Christmas Shopping Time...Na!!!

Christmas is 58 days away. Since the bonus is not yet on our hands, I told tatay that every pay day starting this November IF we could set aside a few pesos from our usual budget, we could start buying gifts for our respective inaanaks (godchildren). So that come Christmas time we will not be in any rush anymore.

I have a few tips to share with everyone and I hope that it could help you one way or another.

1. List all the names of your inaanaks according to gender and age. Why is this so? So that you would know what to give and so that you could set aside the budget immediately. For example, if you have a godchild between the ages of 1 to 4 years old, for me the gift I could give is either a toy or any type of shirt, blouse or any kind of clothing. BUT I still have this issue that if I will give a shirt or whatever clothing as a gift, if I've seen the baby or child I make sure to buy 1 size bigger, better be safe than sorry. at least magagamit pa yun kesa sa maliit ang mabibili sayang. But IF hindi ko kilala or nakikita pa yung kid, I will settle for a toy, tutal naman sa boxes ng toy may nakalagay dun for what age yun toy.

2. If the age of your godchildren is above 7 years old, I make it appoint to ask the parents (especially if I am close to them) what is the kid into? It would be difficult to give something na in the end eh HINDI TYPE ng bata. Tutal it's Christmas make an extra effort to ask para maging happy si inaanak. But if you're still not sure what to give, in my case, We (francis and i) usually give money place in ampao (it's a red envelope na may mga chinese symbols) tapos bahala na si inaanak to buy what he/she wants. Malay mo makadagdag pa yung ibinigay mo sa gusto niyang bilhin talaga. *wink*

3. Usually to be on the safe side for me (and my hubby) if the kids are pre-schoolers naman, we tend to buy coloring books, colors, pencils and papers. It's educational na at the same time makaka-practice pa ang mga inaanak mo before he goes to school.

4. I know this last tip may sound ridiculous to most of you BUT for me and my husband it usually works, we usually bring our kids along, especially our two older ones. Why? Because my 2 pre-teen daughters could tell me and their tatay what is the "IN" thin; kung magugustuhan ba ng mga inaanak namin yung mga gifts that we are about to give (since most of our godchildren are close to my daughters). Plus shopping together as a family, involving the kids, they feel part of the gift giving process.

So there, I hope it could help you, one way or another, especially with the upcoming Christmas Shopping fever.

My Favorite Photos

Here are some of my favorite photos:

1. Of course ndi mawawala ang wedding picture namin.

this was 13 years ago at the Archbishop's Palace

here in Lipa City.

2. This memorable because it is our

very first family outing kahit dito lang

ito sa Laiya Batangas. We all had a grand time.

3. This was a few months ago. I just love

seeing tatay (as we fondly call Francis)

playing with his 3 girls sa timezone.

4. And of course my latest favorite photo.

taken at Nuvali just few weeks ago.

These 3 girls are our ultimate treasures

in the entire universe.

Quote no. 21

You need to find a way to live your life,

That it doesn't make a

Mockery of your values.

(Bill Ayer)

Sale Everywhere

Everywhere I go (actually within my area lang naman) and every time I look at the newspaper, ang daming Sale. If I just have the money, shop till I drop ang drama ko. But since I am a stay-at-home-mother (and no salary to speak of, ouchie) I have to wait for the budget to come and when that happens tapos na ang Sale (hahaha!) but it's okay.

Not that I am being bitter or what ha but IF I have the money naman more or less most of the things I'll be buying for will be for my daughters. Ganun nga siguro pag mom ka (is this a good or bad trait? Reserved for another time).

Nabusog na ang mga mata ko sa katitingin sa Sale. Most of the time when I go on a window shopping during Sale, the items that I "want" yun pa ang hindi kasama sa sale. Actually this coming weekend may Sale na naman dito sa SM-Lipa. And as usual, wala pa din ako budget to go on a sale shopping. hahaha!

Mom I'm a cow kasi

A while ago I told my daughter to stand up kasi magdudumi na naman yung knees niya. Ginagaya kasi niya yung nasa vcd niya na Hi-5. The person is doing the cow thing. So si Amaya naman luhod kasi ginagaya nga niya. So I screamed already to stand up, to think she took her bath already. So stand up naman ang bunso....Eto na ang maganda, after a few minutes, I saw her again nakaluhod, this time, hinila na niya yung shorts niya up to her knees. O hindi nga naman madudumihan ang knees niya, good luck naman sa paglalaba.... *toink*

Quote no. 20

Let a man lose everything else in the world

BUT his enthusiasm and he will come

through again to success.

( HWW Arnold)

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Scary Films

Since Halloween is just around the corner definitely my TOP 5 for this week is not that far behind. I decided to search the net and at the same time tried to remember which films that really scared the hell out of me. Yung tipong nanunuod ka ng nakakatakot sabay takip sa eyes with matching silip in between the hands. hahaha!

1. THE EXORCIST - Aminin readers, this is the movie na talagang

mapapatakip ka ng mga mata. Just thinking of the head-turning

of Linda Blair with matching mga tulo-tulo ng mga

nakakadiring ewan. Scary cat na talaga.

2. JAWS - Even though the movie is about the

deadly shark, everytime I hear yung pinaka-main

music ng movie, it gives me goosebumps already.

3. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - who would ever

forget the name FRED KRUEGER? Plus the killer

razor-sharp knives attached to the fingers on a glove

on his right hand. Scream to death na ito.

4. THE SIXTH SENSE - it is a psychological thriller movie

about a kid who believed to be having problem of seeing things.

His fellow classmates makes fun of him and only the psychologist

(played by Bruce Willis) could understand him. The ever famous

line of the movie is: I SEE DEAD PEOPLE.

- Scary for me kasi because of yung mga pabigla-biglang

may mag-aappear sa screen. hahaha!

5. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE - though they say

that this movie is based on a true story, some says it's not.

This movie is said to be about a priest who was charged with

negligent homicide when he said that what he is doing is

exorcism.

These, for me are the scariest films I have seen. How about you? What are the scariest films you have seen?

*all images used are from google images*

My Apprentice

Two Sundays ago my whole family went on a grocery shopping. After that we all decided to eat our snacks within the the grocery area. While we were eating a common friend of mine and Francis, who is a girl, passed by. Gentleman my husband is, he greeted our friend. After he greeted her Amaya pulled her tatay's collar with matching pandidilat ng mga mata. I told her that the person is a friend. She replied with a: NO! Hahahahaha!!! There goes my apprentice....

Quote no. 19

Stop and appreciate what you have today.

Look at what you have with wide eyes,

Maybe with more compassion and more gratitude

For the things that you do have and

Not the things you don't have.

- Michael Imperioli

My New BFF

I have discussed in my previous blog about my BFFs in the entire universe. But I wanted to make this blog for my new found friend named Rachel Roxas-Yapchiongco. She is the wife of Jules, my husband's barkada. Let's just say that we have differences like she could speak english so fluently, she went to exclusive schools. I could say a typical KOLEHIYALA (I hope she will not be mad after reading the last description, *wink*) On my part, I could speak english but not that fluently, I attended private-catholic school and most of all not-so-typical kolehiyala. I could be jologs sometimes and speak gay lingo.

But we clicked. Maybe at first we were not that at ease PA with each other but what I am impressed the most is that she tried to reach out to me and my husband. And as I got to know her, she is to befriend, hindi siya ma-ere. I, on the other hand, impressed her when she saw the scrapbook of my wedding and the things my eldest daughter received during her baptismal. Now we have something in common, we both love doing DIY projects. hehehe!

When she became a mother herself, I believe our friendship went beyond the typical friendship. Since we are both mothers already, there are times that what we talked about are our respective children. She is one good hell of a mother ( I could prove that) and wife as well. Rachel was the one who inspired and introduced me to the world I am beginning to enjoy, BLOGGING.

Lately, we have been tweeting a lot, minsan may sense but most of the time WALA. Lately, i really laughed at her tweets, kasi super aliw. And in my tweets that she have seen how feisty I am as a wife. (*wink*)

We may have our respective BFFs but in this stage of my life, I would love to have another

BFF in my list, and that name would be Rachel's.

that's Rachel (in yellow blouse) my new BFF....

Quote no. 18

Waste no tears over

the

grieves of yesterday

- Euripides

Best of the Best

Last weekend my daughters and I had a movie marathon here at the house watching High School Musical, all of them actually. Watching it over again brings back high school memories. Where I had my first crush and where I have met my high school buddies. And I could say that up to now we are still in touch with each other.

My high school friends are my friends who knows me inside out. It is with them that I could be myself or rather I could let my hair down without any judgement from them. I consider them my MOST CLOSEST FRIENDS in the entire universe. We may have our own lives to live now but I know that every time we see each other the connection is still there even if no words are to be said.

my high school buddies when Vec went home last year.

Maureen (in black), Vec (in orange shirt), & Cielo (in white)

my high school buddies when Shella (in black) went home

this year.

So to my BFFs (BEST FRIENDS FOREVER): Cielo Bernabe, Veronica de Ramos, Shella Llave and Maureen Silan, I love you guys and thanks for being my BFFs after all these years. I can't wait for December to come because this time we will be seeing each other again...

Tom Cruise: The Ultimate Crush

It is time for my Wednesday's Top 5. This week it is all about my ultimate crush: TOM CRUISE. Aminin readers, one time or another you had a crush on this guy, way even the likes of Brad Pitt, Will Smith, George Clooney, Sam Milby and Piolo Pascual came along. As my eldest daughter puts it: Grabe! Mommy ang gwapo pa din niya.

So here are my TOP 5 TOM CRUISE movies:

1. TOP GUN - Who would ever forget Maverick and those cool Ray Ban Aviators plus the song

You've Lost That Loving Feeling. Any body who would see Tom Cruise in this movie will

definitely have this reaction: OMG!!!

2. A FEW GOOD MEN -

Lt. Kaffee: " I want the truth!"

Col. Jessep: "You can't handle the truth!"

This is the very scene that I like in this film and the very reason why I love watching this.

Although Jack Nicholson is the arch-enemy in the movie I still love how he delivered his

lines especially the court room scene.

3. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE(1, 2, & 3) - Ethan Hunt. A name one will never forget when

speaking of M.I. plus all the actions packed in every movie. Actually on December

Ethan Hunt will be back and I can't hardly wait to see him in action. Again.

4. JERRY MAGUIRE - "You complete me". I am sure a lot of men and boys have used this

this line a thousand times over. I love how the movie tackle the life of the sport

agent Jerry, his friendship with his client Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding

Jr.) and how he realized in the end how he REALLY love Dorothy (played by

Renee Zellweger)

5. RAIN MAN - It's about two brothers played by Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, who is

autistic in the said film. It is a journey for both brothers that started in an

unsentimental journey but in the end they connected.

How about you, what is/are your favorite Tom Cruise film?

*all images are from google*

On Being Asthamtic

Lately the weather has been changing, as if it's a girl who can't make up her mind, whether to be rainy, cold or super hot. I have asthma and one of the things I hate is every time the weather changes. Pag summer, I want to go somewhere na cool ang weather pero pag sobrang lamig naman I'm having trouble breathing naman, if it is too cold I could hear my own wheezing sound. Some of you reading this might be wondering, eh san ka ba lulugar? Well that's the problem of having asthma. Below is what my pulmonologist gave me. It is quite expensive but because of my 50% off card I am able to buy it half the price. hehehe! Right now I am kinda okay but I make sure that my inhaler is within my reach in case I have an attack.

*photo is from google images*

A Poem made by Arielle

Last Sunday night my eldest daughter was making a poem for her assignment in English. She was having difficulty in finding words that rhyme. So for every word she thinks of she asks me what word rhyme with what. She allowed me to read the "rough draft" and I am so proud of what she had made.

The above poem was the rough draft and I would like to share it with all of you. Then yesterday she showed me what score her teacher gave her. It's a perfect 10. The teacher even encouraged her to submit the poem she made to the school newspaper. I am so proud of my Ate Arielle. Below is the picture with the score her teacher gave her...

Weekend Spent at Nuvali

Last October 15th, my whole family went to Nuvali. Before we directly went to Nuvali, we stopped by Solenad 2. There were a few stores opened already. We actually bought a pair of shoes for Francis and Amaya at the newly opened Payless in Solenad 2. Aside from Payless there were Army Navy, Aldo, and others. After shopping for the shoes, we ate at Brothers Burgers. We were so lucky because the burger is on a 50% off and that was from 2:00-6:00 p.m. Lucky us. Hahaha! After eating we went around the Tianggian there. We bought 2 blouses for my daughters for 250.00 pesos each. And then my daughter Joie and I came about to this pastry stall. From the free taste of their chocolate cake, we fell in love with it. Hahaha!

this cake is sold for 95.00 but it is super worth it....

After we went around the tianggian we had a long walk around Nuvali. It was a very loooong walk but we had a freat time. Going here is heaven for me and my family. It is an alternative place from going to the usual malls and playing there.

my girls are starting the loooong walk.....

these are my girls: Ate Joie (in yellow), Ate Arielle (in white) and Amaya (in a sundress), these are our (Francis and I) treasures in the entire universe.

that's my loving hubby Francis and Me.....

Happy Sunday

Just to make a short post. Yesterday my family had a blast when we went to Nuvali but I will post few pics and the story tomorrow. But for today, my kids and I will be going on our grocery shopping since tomorrow will be back to school for them. Need to buy foods that will be good for a week or two. hehehe! Until tomorrow...

And to those who give their precious time in reading my blog and at the same time leave comments, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!! I really appreciate it so much and that it inspires me more to blog and think topics that most could relate to. :D

Mommy's Favorite Products

Since I have been a fan of her blog, Mommy Journey, I would like to answer her topic for this week, Mommy's Favorite products and I have a lot of favorites. Since I am a stay at home mom I will do this according to their usage.

1. TOILETRIES - Head and Shoulders for me and my husband; Johnson's baby shampoo for the kids; Nivea soap for Amaya and Safeguard for the rest of the family. Nivea deodorant for me and my daughters while Rexona for my hubby.

2. FOR HOUSEHOLD CLEANING MATERIALS - Joy dish washing; Ariel detergent powder and Tide bar for laundry; Downy for the fabric conditioner; Zonrox, Lysol, and Domex for cleaning of the house and bathroom.

3. FOOD & DRINKS - Purefoods hotdog, Spam, Purefoods chicken nuggets, Nestea iced tea, Del Monte pineapple juice.

Well I guess these are what I really use and buy when I go do my grocery shopping.

Does Everyone Have to Know?

There are days when everybody thinks you're fine even when you're really not. There are days when you just want to be alone and yet you can't probably because you're busy attending to the needs of your family, busy with work and that sometimes you forget yourself.

There are days when you just want to be alone, just by yourself. Gather your thoughts. Think things over. Reflect on every decisions you have made and just think, and nobody has to know.

There are those days when you just want to sit and cry your heart out. When things and problems arise that sometimes it is too much to handle already. For me it is okay to cry and pour your heart out. And no one has to know.

There are days when you just want to keep everything to yourself and be quiet.

And NO ONE HAS TO KNOW....

Quote no. 17

Great things are not done

by impulse,

BUT by a sense of small things

Brought together.

- Vincent Van Gogh

MY Top 5: Julia Roberts' Movies

It is that time of the week again. Time for my Top 5 and this time it's all about one of my favorite Hollywood actress, Julia Roberts and my favorite movies she starred in.

1. Pretty Woman - one of those classic movies that launched Julia Roberts' career as on of

A-List Actresses in Hollywood. A modern-fairy tale. The one scene that really stuck in my head when talking about this film is that when she went to Rodeo Drive wearing her "cheap looking outfit" while going on a shopping spree. She went to this store to shop but she was looked down

and turned down by the staff of the store. After a while she came back to the same store and she wasn't recognized anymore due to her very chic outfit. She told them that they made a HUGE MISTAKE of turning her away.

2. Mona Lisa Smiles - I love this movie. Julia Roberts plays a teacher trying to make a

difference in the lives of her students. She wants them to realize that after college they could have a career and not just become HOUSEWIVES who are just waiting for their husbands. They could be both, a career woman and a good wife.

3. My Best Friend's Wedding - If I remember it right, I watched this movie with Francis,

my boyfriend then. This movie made me cry. I love the part where she lent her theme song with her guy best friend to him and his wife as a wedding present.

4. Notting Hill - Who could ever forget the line: "After all. I'm just a girl standing in front

a boy asking him to love her." Imagine a successful actress asking an ordinary guy to love her. I know it's that kind of fairy tale movie, but hey we need to watch this kind of feel good movie, even once in a while.

5. Erin Brockovich - I love this film because it is all about a single mother of three trying

to make a living so that she could give her kids a life that is comfortable even if she is having a difficult time juggling time as a clerk in a firm and of being a mother. I love the character's being so feisty and her love to the people involve in the case.

How about you, what is your favorite Julia Roberts film?

*the images uploaded here are from Google images*