Random Thoughts

A couple of weeks ago, my MBAPS friends and I decided to meet to watch Magic Mike. Surprisingly, all our schedules matched! (*grin*)

We watched the 6:30PM movie sched and then off we went to eat dinner at Cafe Breton. It was nice seeing the MBAPS!

As for the movie, did I like it!? Well, it was funny. (*wink*) (*wink*)

LOL!

Up to now, I still can't believed that we actually went to Vikings TWICE in just one month! Yes, in these two occassions, we both had dinner buffet. So another yes, we said goodbye to our healthy diets for this month.

It was worth it because the first occassion was to celebrate the parents-in-laws' anniversary.

It was our first at Vikings and since I've heard a lot of good things about this famous buffet restaurant, I looked forward to eating there. I like the food selections, though just like any other buffet restaurant, the place was full of people.

I tried practically everything - the salad bar, seafood bar, appetizers, desserts but the highlight of this dinner buffet was the steak and mashed potatoes. FTW!


I went home happy and satisfied.

On our second visit, we celebrated the nephew's 14th birthday. I somehow knew what to expect already so I took my time in eating.

Too bad, I didn't see my favorite, "cauliflower and egg salad" and the mashed potatoes too. I was so looking forward to it! :(

But I found new faves like the spinach lasagna and this time, I tried the cheese buffet.


The little girl loved it too and we've been munching on cheese and dried fruits until it was time to go home.


Like mother, like daughter. (*grin*)

Both occassions were truly unforgettable!

Would I ever go back to Vikings again? Maybe. Who knows, maybe there is another special occassion worth celebrating!

Well, we were not really complete this time, but since Dad and my sister were free that night, we decided to watch Men in Black 3.

This was last month before my Dad went back to our hometown.

We brought the little girls with us but I wasn't expecting them to like the movie. I was surprised that they didn't fall asleep. They enjoyed watching it!

The movie was really nice. Probably because of all the gadgets and the high tech devices that were shown in the movie. There were a couple of motorcycle gps too which made me look at the motorcycle gps sale and see if I can give this to my brother this Christmas. There are a lot of good deals like the GARMIN NÜVI® 40LM GPS that is now $127. If I buy it now, I get to save $42.00! But I would like to consult the Hubby about it first and see if it fits the gift budget that we set aside a couple of weeks ago.

I also love how the story turned out. The twist was something that made the story exciting. I would buy a DVD of this soon so we can watch it again in our house.

You still have time to shop at the Mothercare Sale!

Mommies, this is the perfect time to shop. Visit Mothercare branches at

• Abreeza Mall, Davao
• Active Fun, Bonifacio High Street
• Robinsons Galleria
• Greenbelt 5
• SM Masinag
• Shangri-la Plaza
• Trinoma

To know more, go to https://www.facebook.com/MothercarePhils

I used to work in a multi-national company and I remember that we all look forward to these tax rebate seasons. These were the things that we usually didn't expect but would come in handy when the time comes. We just have to make sure that we filed our taxes correctly and properly. Before, I would rely on the HR to do these things. They act as our finance guide when it comes to tax and tax refunds.

But now that I work independently, I no longer have the HR to back me up and help me fill out those tax and tax extension form. So I look up online and check if there's a company that offers these type of services and I found TurboTax. I read that they offer free one-on-one advice from a tax professional, year-round. Yes during the whole year so even if it's not tax season, you can ask for advice. If you avail of their services, they guide you step by step through your taxes and guarantee 100% accurate calculations.

I would always delay submitting my tax froms mainly because of the stressfull task of filling these out and the calculations too! Thanks to TurboTax, tax filing would be a breeze! ♥

There's a Toy Kingdom Amazing 1-Day Sale happening on July 30, 2012!

Yes, it's happening this Monday already. Looks like I'm checking this out. I can't afford to miss it for the world.

Have fun shopping for your kids! (*sink*)

Happiness is...

1. Beautiful Day today!
2. The Secret :) :) :)
3. Teresa's 1st Birthday last Saturday
4. God provides
5. Butter and carrot cupcakes - made my day!
6. Quick dinner at RUB
7. Instagram
8. Solving Menu Problem at Work
9. Hubby :)
10. Kids :)

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

I'm not getting any younger so I made a decision last year to live healthier everyday. So far I'm living up to that decision. I have failed in some days but I would get up again, move on and start a new healthier lifestyle.

How do I do it? Here are a couple of ways that might be able to help you decide to start this kind of lifestyle too...

1. Eat Healthy.

I try to avoid chips, chocolates, cakes and sodas. I make sure that I eat salad with healthy salad dressings that would go with my meal. I found a couple of delicious dressings from Nature Isle Tropical Gourmet. I love that their dressings are all natural, fruit based and gluten free too! Aside from salad dressings they also have BBQ sauces that I would really like to try. I just hope they ship here in my country.

2. Exercise at least three times a week. It is still a struggle for me especially when I'm a working Mom but I do my best to do this for the sake of myself and my family too.

3. Drink Lots of Water. For hydration, water is the perfect solution. Drink at least 8 glasses of water EVERYDAY.

4. Sleep at least 8 to 10 hours a day.

5. Think happy and good thoughts. It is a perfect way to start the day and a perfect way to end the day. Keep those happy thoughts and you will live a healthy life.

My kids are so lucky! They got a couple of loots again from our cousin who came home from the States...

The kids were ecstatic when they saw these goodies. Hubby and I were too!

Thanks again, Ate Maryanne! (*wink*)

And this dream was once again awakened by this video of my favorite fashion blogger, Wendy...

Beautiful isn't it?

How I wish the Hubby would write me a letter like that.

And how I wish I would be able to go to Italy.

I know one day, I will. And I claim it!

SOURCE.

The Gift Gate Warehouse Sale is happening on August 25, 2012 at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio, Global City.

There will be up to 80% OFF on Sanrio and other licensed character brands. Visit NBC Tent from 10AM to 10PM.

Hello Kitty lovers, this is going to be your day! ♥

On July 21, 2012, Mommy Mundo is holding a big, happy party for all expectant moms
and dads. Through the first ever BELLY BLESSED FEST, a festival for Moms to be, set in a hippie, carefree mood, to spread peace, love and happiness all around!

he festival opens at 11am, set at the Activity area of Bonifacio High Street fronting Nike. There will be a special area where expectant moms can have their portraits by Baby Shower Studio, there will be hip tie-dyed onesies stations by St. Patrick, a healthy snack bar by Slice Café and Del Monte Pineapple juice, and medallion making activity for preggy mamas.

Live Music by Gentle Universe, a percussion show, interspersed with informative talks
and demos by pioneer childbirth educator Rome Kanapi, prenatal
yoga by Monica Manzano, a breastfeeding-themed activity by Candice Yaw of Mommy Matters, Babywearing talk by Denise Bernardo of Indigo Baby,and an actual belly dancing
performance by JIll Ngo and the Goddesses of Belly Dance,
talks on healthy pregnancy by Anmum Materna and GSK, as well as talks on modern mom
concerns like cord blood banking by Cordlife.

Sounds like fun, especially for the Mommies who are expecting!

For more details, like Belly Blessed on Facebook or visit www.bellyblessed.com.

Have a nice Friday, everyone! (*wink*)

This is a perfect way to spend our Thursday!

Very timely since I've been craving for burgers for days now. I just hope we get to drop by today!

Promo starts at July 13 up to the 31st. 50% on burgers from 10AM to 3PM.

Enjoy!

Happiness is...

1. Hubby's 34th birthday!
2. Dinner with College friends
3. New games!
4. Buffet dinner at Roboto San
5. Red Ribbon's Tiramisu
6. Sleep
7. Coffee
8. Online tasks (more please!)
9. The kids' hugs and kisses
10. Little girls doing well in school

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

The kids loved the Tangled movie. I on the other hand, can't stop crying everytime I watch that movie. And now, there's a new short film that my girls love so much.

Check it out!

Is there a Tangled sequel? I really hope so!

♥♥♥

To the one and only guy whom I can't live without...

Happy, happy birthday, Sweetie!

You always make us laugh and appreciate LIFE as it is. Thank you for making things lighter when I feel down. Thank you for always being there for me, ALL the time. Thank you for being a blessing to me and the kids.

We LOVE YOU!

For the Mommies who need to shop for the babies... Here you go ...

Enfant's Anniversary Sale is still on going! 70% OFF on selected items. The sale started last June 29 until the 5th of August 2012.

Hurry and better start shopping now!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!! (*wink*)

I'm not sure if I've posted it here before that Hubby and I have decided to start our detox at least once a week. We are doing this for a couple of months already and we really feel good afterwards.

What's our weekly detox?

We make a detox drink of Carrots, Pechay, Cucumber, Apple, Celery, Tomato and a little bit of Ginger.

Yes, it doesn't look that appetizing but really, it tastes good!

We wanted to make this further so I'm looking for more intense full body cleanse and I found the 21 Day Cleanse, Diet and Detox of Clean Program. I'm really interested on this one because The Clean Program cleanse was designed by cardiologist and cleanse specialist Dr Junger M.D. And take note that it was designed to be easy to follow and safe to conduct. At least the Doctor has approved it so I can assure myself that it's safe and looks like it works too! This program is also supported by the world-class customer support team and their 35,000+ online community! These people will be there for us every step of the way.

Sounds really interesting. Will look into this more closely and see how I can purchase a program and hopefully we can incorporate it in our daily routine.

Last month, when my Dad was here for his medical checkup, we had dinner with the whole family. Since my sister wanted to try Fely J's and I was craving for Diliscious rice too, we decided to have dinner there.

It was a quick dinner, probably because everyone was too hungry. So right after dinner, we decided to have coffee at Caffè Ti Amo.

When I saw the gelatos available, I can't help but drool, as well as the kids!

But they were not much of a fan so they just split their one cup of gelato with their Lola.

I was curious with Caffè Ti Amo's coffee since it has a gelato with it, so I ordered one cup and then one for Hubby too.


These are one of those days when I wish everyone in my family is here in Manila and we are always complete. But it doesn't work that way, so I'm just thankful for the times like this that we get to update ourselves and bond once in a while.

Thanks for the time, guys! ♥

Caffè Ti Amo is located at the Ground Level, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center.

Happiness is...

1. Relaxing Weekend
2. Bonding with my little girl last week after school
3. Exercise time!
4. Figarro's Chicken ala Kiev
5. Dunkin Donuts Coffee
6. Blogging and online tasks, very thankful!
7. The little girl doing well in school
8. The baby girl enjoying school
9. KFC bucket
10. Chapter Assembly

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

We all love Yellow Cab's Dear Darla, but when we went to My Kitchen in Oasis Hotel and tried their Paco Panniza, we decided that it is now our new favorite!

I purchased a couple of vouchers from Deal Grocer and we availed the vouchers and ordered more like the seafood pasta, soup and two glasses of wine.







I don't know why they didn't like it, maybe this wasn't meant for the kids because Hubby and I loved it.

We all had a grand time with the food which was really good. A little expensive so I suggest you come here on special occassions.

My Kitchen by Chef Chris is located at The Oasis Paco Park Hotel at 1032-34 Belen Street Paco, Manila. For reservations, you may call, (02) 521-2371 to 75, loc. 110.

Ever since school started, we've been making sure that our weekends are relaxed and our priority is to get as much rest as we can. So for the past two weekends already, we've met that goal and because of that, I'm really loving our weekends now.

Just last weekend, we stayed home for the whole weekend. We had fun bonding by watching movies and eating snacks together. I had to read up a little on errors & omissions insurance though to scratch it off my list of to-do's. Thanks to TechInsurance, all the details that I needed was in the website. I got hooked with this task since it is very new to me so I read up more about this topic.

What Is Errors and Omissions Insurance?

If you’re ever confronted with potentially catastrophic litigation, your company’s survival and your own financial security could depend on whether or not you have Errors and Omissions coverage.

Errors and Omissions insurance, also known as Professional Liability insurance, is a fundamental safeguard for your IT business. Errors and Omissions insurance protects your technology business if a client alleges that your company was professionally negligent or failed to perform professional duties.

Interesting, right? TechInsurance definitely provided all the details for me!

As for our weekend, it ended by hearing mass early in the evening and then we had dinner at KFC. Looking forward to more relaxing weekends soon! (*wink*)

Check out what my sister got for my little girls from Macau...

She also gave (not in photo) yummy strawberry and chocolate cookies, a box of coffee for the Hubby and more, more, more.

It was a happy day!

Thanks Yang! Mwah! (*wink*)

Hubby's birthday is just a week from now and I'm thinking of what to give him. I don't have a huge budget this year so I'm thinking of little things that he will really appreciate. A bottle of wine would probably do and a couple of cigars from famous cigar shop. He doesn't smoke but maybe he can save it for special occassions and bonding time with his Dad. They usually have a boys night out every now and then, so they would appreciate it.

The cigars from Famous Smoke Shop are really of good quality. The good news is that they are only sale NOW! Very timely, indeed! So, I'm off to check out their online shop and see which one I can order.

A couple of months ago, we were invited to celebrate SIL's birthday at Relik.

I didn't know what to expect since I haven't been to Relik and I haven't read any reviews about it either. I was surprised when I realized that Relik was a Tapas Bar and that we are staying in a reserved part of the restaurant.

I felt excited! I realized that we are going to have a nice night!



Just how we like the ambiance, we also like the food that they ordered...


Served with tomato salsa and crostini Bonesli Diego Martin. Since I loooove cheese, this dish for me is to die for!


Quesadillas are served with guacamole and tomato salsa. Very tasty. Mmmmm.



They also ordered...

Lengua Bourguignon - Slow-cooked cow's tongue in red wine, demi-glace, mire poix and lardoons.

Relik's Mixed Paella

Mother Ann's Braised Ox-tail - Slow braised Australian ox-tails served with pomme puree and buttered carrots.

It was definitely a night that we all forgot about our diets! Better burn these calories soon or I will fail my blood test once again!

Relik is located at 2/F Commercenter Bldg, 31st Ave cor 4th St, Bonifacio Global City.

We've been planning to continue updating our home but we got a little busy with the opening of classes so we had to put it off for a couple of weeks. Now that everything has settled down, we are again checking out materials to buy for the renovation. As I've mentioned before, we need to change the flooring in our family room since the leaks affected some part of the flooring.

Now, I'm looking out online and I saw Albuquerque Floor Options. I realized that there are tons of options to choose from! I will have to consider carpet, hardwood, tile and laminate flooring. Carpet is definitely not an option as well as tiles since we don't want to change all of our floors.

So I'm down to hardwood and laminate flooring.

On second thought, since our current flooring is laminated, maybe I should stick to the current to avoid additional expenses. Yes, I would defintiely do that. Flooring America has special pricing on laminated floors! Yebah! Sale prices are huge considering that I need to buy a lot of wood planks. This is a great day for me to shop for wood flooring! I guess I was meant to find Flooring America. And this is a sign that we need to prioritize our flooring soon.

When I was a little girl, I used to dream of having my own collection of My Little Ponies. Well, since times were a bit tight during those days, I didn't get to have any toy from this collection.

So when I heard of my friend selling pre-loved my little ponies, I grabbed it immediately since it is in a very low price.

Check out my new collection...

These are just lovelies!

And now, I've introduced them to my little girls and so far they love playing with my collection. At first they didn't know how to play it, so I showed them how!

Thanks to Cutesy Patootie, you made my dream of having a "my little pony collection" come true! ♥♥♥

Happiness is...

1. My little girl is safe after a long trip home from school yesterday
2. Weather is better today! Hello Mr. Sun!
3. Catched up on my reading last weekend
4. Relaxed weekend (for a change!)
5. Leche Flan. Hmmmm...
6. July is here!
7. Girls are STILL excited to go to school
8. Found a new chiclit, light-read book about magic and real life
9. We had fun at the grocery last weekend
10. Snacks

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

Weather is getting crazier and you might be wondering if your kids' classes are suspended. Here's a list of schools where classes are suspended for today.

SCHOOLS:

Aheadstart Child Development Center in Kapitolyo

PasigEton International School (Pre-school and elementary)

Flora Ilagan High School in Pinyahan in QC

Headway School for Giftedness in QC

Karuhatan National School and Karuhatan West Elementary School in Valenzuela

Niño Catholic School in Taguig Teachers Village East (Pre-school)

Philippine Medical Women's School (V.Luna)

Carmel Child Development and Learning Center for pre-school (Tandang Sora, Q.C.)

Brainsworth Learning Center (Project 4, Q.C.) for pre-school

Pinyahan Elementary School

PUP Sta. Mesa

PUP San Juan

PUP Commonwealth

PUP Taguig

UST - Classes are suspended starting 12:00nn. UST classes in ALL LEVELS SUSPENDED starting 12:00 nn. Everybody is expected to be out of the campus by 2:00pm. via UST Central SC

UP MANILA - Classes and offices are up to 12:00nn only.

New Era University - Early dismissal from pre-school to high school effective 12NN today due to intermittent rains and thunderstorms.

For other AREAS, here are the updates:

CAINTA RIZAL -Pre-school, elementary and high school classes are suspended

MANILA - Declared by Mayor Lim: Afternoon classes for pre-school to high school

MANDALUYONG- Afternoon classes for public schoools in pre-school, elementary and high school are suspended.

MARIKINA - Afternoon classes for public preschool, elementary and high school are suspended.

NAVOTAS - Public school (all levels) are suspended

PARAÑAQUE - Public and private schools suspended from Elementary to HS

PASAY - Pasay City suspends public and private classes up to high school

SAN JUAN CITY - Afternoon classes for public and private schools, pre-school until high school are suspended

BACOOR, CAVITE - Afternoon classes in all public and private schools (pre-school, elementary and high school) are suspended

Thanks to GMANEws' twitter and FB, we are now updated. Click here for more updates every now and then.

Keep safe, everyone!

I would like to incorporate this into our lifestyle from now on...

I just wish I have the energy and time to do it! We'll see this week. This is a nice way to make our bodies healthier!

Try it too! (*wink*)

One Saturday, we decided to change our daily routine and have brunch at Borough in Podium. I've heard a lot about Borough, so it made me want to try it too...

Borough is an interesting restaurant that offers a slice of New York, serving up the very best of comfort food in the metro. New Yorkers now based in Manila are raving about the food. We tried it, and we agree with them.

- www.OurAwesomePlanet.com

It was also time to use our vouchers which I bought from Deal Grocer.

I read a couple of reviews about Borough before we went there so I based my orders on their best sellers.

Of course coffee will always be part of our breakfast! It was a good coffee.

Breakfast meal which includes scrambled eggs, Bacon and fried potatoes. The potatoes were a bit spicy so the kids didn't like it. I found this very oily too.

Banana Amarreto French Toast. Home made french toast, pre-soaked in banana custartd. Top with amarreto caramel flambe, whipped cream and toasted almonds. Yummy!

Peanut Butter Sandwich which I found too sweet.

The resturant was a little dark. I guess it made our dining experience a little sad. I guess this restaurant targets people who came from a night out and would fill up their tummies first before going home.

But the food was good and the service was great.Will we ever go back? Maybe, so we get to try the burgers and the pitas which look really interesting.

Borough is located at GF, Unit 107A, The Podium Mall, 12 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong. For reservations, you can call: +632 570-8906.