Random Thoughts

This is the reason why we need a bigger bed.

Or probably those adjustable beds will do. LOL! When the two little girls feel like jumping on our bed, they would do it like there's no tomorrow. It's scary, I tell you because Andie joins her Ate and copies whatever she is doing! These are the days that I want a bigger bed so at least when they jump, I can still have my corner of the bed and do whatever I like. I can read while they play or even rest too. The kids' energies these days are just unbelievable! But well, at least they are together and now appreciates each other. (*grin*)

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Aherns
- Started with Baby Proof by Emily Griffin
- Started with Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?
- Shrek 2 and 3
- Valentine's Day
- One More Chance
- In my Life
- In Your Eyes
- Beauty and the Beast :)

What special days did I celebrate and how?
- MIL's 70th birthday
- Cobi's Baptism

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- We gave a nice shawl to MIL
- Socks for Cobi
- Hubby gave me two pairs of shoes for my birthday

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Cough and Colds and Colds and Cough
- I had severe headache

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Watched CATS Musical Play with my sister
- Dinner with Farrah and Erik

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Sumo Sam last weekend
- Dusit Thani's Cross Over Lunch Buffet
- Jade Palace

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- I bought a couple of clothes at THE RAMP shangrila

What were this month's disappointments?
- Still no Yaya!
- I had to take a few days off because I wasn't feeling very well

What were my accomplishments this month?
- I lost weight! After getting sick I checked the scales for a couple of days and I realized I lost a little weight. I've been avoiding heavy snacks too and going for crackers. My tummy is not too flat though but I feel lighter.

Oh, we are!

This is one of those long weekends that we just stay home, enjoy sleeping in and wake up at 9:30AM. Have a late breakfast. Have a late lunch. Take a nap again then wake up at 5PM! Bliss! I haven't had this much needed rest for awhile now. We are always out on weekends and when we get home, we still need to clean the house or clean up the kids or I have to iron our clothes. This weekend is the best. Last Saturday, we went to hear mass and then man a table for our upcoming Christian Life Program for Couples for Christ (if you are interested, send me an email at michellemagbag@gmail.com). We left the kids at the in laws for them to play. They both had a blast. Last Sunday, we had a quick trip to the mall to buy Hubby's presents for me (*grin*) then had dinner at Sumo Sam. It was quick but the we all had fun. Today would be the same. I love it! I realized that we will do this again for the next long weekends.

I also had time to surf the net. Yes, I can do this everyday but knowing that I won't have to rush my surfing would be lovely. This morning, I was able to check out a few articles about gold bullion of US Gold Bureau. I love it when I have time to read thoroughly and not just scan it. I have the luxury to learn that gold has been recognized from the time of ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to more modern times. And even up to this day, gold is still considered to be one of the best investments.

I hope there are more long weekends coming soon. Because at least we get to rest, and at the same time, bond as a family. Times with them are just priceless!

After chatting for days with my Mom I suddenly miss her and can't help but reminisce
on our Jakarta/Bali trip last year. My Mom and I together with my sister all had a blast! It was a 4 days and 3 nights all girls trip of shopping, swimming, massage and food trip.

It was an out of the country trip to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We all love to travel and since we had a FREE stay at Rama Garden Hotel c/o Astoria, we grabbed the opportunity, booked a promo airfare through Cebu Pacific (MNL to Jakarta) and Air Asia (Jakarta to Bali).

And now that Mom decided to go home for the holidays, she promised that she will treat us for another trip! A trip to Cebu on February next year! Yey! It was one of the great news I've received that day after being so tired and stressed out. I can't wait for that weekend. It's going to be a weekend of girl bonding, food trip and shopping. We will avail of Plantation Bay's spa too, which my Mom said is a must!

But for now, she will have to check out the healthcare medical jobs that she is eyeing for months now. Hopefully she gets to apply soon and get a job that she really likes in her field which is somehow medical. She needs to work for our upcoming trip. LOL! But I'm sure she'll get that job. I know my Mom. She gets whatever she wants. Most of the time. (*wink*)

Happiness is...

1. I'm getting better after getting sick last Saturday
2. Upcoming long weekend!
3. BioFlu and Alaxan
4. Coffee
5. Yahoo Chat
6. Internet - keeping me up to date
7. The kids
8. Fashion blogs
9. More Blessings
10. 1 week to go before my birthday! Yey!

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Well, Andie's cry here that is...

She always gives us that look everday. Before we go to work, when we arrived from work to have lunch, when we leave work again, we get home from work, and before we sleep. She gets really, really cranky these days. I used to think that she is probably teething but I realized that she has been like that for months now.

Is she already in the "terrible two stage"?

I guess so!

3 more months and Andie is turning two. Sometimes when I see her, I would think, am I sure if she's only two? She's long for her age (well, comparing to her Ate) and can now speak a few words. She can understand instructions and I can even ask her to do something like throw this and that to the trash can, wear her own slippers, get this and that, and more. I guess her advantage is having an Ate who talks a lot. I would ask the Ate to talk to her all the time, teach her a few words and the Ate will happily oblige.

They love each other so much. Well, except for those days when they grab each other's toys and hair! LOL! But I can see that the other gets lonely when one of them is away. Check them out!

As for Andie's nearing the terrible two stage - WISH ME LUCK!

I've posted a couple of days ago about Ate A's having her Dada as her tutor. These days he can still manage since the lessons are pretty simple and they even haven't reached Pre Algebra and other Math Word Problems that I couldn't imagine they will be taking up in the future. But I had to prepare myself for the inevitable and check out other resources when I came across TutorVista.com.

They offer a whole range of lessons that I might find useful for Ate A and Andie when they start taking up difficult lessons such as Slope Formula, polynomials, and even Algebra. They can even teach how to divide first! I remember my Dad would put up a blackboard in our study room and did his best to teach me the simplest way to divide. Of course that wasn't so simple then, but well, I learned a lot. It just takes patience and time for the kids to learn and TutorVista offers these two important aspects in learning.

I completely forgot to post Kuya Toby's 7th birthday! So here it is...

It was held at Big Red Barn in Tiendesitas December of last year. We were too busy during those days that I forgot to post it here.

Anyway, I can't remember the details anymore but will just share a couple of photos and see how Ate A enjoyed the party!

She looked so small here. I can't believe Ate A grew up so fast in the span of 8 months!

Ate A and the birthday boy!

Dada's girl!?

Look at Baby A! LOL!

Such a shy little girl!

It was a simple yet very fun party. After eating, the kids played games and then off we went to explore the area! We were given tickets for rides so we tried the "egg ride" and the train ride which the kids love so much. We also get to meet clifford, the big red dog!

Fun Ranch is nice place to have your parties. You may want to check it out!

BIG RED BARN
Fun Ranch Complex
Frontera Verde, Ortigas Avenue,
Pasig City
http://www.kidsrulehere.com/brb/

Happiness is...

1. Meet up with my friend MM later!
2. Online window shopping
3. Blogging!
4. My Uncle's successful heart bypass
5. Movie date with Farrah tomorrow
6. Extra, extra strength
7. Supportive Hubby
8. Future Travels
9. Online Assignments
10. Coffee!

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Well, as of now, my little girl's great tutor is her Dada, the Hubby. Everyday she has assignments that need to be done and the Hubby patiently works with her everyday. For now, she has Free math help when she needs it anytime. At least her curiculum is not yet complicated. Wait until she gets to College and deals with College algebra and Trigonometry. With that she will needing a lot of help and I would want to hire a professional tutor for her. I remember I used to fret over these courses. It was so hard I had to ask my genius classmates for help. Good thing they were willing and supportive.

There is also another option that my little girl can take, Free homework help from TutorNext.com. It looks very promising. I have yet to check the requirements though. All I know is that they are there to help you with your math problems and any other course problems in school particularly in College. Such a big help, if ever! Hubby will be happy, at least with this, he won't have to tutor our little girl until College. (*grin*)

And I'm joining! Just look at the prices!

1. Subscribe to my feed via email located right side bar (REQUIRED) - 1 Entry
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-Make it sure it's at least three word ! LOL And NO SPAMMING, PLEASE!

The Contest Ends on the 8th of Sept 2010 so if you wish to participate you must enter before that date. Winners will be announced on Sept 18,2010! The winners will be picked through Random.org!

Join us too and check out more details here. (*wink*)

Read on...

“Stress is a choice. Do you buy that? Some people have a hard time with the idea. …Yes, bad things happen: The economy sours, our business struggles, the stock market tumbles, jobs are lost, people around us don’t follow through, deadlines are missed, projects fail, good people leave. Life is full of these. But still, stress is a choice because whatever the ‘trigger event,’ we always choose our own response. We choose to react angrily. We choose to stuff our emotions and keep quiet. We choose to worry. …Stress is a choice.”

SOURCE.

After my Uncle's sudden heart bypass last week, Hubby somehow vowed to be healthy from now on. Well, that's what he said. Good thing he will be having a yearly medical exam on Wednesday. With this he will be tested thoroughly. He will spend the night at the hospital for this. This is very important I realized especially now that we're not getting any younger! Health tests are a a must now. There are tons to be checked. My blood sugar, lungs, heart, colon, bladder, everything! Health is something that we should value. I laughed at the idea of my helper's having std testing, I arranged this for her a couple of months ago. I can't imagined myself having to demand a same day std testing. Well, it was important so I would know how she stands. Now, she's out of my house. LOL! People like her don't value their bodies let alone their healths. There are more like her. Sometimes I'm one of them since I don't do daily exercises and I eat a lot junk food. That's why I love these health and preventive tests of hospitals. They make you aware of your current health and at least have time to do something about it.

The kids' room renovations are what we are going to do for the next few months. We need the kids' rooms renovated as soon as possible. The kids' room weren't done yet so I haven't installed shelves and even a nice bed for them yet. I told myself that we could wait until they get older to prioritize this. Time flies so fast the I think we need to have them installed a nice bed now. I'm thinking of a wood bunk bed like this.

Cute isn't it? There are actually bunk beds for sale at MomsBunkHouse.com that I'm checking out since last week. I fell in love with the bunk beds that I want to buy from them. I have yet to check the shipping costs though. Or probably order online then have it shipped in my Mom's place in California? I know these are heavy stuff so shipping will be a challenge. Should I have it shipped directly to my place? Is it even allowed? I know there are companies who ship outside the US so they might be one of them. Will have to double check on that one.

The kids will definitely love this! They have a thing with stairs these days. Especially Andie who loves to go up and down. I'm sure that by the time I order this, Andie will be old enough to sleep on this. I can't wait!

Over the last few days, Hubby, my sister and I were visiting my Uncle at the hospital. He had a double heart bypass last week. This was actually unexpected since he went here to have his knee checked. Little did he know that he will be having a heart bypass instead. The surgery went well thank God, and I have to say hats off to the Doctors and the machines that they used. He was well monitored, the blood pressure monitors were new and very efficient. I had to say, I was impressed. He even had those blood pressure cuffs that were installed in her arms and were automatically getting it every 5 minutes. Very, very impressive. Now, I wonder how much would these equipment cost! When I tried looking for some details on these equipment, I came across Southeastern Medical Supply Inc that offers variety of easy to use health monitoring equipment at wholesale factory direct prices. These are something that my Uncle would need especially since they are living miles away from Manila. And when they go home, they would need these equipment just in case. The Southeastern Medical Supply, Inc. also offers a whole lot of medical equipment in good quality and great prices. Pulse oximeter are one of those, nebulizers (which my kids need every now and then), At Home Nuvo Oxygen Concentrators and many, many more.

That is my dilemma ever since I went back to work in an office. It's so hard to skip snacks because I get hungry all the time. In short, it's so hard to be a health buff and stay on a diet. Good thing I discovered Healthy Fellow and I've read a lot of articles about healthy meals and nutritional supplements. There are so many options to choose from actually all I need is the time to prepare.

I've been a healthy eater ever since, (well except for weekends and special occasions!) that is why I love this blog so much. Now that we are gearing towards natural food and medicines, this is a great guide for us. So far with Ate A, I'm not having problems when it comes to choices of what she eats. Believe it or not, she eats vegetables, rice, fish, and any food that is served on the table. Baby A is my challenge now since she is choosy and eats only when she's in the mood. I really hope that it is because Baby A is in that stage that she picks her food according to the taste that she is familiar with.

Another dilemma would be to get some healthy vacation tips for the kids. Since we travel every now and then, it's a little bit hard to keep on our normal routine what more on our healthy diet. But will do more research on that and probably share some of it here sometime.

This is a nice way to start my Friday!

Thank you dear God for being faithful.

As I posted earlier, we went out for lunch at Dusit Hotel last Sunday to celebrate MIL's 70th birthday.

The Whole Family!

I was so excited about this event because I love to eat as you would noticed by now. I heard that Dusit's buffet is good. But I was surprised when we found out that their all-across buffet was in different restaurants. You have to literally cross the lobby to go to UMO their Japanese restaurant, to Basix for the main buffet and go up to the 2nd floor for the Italian restaurant. Will post more on that in my travel blog.

I love the theme of the hotel. It's like you were transported to a different place or even country. It's like you are in a place where you can buy gold coin, silver and other precious metals. It has a Philippine theme yes but I can see the touches of other country as well. This is the lobby where I had my photo taken by the Hubby.

No wonder I thought of gold coins from US Gold Bureau because of those gold columns! When I was there, I kept on thinking about those articles that I read about gold coins, gold ingots, silver, and precious metals.

Here's another one.

A gold wall!? After lunch, I just can't get enough of gold! Now I want to push through with my plan of purchasing at US Gold Bureau.

I was wondering if this is true...

The Part of You That No One Sees is Vulnerable

You are lively, dramatic, and flamboyant. You have an outrageous personality... And you secretly resent anyone who makes you tone it down. Underneath it all, you are driven by your need for attention and acceptance. You need to feel special at all times. You are secretly jealous and occasionally insecure.

Hmmmm, very interesting! I'm vulnerable and jealous occasionally? Well, yeah sometimes. There are just times that I want Hubby's attention ALL to me! LOL! That would me make me "KSP"? Well, not really. There are just days that I want us to bond more and spend more time together.

Take the test too! (*wink*)

It was MIL's 70th birthday last Sunday and we were invited to have lunch at Dusit Hotel in Makati. The little girl, Ate A was so excited she was so giddy when we entered the hotel. I guess that's what happens when you tell her days ahead about this "event". She looked forward to it. Getting excited more and more as the days went by. We showed her the kids zone which made her more excited! So after having lunch, off they went to the kids zone.

Ate A had Ariel, the little mermaid painted on her hand, while Baby A when straight to the TV/play area.

They both had a blast. I can't believe Ate A cried when we said that we're leaving. I guess because she wasn't finished coloring her Ariel yet. Oh well. At least they had fun.

I posted a couple of days ago about our year 2009. It was full of travels and bonding moments which entails full of expenses too. So I would like to set a goal this year to save. For what? You would ask. Well for the future. I want to buy a couple of gold coins in the next few years so to be able to do that, I need to save up a lot. I want the little girls to benefit on these investment. Their education and future are our priorities so I better put my act together and start to SAVE! What should I do first? Hmmmm, it's better said that done but I think what I should do is stop my shopping and save up more. As for the gold coins, will most likely purchase from US Gold Bureau and I plan to have them arrange a safety deposit box for me. Yes, that's possible!

Happiness is...

1. CATS Musical Play last Saturday
2. MIL's 70th birthday
3. Lunch at Dusit Thani Hotel
4. Loots from Apols' McDo Party
5. My Uncle's successful heart bypass yesterday
6. Good health of my family
7. Planning for a trip with friends on January 2011
8. My Mom's invitation to go to Cebu with my sister on March 2011
9. Thinking of buying a top that I like probably over the weekend
10. Falling in love with the Hubby all over again (*grin*)

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Watching CATS Musical Play was so unexpected!

I wasn't planning on watching. Because CATS was not one of my fave. If it was Miss Saigon or Les Miz or Phantom of the Opera, I would be the first one to line up to buy tickets. And besides, the ticket was way out of my budget since my sister asked me way back December of last year. Yes, reservation of tickets was that long ago. But 2 weeks ago, I was surprised from my sister's text saying if I wanted to buy her officemate's ticket which he is selling for the same price! I grabbed the opportunity and that's when I realized, I should have bought the ticket last December. I badly wanted to watch it. (*grin*)

I guess it was meant to be. The ticket seat her officemate was selling was beside my sister so we were seatmates during the play!

But, here's the funny thing (well, I can think it's funny now but last Saturday, it wasn't THAT funny. LOL!). The traffic was very bad last Saturday that we got to CCP 10 minutes before the play. We thought that it was ok to still go to the restroom, so we did inspite of the long lines. We finished right after the National Anthem but they already closed the doors. :( We had to wait for 17 minutes to enter the theatre since it was too dangerous since some of the CATS characters will be roaming around inside. Well, good thing we didn't miss much! We were seated at the first seat we saw and got our assigned seats during the second Act. It was a blessing in disguise, at least with that, we were able to see the whole theatre in Act 1 and then see their faces and facial expressions in Act 2.

Would you believe that we were just 3 rows away from the stage!? It was a dream seat I tell you. I was so thankful!

Honestly I don't know the story of CATS. I just realized after watching the play that the play was plotless. It was more of the variety show and the dances and the songs. I don't mind. That's what made CATS popular, I guess.

As for Lea Salonga as Grizabella, well, she was definitely the BEST! Hats Off to her magnificent voice. There will always be one and only Lea Salonga.

Well, that's my cousin! She's into make up and other stuff that she wants to check out beauty school in Wichita. This school was founded more than 50 years ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have to admit, I stayed in Minnesota for 7 months but I haven't heard of this one until today. It is actually the fastest growing beauty school in the area. Would love to recommend this to my cousin. She would love this school since they have a unique approach to cosmetology education and they will provide this to new markets. My cousin being a newbie to schools such as in Wichita, she will surely be glad of the new lessons that she will be learning.

I know I was supposed to do this way back in January, but I totally forgot about it. When I was backing up our photos of last year, I can't help but reminisce and realized that 2009 was a great year for us. All along I thought that it wasn't a great year financial-wise because I wasn't able to save! AND I lost my work from home job by December (there, I said it!). But when I checked out our travels last year, I was surprised that we were out of the house almost every month!

It was a great year after all. I thank GOD for the wonderful opportunities to travel. We were able to bond as a family and even if we didn't have much savings, we were able to add more memories as a family. So, here's the recap of our adventures and travels of the year 2009. Read on...

FEBRUARY 2009

Since Andie was just 2 months old during our Anniversary, we decided to wait for a couple of days then headed to the beach! We went to La Luz in Laiya Batangas to celebrate our Anniversary and the VDay as well.

APRIL 2009

Thanks to my sister's family day at work, we were able to go to EK!



And we spent our Holy Week in Bicol! It was Andie's first plane ride.




MAY 2009

Spent the MBAP's summer outing in Tagaytay Highlands! Daddies played basketball, while Mommies chatted the whole day, the kids had fun swimming at the pools.




JULY 2009

Hubby and I braved the storm and went to Boracay. It was fun! We celebrated his birthday there without the kids.




AUGUST 2009

Spent my birthday a few days early at Montemar Beach Resort in Bataan.



The sand was not white but it was fine and the water was very clean. The kids had the time of their lives!

SEPTEMBER 2009

To celebrate my Mom's birthday, we (my Mom, sister and I) went to Jakarta and Bali!




Opened up a small shop in my hometown - Malaybalay City so I went there for 4 days and 3 nights on a business trip!




NOVEMBER 2009

Went to Tagaytay to watch Pacquiao's fight with the in-laws.




DECEMBER 2009

Spent the last few days of the year in Tagaytay.





It was indeed a great year for us, right!? I'm so thankful! Inspite of the many challenges, we still managed to have fun. (*wink*)