It was Zoe's school's Family Day a couple of weeks back. That morning, we traveled to the venue with Zoe pretty okay and active. She actually practiced their singing and dancing the whole way going to the theater.

Zoe was supposed to sing "Christmas in our Hearts" and dance "Under the Sea" with her classmates but...

By the middle of the program, her eyes were a little droopy and she looked frail and sick.

My sister was home last month and we took advantage of being with her by taking her to her seminar at the Tagaytay Conference Center.

The kids really enjoyed the short trip. We didn't bring them during the last time (in our wedding anniversary celebration in Tagaytay) so I promised to let them come along this time. It was Luigi's first time to go to Tagaytay and we were so happy that he was a pleasant traveler.

It was United Nations Week for our little preschooler and we dressed her up as Ms. Romania.

Honestly, I had a hard time looking for a costume for her. I really hope I did justice to the country she represented. :-)

Here is Zoe being prepped by her yaya Cat.

I was on a 3-day diet....and failed. Well, it's not like I cheated on the diet or something (nah! I was actually religious in following it). But I think I failed miserably because even with all the healthy tea that I drank, however delicious it was, I still felt so dizzy, cranky and sick the whole time. This was enough indication that this diet was not for me. Worse, on the day after the 3-day diet, I was still sick and nauseous. I threw up twice while trying to eat a regular breakfast and my head was just aching like crazy. Blame it too on the two nights where I stayed till past midnight in the office, trying to beat my deadlines and all.

Anyway, I'm officially off the diet since my husband just had to protest, seeing my condition over the weekend. I'm ready to just exercise and eat healthier. I'm planning on maximizing our Wii to get back in shape. Actually, we're trying to set-up our family room from a "couch potato room" into a fitness room.

Really, I think that you don't have to deprive yourself of yummy stuff such as Christmas candy and Christmas crackers this coming holiday season in order to be fit. The key is always in constant exercise and doing everything in moderation.

Love, love, love this picture!

It makes my heart flutter with joy.

In the eyes of many, you may be imperfect kids and us, your imperfect parents. But God chose us (of all people!) to raise and take care of both of you. For what reason he granted us great lovable blessings like you, only Him knows. But one thing is for sure, He is perfect and we will strive to be like Him, TOGETHER.

...and now, we have two kids in tow!

But you know what? I learned that being "rich" is actually still not the best feeling in the world. I realized that having much money is nothing compared to happiness from having simple life with a great husband, heaven-sent kids and best of all, the grace of God.

Thank you, Lord, for all these super-duper great blessings.

Is this piece of beauty good enough to buy using my retirement money?

Ok. I'm still here blogging away. Gosh, staying here at the car-wash cum cafe makes me drool. All the nice cars coming in and out makes me wish we can buy a new car right now.

There were several cars that came in this morning with the nicest accessories and chrome trim. I love it! It's all so cool! So I'm thinking that when the time comes that we are very decided to get a new car, I would make sure that we have the budget to add some bling-bling to our new car. Hahaha!

We actually had an offer to buy a car from my Dad's friend. It's the type of deal which is so irresistible. If only I had my retirement money now, I would immediately jump at the offer. But the problem is, my money is still in the works so I think we would have to pass. Hopefully, when we do have the money to buy, that car would still be available. (Heads up please to the people doing my final pay computation --- hope you can give me the check soon!!!).

So, anyway, any takers for a red Toyota Corolla? I'm selling it for a very reasonable price.

My hubby and I are currently here at a car-wash cum cafe shop near our place, having our car washed, eating pasta, having coffee and accessing the free wi-fi. Yeah, we left the kids at home so we can chill even for a few hours.

Anyway, we have been discussing over and over again our pending decision to sell our present car. This came about after my dad recently exchanged his red pick-up with a SUV. The owner of that car, who is leaving for the States soon, incidentally is also selling another car at a truly good price. My initial feeling: I WANT! But of course, we need to sell our old car first in order to afford buying that car, or any other car for that matter.

Moreover, I realized that I haven't even received my first paycheck at my new job plus there are many other things are on top priority, that is, more than a new car. I actually even availed of online payday loans in order to make ends meet for this month. Besides, we are also having an on-going construction at home. As I wrote about in my "house-everything" blog, our house got robbed a few weeks ago that is why we've hired a person to put up a higher wall with barb wires at our backyard now. Then after the wall repair, we will also need to fix the bedroom door of Yaya Cat which the robber destroyed. We also need to put up new grills for our windows at the back. Oh, and before I forget, I'm having a big cabinet made at the attic for the kids' toys and books. Whew! That's a lot of expenses I'm not looking forward to. LOL.

So again, what about the new car? Well, if it's for us, it's for us. God will find a way if He wants to. :-)

...but I never expected to ever experience eating there three times in one week!

Yes, that happened to me on my last week at MBTC. First, I was there will some bosses from one division. Then my hubby and I went there for lunch to celebrate his birthday. Then on my last day, my immediate boss brought me there for a one-on-one lunch.

The result? A super yummy experience with around 4-5 pounds around my waist. LOL!

Anyway, sharing some pics of my Thai festival experience which coincided with my last week in MBTC.

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Conjuangco Aquino was inaugurated as the Philippines' 15th President last June 30, 2010.

With this newly-elected president, many have high hopes for a better and more developed Philippines. Will he be able to do it? Well, let's all wait and see. Personally, I am not expecting a lot from his administration. For sure there will be changes but...I don't expect a huge difference to set in terms of the Filipinos' overall economic well-being. There will still be lots of debts and lots of people below the poverty line.

My only hope is that he will be able to create more jobs as much as the old administration did. I was only "unemployed" for 2 weeks last month but I already felt the financial crunch of not having to receive a salary for half a month. I learned that you simply cannot change the way business goes. It's "business as usual", with or without a job. The bills still keep coming: the Meralco bill, PLDT, mobile phone bill, Manila Water bill, the cable tv bill and not to mention all of my credit card bills. It was very stressful just thinking about it! I even met up with a friend to discuss possible cash loans which I could avail of so as not to default in my payment with my credit cards! I was so shy to ask for help.

Anyway, God granted a way for us to get around those financial demands. If not for that cash loan, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. :-)

Another late post but anyway...

I hope you're not getting tired about my postings on Luigi's monthly celebrations. He turned 9 months last June 8. That's a day after his daddy's birthday so we just settled with a cake and some pancit.

Our baby boy is looking more and more like a Cabbage Patch baby. He still has so little hair! But in fairness, his teeth are sprouting and so is his appetite. He eats almost everything we give him and I'm quite happy. You see, the pedia asked us to feed him lots of food since he's still a bit below the ideal weight. So I hope he gains more and more weight as the days go by.

Anyway, here is a snapshot of my dears on Luigi's 9th month cake-blowing.

Happy birthday my dear little boy! I love you!

I took a blogging vacation for 2 weeks and never thought I find the time again to update by page. If you're a regular reader here, you'll know that I actually quit my old job and started on a new one last June 21 (and that's also 2 weeks ago too).

Well, so far, so good. I'm actually still adjusting in the new environment: my new building, new computer, office table, my new seatmates, my new boss, everything. I'm still learning the basic ropes in the office but I am quite confident that I'll be more or less familiar with the reports and requirements of my new work in no time.

If you ask me: Do I miss my old job? Hmmm. Sometimes I do. I miss all the conveniences that is connected to my old job. I miss my old friends. I miss the view from my office window. I miss my bi-monthly payroll. Hahaha. (I didn't know that the payday in my new office only comes once a month so I had to get some fast payday loans). I miss my old day-to-day work. But that's all in the past. I'm taking myself to a higher level and a renewed commitment to myself to act as a manager with lots of experience and talent. (Ahem.)

Meantime, work is the still the second order of the day, next to my norms & interior life. That's my firm and daily resolution. With this, my day becomes more meaningful and worthwhile living, regardless the company I am in.

We celebrated by having lunch together at Mandarin Hotel - Paseo Uno. It was something we had not done together for quite some time (plus it was the last day of the Thai festival) so I decided to bring him there again. (I was so guilty for eating there 3x that week because of the despedidas at work and all.)

When we got home, he blew his Cara Mia Mango Sans Rival birthday cake and we had our traditional family picture taken. We also had a little pancit and other yummy ulam courtesy of my mother in law.

I wish I could post more pictures but the internet connection I have at home sucks so I would just have to make do with one memorable picture.

Anyway, here's to more years of health, joy and grace!

I love you so much Hun.

I prayed to her and she answered my request.

It really works...promise!

Last week, I came into a discussion with a friend about how best to manage your money. In times like this, you can never by sure about the future. Many are putting their money on high-risk businesses with the aim of receiving high profits for the shortest period of time. Some are investing on insurance to secure their and their family's future. Others are having a hard time, as it is, paying for their daily needs and expenses. What more if they suddenly get laid off from work or get sick and need to be hospitalized? What if a customer suddenly disappears and end up not paying you the regular fees that you require and need to keep your business going?

Well, as an answer to unforeseen situations where you suddenly have the need to thresh out a big amount of money, there are some unsecured personal loans that may be availed. And because you can never be sure of what the future has in store for you, you can rely on bad credit personal loans to assist you in your time of need. If you maintain a good credit standing, you can readily avail of these kinds of loans so that you can bridge your financial needs in no time.

Luigi's growing to be a very happy and healthy baby. His appetite has greatly improved and he has been growing taller and taller each day. We loves to play with his sister and seems very interested with his toys. We crawls a lot, taps his hands a lot, and screams a lot! I'm so happy on his developments.

Happy 8th month, little boy!

“Keep calm in the face of worries” - that's what saved me from crying when I viewed our latest Meralco bill online today.

I honestly don't know where we're gonna get the money to pay this month's bill (I felt like being robbed in broad daylight). BUT (yes there's a but)... But I know that God will take care of it.

Enough of those worries. I entrust it all to Him.

I was at work when they sang Happy Birthday and blew the candles for Luigi's 7th month celebration. They had advance the photo ops already without waiting for me since Luigi decided to kick and destroy part of the cake as soon as daddy brought it out of the box for the kids to see. Zoe also insisted that they eat the cake after lunch.

So here goes the 7th month celebration:

We had take-out pancit from a Chinese resto and a chocolate cake from Red Ribbon.

Oh by the way, Luigi is now crawling like crazy and babbling too!!! He now says "Dadi, Dadi, Dadi and dede, dede,dede" ALL THE TIME. I love it!