Uncomplicated

Worth Rewarding

2009-07-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

As I write this blog post, I am thinking of what to bring home for the little girl. I might drop by the nearest grocery to pick some yummy snack for her "baon" tomorrow. Or do you like to suggest something else?

My sister texted me that Thea got a perfect score in their first exam given this morning. According to sis, Nanay (paternal grandmother) said that Thea's such a bright girl. After three weeks in Nursery class (it's actually day care), she had memorize 4 songs and learn some basics of writing and drawing such as circles, straight line, etc. I hope she'll continue to show this eagerness to learn so that when next school year comes, she will be attending the regular Nursery class already. We are still scouting for a good school, though.

Again, congratulations to Thea! Love u, baby!!! Be good always ha!

Her First "Star"

2009-06-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Due to her eagerness to go to school, we decided to enroll her in the Nursery class. And yesterday, her second day in school, Thea received her very first star.

As I arrive home, she immediately show me her notebook with a star stamped on her first activity. As you can see, it is a picture of a girl with some text that goes something like this: "I am Thea. I am a girl. I am 3 years old". Pupils were asked to color them, and that' what she did.

I sent an SMS to Hubby telling him of little one's first achievement. :) As a reward, he promised to buy her a Vtech Educational laptop. She'll have to wait for few more months though. I, on the other hand, made her happy through her favorite adobo I cooked for dinner, haha.

Congrats anak, Papa and Mama are so proud of you!

More Photos...

2009-06-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

As promised here are additional photos taken last June 12.

yellow....

the bride is still a child at heart.

the couple with the kiddies...

the prom queen, ahh I mean the flower girl :D

The Little Lady in Dazzling Yellow Gown

2009-06-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reasons that the mommy here has been so busy during the past couple of weeks. Thea was one of the flower girls during France and Cristy’s wedding last June 12. Btw, Cristy is Hubby’s niece. Perhaps, the newly-weds decided to get married on a holiday (Philippine Independence Day) for us to have ample time to travel all the way up North.

It was such an exciting event especially for the little one. Look at her in these photos. Isn’t she stunning in that yellow gown? haha. She really loved that gown; she even kept on saying that she look like Taylor Swift in her “Love Story” music video (laughs).

I’ll post more photos once I copied those from my SIL’s digicam.

Birthdays = Fun

2009-05-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken last Saturday, during my supervisor’s son 7th Birthday Party. I helped her turn the plastic cups up - one of the mechanics of game. She joined almost all of the kiddie games. She did enjoyed the party, and the french fries too. lolz

Unhappy Customer

2009-05-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

I left the office at exactly 5pm yesterday to get some groceries at the nearby supermarket. I opted to visit the newly-opened supermarket near our place. Unfortunately, my excitement was replaced by disappointment due to their poor customer service. And this is what happened:

On our way to the cashier, my daughter picked up 3 packs of Gummy Candies at the Snacks Section. Guess how much these candies cost me? Php130 each!!! I discovered the amount while reviewing the receipt at home, for I was a bit doubtful of the total cost of the 3 bags of groceries I bought. So, I hurriedly went back to the supermarket to complain about their mistake. They said that the item is being sold per box of 20’s. How come they have displayed said items by single pack??? They declared that a box might be mistakenly opened by a customer. I want those items replaced by other useful ones instead of a letting my child consume 3 boxes of candies, my goodness! Since, my daughter already consumed one of those candies; it was good as sold, the supervisor said. Good thing I was able to hold my temper and agreed to them to finish the argument. At the end of our conversation, they returned the total amount Php260 to be converted into other items in their supermarket. I bought 2pcs of light bulbs that I could use at home. Most probably, I’ll remember this terrible grocery shopping experience as long as those bulbs are functioning.

The moral of the story: Always check the prices of each item you purchase and don’t be afraid to complain.

My message to the supermarket operators: Train your staff well, especially the cashiers!

Flower Girl

2009-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

One month from now, my Hubby's niece will be walking down the aisle as she get married to the love of her life. The wedding ceremonies as well as the reception will take place in Cabanatuan City on June 12.

And what does the title of this post implies? Yeah, you're right! My daughter Thea is part of the entourage - as one of the flower girls. I already texted her measurement for the gown to my SIL. We all wish that she would not get cranky, sleepy or whateever during the wedding. Well, I don't think so. She's so excited on being a flower girl for the very first time teehee. In fact, she's practicing how to walk almost everyday since the day we told her that she's part of the entourage.

I will be celebrating my birthday on the 24th of this month. I'll just prepare something for the folks at home and might take Thea to the mall, and that's it... another year older...I wish for good health for my family and loved ones, and hope to survive the graduate school challenges all the way to earning Master in Technology Management (MTM) degree :D

The'a 3rd Birthday

2009-04-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

The little one celebrated her 3rd birthday last Saturday. Few of her playmates came as well as some of my officemates… I prepared plain spaghetti with meat balls, chicken lollipop, spring rolls, hotdog on stick and fruit salad. The birthday girl was really excited about her Backyardigans-inspired party. She entertained her guests by non-stop giggling, dancing, and saying thank-you’s every time a guest handed a present for her.

Even though Papa is not present during this once in a lifetime occasion, the two talked for several minutes over the phone, few hours before the party.

Here are some of the photos during the simple get-together…

personalized invitation card designed by yours truly :)

Thanks Deth, for this beautiful banner

The Birthday Girl

I'm so happy coz she really enjoyed during her party

with Nanay

the cakes

one of the gifts

8 Days to Go

2009-04-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

before Yasmin Althea’s 3rd Birthday.

And the busy momma is so excited for the preparation…We’ve chosen Backyardigans Themed Party. She’s so fond of these characters that she watched regularly in nickjr. It will only be a simple afternoon party with 20 expected kids, mostly her playmates and children of some of my officemates. I just completed the menu as well the list of stuffs needed for the party.

Advanced Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Summer Getaway

2009-04-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

At first, I had a second thought on either going home to my beloved hometown or not. I was awaiting Hubby’s approval then. It was until Saturday, April 4th when I finally got his approval. My mom, siblings and more than a dozen of nieces and nephews were already waiting there for our arrival. And so, the little one and I left Manila last Sunday, April 5th for a one-week vacation.

We arrived there last Monday at 4 o’clock in the morning. My bro in-law and my niece fetched us at the bus stop. Our first stop-over was at their house where I took a quick nap while Thea played with her cousins. She enjoyed riding the bike with them. Then, at 7am my sister and her family accompanied as to our final destination –my mama’s house.

This is the fourth time my little girl visited her Lola Ester. The first was in summer of 2007, just a few days after she turned 1. It seems that she loves it… and turns this vacation on an annual basis (lol). Oh yeah, why not! In fact, she already learns few words in Bikolano dialect hehe.

Last Sunday, every family in Sotto’s clan was busy – busy preparing goodies and foodies for our swimming/get-together. It was a fun-filled activity. We went to a newly-developed Hot Spring Resort. On a sad note, we haven’t captured those cheerful moments because no one brought a camera huhu… Just to show you the place, here’s a photo I got from our town’s website photo gallery.

We went back to the stressful city life last Monday… Due to body pains, I decided to extend my vacation and reported to work just this morning…

Indeed, it was one of my best summer vacations ever… Thank you so much Papa for allowing us to go home… I hope you can join us on our next trip…take care always and we love you so much!

Philippine Blogging Summit

2009-03-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

I already registered in the iBlog5: The 5th Philippine Blogging Summit will be on 09 May 2009 at the Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, UP Diliman, from 8 am to 5 pm.

Registration will still be FREE. Register NOW!

I'm having a difficulty posting thebadge in my website. So for the meantime, you can visit iBlog5 Website for more details...

Makati is the Most Child-Friendly City in the Phils.

2009-03-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Makati City has been recognized as the Most Child-Friendly LGU in the Country -Highly urbanized city [HUC] category in the recently concluded 7th Presidential Awards for Child-Friendly Cities and Municipalities.

The national awards body aknowledged the city’s achievements in the area of child welfare and development, particularly on public education, health, social services, and protective services.

The award was received by Councilor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay and Actg. City Administrator and concurrent Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) head Marjorie de Veyra during awarding ceremony in Malacañang last March 12.

The most child-friendly LGUs in 2008 were New Lucena, Iloilo in Region VI for the 4th-6th class municipality category; San Mateo, Isabela (Region II) for the 1st-3rd class municipality category; Vigan City in Ilocos Sur (Region I) for the component city category; Naga City in Camarines Sur (Region V) for the independent chartered city category; and Makati City (National Capital Region) for the HUC category.

Prior to being adjudged as National winner, Makati has been National Capital Region’s “Most Child-Friendly City” for three straight years now.

Indeed, Makati deserves the award. The City invested so much in modernizing its public education system, and in the promotion of rights and privileges of the children...

Congratulations to my dear Makati!!! Mabuhay!!!

credits to: http://www.makati.gov.ph

Francis M Passed Away

2009-03-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

The Philippines' Master Rapper, Francis Magalona died earlier today after a long battle with cancer of the blood or leukemia.

When received a text message from an officemate, almost everyone in the office search for the news article on the Internet about his death. It is true! it was on the the latest news at gmanews.tv.

The baby face rapper and tv host is admired by Filipinos especially the youth. His famous songs that I personally like include Cold Summer Night, Kaleidoscope World and Mga Kababayan ko.

I just can't...

2009-03-03T00:46:00.000-08:00

find ample time to blog. Yes, I open my url every day and done several attempts to post but all those posts are still sleeping in the draft folder :(

I am so pre-occupied with lots of things that need to be done (sigh). How can I start a new blog if I am always busy as a bee.

Btw, my little girl and I were able to talk to Hubby last Friday via YM. For the past seven months, the only means of communication we have are SMS and voicce calls. So, spending almost 2 hours online was really a big deal to us...

Papa, we miss you so much! take care always ha...

Busy (Again)

2009-02-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hello World! Just want you to know that I am still alive! LOL

I’ve been busy for the past two weeks in all aspects: home – work – school. My PC @ the office was pulled-out by our tech support staff. Their diagnosis – Infected by tons of virus, thus need to be reformatted. And that was what happened to my poor and ageing computer. I had no choice but to finish my pending job using our division’s laptop and my lappie, alternately. The reformatted CPU went back to my desk last Wednesday.

Our home improvement project is on its final phase. The little one is so excited to sleep on our new bedroom. Perhaps, we’ll going to transfer on our new room by second week of March. After the installation of the built-in cabinets, we have to wait for the painting and electrical jobs to be completed. Likewise, I have to purchase new mattress for our bed coz the one we bought 3 years ago already reached it throw-it-away stage.

My schedule this week till the 3rd week of March will be hectic again for the completion of remaining case studies. I’m looking forward to school break, time for bonding moments with my family, esp. the little one. If only Hubby is here, we should have been planning our summer getaway this early. I am also contemplating on starting a new blog probably, a Tech Blog, to keep myself busy this summer.

I am Joining Tey's Free Mineral Makeup Contest

2009-02-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

In relation to Tey's upcoming birthday, she is giving away Free Mineral Make-up. She just left a comment on my blog, inviting me to participate in this contest.

It's so easy to join. Visit her Raptured Dreams website, grab the code for the image below then post it anywhere in your site. The more traffic she gets from your website, the more chances of winning.

Good luck and happy blogging!!!!

I hate...

2009-02-05T00:43:00.000-08:00

cough and colds. Cough and colds are usually spread through bacteria- or virus-infected droplets coughed or sneezed into the air. I was exposed to several people with colds at home and at the office. I just hate sneezing and the feverish feeling especially when I'm at work...

A Glimpse of Week 04 (Jan19-25)

2009-02-02T01:33:00.000-08:00

Last week was one of my busiest since I entered graduate school last June 2008. Our team finished the first deliverable for our technology marketing and commercialization class. We prepared the paper and presentation material simultaneously in more than 1 week. We did an industry analysis on the semiconductor and electronics industry in the Philippines. The industry we've chosen is in perfect timing because aside from garments, semicon and electronics will experience greater impacts of the worsening global economy. In fact, Intel announced that their chip manufacturing plant in the country will shut down this year. Texas Instruments in Bagiuo City, on the other hand, trimmed down its employees. We presented our findings last Jan23rd and submitted the paper last Friday. Right now, we're preparing for the second paper, a management case of a local semicon company. Good luck to the upcoming brainstorming sessions.

By the way, the UP Technology Management Center (TMC) is presently accepting applications to its Master of Technology Management (MTM) program for the coming schoolyear (2009-2010). The deadline for submitting all application requirements is on March 5, 2009. The entrance examination will be held on March 8, 2009. Visit http://www.tmc.upd.edu.ph/ for more information.

******

I regret that I did not make it on a coffee date with fellow bloggers last weekend. I hope I could join them next time...

******

Home improvement underway... The construction works have also caused additional pressure. I am just looking forward it'll be completed by end of this month, if Mr. Wallet will still allow us hehe.

So much for ranting here... Bye-bye, have a fruitful week to you all...

Happy Birthday, Papa

2009-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Papa!

We woke him up with a phone call at 7am today. Thea sung happy birthday and said “Papa, ako may birthday din”. She also asked permission if we can eat at Jollibee on Sunday. How can he say no to her… It has been our practice to go out during special occasion like birthdays and anniversaries.

Happy Birthday, Papa… We love you so much… Wishing you good health, see you soon…

Mama and Thea

26 Days to Go

2009-01-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

...before this blog turns 1 year old.

Looking forward to a another productive year of blogging. Oh by the way, I am inviting to you to join us in our coffee treat cum EB by the end of this month hosted by Lena and yours truly. I'll post the details here once finalized.

Addicted to Blogging

2009-01-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

As a go around the blogosphere, I chance upon this website and I took about the quiz. Result shows that I am 81% addicted to blogging.

81%

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

Random Thoughts and Rants

2009-01-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

I’ve been alone in the house since Thursday night. My sis, together with her son and Thea went home to Sorsogon. The main reason - sis will file the correction of typo error in her birth certificate in our local civil registrar office. Their trip will also serve as a short visit to Mama and the rest of my Ate’s kids. …I miss my daughter’s talkativeness, her funny punch lines, and her endless rendition of her favorite songs, etc. They’ll be back tomorrow.

After two weeks of chillin’ at home during the Holidays, office works and school requirements are here again. At the office, I have bunch of reports to accomplish. There are lots of team projects in my Technology Marketing class that requires me to be present in meetings that we agreed last Saturday. Btw, I am grateful that I delivered our presentation quite well last Friday. Thanks for the support, guys (team mates). I know I need some more practice for our upcoming reports. I’m not really good in public speaking, that’s why I really get nervous whenever I am assigned to talk in front many people.

Bye for now, wishing you all a productive week ahead.

Tuesday Toot (January 13, 2009)

2009-01-12T23:55:00.001-08:00

This entry was originally quick update yesterday, but when I received the Tuesday-Toot reminder, I decided to change its title. :)

So, here's my way of tooting my horn...

Even though I had a not-so-good Monday coz I came to the office late due to an important errand, I completed the Powerpoint presentation for this morning's meeting. The presentation contains the committee's major accomplishments for 2008. Wow! we accomplished a lot of things in relation to the City's advocacy on gender and development. We're now looking forward to a more productive 2009...Kudos to GAD-TWG members and to the supportive Council members...

Gotta go for now... Later, I will be meet my friend, whom I haven't seen for a couple of years. She arrived last December '08 after more than a year of vacation in Canada.

P.S.:

I'd like to apologize Marie of Mommy Community because I am a delinquent participant in this meme. From now on, I will try my best to post my entry regularly.

PayingPost.com

2009-01-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

Are you a blogger? Do you need extra income? Well, I think this one's for you.

My blog just got approved by PayingPost.com. Three days ago, somebody sent me an email inviting me to join PayingPost. I immediately visited the link and registered my blog. It only took me more than 24 hours to wait for their approval. That is quite overwhelming, isn't it?

PayingPost unites bloggers and advertisers by offering an easy marketplace wherein advertiser can choose the appropriate blogger to promote their product. Similarly, blogger is also given a wide array of online opportunities. Aside from that, PayingPost has a new layout that resulted to a more user-friendly interface. I love their new lay-out as well as the tag line "Rise your hand if you want".

The good thing with blog advertising is that you set own work hours. You can blog anytime you want. Aside from the rewarding experience that blogging has to offer, you are also encouraged to earn extra bucks without hassles. That's pretty cool, right? I hope that opportunities will keep pouring so that I could use this additional income for those pretty dresses I've been meaning to buy for my lovely daughter or perhaps for her ballet class this summer.

Joining PayingPost is easy as 1-2-3. Just register your blog, wait for PayingPost's approval and then install the code. By following the simple steps, any qualified blogger can start promoting advertiser's products and services. There are lots of categories available, from computer and internet, to home and healthy living. You can select few of them that suit your line of interest.

So guys, what are waiting for, stop from what you're doing right now, visit PayingPost website to know about blog marketing and advertising and affiliate programs as well. Good luck to us, in this cool and exciting new career. Feel free to leave comments to my post as soon as you got PayingPost's approval...

Our Love Story

2009-01-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to re-post this when I read Juliana and her Hubby's love story. Ayos ba, Juls? :) I opted to keep the original post, which is written in Tag-lish. By the way, our love story was published twice last February 21, 2005 in my previous blogspot site, and on a forum which created by the friends.

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Nag-umpisa ang lahat sa tulong ng Yahoo Messenger. Mga bandang October 2002, nasa Qatar pa sya nun. ilang beses ko na nakikita ang name sya sa chat room. pero deadma lang dahil abala ako sa pakikipagkulitan sa mga dati ko nang kakilala. until one time send sya ng pm sa akin. gaya ng usual na nangyayari, tanungan ng konting personal questions. hanggang sa regular na kami nagkakausap tuwing lunch break nila. pag weekends, nandyan namang i-text nya ako or tawagan (twice lang yta sya tumawag). but I didn't had an idea na nagkakagusto na pala sya sa akin.

January 2003, umuwi ako sa Bicol to visit my family. pagbalik ko, dun ko lang nalaman thru our common friend na gusto nya pala akong ligawan. nalaman ko rin na February ang uwi nya at gusto daw nya akong ma-meet. after a couple of failed and tragic relationships, sabi ko maybe its about time na humingi na ako ng nararapat sa akin. since, based from his stories he comes from a family of active INC members na number 1 sa qualification na hinahanap ko. at feel ko naman na nagsasabi sya ng totoo.

Feb 16, dumating nga siya. then 2 days after, pinuntahan nya ako sa office. ganun pala yun, pag unang kita nyo pa lang, may "magic" na. yun na talaga yun :)

Then, we began dating.... Greenbelt was one of our memorable places.

Nung first 6 months namin, madalas kami mag-away minsan maliit na bagay lang pero akala namin di kami magtatagal. hanggang sa mag-propose na sya ng marriage nung pang-7th month namin. of course, I said YES kaagad...

Dapat sana nung December 2003, magpapakasal ng kami, di natuloy dahil may dumating na notice na babalik na ulit siya sa abroad. pero medyo nagkaproblema sa papers nya, May 9, 2004 sya umalis.

I really felt sad pag-alis nya, pero sabi nga nya kelangan dw niya umalis. ganun daw talaga ang buhay :). basta ang usapan namin pagbalik nya itutuloy na ang naudlot na kasalan which was August 20, 2005.