackets. Which would add up to the expense.

Well, on second thought, I was thinking, maybe we will consider it in the future. Who knows, we might get a bonus or an incentive and at that time hopefully we were able to buy the basics already for our house. But if ever we will go for it, I will definitely go for the Dekomount Brackets which I believe has good quality and will be delivered the next day after ordering through the web.

With new and used vehicles featured every week at great prices, you'll quickly see why I think Conklin Cars in Newton, Kansas is the Car Dealer to see for your next purchase. With a huge selection of new and use vehicles, I know it's easy to see why they're the Kansas Car Dealer more people are visiting every day. Why spend more time stressing out about where to go for your next car when you can go to Conklin Cars in Newton and have them help you through the entire process. I know you'll be happy you did. If you are near the Wichita area, Conklin can help with Wichita new and used cars too.

I was tagged by Alpha, Amore, and Jane. Thanks girls!

But, honestly, I think I got the most BORING desktop ever:



LOL! You see, when I was in IT, I was so busy that I didn't have time to change my desktop. But now that I'm with sales already, I'm busy naman doing blogging. LOL! Oh well, reasons, reasons. Anyway, the icons there are mostly jpegs of Alex's photo, some zip files of Hubby, and some shortcuts of the programs that I usually use like MSN, Firefox, MyDSL, etc...

Now, I want to see the desktop of era, kelly, lucel, pacs, and cess.

Note: Copy Starts Here!

Desktop Free View Instruction:

A.Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:

[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).

[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

iRonnie - I Set No Corner

Thess - Thesserie

Rebecca - Skippy Heart

Knoizki - A Dialogue With K

Beng - Kauderwelch

- domlawrenceOSB

- bluepanjeet™ | OTWOMD™

Marie @ Vanidosa Marie and Vanidosa at blogspot

Ems @ Just Let Go and Pieces of Me

Yen @ Me and Mine, Little Peanut and Our Pea in a Pod.

Alpha @ my blog
Mich @ Random Thoughts

There are times that we badly needed money especially during emergencies. These are unexpected expenses that we haven't included in our monthly or even daily budget. When these situations come, we can't do anything but try to do cash advance or maybe use our credit card. There is a secure way of doing cash advance over the internet and CashAdvance1500 is one of them.

The cash advance that you will have with CashAdvance1500 do not require a credit check. Their loan approval criteria is based on a few factors that most employed people meet such as employment status, minimum income and an active checking or savings account, which I think every employee possesses. What I like is that the process can be done securely and anonymously and is completed faster too. This is because everything is processed through the internet. And what if I get approved? The loan amount is then sent overnight via wire into the applicant’s checking or savings account. Yes, it's that easy!

Hubby and I were supposed to go out on a date last Saturday. We haven't watched a movie or had coffee for quite sometime already. But one of his college friends, Mon, texted him and was hoping if we could meet him because he will bring his new girlfriend. All from his college barkada should come and partners (girlfriends or wives) should be tagged along too! Exciting!

So, we ended up in Sbarro for dinner and we were happy to meet his girlfriend. It was funny 'cause we were seated in a way like those "speed dating" were seated! LOL!

Anyway, we just had to take our picture because it was actually a "major" event for their group. They've been friends since college pa (1995) and after that, they've been going out for a "boys night out" ever since, without bringing their partners. And now that everybody has one, everybody is happy! LOL!


Not a Speed Dating!
Looking forward to more good memories with you guys and more weddings to come and hopefully kids too! (*wink*)

When Alex had cough and colds, I didn't know what to do. She had a hard time breathing (she was using her mouth) and she was not eating at all. After a few days of having a hard cough, she suddenly had fever. At first we weren't that alarmed but when I heard that a lot of kids are having pneumonia these days, we sent her right away to her Pedia. She gave Alex medicines and required to use a nebulizer. It was so useful that I wanted to buy one, since we just borrowed the one that Alex used from my sister in law. There is also a portable oxygen concentrator available in the market which is very interesting. I can use it while we travel and I've read that it's FAA Approved for use in flight. Hmmm, sounds really good. I might get one sometime soon.

Alex, that is.

I've noticed that Alex has been so wise lately that she could understand some instructions that Hubby and I would ask her. Last night we asked her to throw some piece of paper into the trash can and she gladly did it! Of course, we were so proud of her!

And then I realized that my Baby is probably gearing towards toddler stage. But after checking out the toddler milestones/development at the BabyCenter, I realized that she is now in the toddler stage already!

Here's what I've read from BabyCenter.com:

For 18 months, most kids can do:
• Will "read" board books on his own
• Scribbles well

Half of the kids can do:
• Strings two words together in phrases
• Brushes teeth with help
• Stacks four blocks

Some of the kids can do:
• Throws a ball overhand
• Takes toys apart and puts them back together
• Shows signs of toilet training readiness

Alex loves the musical board book that her Lola gave her. What she would usually do is press a button in the book first before playing. It's something like she wants a background music to go with her toys. LOL!

She has also been babbling lately but most of us couldn't understand what she has been saying. What she would do is just point out what she wants or holds our hand and lead us to her room (if she wants to play).

Balls. She loves to play with balls. Probably because Hubby taught her. We can play throw and catch with her already but mostly what she does is the throwing part.

Hmmmm...Does she show signs of toilet training readiness? Well, we tried to make her poo in the potty trainer several months ago already. If her face would go red and then we thought that there's a poo coming up, we would rush her to the bathroom and make her sit there. She had a couple of successful poo there. LOL! But, I think not until she could clearly talk and lead us to the bathroom, I think that would be the "real" sign of toilet readiness.

Sometimes when Hubby and I would look at her and watch her play, we would realized that Alex has really grown a lot. We couldn't believe that it was just a year and a couple of months ago that we would wake up in the middle of the night and would have a hard time making her go back to sleep that we would just end up laughing. (Thanks to Hubby for making jokes inspite of the sleepless nights)

I can't wait to witness the rest of the milestones that Alex will be having in the next months and years!

She loves to dress up!

If you are looking for a shopping cart software that is from the leading US provider, then I would suggest you go for Ashop Commerce. It offers a complete solution for merchants to sell online. It is based on the web and no installation needed. What is nice about this is that it is affordable and very user-friendly. If you want the shopping cart to be customized according to your needs then it is flexible enough since it has customizable designs to choose from. No templates are required and you'll definitely get your own and unique design. Another thing consider in a shopping cart software is the technical support and customer service. For me, this one should be present and available at all times. Ashop Commerce offers this and they claim that it's not only the software that they offer but the full service that they guarantee. For those who are not that technical and not into the web stuff, I would really recommend this shopping cart software for your website.

Our Friday night was spent on celebrating Alonso's second birthday in Jollibee! It was short (7pm - 9pm) but we had so much fun! We got there on time, the party has just started. There were a few games like Bring me, The Boat is Sinking, etc...Then we had dinner afterwards.

Alex was sooo curious the entire party! You see, it was her first time to attend a Jollibee party. And I guess at this stage, she can already understand and starts to mingle with other kids. The funny part was, she was just standing in the middle, not moving or speaking! We can't even say she was shy because she knew that there were a lot of people watching them and she just stayed there, in the middle! LOL! Anyway, just check out the pictures that her Dada got during the party:


Alex the curious kid! LOL!




Mama is right behind her! :)




Alex is lining up with the kids...


Silip-silip








Alex looooved the party! And so we did! LOL! I guess Jollibee is really for all-ages. Jollibee had a dance number that Hubby really liked too.

Anyway, we realized that Alex is in the stage now that she appreciates parties. Is it a sign that she is really entering the toddler stage? Uh-oh. I still can't believe that she is not a baby anymore! And 6 more months to go for her second birthday!

There are few plans already for her second birthday. We weren't supposed to have a party for her but the Lolo insisted and it will be held in my beloved hometown. ;) Will post on the details sooooon.

What do you usually give your Hubby as anniversary gifts? I know it's hard to choose especially if you've been married for several years already! It means that you've given all the gifts that he would want! I like this photo on canvas that is available on the internet. They offer free image enhancement. The product is shipped in 3 to 4 days and the gallery wrapping is free! I like it, it's unique, it keeps the memory forever.

It's another weekend that we get to spend it at home. Aaaaaah, these days I'm just learning to love Sundays. :)

We had a busy day yesterday though. But will have to do a separate post on that one. Our Friday night was spent in celebrating Alonso's 2nd birthday in Jollibee! I had fun (and Alex too of course!)! LOL!

So, I better go now and enjoy the last day of the weekend and spent it wisely by sleeping. LOL!

Have a nice weekend everyone! ;)

You've spent so much money getting yourself the best telecommunications equipment and cables available. You've gotten everything set up just the way you want it. Then the unthinkable happens. Something breaks. Why pay to have the equipment replaced when you can have quality professionals repair it? With highly trained specialists that check every piece of equipment they fix, telecom repair services from companies like First Point, Inc., are a better answer to the natural break-down of equipment through use. You don't have to spend money to replace equipment, just have it repaired by an expert.

Thanks Joy for tagging me!

Q1: What are you doing 10 years ago?

On my second year in college and I was having the time of my life! Going out with girl friends on weekends (and sometimes on weekdays). We would party all night until the wee hours in the morning. I would usually get home around 6am na! LOL! But this is during school breaks, so when classes start again, back to "serious" studying na naman.

Q2: What were you doing 1 year ago?

At this time last year, I just recently resigned my job and started out with my work from home setup. Alex was still 5 months then. I was in the adjustment stage and I was having second thoughts if I did the right thing. It turned it that I really did!

Q3: What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

I don't like snacks, I feel like it would just add up to my weight. LOL! So, usually I'll just wait for the main meal and eat the food I want. But there are also days (usually with Hubby) that I'm force to eat snacks (LOL!) like:

- skyflakes (i know, boring!)
- peanuts, macadamia, cashew nuts, cornicks (all kinds of nuts!)
- cheeseburger and fries
- Spaghetti (but sometimes I consider this as a main meal)
- squidballs

Q4: What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?

Oh no, I don't really sing that much so I know only a few songs:
- Till they take my heart away
- It might be you
- Josh Groban's You Raised me Up (My wedding march!)

Q5: 5 things you would do if you are a millionaire

- Travel (I'll definitely go to Europe with Hubby!)
- Donate in one of the groups of CFC (maybe Sagip - the organization for Kids)
- I'll treat my Mom (and the rest of the family) to any country in Asia (basta p1 fare of Cebu Pacific. LOL!)
- Same with Joy, I'll put up a trust fund for Alex as well
- I'll just save the rest of the money LOL!

Q6: 5 bad habits

- gives up easily
- loves to sleep a lot!
- loves to go out (sometimes I can't stand being at home for 1 straight week)
- perfectionist
- pessimist (and Hubby hates it!)

Q7: 5 things you like to do:

- having a nice conversation with Hubby before going to sleep
- bonding time with Alex before "our" afternoon nap (this means we would just tickle each other, laugh, and dance)
- travel
- having coffee with close friends and reminisce about the good old days
- going out on a date with Hubby

Q8: 5 favorite toys:

I don't have that much "toys", I only got:
- my Compaq Laptop, which was previously owned by Hubby. Mine is now super outdated that I don't want to use it anymore. LOL!
- Hubby and I owned the Olympus Digital Camera (it's shock proof and water proof, but I don't want to recommend it. Well, it's a long story!)
- Samsung Phone (I don't even know what model! LOL!)

Q9: 5 things you would never wear:

- micro mini skirt
- jeans or short shorts in a wedding ceremony
- a blouse/dress made of lace (ayoko ng makati. LOL!)

I think that's it, I can wear anything naman even a super dooper old shirt as pambahay. :)

Q10: 5 things you hate to do:

- ironing clothes
- driving while the traffic is really bad!
- waking up early in the morning
- surfing in a really SLOW internet connection
- waking up and working in a Monday morning

I'm tagging...joyce, mhay, julai, kitts, and trinity

Have fun girls!

My high school friend whose been waiting to get pregnant for years (their daughter is now 9 years old!) is now pregnant. Thank God for that. She had a miscarriage four years ago, so this pregnancy is really a blessing (of course all pregnancies are a blessing).

But the thing is, before she got pregnant (I think a month ago), she found out that her blood glucose are high. And she was not even pregnant then! So, I had to warn her a couple of times and tell her that she must take this seriously. And good thing she is now, especially that she is pregnant.

Anyway, I had GDM also when I was pregnant with Alex. I even posted some info about GDM here.
You see, gestational diabetes makes a person, like me really depressed. It makes you scared and hungry too! Hungry because you will need to watch out for your diet (take note: half rice, matchbox sized meat/fish, a little bit of fruit and veggies, no sweets, wheat bread, no french fries, etc...).

So as much as possible I wanted to be there for my friend. Because I knew how she must be feeling right now. Although her Hubby is really supportive as well, but I would like her to know that if ever she needs me (for questions or just anything), I will always be here for her.

--o0o--

On Alex update, Thank God, her cough and colds are finally gone now. She has recovered pretty well, been sleeping soundly at night, been drinking milk twice at night too, been eating little by little, and back to her normal-malikot self. :)

The weather is again unpredictable. Haaay. I just hope that kids won't get affected again with this bad weather. I heard that last time, when Alex (with Dada) went to her pedia last week, St. Luke's is fully booked with kids admitted because of cough, colds, and pneumonia! Bad, Bad, weather.

Cars and cars accessories really improve as the years go by. I remember when I was younger, we used to live in a province, we would ride this single-cab-pickup that was customized to a double-cab-pickup. A pickup with only 3 doors! We used to tease our Dad that we were riding in an only edition pickup compared to the limited edition ones. Now, Dodge Charger has come up with its Dodge Charger accessory for 2007. They have full line of chrome grilles and one of a kind wood interior packages. And guess what? They specialize in customizable vehicles in the market! If ever we would plan to have our car customized again, we would definitely consider this.

We were staying in our house for almost two months now, but we haven't really spent our weekend here alone as a family until last weekend. Yes! For 2 months we've been so busy with a lot of stuff (parties, get-togethers, doctor checkups, etc) that we haven't really enjoyed our new house over the weekend.

So, we just stayed at home the whole weekend! (I can't believe it either!) Since Alex was sick with cough and colds, we decided not to visit the mall this time and just stayed at home to minimize the virus that she might get. LOL!

No household meeting last Friday so Hubby and I spent our Friday night at home watching TV, eating chocolates and chips (BAD!). We catched Mano Po 3 at Cinema One and we realized that the story was nice. We just hop from one channel to another, until we got sleepy.

Saturday was the same. We spent it at home, slept a few minutes in the morning, and slept for the entire afternoon. LOL! (How I miss sleeping a lot!) Alex was feeling better by that time and she was playing again. Thank God! Our Saturday night was spent again by watching TV and binged on all the junk food in the house. Alex was so tired that she slept (while watching TV) around 8pm.

Our Sunday was a little different. We decided to buy pizza in the afternoon, after sleeping again for a few hours. It was for our "going-away party" for my brother who is going to Macau for a year! He left Monday afternoon and will be working there as a gondolier for Hotel Venetia. Cool Huh!? Hopefully I'd be able to post some pictures of him on his working attire. :) Can't wait for that!

Anyway, Alex is better now. Although she hates the nebulizer suddenly. She used to like it a couple of days ago, then suddenly hates it now. I don't know why. She would scream if I put it in her face.

She is also slowly gaining weight again. She likes the pediasure chocolate! Thank God! She finished 3 bottles (8oz each) at night until morning. :)

So, all I have to do is find which food she would like to eat. I already tried misua, congee, carrots, chicken, rice, and pansit. She likes pansit. But she needs to eat more! So, any suggestions on what to feed her?

Anyway, gotta stop babbling now. Gotta back to work. :) Have a nice week everyone!

Homes are one of the best investment that we should make. Well, at least for me. But having a home also entails renovation after several years of staying and constant maintenance. There's a company called Anglian Home Improvements that specializes in this area. It has been renowned amongst UK homeowners as the place to go for high quality. But they don't only cater homes but also a conservatory. They have different conservatories to choose from. These conservatories include Victorian, Regency, Edwardian, Elizabethan, Garden Room, Crusader, and combination of each. After the renovation and the home improvements, Anglian provides a 10-year guarantee. They believe that their craftsmanship is so good that they are willing to provide a guarantee for parts and labor for 10 years! We can also call them for free at 0800 500 600 if we need more info about their products and if we need to get a quotation.

My oh my. I got a wonderful news this weekend! I got my first (and most precious) award in my blogging world. An award from Lucel Juliana. It's the "I love your blog" award created by Tish and Mike at Blogs We Love.



I still couldn't believe it! Thank you, thank you so much Lucel! I'm just so glad that someone like you appreciates what I write here. :) :) So, I am now passing this award to the following Bloggers, whose blogs I enjoy reading:

My Happy Place

Permanence in Change

'Tryin to Live my Best

Thinking about Tomorrow

We are Family



Update: Thanks also Joy of My Happy Place for giving me the award. Check it out here! Thank you!!! (*grin*)

Update II: Another award from Era of Permanence in Change! Wooohooo! Check it out here. Thank you Era!!! (*double grin*)

This is what Hubby has been dreaming ever since we planned out for our family hall/entertainment room in our house. For him, it would perfect if he had the flat screen and a huge inched TV with a wonderful set of sound system. And of course it would be more than enough if we add a discount home theater seating with it. Aaaah, his dream that I guess would always remain a dream probably in the next couple of years. But who knows, maybe one of these days we would set aside a budget for this. Maybe.

I know that it sounds clichéd, but diamonds really are a girls' best friend. Go ahead and try to find a girl that doesn't like receiving diamonds. Whether it's diamond necklaces or diamond engagement rings, trust me that you can never go wrong with diamonds, and you can never go wrong by getting your diamonds from Danforth Diamond. Trust me when I tell you that they've got the best selection and quality of diamonds that I know the girl in your life will love.

This policy is valid from 15 September 2007


This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

We all know that eating fruit is extremely beneficial to our health and well-being. However, finding the time to eat enough fruit per day can be difficult due to busy lifestyles. I have found a site that has hundreds of smoothie recipes to help with this. Give it a try.

My favorite recipes are the strawberry smoothies.

After the whole day tour outside BKK city, we arrived at the hotel around 5pm. I guess the traffic was not that bad at that time because we were supposed to be at the hotel around 6:30pm. So this means, more time for last minute shopping! Yey!

I realized when we were packing our things that I needed to shop more! Hehe! Anyways, I asked Hubby if he's not tired enough to go with me to the Platinum Fashion Mall along Petchburi Road which is just a few minutes away from the hotel. He said yes, so off we go. My brother who was supposedly sleeping after the tour also went out and had a Thai Massage. According to him, it was great.

I spotted a lot of nice blouses in the mall and I wished that I had more money so I could shop more! LOL! Unfortunately, we ran out of funds since it was actually the day we were going back home, so no more budget for this kind of last minute shopping. :)

What we bought were actually fruits. All of their fruits were super yummy! And I thought that I just had to bring home some! Since, we couldn't bring home durian, Hubby and I decided to just eat it right away. We bought it right across the mall and we ate it along the street. LOL!


I just had to take his picture!

It was a wonderful experience! I wanted to try more of BKK's street food but Hubby said otherwise. It looks delicious though. Maybe next time.

Oh, by the way, Durians are a no-no inside air-conditioned rooms in BKK. In our hotel, you will have to pay 1,500 baht if you were caught eating or just bringing durian in the hotel room. :)


Seafood Restaurant

After the last minute shopping, we met our brother in the hotel and decided to have our dinner at a fancy restaurant, it was our last dinner there anyway. We were looking for steak, but I guess we didn't know where's the best place so, we ended up eating in a seafood restaurant (sorry forgot the name).




i love the food!


Ayun oh! :)



The food was great. A little expensive but worth it. When were eating there I felt like we were in a Chinese restaurant. The food is more of like Chinese cuisine, which I love very much.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

After a sumptuous dinner, it was time to go back to the hotel, prepare our things and head to the airport.

We were picked up by the cab around 10 pm. It only took a few minutes to check out of the hotel. After that, we headed straight to the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

We were early for our 1 am flight so, no reason to hurry. The line in the check-in counter was quite long and same with the line in the immigration area. But after the long lines, we were still early. We just decided to wait and thought of having snacks but realized that we just ate. LOL!

After a few hours it was time to board the plane. And we just slept for the entire flight back home.

Haaaay, our short but sweet vacation has just ended. It's been two weeks now since our BKK trip. I just love going out of the country. It's so nice to explore different cultures, try out different food and go shopping of course. :)

Anyway, hope you had a great time reading my BKK posts. For more pictures, click here.

As I've mentioned in one of my posts, Hubby and I would like to try out a new hobby. We wanted to try out jigsaw puzzle. In our first attempt to try one, we were able to finish 500-piece puzzle in less than 24 hours! And the good thing about it was that we resolved some issues (since we were fighting then) while finishing it. What a nice way to patch up, I guess. Our next attempt, the 1,000 piece puzzle! Wish us luck!

If you are looking for a new retail job, either part-time or full-time, hourly or salaried, you may want to check out RetailFit, an online job board that focuses exclusively on retail jobs. RetailFit has thousands of management, hourly and part time positions from national retailers and local businesses all over the country. The job opportunities on RetailFit range from corporate positions to store management jobs to part-time and seasonal opportunities. RetailFit also offers advice on how to handle the retail job interview and how to determine which retail job is right for you.

Our Third day in BKK was the busiest! We woke up at 5:30am and had our breakfast in the hotel at 6am. Good thing, they served breakfast at exactly 6am. We got a package tour again but this time from the hotel. The van picked us up at exactly 6:30am. And we will be going to Floating Market, Samphram Zoo, and Rose Garden. It was a whole day affair!
Oh, not to mention that our flight back to Manila was at 1:30am the next day.

Floating Market

It was a 2-hour drive from BKK city to the floating market. I guess Thailand is known for their floating market. It is one of their tourist attractions there. We got there around 9:30 am and a boat (which is part of the package I guess) brought us to the floating market. It was just a short travel to the main market. Lots of people were there but to be honest, I wasn't that impressed. We paid for 150 Baht each to be able to really experience buying in the floating market. The actual buying was hard, and not to mention the bargaining. The "bangkero" wouldn't stop even if there were fruits/products that we wanted to buy. All in all I didn't like the experience. I would rather buy in the market that's stable and huge. LOL!









Samphram Elephant Park

We finally had our lunch at Samphram Elephant Park around 1pm. It was another long drive from the market and we had three stop-overs, the elephant ride, the cobra show (which we didn't bother to watch), and the wood carving shop (which we found very interesting). We had a buffet lunch. As usual, it was Thai/Asian cuisine. I can't believe that I missed Filipino food already on our third day there! We only had 20-25 mins for lunch because according to our tour guide, we were running out of time! Haaay. But anyway, we were able to make it to the elephant show.

The show was amazing. Alex would have loved it if she were there. I was amazed at how Thais trained the elephants, they can really understand instructions and they knew that a lot of people were watching them. For me, this one is sulit! :)


The elephants did a great job!





Another show was held after the elephant show, and they called it the "Cobra Wrestling Show". It was short and funny. I loved it too, too bad, we were just standing the whole show. Good thing, it was short.




These crocodiles are really scary!



Rose Garden

We watched the Thai Folk Dance, their Wedding ceremony, and a whole lot of traditions at the mini amphitheater of Rose Garden. We were a bit late for the show, good thing this is just near the Samphram Elephant Park. What Hubby and I liked in the show was their "multiple" tinikling. Very similar to our tinikling but there were I think 4 pairs who were dancing. Galing!

After the show, another elephant show was shown at the garden. Hubby and I didn't watch it anymore since we decided to just explore the area and try to find something interesting.




So, that's it for our whole day tour outside BKK. I will have to get back for my final post about our last minute shopping at the mall, our last dinner at BKK, and our trip to the airport! (*wink*)

Gas logs are no longer used these days especially in the US. There's a new thing that people put in their fireplaces and it is called the fire glass. What's good about it is that it looks nice and your guests would be amazed with it's colors matching your decor. Whether it's contemporary, classic, rustic or whatever decor you have in your house, fire glass' are flexible enough to match these themes. This is because fire glass has multitude of colors and size options that allow you to create your own custom look.

I have been convincing Hubby to save up for our dream honeymoon - a month (or maybe two weeks is enough) in Europe! Oh, just imagining the sites and the old buildings is enough motivation for me to save. I just found out that there is what they call a London Pass. The London Pass is a plastic card offering free entry to 56 of the best charging tourist attractions in and around London. My oh my, it sounds amazing! Visitors to London simply pay one fee for the London Pass duration of their choice (1, 2, 3, or 6 days) and then they can use the card to enter as many of the included attractions as they wish in that time. The London Pass comes with queue jumping privileges at the busiest attractions - which is like gold dust when it comes to London crowds - and customers can choose to purchase inclusive travel with their London Pass for unlimited travel on London's underground, bus and train network. This is too good to be true! I better start saving for that dream honeymoon NOW!

We had a not-so-busy weekend. Hubby, Alex, and I spent our entire Saturday at home. We took a rest and slept for 3-4 hours straight after lunch.

Then around dinner time, I met up with my SFC friends and had dinner and coffee/dessert with them. It was sort of (as farrah described it) a belated birthday dinner for me, post honeymoon kwento of Rica, advance wedding session of Ercs, and support for Mage and Farrah. It was fun. Thanks to Rica for treating us for dessert at Cafe Breton. Yum, yum, yum!


At Yaku Japanese Restaurant


Cafe Breton is Yummy!



We had our family day last Sunday. Titos and Titas came here in Manila from Bicol and some from Iloilo. We had lunch at Dampa, Macapagal Ave. The food was superb! We ordered for seafoods. The food was served a little bit late so wasn't able to take pictures of it, I was so hungry to take pictures. LOL! FIL ordered tempura, crabs, baked oysters, prawns, sweet & sour fish, liempo, fried rice, and more. It was a sumptuous lunch, I can say!



Last Sunday was also Kuya Mike's birthday! So, another yummy dinner was served. He served Chinese food like Pancit canton, fish fillet with tausi, Shrimp balls wrapped in bacon, chopsuey, hototay soup, and more. I love it! I was so full!


Happy Birthday Kuya!

Everybody loved the food except for Alex who didn't eat almost anything. She wasn't feeling good that day (she has cough and colds) and she wasn't in the mood to eat. Up to now, she is still sick. :( Her fever rose up earlier to 38.1 and she's having those droopy eyes. The thing is, she is very sleepy but she kept on fighting it!

Anyway, I just hope and pray that Alex would get well soon.

So, that's it for our weekend update. How about you? How was your weekend? :)

I love getaways! It makes me work harder to be able to save and enjoy my hard work. And as they usually say, "Work hard, Play harder". One vacation getaway that Hubby and I might explore is the Branson getaway. I've just checked out their website and everything is there! From shows, attractions, lodging, packages, to the shopping part. They provide every detail that you need in every vacation. It's like researching in only one website. It's complete. You won't ask for more.

Even though snail mail is not in anymore these days, I still insisted of putting a mailbox in the gate of our house. Emails are fine but it would still be nice to be able to receive a "real" mail. We had to choose from different Mailboxes. But we ended up with a black and plain one. I didn't choose the big ones with a very luxurious design. I'm good with just a simple one that would serve its purpose.

This day was all about SHOPPING. :)

A big day for me since this day was my birthday. So, what I did is schedule the shopping sprees on this day, so we ended up relaxed. Two places we visited were Chatuchak Weekend Market and Chao Phraya River Dinner Cruise.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

My brother and I had a grand time shopping in this place. As the name speaks for itself, it is only open during weekends. So, when we were there, I guess everybody was there too! LOL! Cheap clothes, souvenirs, and what have yous. I just can't believe that there's a place like this in BKK. It just proves that BKK is REALLY the shopping haven! Different kinds of fruits were sold here too, oh I love their mangoes, guavas, coconut, melons, and everything is just sweet!


Welcome to Chatuchak Weekend Market


Street Food in BKK is Yummy!


To give you some idea on how cheap the clothes here are, I was able to buy nice dresses (for formal occasions) around 200-300 Baht which is p300-p400. Some had nice quality some didn't so you will have to choose the right store. We spent almost our whole day here (10am - 3pm) and it was still not enough! Anyway, my brother and I (Hubby was so tired after the shopping) promised ourselves to go back there! LOL!

Chao Phraya River Dinner Cruise

After Chatuchak, we went back straight to the hotel to rest for a couple of hours. We will be going to have a big night (of course, it was my birthday)! We got a package tour from the Kabuhayan Travel and Tours (right across the hotel) for the Chao Phraya River Dinner Cruise. This is one of the (highly) recommended places by my sister.

We were picked up (by a cab) at the hotel around 6PM. Cruise and dinner will start at 7:30PM. Traffic was a little heavy, so we passed thru the side streets. At least with that, we were able to see the BKK side streets and how their houses looked like. It was really similar to the houses here in the Philippines.

We got to the hotel/pier before 7:30 PM so we had time to take some pictures around the area.


Can't wait for the Cruise to Start!


Excited!


The Boat is Coming!


At exactly 7:30PM we went in the boat. There were a lot of boats available and several batches. There were also different time slots for every cruise, so I guess everybody will be accommodated.

Oh, I loved the entire cruise! Dinner was not that spectacular. It was buffet, but I was more excited with the cruise itself and more of overwhelmed that I was actually spending my birthday dinner in a different country and in a wonderful cruise. The host/singer was a Filipina. She was great! She can actually speak different languages. She can sing Russian, Japanese, Iranian songs. WOW. It really made me proud of her. :)


Yihee!


Thai Food


Ang Dami!


One of the Temples in BKK


The cruise lasted around 1 hour and a half. It was all worth it. We were so happy with the experience. After the cruise, we dropped by my brother to Patpong and then Hubby and I went back to the hotel to rest for another big day the next day.

I love photos and taking pictures but sometimes, I just don't know what to do with them after scrapping all of it and putting some in the picture frames. There is one option though and it is called a photo blanket. I have never heard of this until now and it is nice because you get to use it everyday. Their blankets are of good quality too! Your favorite photo or digital picture is professionally dyed into the blanket fabric using the latest production technology! Their special process does not alter the fabric texture, it is gentle and the picture won't fade! Blanket feels and washes just like the clothes you wear everyday! The end result is a soft, superb high-quality personalized photo blanket! I would love one for Alex. She has a lot of pictures and it would be really nice to put her pictures there from birth up to now.

One of my favorite places in New Jersey is the Atlantic City. It's not that I love betting and playing with slot machines, but because when I was there, I knew that I'm not in my own country. I tried a couple of slot machines but I wasn't able to try poker. I wanted to, but I did not know how. I have also seen a lot of poker games on TV and I find it very interesting. And now, I can't believe that there's already an online poker available anytime. Bet365 is handling it. At bet365 they provide a range of online betting services not only poker but through online casino, Sportsbook facility, and interactive games section. They also have a service wherein they provide a one wallet system so that people can enjoy the benefits of our full range of services through one manageable account. This is nice because we don't need to handle a lot of accounts for different online games that we will be playing.

I've booked our flight for Bangkok (BKK) last March, during the Cebu Pacific Promo - P1 fare. I've booked myself, Hubby, Alex, my brother, and Dad. But as the months went by and because of some unexpected events, only myself, Hubby and my brother were able to go. As I've mentioned, we decided to leave Alex at her Lola's realizing that she's so malikot these days already and it would be hard to find food for her there. I didn't want to feed her Mc Donald's everyday. :)

We had a very weird flight schedule. We left Manila around 10:45 PM at NAIA airport and we arrived BKK at 1 AM. I guess that's what we get from the cheap fares. But since Alex was not with us, it wasn't a problem.


While waiting for our flight we had dinner at the airport

After we claimed our baggage we went straight to get a Cab then straight to the hotel. Our trip to the hotel was a breeze! No traffic (of course, since it was already 1 AM), and the cab driver knew where our hotel was. I suggested that we check out the night market, but the boys just laughed off my idea and couldn't believe what they were hearing! LOL! Anyway, we went straight to the hotel and slept.

Our first day started with a good buffet breakfast at the hotel. At last, I was able to try the famous coffee of BKK where they add evaporated milk. Hmmmm, for me, I would still prefer cream for my coffee, I guess. While we were waiting for my bro, we checked out the streets near the hotel and also the Kabuhayan Travel Tour (A Filipino-owned travel agency) just across the hotel. We realized that we got the best location! We're just minutes away from the MALLS. My oh my. Platinum Plaza Mall, Pratunam Center, Big C, etc...And not to mention that we are in the middle of Pratunam. Tiangges are just everywhere!

Grand Palace

Our first stop was supposed to be at the Grand Palace, but the Tuk-tuk that we rented needs to drop by at the two jewelry shops and tried to refer us there. We realized that it was part of their marketing strategy all along. After two jewelry shops and a lot of smugs later, we finally got to the Grand Palace. It was huge! And very hot too! We got there around 10 AM! I suggest that if you go there, umbrellas or hats are a must! Oh, sleeveless and slippers are not allowed here too.


The Famout BKK's Tuk-tuk


I love Thai's Architechture






The Grand Palace



At Grand Palace (compound), you will see different temples and buddha, and it was all made of gold. It was amazing!

Wat Pho - Temple of the Reclining Buddha

After Grand Palace, we went straight to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining buddha. It was the biggest Buddha I've ever seen! And again, it was made of gold. It was sooo big that we couldn't get a picture of the whole buddha.








Malls - MBK Center & Big C

After the two temples, we went straight to MBK Center for lunch. Good thing we found the ZEN restaurant, because I heard the food is cheap and good here. We ate a lot here. Their value meals which were only around Baht 135 includes rice, viand, appetizers, and dessert! I loved it here!


Sulit talga!

After the late lunch, we went shopping. We weren't able to buy a lot. What I only liked here is that shopping was comfortable, food chains were always available and most Thais here can understand English.

After a couple of hours we went straight to Big C. We realized that it was like Shopwise. It was a grocery/mall type. Since we didn't have plans of buying a lot of food from BKK, we didn't take too much of our time here. We went back to the hotel after, took some rest and got ready for dinner.

Indian Restaurant Somewhere in Pratunam

After strolling along Pratunam, we finally settled for an indian cuisine for dinner. It was good. The boys loved it although, too spicy (take note: we asked for not spicy pa ha!). I had chicken, Hubby had pork, and my bro had lamb.



Hubby drinking Sprite - Thai Version


Our Not-so-Spicy Dinner



Patpong's Freak Show

After dinner, we decided to check out the Patpong's Freak Show. This one is the most unforgettable. I'm sure some of you who's been to BKK, heard or even seen it. Since, my blog is for general audience, i don't want to elaborate on this. LOL! :)

After the freak show, we went back straight to the hotel. We had a long day but we definitely had a great time!

Well, that's it for our first day in BKK. Watch out for my next post on how our Day 2 went. (*wink*)

While Hubby and I were planning the layout of the bedrooms of our house we also went through the process of choosing the right beds for each room. But before that, we also had to agree how many kids we really wanted. We considered a lot of options like bunk beds, pull-out beds, and single bed. Bunk beds are nice for kids but it would be really nice if we have lots of kids. Anyway, we ended up choosing a single bed for Alex room. A really nice fit for her smaill, pink and purple room.

Ok, before I post my Bangkok pictures and kwento, I will post first my August Monthly Roundup (which I believe is the busiest month of the year!)

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- I didn't have time to read this month. :(

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
- Rush Hour 2
- Harry Potter

What special days did I celebrate and how?
- MIL's birthday
- Rica and Jon's Wedding
- Isabella's Baptism

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- We gave Isabella a nice dress
- Goggles for Raprap
- Bag for MIL

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- none (thank God!)
- Alex had fever this month but only for a few days

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Housewarming with CFC friends, Highschool friends, and Hubby's College friends

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Circles at Shang (although it was our second time already) before MIL's birthday

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- none

What were this month's disappointments?
- things seem to be ok this month

What were my accomplishments this month?
- I've been working from home with this company for a year! For me, this is quite an accomplishment. I used to think that working from home will be easy, but it's not. But even if it's not easy, it's still worth it since I get to be with Alex anytime I want to, and I get to see her and be with her for the whole day.

Looking forward to September. Haaay, time flies so fast! Next thing we know, it would be December already! Time for a guilt-free shopping again! LOL!

I haven't been to North Carolina but from the pictures that I've seen and articles about the State, oh, I would love to visit the place one day. They have lots of places which are suitable for relaxation, which I badly needed these days. beaufort nc real estate is also available and Mercer Realty is taking care of it. They've been in the business for 30 years now, which means that they would know the place inside and out.

Oh, I think last weekend was the best weekend ever! It was my birthday last Saturday (do I have to tell you how old am I?)! And aside from that we get to spend it in Bangkok.

Oh, we had a grand time! Thanks to this. It was sort of our 2nd honeymoon but my brother was with us! LOL! We left Alex with her Lola so, of course, her Lola and Lolo were more than happy to stay with her.

So, watch out for my Bangkok posts and pictures! Oh, I can't wait to share it with you. (*wink*)

When I was short in cash and bills were still unpaid, I would wish that payday loan is available anytime. With that, life would be easier. But, thinking about it, I realized that maybe I need to re-assess my budget and how I spend each month. But everything is so expensive these days. Groceries, bills like phone bills, electricity, and water, oh not to mention cable and internet. So, I guess having that loan every once in a while is not that bad after all.