Vanity

For the longest time, I prioritize my kids’ needs which every mom would normally do. When we go to malls, I would usually buy them stuff like toys or books including their favorite food, nothing for myself. So now, one of my new year’s resolution is to take care of myself more.

I realized I want to indulge in something that will improve my skin especially now that I’m not getting any younger.

Last December, I went to SM Clark in its department store and wandered in the beauty products section. I bought ponds white beauty detox facial foam and cream, maybellin pressed powder and nivea lip gloss. Recently, I bought nichido lipstick & careline blush on in toffee and peach color respectively.

Before, I’m not fond of using soap or facial wash. I just rinse my face with plain water from the faucet when I wake up in the morning. When bathing, still I do not use soap or anything in my face. I’ve been using PONDS beauty detox facial foam and cream daily for nearly 2 months now. I love the result it does to my face. Right after using it in the morning, it instantly brightens my skin in my face. It gives me smooth and radiant looking face after applying the PONDS beauty detox cream, no need to use press powder.





Last December 27, Josielyn and I went to Faces spa salon for a footspa several hours before our get together. Early January, I went to a parlor for a haircut and I had cellophane too. I plan to have another hair treatment in March.

I aspire to have a full body massage in any decent spa salon around the city. I want to pamper myself. I want to feel good always. I wanna look better especially when my husband will come home later part of this year.

Smorty

Are you a full time mom who wants to earn money or are you a working mom who wants to have extra income? Well, all you have to do is blog for money.

Smorty is a service connecting advertisers with bloggers. All you have to do is write articles about available advertisers. You also need to provide links that your readers can access and will lead them to the advertisers site and voila, you will get paid in a few days once your post is approve.

I registered in Smorty yesterday. I checked my mailbox today and received an email from Smorty stating that my application has been approved. I didn't expect it will be this fast...Awesome. I will definitely recommend Smorty to my fellow bloggers especially those who are just starting to blog.

I indulge so much in blogging. There's no other great way to do something you are passionate about and get paid.

Blogging plus Smorty equals money.

Language Training

The two weeks training that started last January 14, 2008 is finally over. This is a continuation of the American Accent training I attended before Christmas. The only difference is that, in the Language training, the trainer would start a topic and encourage everyone to talk. And when you commit a mistake like for example in grammar,she would correct it right away in a very pleasant manner.

We’re 27 in class and half of it composed of team leaders and I am the only QA analyst in the group and the rest are consultants. This training is to prepare everyone to take calls including myself, now that the company is transitioning to voice call center. For the longest time, consultants would assist our members via chat. By simply clicking the scripts, you can address the member issue and swiftly end the session. Majority of the consultants are apprehensive about this major change.

At the end of the training, each will undergo evaluation and if you fail, you will be retrained. Meaning, you will have exactly the same training for 2 weeks and be evaluated again. Unfortunately, there were I think 3 consultants in our class who failed. Of course I pass the evaluation and I am happy with the feedback I received from our trainer. She said, I still have the Filipino accent while speaking the English Language which can be improved when I start taking calls. She was happy with my fluency. When she asked me questions, I answered with elaboration. The score I got in grammar is higher than she expected. My tenses were perfect all throughout the interview.

True, written communication is a lot easier than oral communication. True, someone who is fluent and articulate when using the English language is blessed. But this is a skill that you can learn through practice.

I am thankful for given the chance to undergo the Language Training. The knowledge I learned from the said training is priceless and something I can impart to others most especially to my kids.

I look forward to another training next month.

Movie Day!

My kids and I went to Robinson's Mall yesterday to watch The Bee Movie, unfortunately, it’s no longer showing. We watched “Alvin and the Chipmunks” instead. It’s my treat to them for a couple of days stress due to Third Periodical test. We got the tickets & bought pop corn. Since the viewing already started, we got the seats and I left CJ & Acey for a few minutes so I could buy sodas and some more chips. They enjoyed the movie while I wasn’t able to watch everything ‘coz I have to run to the supermarket and kept on replying to the text of my friends. It’s fine with me as long as my kids had fun watching “Alvin & the Chipmunks”.

When we got home, my mom called and invited us for dinner in McDonalds. So we quickly went to meet her. Afterwards, we decided to visit my auntie who just got out of the hospital, along with my brother and his family. We got home past 10 pm.

Baguio GetAway

I was awake as early as 4am of January 05 to prepare for our Baguio trip. Everybody was ready to go at exactly 5am. The van arrived 15 minutes later. We were in Tarlac at 6am and reached Pangasinan 2 hours after. We dropped by at Manaoag Church because my sister and her husband promised themselves to visit the said church before they go back to Qatar. A great opportunity for me to talk to God and thank Him for the abundant blessings He showered me and my loved ones in the whole year of 2007. I lit 5 candles and prayed for good health for the whole family especially my kids, successful career for me & my husband, healthy pregnancy for my sister who had a miscarriage before she got pregnant again, realization of my parent's goal to build a simple house early part of 2008 and continued blessings.



Everyone was in high energy as we continue the journey to the summer capital. We realized we are nearing the destination when we saw the zigzag road and felt we were climbing the mountain. Mang Ed, our driver, was knowledgeable of the place because he owns the house where the whole family stayed.

We did a stop over at the Kennon Viewdeck for picture taking and overlooking the view. It was breathtaking, it’s something that you don’t see in Pampanga. The air was very cold that you really need to wear jacket or sweatshirt. Afterwards, we headed to our accomodation. It's a house big enough for us with 3 rooms, each has 2 single sized bed. What we like most about it, is the terrace with long tables where we dined. We unpacked our stuff, had lunch and started wandering the tourist spots of Baguio.





On the first day, we went to Grotto & Pink Sisters convent. We also paid a short visit to Baguio Cathedral. Later on, we were at the place with horses. My kids especially CJ enjoyed riding a horse, It’s 150 bucks for 30 minutes. We had picture taking in The Mansion. Of course, Baguio trip wouldn’t be complete not having a picture with Mines View as your background. We passed by at Camp John Hay and our last stop for the day was SM Baguio where we bought the ingredients for our dinner. We decided to cook pansit guisado and lumpiang shanghai instead of heavy meal. Because everybody was tired strolling around Baguio, we fell asleep as early as 8pm.



While on the second day, we headed to the strawberry farm field and bought pasalubong. Afterwards, we went to Bell Church. CJ & Acey dropped a coin in the wishing well and silently cited their wishes or requests. We drove bicycles in the Burnham Park, then had lunch in a restaurant that serves their meal in a sizzling plate. We went back to the accommodation to organize our things. At 3pm, we’re ready on our way back to Pampanga.




In my previous job, when I was still single, I would go to Baguio to attend conferences and trainings and I never got the chance to explore it. It was only during our recent trip that I got to discover more about it’s nice places.

The trip was very tiring and a bit expensive but it’s all worth it. Last night, we chatted online with my husband and Acey enthusiastically narrated to her Dada the trip the whole time they were talking.

It was indeed an unforgettable experience.

50 Blessings and More!

This is my very first post for this year. I have a lot of stories to tell, events that transpired before 2007 ends but I’d like to start my post with something positive. 50 Blessings & more is an entry in my Friendster Blog and I am posting it here.

From the book "Simplify and Live a Good Life" by Bo Sanchez, to appreciate life even more, the author suggested that we make a list of the 50 blessings we have received. It can be people, items, events or memories.

By the way, this was also accomplished by Kris Aquino, my favorite local TV host and was recently published in her K Magazine when she personally shared her insights on PAIN, FAITH, HOPE & JOY. She made her list of things that brings her JOY.

Normally, we look for something we don't have, we want to have that something that other people possess and when we don't get it, we end up frustrated, demotivated and eternally dissatisfied. We fail to recognize the blessings and graces that God had showered upon us because we're so blind and mindless of what we already have.

Here are the list I've written in less than an hour and I am delighted to share them with you:

1. John my husband, my partner, my confidante & my friend. He's currently working abroad (QATAR). He's someone very close to his loved ones but he took the challenge to be away from me and his kids just so he could provide us of our needs.

2. My parents who give me abundance of support, very loving to my kids and genuinely care for them.

3 & 4. CJ & Acey are my greatest blessings. Motherhood maybe tough but fulfilling. I love it when CJ would pick small flowers and would give them to me. As my way of showing my appreciation, I would wear them in my left ears and give him a kiss. When I watch TV, Acey would hold my face in her tiny hands and utter the words " I LOVE YOU, MAMA" trying to get my attention. I would respond giving her hugs & kisses.

5. Clark is the youngest brother of my husband who’s now in Japan. He's my kid's favorite Tito. When we were still living with my in laws, he would take care of Acey when I'm in the office.

6. My sister Que is such a big help to me. Whenever I'm at work, she would volunteer to bring CJ or Acey to their pedia for their check up. She would treat them to Jollibee during payday. She is now in Qatar with her fiance' and I am truly happy that she has found the man she would share the rest of her life with. We constantly communicate through email.

7. Ate Tess who we fondly call "Kulot" for obvious reason, a friendly and concern neighbor. She would observe the kids and our house when I'm working and would report to me what has transpired the next day.

8. Ate Nits is the nanny of my kids. She treats my kids like her own. She has the initiative to clean the entirety of our apartment so I could spend my off resting all day.

9. Old and New friends. I treasure friendship and loyalty. It feels good to know there is someone ready to listen to your joys and sorrows. Having a never ending talk with a friend/s instantly destress me. I am glad that my college friends and I had our get together last December 27 we really had a blast!

10. Ednalee & Pao are my close friends in AOL and business partners at the same time.
11. My PET Colleagues. I'm learning so much dealing with diverse people. Their energy is contagious, although the work we do maybe dreary at times because you're doing the same thing over & over again but we're like family and everybody knows how to have fun.

12 & 13. Uncle Louie & Uncle Willie, both helped my husband John enter Dubai. The former sponsored John to have access in a foreign land and be employed in a decent company while the latter provided financial support.

14. My late mother-in-law, we have a good mother & daughter -in- law relationship despite our differences. She's prayerful and humble, she would invite me join her going to Grotto to pray, without her knowing it, she pushed me closer to God.
15. The First Family compose of my brother, my sister in law Ann and their kids, Tweety & Ken. They live with my parents and when we're altogether, the house is filled with noise, clutter and most of all love and concern for each other.
16 & 17. PS2 and desktop computer

The PS2 is John's gift to CJ when he turned 7 years old. Instead of a birthday party, we decided to give CJ a PS2. Aside from learning to play the games, CJ is learning some English terms which I didn't know when I was his age.

The desktop computer entertains my kids by palying games online. When I want my kids to behave especially when I'm busy and do not wish to be disturbed, I would let simply turn the PC or let them play PS2.

17. TV & DVD Player

Watching movies at night especially during day off relaxes me.

18. Eternity Perfume Set

John brought me an Eternity perfume and lotion set when he came home last October. I know how much it cost 'coz I saw one in SM Department store. Everytime I see it in my room, it reminds me how special I am to my better half.

19. Clinique Happy Perfume

It’s my sister’s Christmas gift to me. I love it’s scent. I feel fresh & clean everytime I wear it.

20. AOL Watch

I won an AOL watch during our 2006 Christmas party for the AOL Support Queue, the one I got was a male AOL watch which I gave to my father and brought him good luck. He would often win in the cockfight he would attend usually every Sunday.

21. Stylish watch

I bought myself a stylish watch from one of my officemate. A lot of people including sales lady would notice it and find it nice.

22. Oven Toaster

Every day off, I would take a long walk just to be able to buy my favorite hot pandesal and if there's some left the next morning, I use my oventoaster and after 2 mins, I'm eating hot pandesal with cheezwhiz on it and coffee. That's my perfect breakfast. I'll never get tired of it.

23. Cleopatra Seat

I bought this one when I was in the GY shift. It's too hot to sleep in a bed or sofa in daytime especially during summer when the climate is unbearably hot. This seat is sturdy for my weight...haha.

24. JML Easy Stitch

I'm learning to sew curtains. I made one already for our kitchen to match our curtain in our living room.

25. Landphone (DIGITEL)

Last November, a prepaid DIGITEL line was installed in our apartment. My mom and I would check on my kids by calling them from time to time. John is now able to talk to CJ & Acey a lot of times unlike before 'coz I have to bring the celfone with me.

26. TV stand

This thing made our apartment look more organize & spacious.

27. Airconditioner

I'm happy to see my kids sound assleep in an aircondition room, making our room look cozy and clean.

29. Goodhousekeeping cookbook

I've tried some of the recipes featured in this book. To come up with a nutritous and stomach satisfying dish/es on a daily basis is becoming a predicament to some mothers like me, this book will definitely help me especially when John is here for a vacation.

30. Simplify and Live a Good Life book by Bo Sanchez

This book help me realize how much blessings and graces I have received already and reminded me to thank God for them.

31. My kids' school
Mary Immaculate is where I enrolled CJ to finish his elementary and it's a few blocks away from where we live. Whereas Acey is a fresh student in Achievers where CJ finished his pre school. Both are given the chance to interact with other kids and develop their social skills. Both school offer reasonable tuition fees.

32. AOL
AOL is the best company I have ever worked for. Employees are pampered here, we have GYM and the favorite activity we do here is singing using the videoke, this is where I discovered I can be a singer even when out of tune. We have free meals and service. However, late part of 2007, a buy out happened which means eTelecare is now the new management. The same benefits is being provided to employees, though we expect a lot of changes hopefully positive ones, this year.

33. PET Department
This Department is composed of diverse people. Some are wacky like me, few are serious individual but all are people with substance.

34. Power Extreme Gym
I started working out 2 months ago and I love sweating to the max. I didn't expect that it's going to be this enjoyable. I look forward going to the gym right after work except when I have to do something else.

35. MayFlower St.-residence
The place where we reside now is very accessible. It's close to my parents house, CJ's school, to the GYM etc.

36. Apartment
To live seperately is the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Our apartment is big enough for our family. It has 2 rooms and a second floor and far from noise produce by tricycles and other vehicles.

37. The old house
We call our in laws' house the "old house" or in our dialect "bale matwa". I bring my kids here often so they can bond with their cousins.

38. Robinson Abacan
This is where we do the groceries. Sometimes, celebrities are there to entertain and promote movies or albums. This is why my kids are aware of our local celebrities, they get to see them in person especially celebrities from kapuso network.

39. Fastfood such as Jollibee & KFC
CJ, Acey and I are chickenholic. We love to eat chicken especially when it's deep fried. We eat and we bond.

40. Movie night
Every day off I make it a point to watch movie at night, either drama or comedy. I would buy pirated DVDs or borrow from friends.

41. Breakfast during day off
I make it a point I eat my favorite breakfast every day off with my kids and that's pandesal with coffee.

42. Grocery time
Before going to the supermarket, I ensure I have listed everything I need to buy like toiletries, food, drinks etc., especially when I have to do it within 30 minutes when leaving CJ & Acey in the playhouse right in front of the supermarket. That's 50 pesos per child for 30 minutes and I don't wanna pay extra. It’s a weekly thing I enjoy accomplishing.

43. Talent to be funny
To be able to crack jokes with a timing is a gift for me. It feels good to hear my colleagues laugh hard at my jokes and with my hirit. Afterall, laughing is one form of exercise.

44. Cooking skills
I can't say that I'm a good cook but I can cook. I used to watch Heny Sison with my sister and we'll sometimes try the recipe. Until now, I still watch the same program from other network. Also, I'm hook to "At Home Ka Dito" especially the portion where celebrity houses or bedroom are given a new look.

45. AOL Family Day
I always look forward to Family Day at AOL, which is being held yearly. This is the chance I can bring my kids in our office and show them with my officemates. My gorgeous son CJ and pretty little Acey deserves to be exposed to people once in a while.

46. MoneyMatters
A lending business that I partnered with Ednalee and Pao, however, we decided to put it to a halt due to minor collection problems. We felt it is no longer feasible to continue it since HSBC is giving financial assistans to eTelecare employees who can borrow as much as 100 thousand pesos.
47. Medicard

This the best benefit we get from AOL/eTelecare. Medicard is such a big help to us. Free consultation to accredited doctors and free hospitalization not to mention free medicine of Php 5000 worth per year per member. A comprehensive medical insurance and an enormous blessing to consider since not all companies endow such benefit.

48. Friendster account
I am just glad I started my own friendster account. I get in touch with old and new friends. Not only that, you get to see them through their latest pictures.

49. Auction.ph
I am thankful to one of my officemate for encouraging me to register to Auction.com. I won 3000 worht of E-money that I use to purchase the JML Easy stitch, lacoste polo shirt, weight scaler and the universal waist belt.

50. Yahoo account
Aside from Friendster, I get in touch with friends & family through yahoomail. I'm fond of writing long emails especially to my sister. I have the liberty to do that even if I'm in the office as long as I can finish my work and done discreetly.