Crazy about Bakugan

My eldest CJ is crazy about Bakugan. Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a collectible strategy game featuring marble-like balls that transform into powerful Bakugan monsters when rolled on game cards. As expected, this is CJ's Christmas wishlist and we did not fail him. Yesterday, he bought himself a Bakugan Launcher from the christmas money he got from his grandparents & relatives. Now his eyeing for a BakuWatch but so far I haven't seen one in SM and would you believe as early as first week of December Bakugan toys are sold out in SM toy section? It's indeed one of the most sought after toy of this holiday season.

Daddy's Girl

Hubby arrived last December 10, since then He & Acey are inseperable, the following photos will prove it:

Greetings

A Blessed & Joyous Christmas Greetings to ALL

from Familia Santos

Baby Nicole

Baby Nicole turned 4 months last December 06 but we celebrated it the following day. I brought my niece to her pedia for her regular check up and vaccination on the day of her four month birthday. Thank God my niece is healthy and strong so she's not experiencing any fever after every vaccination.

Nicole looking for the candle to blow

We had pancit, tacos & cherry chocolate pettite cake from goldilocks

Sumptuous Breakfast

We held a consistency meeting last December 08. We had 2 big round of homemade pizza especially made by our team leader while Pao brought creamy lasagna baked by her mom and the goldilocks mocca roll was care of Jack. It was an unforgettable consistency meeting filled with mouth watering breakfast.

Afternoon Snack

Here's what we had for afternoon snack...

tacos (i just forgot to buy taco sauce)

crema de fruta which I made this morning

We enjoyed the snack immensely and because it was more than enough for the whole family, I was able to share some with my brother in law who dropped by to get the traveling bag he borrowed from us.

Have a happy & blessed Sunday to all!!!

StarStruck!

After their successful teleserye "Lobo", Piolo Pascual & Angel Locsin were teamed up in a movie "Land Down Under" which will be shown early next year. Most part of the movie was shot in Australia & Bukidnon.Three days ago, an officemate told us that Piolo & Angel are shooting in Clark Museum, few meters away from our office. We got thrilled with the news and hurriedly went to the location shooting. When we got to the venue, the friendly StarCinema crews were busy arranging the props & camera lights while Angel & Piolo are resting in their respective room.

Pao and I patiently waited for the leadstars for a possible souvenir photo with them, something we can show & brag with our officemates. Angel came out unexpectedly looking for her personal assistant, we almost scream due to excitement like any other fan seeing local celebrities in person. We ask for souvenir photo but she showed us she's barefooted, indirectly saying she's not ready for some picture taking. After a short while, she came back to give us positive signal. We didn't waste a single second, we came running to her...Oh boy...she's beautiful, sexy & accomodating. I admit, I was startrucked!!!

Me, Angel & Pao

We waited for Piolo to no avail. It was already time to go back to the office but before doing so, Ricky Davao was in one corner busy finishing his meal for the day and so I ask my officemates who followed us in the location shooting to approach him for souvenir shots, we did the same to the boy who's name I'm not familiar but we are certain he's a Going Bulilit mainstay.

with Ricky Davao (character actor)

with Goin' Bulilit talent

I'm not the type of fan who will go & follow their idols, spend money to watch every film they make, collect their magazine pictures for some scrapbooking BUT it's fun to be jologs once in a while.

The Poem of Friendship

This one is from Jen...thanks girl, you reminded me of my goal, that is, to gain friends through blogging.

We need friends for many reasons,

all throughout the season.

We need friends to comfort us

when we are sad,

and to have fun with us when we are glad.

We need friends to give us good advice,

We need someone we can count on,

and treat us nice.

We need friends to remember us

once we have passed sharing memories that will always last.

Cute Blogger Award

Got this award from my favorite bloggers Lisa & Rosemarie. Thanks girls for this one and sorry it took me a while to accomplish it.

Here it goes:

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged, need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and also to read your blog.

Now here are my ten Random facts about me:

1. I finished Business Management & Entrepreneurship course back in college.

2. Two different fortune tellers said I'll get married at the age of 24 and I did.

3. Been working in a call center for more than 8 years now and this is my 3rd job.

4. I love chocolates, cheesecakes and breads from Frenchbaker.

5. I'm fond of cooking for my family especially on weekends.

6. To enrol in a culinary school is my next goal and...

7. Losing weight will remain as my forever goal.

8. In the office, I am the source about local showbiz news update and I think I am an entertainment writer either in my past or next life.

9. Good health for me & my family is my priority in life.

10.For someone like me who juggles time between work & family, I give myself time to relax...regular pedicure, foot spa, body massage and going out with friends once in a while instantly releases my stress.

Happy Weekend!!!

ICE - 'In Case of Emergency'

Apparently this is a standard procedure all paramedics follow at the scene of an accident when they come across your cell phone.

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.

The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell(mobile) phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name 'ICE' ( In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE'.

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today! It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest. ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.

Siomai Love

Since we move to our new house right next to my parent's house (we are now in one compound) I'm in charge of cooking or preparing snacks or merienda for the whole family.

Last Friday while commuting, I'm thinking what snacks or merienda to offer on weekends. I thought of making siomai even if I haven't tried it before, thank heaven we have internet connection so I googled the siomai recipe Sunday morning and quickly included the needed ingredients in my weekend grocery shopping.

I was able to make 20 to 30 pieces I think. Acey helped me by removing the excess flour in the molo wrapper.

It feels good to see my family enjoy the siomai I made to think it's my first time to really try it!

Christmas Dress

We only have 45 days left before Christmas and as early as now I already have in mind what we will have for noche buena which I will blog in the coming days. My mind right now is occupied on what Acey will be wearing on Christmas. The previous year, I bought her a ready made black and white polka dot dress. Hubby wanted to see our little girl wearing dress on special occasions, however, it is quiet expensive to buy ready made dress in the department store, so my idea right now is to buy fabric and look for an excellent dressmaker (any volunteer?). I've search in the internet to have further idea on what Acey's holiday dress will look like and here are my findings:

Acey-Christmas 2007

Rendevouz with Friends

A week before my friend Ezria arrived from Singapore last November 01, she contacted me and Josielyn to set a date for our bonding because she'll be staying here for a week only and she wanna make sure to spend time with us while on short vacation.

We chose November 05 and met in SM Clark at 4 in the afternoon but hours before that, Michelle (who came all the way from Abra Province) & Josielyn were already in David Salon SM for some pampering. I arrived a little past 4 pm and proceeded in the Salon for an haircut then we waited for Ezria.

We had an early dinner in Gerry's Grill. We ordered crispy pata, chicken kebab, boneless daing na bangus and adobo rice. We had a stomach satisfying meal and what made the dinner more special is being able to share & savor it with good friends. We spared some food for Marilyn & Grace who came past 6pm, though late, they enjoyed the meal the same way we did.

Afterwards, we decided to spend the rest of the night at Wishing Well, a KTV and resto managed by Josielyn's hubby. The girls had fun watching me as I sing my heart out for every song played in the videoke, performing like a real concert queen..haha!

And when the band for the night started performing, we went out of the KTV room to watch them and catch some fresh air. All of us fnished a bottle of San Mig Light before going home.

me & ezria

josielyn, me, ezria, michelle, grace & marlyn

grace, marlyn, me, ezria & josielyn (michelle took this shot)

Family Day

October 30 was family day in our company and during this time, we can bring our loved ones in our work place and somehow show to them the culture we have in our company. But this time, it was made more special for our kids because of the "trick or treat" and to add excitement kids were ask to wear costume. My kids had so much fun especially Acey who was a beautiful fairy while CJ was the most good looking Dracula I have ever seen.

Here are some of the photos taken on Family Day:

Happy November First Everyone!!!

Money Matters

When our house was still under construction, my father and I decided to move the comfort room in the extended kitchen to have spacious living and dining room. When I receive the quotation from the architech for the said change, I was quite surprised with the additional expense. The estimate I have in mind was far from the actual quotation and I couldn't back out anymore. Thinking how to raise money at that time have put me into a lot of stress and I thought of Payday Loan as resolution.

Good thing, there are a lot of entities providing Guaranteed Cash Advance in times of financial crisis. Sometimes even when you try your best to budget everything, financial shortage happens from time to time. Payment for tuition fees of our kids, rent or insurance are some of the constant expenses we can not afford to take for granted , thus, we resort to borrowing money with reasonable Cash Advance Fee. Also, we choose money lending companies with fast & easy loan application process.

Marriage in Bliss

John and I had a whirlwind relationship. We met February of 1998 and after a month of courtship we got officially “on” and celebrated our first monthsary April 27, 1998. Six months after, we got married in a civil rites (no church wedding followed up to this time) and today we are on our 10th year wedding anniversary.

Like any other marriage, we had our ups & downs, we faced so many emotional, physical and financial challenges especially when hubby was forced to resign from their company after 7 years of loyal service. There came a point that we almost gave up on each other but because of true love and God being the center of our relationship, we surpassed the trials.

Marriage is a lifetime partnership. There is no better or more important role, both the wife and the husband plays a significant role in building a family. Learn to say sorry when you are at fault, communicate your deepest feelings to your partner (keeping secret from your partner is a big NO), set goals for the family together and thank God for your partner. These are just some of the important lessons I learned for the past 10 years I've been I married.

I can never imagine myself being married to someone else other than John. Hubby is God fearing, loving and selfless. He is my friend, partner, confidante, critic and adviser. I can’t thank God enough for giving me a husband like John. I'm overjoyed God gave us CJ & Acey to complete the family.

Civil Wedding: Oct. 27, 1998

Christmas 2004

January 2005

Christmas Wishlist

Christmas is fast approaching and I noticed that some bloggers have blogged about their Christmas wishlists so I decided to make my own. The following are actually Christmas gifts I plan to buy for my family and myself as well. I really hope that opps will start pouring in so I'll be able to purchase these Christmas gifts, wrap 'em nicely and display them under our cutie Christmas Tree.

an RL bag i plan to give myself which i know i deserve

not sure if Crocs are "in" or available in Qatar and since hubby is planning to come home to celebrate Christmas with us, Crocs is what I wanna give him.

slowly, Acey is showing her interest in music and i'm sure this piano will make her christmas a memorable one

CJ is hooked playing his PS2, a bean bag will make him more comfortable and make his play even more enjoyable.

So there...what about you guys, have you thought of your christmas wishlists? Santa is waiting...hehehe.

Food Galore

October 04 was the second death anniversary of Lola Carling, the maternal grandmother of my husband. We get to bond with our in laws on occassions like these. Kids were happily playing while adults were busy preparing the food. One recipe I learned on that day was the Kani or Japanese Salad. I heard this is also available in Teriyaki Boy restaurant. We also had Pasta, Pink Salmon, fried chicken, sandwich and macaroni salad. No rice was served that night (replaced by the sandwich & pasta) but everybody went home with bloated stomach.

in charge of the kitchen- emy, me, auntie loleng & auntie ester

Pasta in red sauce

Pink Salmon matched with lemon butter sauce

kids all time favorite, fried chicken

kani salad

macaroni sala with gelatin

tired cooking AND eating:)