Snapshots of my Life

The last show that we we’re able to watch was the Dolphin Friends Show. As what they always say, save the best things for last and glad we did that since this is our favorite show. I like it even better than the Dolphin show at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

The first thing that I like was the venue of the show. Since it is an open-water marine park that is set on the edge of the rain forest of Ilanin Bay, we we’re greeted by the magnificent view of the ocean and the islands surrounding Ocean Adventure. Second was that since it is an open-marine park, I feel that the dolphins can move freely as compared to the sheltered cage of the dolphins in Ocean Park Hong Kong.

During the show, we learned about the dolphins and the whale sheltered in Ocean Adventure. They showed off their grace, agility, power, and intelligence by doing some tricks for the audience like walking on water, jumping and swirling on air, surfing with their trainors and the like. We were really in awe as we watched these amazing creatures.
B sure had fun even us adults. This is also one of the shows in Ocean Adventure that I tell you guys you should not miss next time you are there.

My sister is graduating in just a few months time. She is so busy right now because they are preparing for their thesis. I rarely see her because they always have to work overtime to finish their thesis. They even rented a house where their group can stay since they really need to work double time to meet the deadline.

I can’t believe that my little sister is graduating from college already. I can still remember when she was just our cute little baby girl in the family and now in just a few months, she will soon join the ranks of professionals.

Everybody is so excited especially my parents and they even asked me to look for photo graduation announcements that we will be sending to our relatives and friends. My parents have also asked me to scout for venues already where we can have my sister’s graduation party.

We are really so proud of my sister because she has been doing really well in school. Even though she is a working student, she still manage to be a part of the Dean’s List and though she has been really complaining at how busy and tired she is already because of the workload at school, she still managed to strive harder and reach graduation.

To my sister, you will always be our little baby in the family. We are so proud of you and Congratulations in advance.

Last night before going to sleep, my cute daughter lie down on our bed and pretended that she is making snow angels. And then I saw this cute picture of my good friend Ems with her family (snagged this picture by the way from her Facebook account) playing in snow and showed it to B. She got really excited and was asking me when she gets to experience snow.

If only I am not pregnant and if only budget is not an issue I must have searched the net right away and book one of those ski vacations. This is something that even hubby and I haven’t tried before and I am sure this is one vacation that B will surely enjoy. We we’re just talking about our travel plans for 2010 and hubby even mentioned about the Winter Olympics in Canada.

We are one travel addict really. If only we have bottomless funds, you will not see us lying around in our house but we would always be travelling to wherever our feet take us. LOL.

The first show that we watched when we went to Ocean Adventure was the Sea Lion Marine Patrol Show. The show is held at the Nautilus Theater. We arrived in Ocean Adventure 30 minutes before the show begins and we were advised by their friendly receptionist that we can already line up outside the theater already so we will be the first in line and so we can get good seats. And that is what we did and we’re lucky because we got the best seat in the house – front row seats. LOL.

The Sea Lion Marine Patrol show shows audience what it takes to be a member of the Sea Lion Marine Patrol - how they guard against bandits, how they protect the environment and how to practice the 3R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). They also gave the audience an overview of the difference between a sea lion and seals and the sea lion demonstrated how an intelligent and strong creature they are. They also asked an audience to come on stage and get a wet kiss from the sea lion. LOL. B wanted to volunteer but we were told that they wanted an adult female to be kissed by the sea lion. LOL.

I really enjoyed this show and this is one of the shows that I suggest you should not miss when you are in Ocean Adventure.

I can’t believe that in just a few days, we will be saying goodbye to my birthday month and say hello to February. In just a few days, my dear cousin will be celebrating her birthday on February 14 (yup on the day of hearts) so I am already starting to look for ideas for unique gifts for her.

Tessa is the eldest daughter of my favorite aunt. She is just a few years younger than me and we were really close as we grow up together. She is one of my best friends as I can share anything with her. She is also my travel buddy as we share the same passion for traveling and we really try to organize a trip or two a year where we can travel together. She is also my shopping buddy and my favorite is our shopping adventure in Tutuban. LOL

I don’t know if she already have plans for her birthday but she usually just celebrates it at their house where she invite all her friends and family. I am looking forward to her birthday as I am sure it will be one fun celebration again.

Ever since I came back to work after being away for more than a month on sick leave, hubby always fetches me in the office so I don’t have to commute going home. Last Thursday, he was a little late since he still has a lot of work to finish in the office and I also asked him to drop by at the bank to pay for our housing loan. Since my tummy is complaining already, I just decided to go to Starbucks to have snacks. And this is what I got.

I have been craving for their strawberry Belgian waffle so that is what I ordered. And don’t worry, that small cup is not coffee but Starbucks signature hot chocolate (yup, it is really hot that I burn my tongue. LOL).

I am not a coffee addict but I love staying at Starbucks because I find it really entertaining. LOL. You get to see and observe a lot of people from all walks of life – from newly graduates armed with their resumes reviewing the job ads on the newspaper, to graduate students clad with their laptops and netbooks and is busy tinkering with their gadgets as they rush to finish their assignment, or just officemates having their usual coffee break, or executives dressed in their suit, obviously talking seriously about business.

I was at Starbucks for more than an hour but I was not able to notice how time passed. When I am done with my drink and my waffle, hubby is already ringing my phone and it is time for me to go down and meet him at the drop off area.

The Rap, Jump and Roll show is also one of the newest shows in Ocean Adventure. It is a variety show with Ray Sharkey as the host. The show looks really interesting as the Ocean Adventure mascots will be part of the show (which I am sure B will really enjoy) and the show features high flying trampoline performers with the colorful coral reef 3D wall as their background.

The show is held at the Seaside Stadium which is an open air theater in Ocean Adventure. We initially planned to watch this show after watching the “Walk on the Wildside” show. We even went to the venue early so we can choose a better seat but then we realized that it was too hot if we will seat for less than an hour under the sun while watching the show. So we just went to the theater for the Dolphin Show where we can have a good view of the Rap, Jump and Roll show and watch the show from there.

Hubby was able to take pictures too though it would have been better if it we’re close up pictures. But there is always a next time….

My hubby loves sports and I have been a witness to his transformation of his love of wrestling and boxing and now UFC. Sometimes he stay late at night waiting for the main event or even waking up early to watch it live.

His collection of action figures of 80’s and 90’s WWF wrestlers to WWE and his boxing heroes like an 18 inches tall Mohammad Ali figure and signed memorabilia of Manny Pacquiao were nice to see in our walls and cabinets. I even saw a wrestler called Iron Sheik and Mr. Perfect in his 6 inches figures collections. And now comes his UFC action figures which he would show them to me after buying from the toy store and see how happy he is like a little boy... I guess men will always be boys…

And I learned from him the sports of mix martial arts or MMA and during gathering with friends, I would hear them still talking who’s the best for them even the mma fights have been shown weeks before or months before. Imagine men, rooting for a wrestler against a boxer or a judo expert or a jujitsu expert… now these I learned from him…

I love to travel. If only I am not experiencing a sensitive pregnancy, I would have booked vacations for my family for this summer especially a lot of airlines are having seat sale promos.

Every time I travel, I always rely on the Internet to get information, choose and book our hotels and even restaurants and places that we have to visit in our chosen city of destination. And with a lot of information on the Internet, it is really important for companies to not just rely on their web presence but also should use a travel PR firm like J Public Relations to help companies such as hotels, restaurants, spas and even bars create media campaigns. I guess having a good media campaign really works because I always book hotels that I saw from different media campaigns so it is really a good tool to attract customers.

Thank goodness for airline promos, media campaigns and the Internet because planning for our travel has always been easy with the help of these tools.

Last Sunday, we decided to have a road trip and visit Subic for a day tour at Ocean Adventure. Hubby has been convincing me to go here for the longest time now but I would rather sleep and stay at home than to go out. But I was feeling quite ok last Sunday and this is my last free Sunday before I go back to work again and so I gave in to hubby’s request.

We arrived at Subic around 12 noon already and so we went straight to Ocean Adventure after having lunch. This is my first time here and so is B so we are both excited. Ocean Adventure has a new show entitled “Walk on the Wild Side” which is the second show that we were able to watch.





Walk on the Wild Side is one of their newest animal show featuring wildlife of the forest. The show begins with a jungle survival 101 given by a local indigenous Aeta. The Aeta demonstrate survival skills in the jungle by using bamboo to cook food, as a utensil and how to make fire without matches.

After the demonstration, the show will then feature several forest animals like bats, eagles, bats and a snake. This show is held at their newest venue, the Eco-Theater.

B had fun watching the show especially when she saw the eagle and the bat. And I am proud that she did learn something because she was even sharing with her cousin the jungle survival skills that she learned from the show.

We were able to watch two more shows on our visit to Ocean adventure and I will make a separate post about it and post some pictures so watch out for it.

I saw this ad from a site:

Optimize how your brain works by consulting with Dr Daniel Amen on the many ways mental disorders can be avoided.

I read through the articles and it made me change my views about my family's health. B’s cold is back again. She was complaining last night that she can’t breathe because of it. We haven’t brought her to the doctor and we tried using her nebulizer first to see if it will relieve her trouble with breathing as this a Treatment for Symptoms that has been suggested by her doctor.

B has two pediatricians now. One is close to our house whom we regularly visits especially for B’s vaccination but one of the things that I don’t like about her is she prescribed antibiotics right away even if her cough and cold is not that serious. That is why we have a second doctor whom I discovered after reading recommendations from mommies like me. Hubby and I still believes that consulting a physician is still very important and so when we are not happy with our first pediatrician’s style, we decided to look for a second doctor that tries other treatments for symptoms first before prescribing antibiotic.

We are happy now with B’s second pediatrician. Last time B had colds, he just prescribed an anti-histamine and the cold was gone after just a few days.

Health is always important that is why I really do a lot of research, get feedbacks, and check websites so we will be sure that we are getting but the best for our family’s health.

One of the reasons why I am enjoying my second pregnancy is that it will give me a reason to go shopping for baby stuffs. Since this is our second child, we don’t have to buy a lot of new things because we can still use B’s old baby carriers, crib, and the like. Here are just some of the things that we need to purchase for our second baby:

1. Stroller. We received two strollers as gifts when B was baptized but both are bulky and so we seldom bring it every time we go out or we travel because it just adds to the extra baggage. So hubby and I are thinking of getting a new light weight stroller like the Maclaren Volo. It is foldable and it has lot of storage space too.

2. BPA Free Bottles: Another thing that we would like to invest on is new BPA free bottles. We did not buy BPA free bottles for B and with all the news that I have been reading about BPA and how unsafe it is for children, I would really like to invest on BPA free bottles for our second baby.

3. Booster Chair. We did not buy a booster chair also for B and I think this is very important to teach our kids how to eat by themselves.

So our list is just short and I am sure I will have plenty of time to read about these stuffs and get feedbacks before I go shopping.

The Cebu dancing inmates are really so popular now that they are even part of a dance video that will be launch worldwide along with Michael Jackson’s “This is It” DVD. The “This is It” DVD includes footage of Michael Jackson’s rehearsal footage until his untimely death on June 25, 2009. It will be release worldwide on January 26, 2010.

The Cebu dancing inmates received a lot of attention when their dance video of “Thriller” was published in You Tube. Even Michael Jackson finds them so entertaining and according to Michael’s choreographer Travis Payne, they would even watch it during their breaks when they were rehearsing for Michael’s comeback concert. And so they thought of including them in the dance video that they will be launching.

So Travis Payne along with Michael’s back up dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid visited the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center to teach the inmates dance steps for Michael’s songs “Drill” and “They Don't Really Care About Us.” It only took a day for the inmates to rehearse the moves when the steps thought to them were really hard for it is choreographed for tour performances only which was supposed to be for Michael’s concert.

The video was shot professionally by Sony Pictures. So watch out for the launch of the dance video and the DVD “This is It.”

In just a few days, hubby and I will be celebrating our 5th year wedding anniversary. Since I don’t get to go to malls lately since I was in complete bed rest, I still don’t have a gift for him for our anniversary. Good thing my friend gave me a link where I can buy knock off watches.

Hubby lost his watch a couple of months ago and ever since, he did not buy a replacement for it. I would have wanted to buy him a Rolex watch but I don’t want to pay that big amount just for a watch when I can buy replica rolex watches at a fraction of a price of the original. My friend is a fan of these replica watches and he said that you can never really tell the difference between the replica and the original because the replica has really good quality and it really look as luxurious and fabulous as the original. And what’s best is that Perfect Watches online store is a very reliable store where you can purchase these types of replica watches. They not only sell Rolex, but they also carry different brands of replica watches like Breitling, Tag Heuer, Omega, and even Cartier.
Now that we are having our second child, hubby and I agreed that we really should start saving and we should really try to learn to let go of some of our luxuries. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t have luxury even if we are on a budget right? So these replica watches is a guaranteed gift that hubby will love because it is within our budget and at the same time, hubby will still look fabulous wearing this Rolex watch. I just have to select which one will look best on hubby and it will be delivered at our doorstep just in time for our wedding anniversary. Perfect!

Look at this picture. It would have been perfect if I was able to find natural acne remedies to help me get rid of my pimples and acne before the wedding. But anyways, it was a fun wedding and I am glad that I was there to witness one of the most important events in my friend’s life. And I am so happy too because I get to spend some bonding time with my long-time best friends, Lynx Rayvens.

I miss these guys so much. They get to see each other almost every week but because of my sensitive pregnancy condition and since I don’t have a nanny for two weeks now, I don’t get to spend much time with them. We have been exchanging emails in Facebook and we realized how much our friendship has grown and how each of us matured as a person, all of this with the help of one another. Our friendship dates back when we are still in High school when we used to do a lot of crazy stuff and I am really glad that a decade ha passed already and we still have each other. I am lucky to have you guys as my friends.

Hubby has been asking me for the longest time now if we can go and visit Dapitan Arcade. It has been a while since we last went here and ever since I got pregnant, I was really too lazy to go anywhere much so in a place like Dapitan Arcade.

Dapitan Arcade is like a small outlet store with no air-conditioning along Dapitan. You can find all kinds of items here – from vases, to porcelain, to dinnerware, wrought iron, rattan, even imported items from Thailand like bags, shawl and the like.

I know I need to search for insurance quotes online but I really wanted to finish my research on possible venues where we can hold our Christening for our second child. I know it is still early to plan since the baby hasn’t come out yet and the oldies will not like it if they found out that I am already planning for the baby’s Christening. But I don’t want to be cramped for time for the preparations like what happened with my first child.

We wanted to have the Christening at least two months after I give birth, before I go back to work after my maternity leave. And two months leaves me so little time to prepare since I know that I have to book the venues early especially I want to hold the reception in a clubhouse where I can bring my own caterer.

We plan to have the church ceremony at Archbishop’s Palace again because that is where we had the christening of our first child and we like it there because we can have a private ceremony. So I am looking for party venues within the Ortigas, Mandaluyong or Libis area. So far, here are the venues that I have found after reading from the n@w archives and as suggested by my friends:

• Prestige Tower – The rental fee for the venue is waived if our food order reaches P15,000 and above. The capacity though is a bit small as it can only accommodate 150 guests and it is only exclusive to Baby Nathan’s Catering Service. I also read that it has a low ceiling so it is not quite nice for balloon decorations.
• The Malayan Plaza Condo Hotel just beside Discovery Suites. The rental for the function room is P6000 plus P6000 security bond but again the capacity is small (maximum of 150 pax only).
• I also inquired with the clubhouses in Valle Verde and this are their rates. I need a resident though to sponsor me:
1. Valle Verde 1
Capacity: 150 and 250
Rental Fee: P10,000
2. Valle Verde 2
Capacity: 200
Rental Fee: P7,500
3. Valle Verde 3
Capacity: 180
Rental Fee: P1,800 per hour minimum of 3 hours
4. Valle Verde 4
Capacity: 180
Rental Fee: P12,000
5. Valle Verde 5
Capacity: 180
Rental Fee: P8,300
• I also inquired with Club Filipino but they are asking for my fax number so they can fax the rates but I don’t have a fax here at home so I will just call them again on Monday.

At least I have listed down the possible venues. Hopefully, they will still be available when I book them as I know how in demand these club houses are. Now, I can go back in searching for insurance quotes so we can finally renew our insurance.

During the wedding of my good friend Lala, they had a photo booth where guests can have their pictures taken and have it printed for the guests’ souvenir and another copy is printed as copy for the couple.

My friend and I went crazy with the photo booth that we have to line up again and again to have our pictures taken. LOL. Look at some of our pictures:

We even attempted to have the picture of the whole barkada taken but unfortunately all of us can’t fit in the screen and the machine even froze after taking our first shot and the operator have to reboot it to make it work again. LOL. (She got a bit upset about this).

They even have head dresses, wigs, and sun glasses if guests want wacky shots. I checked their rates and they are a bit pricey but I think it is worth it since guests can go home with a souvenir picture of the event. I am actually planning to get this kind of service for my future events like the birthdays of my kids. LOL. I hope we will have a budget for this. LOL.

My cousin will be flying to Singapore this coming February 2 and I know that Singapore is the best place to buy gadgets. I wanted a new laptop and I am looking at one of those netbooks and I am thinking if it is wise to buy a laptop in Singapore.

When we we’re in Singapore last time, I was able to buy a video camera. The video camera is working with no problems and we’re happy with it since the price is really good but the problem is that international warranty is not being honored here which is not what we were told when we purchased it. That is why I am really thinking twice if I will ask my cousin to buy one for me when he leaves fro Singapore.

But hubby is discouraging me and is just suggesting that I should just get if from Buy.com instead. The price is still a steal and at least I will have 100% guarantee that I will not have any problems with the laptop that I will be purchasing. Make sense.

The third quarter report card of my cousin has been released and my aunt is a bit disappointed with the grade of my cousin in Math. It is just one quarter to go before the school year ends and so my aunt thinks that her daughter needs Math help to help her improve her grades. She knows that her daughter is good in Math but she just needs some guidance. Unfortunately, both my aunt and my uncle have full time jobs so they really can’t dedicate 100% of their time to tutor their daughter. So I suggested that they get an Online math help instead for their daughter.

Tutor Vista offers Online math tutoring for a very low monthly price where students can access math tutorial anytime, anywhere 24/7. They will be given one-on-one tutorial at a very affordable price and even though it is online, they can guarantee that my cousin will still get the best tutorial service in Math because all tutors of Tutor Vista have extensive experience in tutoring students from all levels.

I am sure Tutor Vista will be a very big help to help my cousin improve her grade in Math.

When we went to Las Vegas a couple of years ago, we went inside the Venetian hotel where we can take a gondola to take us around the hotel along their make shift Grand Canal. We we’re not able to try out the gondola ride because we find it too pricey but hubby promised me that he will take me to Venice so we can ride the real thing. And just after a couple of years, he fulfilled his promise and we went to Venice last August 2009.

Paris was really my first dream destination and next is Venice but after being to both cities, I fell in love with Venice the most. Too bad I only allotted two days in Venice when I was doing our itinerary.

But in those two days, we we’re able to explore everything that Venice has to offer. "WOW" was the perfect term to describe the city. As soon as we reached Venice from Mestre, we were greeted by the majestic view of the Grand Canal. We were also able to try the Gondola ride and this was really the highlight of our trip. We stayed at the Rialto Bridge and we stayed there until the sun sets as we watch the majestic view of the Grand Canal.

I don’t think I will ever get tired of Venice. If I will be given the chance to visit Europe again, I will definitely not miss Venice.

I promised my friend that I will help her find a mesothelioma lawyer but as I was looking for a lawyer that can help my friend with her asbestos-related case, I suddenly remembered that I haven’t posted about the wedding of my lawyer friend last January 18, 2010.

The church ceremony was held at Don Bosco Parish in Makati. It is my first time to enter this church and I love the peacefulness and tranquility of the place.

The reception was held at Mc Kinley Hill Clubhouse in the Fort, Taguig. It was one fun wedding. They even had a photo booth where I and my friends had fun having our pictures taken again and again as our souvenir and the couple’s souvenir as well. I also love the band singing during the reception, the Sentimental Groove. The food was also sumptuous and I was so full after the reception.

There was an after wedding party after the reception but I and my friends decided to go out and we went to Pier One at the Fort Strip. Well, actually I will be celebrating my birthday on the 19th and they want to be the first one to greet me on my special day so we stayed at Pier One for some pica-pica and drinks until 1 AM.

Congratulations and Best Wishes again to Ced & Lala!

Since we stayed up late to welcome 2010, we woke up a little late on New Year’s Day. We started our day by having breakfast and preparing our things for checkout. We left the guest house around 10:45 since we want to catch the 11 AM mass at the nearby church. We went to hear mass and it was a good way to start the New Year by thanking God as a family for all the blessings that He has showered upon us for 2009. After the mass, the choir had a finale song and we asked B to watch the choir but she went running in front and joined the choir in singing. The choir master even gave her a star as part of their props.
After hearing mass, we went to Leslie’s for lunch. Everybody was so hungry already and we are lucky since we we’re able to find a table right away. This is one of the things that I like about Leslie’s restaurant; the restaurant is big so they can accommodate a lot of guests even if it is a busy day. The restaurant is also clean and I particularly like their Toto sinks and B’s favorite is their pond with kois and everybody’s favorite is their viewing deck where there is a good view of the Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. Their food of course is very affordable and yummy too.
After lunch, we wanted to go to Picnic Grove since my cousins and my siblings wanted to try the Zip Line but there was heavy traffic going there so we decided to just let the kids do horse back riding near Leslie’s restaurant. The kids have all been waiting for this so they we’re really excited when they saw the horses.
After horse back riding, we we’re still full after the heavy lunch. We initially wanted to eat at Bag of Beans or have desserts in one of the restaurants in Cliffhouse but the adults and the kids we’re all so tired already that we all decided to just call it a day and go home.

It was really a fun New Year’s celebration. Everybody had fun that they wanted to have another family out of town gathering this coming summer and they are asking me to plan for it. I am sure it will be one fun vacation again and everybody will be looking forward to this vacation.