Snapshots of my Life

My husband wants to sell his iPhone 2G and upgrade to the newer models all because he can't find Cell Phone Cases for it as most stores now only offers cases for the newer models. Poor hubby.

But I told him to try checking partsimple.com as recommended by a friend as this is where she orders parts for any type of equipment like TV DLP Lamps, batteries, heating elements, screens and displays and more.

The website is very easy to use as I only need to enter the part number or model number for the product that I am looking, like remote controls, and I will be given a list of the stocks that they have which I can easily add to my cart for payment and shipping. They have almost all the brands like Whirlpool, Toshiba, Panasonic, Blackberry, LG and many more so for sure, I will find any parts for any product that I am looking for easily from their site. They have a 30-day return policy also and this ensures that I will be able to order the correct parts for the product that I have.

I am sure my husband will find what he is looking for from this site and I am sure he will find more so he can finally proceed with the DIY and repair projects that he has lined up for some of our old equipments.

And who says I’m busy?


Multi tasking is one task that I am really good at. Imagine last night, I was doing some articles using my Mac book while I sort, resize and upload pictures in Facebook and Flickr using my Net Book. LOL.

I just got my not so new Mac Book the other day but I haven’t got the chance to move my files to it from my Net Book. My net book is so slow already that is why I prefer to use my Mac Book now over it. But since I need pictures to upload to my blog post, I have no choice but to turn it on also and use it to sort and upload the pictures so I have something to use for my blog post.

Well I just hope I will find the time next week to move all my files and pictures to my new laptop so I don’t have to turn on two laptops all the time.

Last Sunday, aside from Father’s day, we also celebrated the birthday of my cousin, Aliah. So before we made any Father’s Day plan, we had a simple celebration at my grand mother’s house where my aunt prepared simple dishes: crispy pata, penne pasta, buco pandan, mechado, and ice cream.

Aliah was the baby in the family then as she is the youngest among us. My other cousins are almost the same age as me so she was the first cousin that we have after our batch so she was like the baby to all of us. And now we can’t believe that she is already in high school.

Now I am really having a hard time choosing the best present for her, as you know how teenagers are. I am choosing between the JanSport bag that she likes, or an xbox hard drive to enhance her gaming experience or maybe a day at Ace Water Spa. I guess it will be simpler if I let her decide herself. LOL.

To our dear Aliah, happy birthday!! We love you.

May and June has not been a very good month for my sideline work. Actually, since January, I have been struggling to meet my quota every month as work has been scarce after the holiday season and hasn’t picked up since.

I thought that I was covered already for this month because I got hired to do a regular writing gig so I am already a little secured that I will be able to meet my quota for this month but I was wrong. A lot of things happen with regards to my sideline work that makes me feel scared about our financial status:

1. I got an email from one of my employer for the writing gig that I have and advised me to stop my work until further notice. I am not sure if my work did not pass his requirement as he paid me below what we agreed upon and he did not give me any more details and explanation on why he is asking me to stop all of a sudden.
2. Then we got a news from another company where I am doing writing work too that their system crashed and they lost data of all the work that we have done for them and there is no way for them to pay us as they don’t have a record of their payables. That is minimum $250 down the drain. All of my friends who works for the same company were in rage when we learned of the news but we think that there is really nothing else that we can do as the company already gave their last word that we just write again for them to get paid.

My only consolation now is that I am secured with my social security disability because I know that Allsup will help me if ever I need to file for a claim and that I am thankful that I still have my day job.

I remember last year, things started to get better for my sideline work starting May so I am really hoping that things will go back to normal again so I will be back to my normal earnings so I can save money to pay for all my obligations.

I was browsing hubby’s cell phone for pictures that I can post here and I found this:

Aww, this makes me miss Chocolate de Batirol restaurant so much. This small and homey restaurant is located within the compound of Camp John Hay. My brother recommended this restaurant to us when we last went to Baguio a few years ago and they have the best tasting hot chocolate drink ever.

How I wish we went with hubby to Baguio so we can get to visit Chocolate de Batirol again. He left Thursday evening and he wants us to follow him there on Friday night so we have Saturday and Sunday to go around the city but then I declined his offer because I know we don’t have extra budget this time for another out of town trip.

Oh well, there is always next time and I hope we can visit the City of Pines soon.

Dad, you are the best thing that has happened to my life. I am forever grateful to the Big Man up there for making our paths cross that I end up to be your wife. I am lucky to have such a wonderful husband and I am proud that you are the father of my two wonderful kids. Thank you for your love, your patience, your support, your understanding. Thank you for being the responsible father that you are that you always put us on top of anything else. You thought me how to be strong and with you, my faith in God has really blossomed.

Our kids adores you so much because you really are the best dad to them.


And with that, I have to check out the site mensgiftideas.com for best gifts for men that I can purchase as our gift to the best dad, my hubby. Just look at some of the nice gift selections that they have:



I know my husband doesn’t need any material things as I know how happy and contented he is with his life because he have us (wink), but it wouldn’t hurt if we make him feel a little extra special on Dad’s day right?

If you are looking for a beauty school for a possible career in the fashion and beauty industry, then you should start checking out Chattanooga beauty school, one of the many branches of Regency Beauty Institute.

Regency Beauty Institute is the most famous beauty schools in the United States. They just started with just 2 campuses in Minnesota and now they already have 80 campuses across 19 states. This just goes to show how good this school is because of their continuous growth and expansion.

The reason behind is because they provide good training to all their students. Their campuses mirrors upscale salons so their students are guaranteed to receive the best hands on training. After their students graduate to their programs, they have an enrolment to employment program where they help their graduates look for job as they have good contact in the fashion, runways, spas and cruise industry as their graduates are the most sought after throughout the US.

So if you really want to make a name in the fashion and beauty industry, you will not go wrong if you enrol with Regency Beauty Institute.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com or contact Regency Beauty Institute – 2288 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421

This is one of the stores that I checked out when we went to Woodbury Commons in New York. There was actually a line outside the store and you have to wait for a few minutes before they will let you in the store.

I was actually hoping to look for a Reva flats as I have long wanted to buy a Jelly Reva but it is always out of stock in stores (even online) but sadly the flats that they have on sale at the outlet store are all not my type so I end up going out empty handed again.

So no Gucci bag and no Tory Burch shoes for me. I guess I have no luck in Outlet store shopping. LOL. Good thing my friend Faye sells stuff from Outlet Stores and in instalment basis so it is a very good deal. Maybe, I should just check out her Flickr account and I can find something there for me. LOL.

You’ve been waiting for this day for months now and the least that you can hope for is to have a relaxing holiday. Vacations are meant for fun and relaxation, it is a break from your busy work schedule or a pause from all the chaos at home. It should all be about fun memories and unforgettable experiences. So how can you make sure that your vacation is exactly what you planned and hope for?

Start by turning off your mobile phone and limiting your internet access. Remember that vacation is your time for yourself or with the family. Stay away from all forms of contact to the outside world such as from work if possible. In order for you to relax fully, your attention should be undivided and worrying about office matters will not be a great help.

Choose a destination depending on the type of activities that you want to experience. If you are going with the whole family, it is better to stay at a place that is kid-friendly and has a variety of amenities for everyone. Enjoy activities with everyone such as nature walks, a day in the beach or playing games.

If this is your personal holiday, do not be afraid to try new things. Be spontaneous and adventurous. Try the zip line or take a mountain hike. Give yourself the time to learn and explore the place. Don’t forget to pamper yourself, book for a spa appointment or a relaxing massage. Treat this as your reward for all the hard work.

We just got our car back from the repair shop after my dad sent it for repair when another car accidentally hit our bumper a few weeks back. I am thankful that it is nothing serious, nobody from us got hurt and the only damage that we got was the damage that was caused by this accident to our car.

But I am thankful still as I would rather spend on car repairs rather than having to worry over the condition and safety of my loved ones. I know how a personal injury can be a traumatic experience to a family. It can change the lives of the victims as the victims may not be able to work again after the accident.

For those victims of personal injury, they should not loose hope but instead seek the help of an Austin Personal Injury Lawyer, like the lawyers of O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath. They know the ins and outs of a personal injury case and they use aggressive and customized techniques to win the case.

So schedule a free consultation now by contacting them here: O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-994.

Hubby and I went window shopping yesterday as we need some decent clothes that we can wear for Jacobo’s birthday party and I suddenly miss this:

This is my one regret for our recent trip. I got so busy shopping for my kids and my one aim of getting another Gucci bag that I did not look at other stores worth checking like Nine West, Aldo, Tommy, Lacoste, etc so I was not able to shop for nice clothes for me and hubby that we can wear for the party.

But at least we still have two weeks to look here in Manila and hopefully I will be able to find something nice so I will at least look pretty on the special day of my prince. LOL.

I have a lot of photos to share and post here as hubby took great pictures of all the famous land mark in all the places that we visited. But unfortunately, my work load is still up to the roof plus I am still busy preparing for Jacobo’s birthday party which is coming in two weeks. Add to that my preparations for the opening of school of Bela.

But as soon as this month is over, I will make sure that I will allot one day to just sort all pictures, resize it and upload it to my Facebook and Flickr account. Actually, I haven’t even taken a look at it but according to my husband we have lots of pictures.

So watch out for it as I will have a photo overload here with blurb and stories about each picture, as soon as I am done with all my pending work.

I suffer from headaches which I suspect can be migraine already and most of the time, I take a medicine to alleviate the pain. But I just learn from my doctor that if you are pregnant, you should not just be taking medications without consulting a doctor as there is a medicine use to treat migraine called Topamax that can cause serious injury to the baby in utero as it can cause birth defects such as cleft lip when taken by expectant mothers.

Studies have been conducted to prove this and it has been tested that Topamax indeed increase the risk of birth defects. That is why lawyers from O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath are offering a special service to help victims file for a Topamax lawsuit.

If you think that you may have been a victim and that you have a case, contact them here: O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949 so you can start getting justice for the damages and injury that Topamax caused to you family.

On our last day in New York, hubby’s friend volunteered to drive us to Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Store and my friend Joan was right, when she told me that you can’t go to all of the shops in one day. We might even need testosterone pill to give us energy so we can shop till we drop.

We were supposed to leave at 7 or 8 AM but we preferred to sleep a little more that morning and so it was already 10 AM when we hit the road. As soon as we arrive, we separated in groups and just agreed to meet somewhere. I went with my mom and Bela and we checked out a lot of stores that I prefer since I already did a lot of shopping already for the kids. Unfortunately, I did not find anything nice in the Gucci store and I am so disappointed since I did not shop at the Gucci store in Camarillo Outlet because I thought I will find a good deal in Woodbury.

But of course I will not go home empty handed since I did not shop anything for myself the entire trip and it is only here in Woodbury that I will have a last chance to get something for myself so I went home with 2 Coach bags (which I got at a very good price) and a Michael Kors watch.

I would still prefer to bring either a Gucci or Balenciaga bag home, but for now the Coach bag and the watch will do. I will just try my luck next time.

Since the kids are still recovering from jet lag, they are asleep during day time so I have the TV all to myself last weekend. I was flipping through the channels and I did not find anything interesting to watch so I just decided to go back in time and watch this:

One of the movies of Mark Anthony Fernandez and Claudine Barreto. LOL. I remember I was still in high school when their love team was a big hit. Mark Anthony was even my crush then and I even went crazy and I collected magazines, pictures or anything that has Mark Anthony on it.

After this movie, I was able to watch another Tagalog movie with Angel Locsin and Piolo Pascual as the lead character.

It was a nice way to spend the day at home. This kind of work out as my “Me” time since the hubby is away and the kids are busy sleeping.

Now that our much awaited vacation is over, it is now time to pay off the expenses that I have incurred for this trip on my credit card and boy I was in shock upon seeing my credit card bill, so shock that I almost fainted.

Well, for the tickets that I purchased online alone, I have spent a great deal of money already plus the shopping expenses that I charged to my card. But according to my husband, at least we had fun with the kids and this is something that they will always remember especially B who really enjoyed the trip.

But after this, we should really start saving and we are even looking at investing into silver dollars so we can save up for our future. We have a lot of expenses lined up and so our recent US trip might be our last major expense for this year and now it is time to do some real serious saving up and living a very frugal life.

We just got back from our three-week US vacation and while I still need some rest to recover from our tiring but fun vacation, I don’t think I will have time for that as I have to start to go back to party planning mode for Jacobo’s first birthday party which will be held on June 25.

My first agenda on the list is check out Smilebox.com party invitations so I can order the invitations and we can start sending it to our guest ASAP. Then I still have to shop for prizes for the games and game booths and cut out the food cart stubs that I prepared to be given out to guest as they arrive at the venue.

I am excited already. There is still a lot of work to be done on my end buy everything is already ready from my party planner’s end and I am sure it will be one fun party.

Working as a Systems Administrator for more than a decade now, I have learned that the network system is a very complicated setup. There are a lot of things to monitor, from the server to the switches and routers and a whole lot of equipment to make sure that everything is running and that there are no problems that will cause for the network to fail. But in all those challenges, what makes my life easy is the use of network monitoring tools.

One of the tools that I am so thankful for is the best network monitoring software, LogicMonitor. What I like about this software is it allows me to monitor all the devices and infrastructure, be it physical, virtual, and cloud connected to my network all in one window. I don’t need a separate server or get an additional manpower to do the networking monitoring for me as all will be done by the software. I don’t even have to know which to monitor as all I need to enter is the host name and the LogicMonitor will determine and configure what is needed to be monitored for the device.

The same is true for virtual machine as it can be easily monitored with the use of VMware monitoring.

I am glad that there are networking monitoring tools available to simplify the life of a Systems Administrator and to make sure that network is up and running 24x7.

I have to find the best testosterone gel but then I was so surprised when I learned from my mom that some of her valuable in her luggage are missing. She packed in her luggage 5 sets of jewelries that were given to her by her friend and an iPod that our friend was asking us to give to their relative here. This is the first time that I experienced this so I was really surprised. I asked my friends and it is only know that I found out that things like this happen.

The problem is we went to three airports – New York, Hong Kong and Manila so I am sure it will be difficult to trace where it got lost. My mom put in her luggage 3 watches and I am glad these are the things that got stolen.

I wonder if I can report this to Cathay Pacific and if they can do something to help us or to repay for the damages but I doubt it if there is something that they can do about it. Sad fact.