First flower girl experience is a success

Just got back home from the wedding. I have to say, it was so much fun! What made it more successful was the fact that my 2-year old little princess walked solo during her entrance as a flower girl. She bravely "followed" me and didn't even throw a tantrum. All the other small children were chaperoned by their mom or dad so I'm really proud of my little girl.

Lots of photos to download. I'll probably be able to upload them here on Monday, as you all know, weekends are really hectic around my household. I just wanted to let you know that her first flower girl experience was a success.

By the way, right after her walk, before I can even say I'm proud of her, she hugged me and said "I'm so proud of you Mommy". :D Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

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I'm thankful for...

I think I wrote a post for what I'm thankful for last November during Thanksgiving. I'd rather not copy that post but maybe add more in to it.

I am thankful for:

1. My husband for being my friend. Thank you for sharing your big dreams with me. It inspires us more to work harder for our little princess. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, no ifs. Most of all, thank you for never failing to make me special no matter what little thing I did. Even folding clothes seem to make me feel special because you say I do it perfectly, just the right size, not too wide nor too narrow. THANK YOU.
2. My little Missy, God's perfect little gift. Having you in my life seems that I must have done something good with my life before you were born. God wouldn't have given me a baby as perfect and special as you if I was such a bad person. Thank you for never failing to surprise me. I'm actually afraid your vocabulary has far exceeded mine. Thank you for understanding me and my moods. At 2, you know just by looking at me what my mood is, and you always try to make me smile. Thank you for sharing your eyes. I see things now in a whole new perspective. Thank you for giving me love unconditionally. Thank you making my life have meaning.
3. My mother, siblings and in-laws for never failing to help and support me. 2010 has been problematic when it comes to the household but you were always willing to help. You sacrifice almost anything when I need you, sometimes even when I just want you around. Thanks for loving me. Thanks for loving my family.
4. My friends, especially Nicquee for introducing me to blogging. I am very thankful I learned about blogging last year. It has helped me release a lot of my emotions and thoughts without being judged by anyone. Plus, I learned to earn from it, even just a litte from the comfort of my home at my most convenient time. This means a lot because I am not sacrificing the time I spend with my little Missy. Thanks too to my dearest online friends, the original to current HML, BC Moms and Dads especially Wheng, Chi, Kim, Jon and Levie. Thanks to Glenda of Jazz Shoppe for everything I learned as was able to share.
5. My Pinay Mommy Bloggers Family. Although the group is fairly new, I have learned a lot about the workarounds of blogging. Thank you for your unselfish acts of kindness to us, the newbies. Thank you for answering our questions and providing feedback, comments and questions, without making us feel stupid. We really appreciate your help and friendship, and will hope that the friendship will last a lifetime. Thank you so much for your support, tips and domains :) Thank you Mommies Rubz, Pehpot, Fedhz, Kaye, Eihdra, Lulu, and Jenny. For all the other mom/wife/women bloggers, thank you so much for the laughs and extending your friendship too. Our group feed is my new news feed on FB.
   
6. God. All this is possible because of Him.

This is my offical entry to Mommy Rubz's Thanksgiving contest.

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Update on problem with Google Friend Connect Widget

Since the start of this week, I have been having problems with following other blogs through Google Friend Connect or GFC. Whenever I follow, I'm a nameless shadow meaning it doesn't show my picture/avatar/badge and my name. Because of my frustration, I wrote a blog about it (read Limitations of Google Friend Connect) and realized I'm not the only on experiencing the problem.

I initially thought it was a just a limitation. Since I'm following 598 blogs, I figured that must be it. But I was thinking that I'm sure a lot of other people follow more than I currently have. I quickly logged on to blogger to find help in their support pages and found this thread. This is where I saw that the problem seems to be worldwide. Because a lot of people reported that being a nameless shadow seems to be happening to them too, the problem has been escalated to google. Another thread was created (Problem Rollup) which asks more in-depth questions regarding how you login and follow, as well as ISPs, etc. According to when it was written, they had no idea how the problem started so they need all the details they can get to be able to trace/debug it.

I kind of feel ok now knowing I didn't screw something up, or that I maximized my blog "following" numbers but I sure hope they fix it right away. A friend has found a workaround on how to follow, using OpenID or using the Google Profile instead of the Blogger profile. I used that too for a couple of new blogs I'm following but I'm thinking I'll just wait it out. I just want to make sure that I see the new blogs in my reader and that I won't have any conflict between by Google and Blogger profiles.

So again, to all new bloggers/readers/followers, thanks in advance for following and rest assured, as soon as this is all fixed, I'll follow you right back.

If you're also having problems, hit up the links above so we can all help trace why this is happening.

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Being a Mommy as a career

Please do not mistake this post as a rant vs. mothers who have office jobs, or as a rant vs. husbands who earn a living. It's not. This is just my realization on Mommyhood.

This is my current Facebook status:
‎

-Do I work?
Yes. I work 24 hours a day.

-Why?
Because I'm a MOM. I am a cook, a cleaner, a parent, a teacher, a referee, a nanny, a nurse, a handyman, a maid, a security officer, a photographer, a counselor, a comforter, etc. I don't get holidays, sick pay or any days off. I work through the DAY and NIGHT. I am on call at ALL hours. Tell me your job is harder than mine. Post if you're proud being a MOM.

A couple of months ago, I also read something about If being a Mommy was a paid job we'd earn one of the, if not the, highest salaries.

I definitely agree to them both. Being a full-time Mommy is not an easy task. When I was younger and had no family of my own, I took for granted everything my mother did. I took for granted her cooking, her cleaning, how she does the laundry, her budgeting skills, everything.

Now that I have a family of my own, I realize it's such a difficult job, and you always do them simultaneously! Now I understand the saying that their "Children are the center of the universe" or that "Family comes first".

I'm not complaining though. I love seeing my little Missy so happy. I love playing with her, reading to/with her, watching cartoons with her. I also love it when her Daddy comes home and says that he loves the smell of what I've cooked and is all excited for dinner. I love it when he tells me about his day and asks me what I think about this and that. I love my life.

I do know though that I still have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to cleaning. Around here we always have helpers for cleaning but now that I do it all alone, I find it so hard to clean the house and keep everything organized. I know I'll learn. I know it'll take time, but I will.

This post is dedicated to all mothers, or husbands who stay at home and live the mother role. From the bottom of my heart, I am so proud of you and know that you are appreciated.



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Bus ride fright

Just read about another bus explosion incident in Makati.  The bomb exploded just before Buendia along Edsa. 

As soon as I read this, I thought about my sister who commutes to and from work.  She works somewhere in Global City but rides the bus along Edsa to go home.  I got a call from her then she hung up as soon as I answered.  I frantically redialled and was so glad she was ok.  Her shift ended after the explosion so she was safe.  The only downside is the super slow traffic everywhere else. 

A couple of years ago another incident of bus bombing was reported and someone from my workplace was one of the survivors.  He had injuries in his face that until now reminds him of that tragedy.

Now I'm even more thankful that I'm a stay-at-home mom.  I just hope that all our loved ones will always be safe.  I hope something is done about this for the security of commuters everywhere.  Imagine riding a bus and praying for life, hoping that THAT bus won't be the end of it all.

Please join in me in prayers for the 4 who were slain and the 14 who are injured.

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Calling for her Mama

At 2:30am, I posted my status on Facebook as "Can't sleep :( wants to watch Burn Notice." but I think I fell asleep after 30 minutes of tossing and turning (and snoring in the room).  A little before 4am I awoke because of a repeating sound outside.

Our neighbor has a teen or a young "adult" daughter.  She must have missed her curfew because she has been calling, shouting, yelling (yes, yelling!) Ma (for Mama I suppose) for over an hour.  An hour, and that was only starting from the time I woke up.  What if she had been yelling even before that!

I immediately recalled an instance at home.  My sister had her rebellious stage and would come home at wee hours in the morning or sometimes even at 5am.  She had this stage of just wanting to party, drink, and smoke with her friends.  My Mama and Tatang would always remind her in the morning that it's not proper for girls to stay out that late and all the other dangers of being outside during those hours, but they never really made any difference to her.

One time, my mother got tired of it and closed all the doors and gate by 3am.  My sister arrived at the house at around 4 maybe, climbed up the gate and kept knocking on our front and side door.  I knew my mom was up.  I knew she could hear my sister knocking, quietly calling out for someone to open the door.  My sister would even go around the house and call us from our windows.  My mother gave instructions to our helpers and to me NOT to open the doors.

Left with no choice, my sister slept in the garage... on the floor, with our dogs.  Our dogs are not in-house dogs, mind you.  They just stay in the garage as guard dogs.  I think my mother got up at 6am and saw her uncomfortably sleeping on the steps with our dogs surrounding her. She didn't wake her either, she let my sister wake up on her own and realize that we all saw her like that.

I believe that was the last time my sister stayed out that late.  After that incident, she'd always call and say what time she'd be home so we can wait up for her.  If we can't wait up, she'd ask what time would be the latest that she could come home.  A hard way to learn her lesson, but my mother got it across.

When I became a mother I reminded my mother of that incident.  She confided that it was very, very hard for her when she did that but after months of my sister rebelling, she just didn't know what to do.  Although she and my sister were always at each others' throats during that stage, she had to stand her ground and not give in.  It seemed real harsh but it was the only way she could hold on to the "control".

Hearing the girl outside, I wonder if her mother was awake too all this time.  I wonder if this will be her last missed curfew.  I wonder if she can bear another instance of calling out for her Mama.  I hope she learned her lesson too.  It's 5:05am and I just stopped hearing her.  Either she fell asleep on the street or she was let in.  I hope it's the latter.

Have you had any similar experience?  Did you ever go through a rebellious stage?

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Another busy day

I love busy days! Well, as long as their with my family.

Had so much fun today. We went to daddy's office to check out the furniture. We also brought some computer stuff so they can start working on their projects. I love the design! Little Missy had so much fun writing on the walls! Yes, the walls. I'll show you pictures when the set up is complete.

I'm so in love with hubby's design. It doesn't look like at an office at all, which was what he really had in mind. He wanted a very homey, comfy, fun workplace. He believes it can encourage better performance out of people.

Then afterward we went to Bulacan to get a couple more computer stuff (servers). It was fun seeing an old friend again. I had fun watching him converse with my little one. I swear she can hold her own when it comes to conversations. I have to record one of those and share it with you. Sometimes I can't imagine she's just 2.

Okay, another long day tomorrow so I'm making this short. I do promise though to post pictures of the office soon!

How'd your weekend go? Anything special planned for the family?

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Limitations of Google Friend Connect

I was happily bloghopping and following blogs today when I noticed that my name and avatar were no longer showing. I thought it might be a glitch but when I checked and edited my profile, it was working fine.

So I tried to follow a blog through my profile/manage blogs followed page and got this error:

You are already following the maximum number of Blogs (300). Unfollow some other blogs first.

Okay, that's not cool. I don't want to unfollow any blog. My dashboard said I was following 598 blogs already. I can't believe that GFC has set a limit on how many you can follow. I'm trying to learn more about this because I want to follow more blogs.

For those that will follow me from today onwards, don't worry, I still have a couple of other accounts associated with my other blogs so you'll definitely see me as one of your GFC followers.

Have you encountered this error? Have you found a workaround? Unbelievable that there are limitations to Google Friend Connect, right?

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Growing up too soon

We just got back (about an hour ago) from little Missy's first fitting. She'll be a flower girl 2 Saturdays from now and it's her first time.

As soon as I saw the dress, I knew she'd look beautiful in it (of course every Mommy knows that), but I also knew what was wrong with it. It was too long.

A part of me wanted to believe that it was just too long, that the couturier kept it long in case of adjustments. But a part of me also didn't want to believe it could have been that long because it meant she grew up fast on me.

When she tried it on, she didn't look like a baby anymore. She wasn't my snuggly bunny. She already turned into a beautiful little girl. I felt that pang I always read about in books. More so when she started shying away, knowing everyone was looking at her.

Oh well... I knew this would happen but I didn't think it was sooner rather than later. I told the couturier to cut off 3 inches to make sure she wouldn't trip on her dress. I'd rather expose her ankles and shoes that do a long gownish sort of thing then have her fall during her walk. So, we'll be back there on Saturday and hopefully I don't forget to take pictures (again).

As a parent, have you ever felt this sad but happy feeling knowing your kid/s are growing up too soon?

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Google today

I haven't been blogging much since the holidays but this new image from the Google page made me so curious.  It's amazing how they find these stuff!

Apparently, it's Paul Cézanne's 172nd Birthday.  Due to my curiosity, I saw some of his works and found them interesting.  I'm not really into art so "interesting" is good.

Glad to know Google gives tribute to icons such as him.  Happy birthday Paul Cézanne. :D

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WBFC Week 2

It's the second week of the Weekend Blog Follower Caravan. I'm guilty of not being able to make a post last week but this time, I'll make up for it.

To all those coming from this linky, and are new to my blog, a big WELCOME! To my friends who have already followed and are just coming to visit, WELCOME to you too and thanks for making time to visit me.

Through this linky, I hope to meet other mom bloggers around the world but if you're not a mom blogger, I'd love to meet you to and know more about you. I'd love to know where your passion from blogging stems from, and what keeps you going.

I'll be celebrating my blogoversary soon and I admit, it was a tough year for me to keep up with the posts, but slowly I know I'll get the hang of it. After all, I'm having fun because I've met a lot of good friends because of blogging.

So, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to follow back. If you followed me last week and I neglected to follow you, please leave me a comment too. I do try to the best I can to follow everyone, especially those that follow this blog.

For now, have a good day/night and hope you all have a happy weekend!

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Another Pinay joins Spiderman in Broadway

Another Fil-Am makes it to Broadway! TV Carpio (yep, her name is TV) joins the cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in Broadway. She will be playing the role of Arachne, a mythical character who was responsible for the Spidey suit.

Although there have been a lot of accidents on the set since their rehearsals began, it's definitely a blessing for TV to be cast as Arachne since it's a major role. She was previously set to play Miss Arrow but was "promoted" when another Fil-am Natalie Mendoza, who originally plays Arachne, was injured during the first preview of the show.

Get well soon to Natalie and Congrats for being the original cast. For now, Congratulations too to TV for bagging the role. How I wish I could travel to the US to watch them perform. I love watching theater shows and hope that soon, I can also let Little Missy enjoy it with me.

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New logo for Starbucks

I just read this news from Yahoo that Starbucks will be launching their new logo in March. Apparently they've already achieved their goal for name-branding that they opted to leave out their name and just go with the green and white sea nymph.

I was amazed to know that they've only gone through 4 logos in 4 decades (1971, 1987, 1992 and 2011). Most companies change logos every couple of years or so until they hit the "right" one. They will be launching their new logo in March to coincide with their 40th Anniversary.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo News!

Coincidentally, through the same article, I also (yep, just now) learned that Starbucks also owns Seattle's Best Coffee. They acquired SBC but Starbucks still let them run their own show. Kudos to Starbucks.

They also own my other favorite drink, Tazo Tea. It seems we have the same taste. *wink Although I've never really been a Starbucks fan, except when I try and complete the stickers of their planner, I'm now loving them because of their Mint Tea. For other Frappy drinks, I prefer SBC or CBTL.

Do you like their new logo? What do you think is their connection with the Sea Nymph?

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Meralco Cut-back

I don't normally watch TV while Little Missy is up, but last night since she slept early, I decided to flick through the local news channel. Lo and behold, good news is splattered across the screen.

Meralco (local electric company) will be cutting back their charges this month. That's good news since every penny saved is important. Whatever could be saved can be spent on something else like a kilo or two of rice. Anyway, I hurriedly grabbed my phone to take a quick photo as evidence of the report.


Senior citizens will also get an additional 5% discount on their electricity bill as long as the account is under their name. Sad news for my mom, she'll be a Senior Citizen next year :(


Any good news received this early? Did you hear about this news too?


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Happy Birthday to my not-so-little Bro!

My brother turned 17 yesterday. Tomorrow, January 6th, he would have spent 16 years with us exactly.

Yes, he's a year late. It's because he's special, he's adopted. His mother wasn't ready to care for him at 17 when she gave birth to him 17 years ago. We always thought somehow she'd find her way back to him but she never did. There were a lot of stories of her trying to find him, but for me, they're all stories.

My mother is still staying in the same house where they talked about giving him up. My mother still has the same circle of friends that she can ask on how to get in touch with us. For me, his birth mother just gave up.

Ironic that my brother is now the same age as when his mother gave birth to him. But somehow, my brother is centuries ahead of his time in terms of maturity. We never hid the fact that he's adopted, we didn't even change his name. All these challenges and experiences seems to have made him so strong and mature, but love-wise, ahhh... that's another matter. In that field, he's just the regular 17 year old.

Thank you Bro for the wonderful 16 years you've shared with us. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for accepting us. Always remember that we love you so much, no matter what.

Happy, happy 17th Birthday!!

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It's all about the Apple

It's time to unlearn and go back to the basics.

Daddy came home yesterday with what he thinks is a great surprise, a MacBook Pro. I was surprised alright, and although I've been wanting to try one for so long, I've been feeling a bit edgy about it. Why? Read on.

Daddy had it on standby when I opened it. As soon as I lifted the screen, I saw a couple of windows open. I hate that. So... I looked for the minimize, maximize and close icons on the right. It wasn't there. I also couldn't do my regular Alt+tab to see which and how many windows are open. That doesn't work too. It was a good 5 minutes before I realized that the red, yellow, and green buttons on the top left were the icons I was looking for. I left it at that for the night and slept.

The next day (today), Daddy asked if I was enjoying my time with it. I said I still wasn't using it much. Later on in the day though, when Little Missy took a nap, I used it again. I find it more easier to use now and I'm liking that it's portable. I worked beside Little Missy while she was sleeping. I didn't have to go to the PC and turn my back on her. Also, I'm loving the keyboard since they're not too close together. It makes typing a lot better.

I know I still have a lot to learn on how to use it. I just try not to like it too much because after all, I will still go back to my trusted old PC after this Mac has been loaned. I feel a lot different about it now and will continue to save up for it because I personally think it will be a better choice, especially since I have an apple Phone too.

Nowadays, I know it's all about the Apple. The company sets trends and innovations on the latest technology. But for me, it's just not just about joining the hype. It's about what's convenient and efficient, both with use and cost.

Have you ever tried using a Mac? How was your experience with it?

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Welcome 2011

Welcome 2011!

I hope this year will be as, if not more, fruitful than the last. I've learned a lot from the past year, and started a lot of new things in my life, one being blogging and earning online. I haven't really shared much about my earnings, my time just doesn't permit me but maybe I can work on a routine this year.

On December 31st, we check in at a hotel to save my mother and grandmother (and now daughter) from the perils of the pollutants caused by the fireworks. Around 5 to 7 years ago, my mother would always have Pneumonia right after New Year's and my grandmother would also have some kind of respiratory malfunction. This year, my grandmother didn't come with us. Her brother was supposed to spend New Year's with them so she let this one pass.

Aside from watching the fireworks outside, we also opened or TV to watch the Fireworks from all over the globe. We saw a lot of beautiful fireworks from the countries of Japan and Taiwan. This actually makes me think that maybe, next year or the year after, we can experience it a little more differently. Maybe we can travel to other countries and experience it first hand, their culture on how they look forward to the coming year, as well as how their Pyrotechnics are created differently from ours.

As early as now, I should start looking into costs for our International Travel Insurance and depending on the country we'd like to visit, also look into their Visitors Health Insurance. It would be amazing if we could all go see it for the first time since none of us has left the country yes.

So now that I'm planning for this, my first resolution for 2011 is to have our passports renewed and apply for new ones for Little Missy and my mother. Also, starting this month, I need to put aside a little of our earnings to go into our travel expenses. December is a very expensive month, with all the gifts to buy and all the things to see around the metro. Since most people have extended breaks during December too, it's just unavoidable to spend more than one normally does from January to November.

So... wish me luck, please? Thank you in advance.

How did you celebrate the New Year's? Did you do what you always do or did you try out something new?

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Happy Birthday Melay!

Today is the start of the New Year. I am dedicating another blog post on how we welcomed 2011, but for my first post, this is for my sister.

Happy, happy birthday Melay.
We love you so, so, soooooooooooo much!
Always be healthy, safe and happy.

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