Saturday Saved #1: Becoming Pro @ Painting

This weekend is the second posting to date of Windy's "Saturday Saved- The Best for Last" Meme and it's my first time joining. Yehey! My post is going to be a showcase of talents of this young niece of mine; I hope you're interested to read about her. I just think she deserves my pride and joy; thus, I find her worth telling the whole world and she definitely has a spot in this blog of mine! ;-)

Meet Shai-shai.

She is my half-Japanese niece, only seven years old, and yet, with talents boosting within her, waiting to be enhanced, developed, and nurtured with the help and support from everybody around her. I would like to think that she's just a typical 7-year-old girl, a homebuddy most of the times which is a bit different from all other kids her age. However, I can tell her talents and skills are not that ordinary compared to many children of the same age like her. She was born in Philippines and grew there until she turned six so basically, she had the typical Filipino lifestyle that our family are accustomed to. It was June last year when she started her Japanese living so counting the months that've passed, she's only lived in Japan for a year now. Her Japanese dad is the most industrious man I've known and her mom who is my elder sister is the humblest and kindest soul on earth! They just belong to those average talented men on earth but it's fascinating to see their child that far exceeds our expectation. With that being said, I'll have to say that Shai-shai is a huge reason of our pride.

She started to become fascinated with music and musical instruments way back her toddler stage and I am so good at recalling all of her antics because I served as her mom during those years. She's been singing at church ever since she could talk and fantastically memorized the lines and words of the hymns and children's songs just by listening to the tapes and our live singing. I am glad she continued such act when she moved to Japan a year ago. Now, she's part of their school band playing piannica and xylophone. She is into piano lessons as well. Remember, she's only seven years old, but she's already a second grader. (Un)fortunately, she became so fluent to Japanese language now and has very little left of our own Visayan dialect. Too bad, yes. I won't fail to mention as well how responsible this kid of ours is. She is never a headache to her parents, a source of envy to my sister's friends in their place right now because she's just too different behavior-wise.

We don't expect her to excel in the areas she's fond of as we don't force her to learn since she is still too young and way advanced in their class, but she's showing us just what's beyond expected of her. I feel like I am always seeing her daily achievements because there is never a day that we don't communicate through e-mails, texts, and phone calls so I am never left behind. My sister knows how much I love Shai-shai, thus, she always sees to it that I get to know every single detail about her.

One recent discovery that the parents have found out about her: her talent in drawing and painting. One night, my sister discovered pages of papers under her daughter's bed sheets crumpled but neatly piled together and when she looked at them, she was so surprised to see drawings on those papers of cartoons and Japanese animes which apparently Shai-shai is so fond of watching. When Yaya (my sister) asked Shai-shai who painted them, Shai-shai anxiously answered she did. And it was unbelievable on Yaya's part because she never saw Shai-shai draws or writes during her leisure time. When the mom asked Shai-shai to show her that it was indeed her who made it, Shai-shai then got some papers and draw, impromptu. I couldn't believe either what Yaya has been telling me because they described her drawings as very nice and truly unbelievable. Of course, she's only 7 so I didn't expect that I would be able to see such drawings as good-looking as these that I got below.

See how it's neatly done? HAH. I couldn't even draw a head! lol

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And look at that! Shai-shai said they're what she loves watching.

And here are a couple more!

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See those? (You can double click on the images to see it in large view.)

Hmm... I think my pride has reasons, don't you think? When Yaya told me she's got to mail these drawings to me so I can see them in reality, I have been counting the days to come by fast because I couldn't wait to see them all. When the EMS finally arrived, I got the surprise of my life as well. And here, I scanned them for sharing so I hope you don't mind. Even swithart, an engineer and a painter himself got so amazed. You see, Shai-shai didn't learn this in school. She said she could draw something just by imagining the subject and I find it too unbelievable. I really hope this talent of hers will remain in her until she grows big.

I am one proud Auntie, can you tell? :-)

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Our Task is On!!!

...to search for a house or an apartment to live in the next two years at least, that is!

Since we are just going to rent, finding an apartment is the easiest way, but since going for an apartment comes with a lot of policies and terms that a renter is subject to, I find it inconvenient and therefore, a house/home for rent, if there is available for us, would be the first option. We are looking for a 2-bedroom dwelling, the bathroom could be just single or double, it doesn't matter. So if you're around Portage County in Wisconsin or you know some place in there that you might recommend, do drop me a note and it would really be appreciated. ;-)

Actually, our real task is going to happen this coming Thursday until Sunday. We are driving up North come Thursday and when we get to Stevens Point, we'll start our search right away. It should be exciting and fun, but definitely tiring and stressful if I may add. But oh well, the joy of starting a new living, right?

So you could guess this blog is going to be a bit idle in the coming days. My busy days up north will be taking place and I am not sure if I'll ever get a time to log online, maybe through my cell phone only. One more thing, come Saturday is 4th of July so while America celebrates Independence Day, my small family will be celebrating our daughter's 3rd birthday as well and since we are in Stevens Point that day, it should be a fun time! I don't plan for a grand celebration at all. It's Sabbath anyway so it's more than perfect for a thanksgiving. We'll see what we can come up by then! I'll post pics if you say so! ;-)

Accident!!!

Please be advised to be extra courageous in taking a look at the photo I have below!

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Oh no, it's NOT us.

The beat reporter in me just happened to liven up one midday as soon as the 911 emergency vehicles were fastly following us and swithart has to make way for them. Just moments later, the cars in front of us halted and the heavy traffic started. After some 15 minutes I think of being stuck, we were able to accelerate again and found out that just a couple hundred feet from where we stopped, this was what took place. A white pick-up truck and a green auto (which I haven't captured; didn't looked like the one I've pictured, just went through the shoulders and bumped the concrete fence of the bulding) running in opposite direction smashed each other. (Of course I took this shot in a running mode since we couldn't stop in the middle of the road just to "click" my shutter!) Everybody was like, OH NO!!! And then, I found out later that day in our afternoon local news that this truck's driver died on the spot!

This kind of scenario truly teaches us many things about driving. Drive slow is one. Drive carefully is another. Don't drink and drive is one more thing. I can go on and on. And you can utter the same thing and more, too. But it comes out into this: life is short and precious to ruin it by not driving safely.

And more than anything else, I realized that I still have the heart of being a media practitioner after all. A beat or field reported at that! LOL

The Latest Cryo-Cell Promo

I didn't have the budget to store my own child's cord blood when I gave birth three years ago. If I were to choose, I wouldn't hesitate giving the gift of cryo-cell stem cell preservation to my own self because even then, when I was still pregnant, I already realized how huge and worthwhile an investment I am going to make should I store my baby's cord blood. Our main concern during that time was to give birth safely and soundly because we didn't want to go through something that required or demanded much expenses, but on my next pregnancy, I and the husband have talked about gifting ourselves the gift of Cryo-Cell.

Not only here in the US, but worldwide, there have been over 12,000 umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants that occurred and all those came with a hope that over 75 different diseases could be treated should medical experts and scientists be able to arrive at a scientific breakthrough. With that, I am very hopeful especially that cord blood stem cells are 100% match for the infant donor and 1 in 4 match for a sibling, according to cryo-cell.com!

These days, I know of several friends who are currently pregnant and to all of those upcoming moms (be it second time or first time moms), I only have one question for you: Are you thinking of storing your baby's cord blood? If you are, then know this further: there is a special discount for expectant families to store their baby's cord blood. Just but using the promo code HOT until Sunday 6/28/09, families can save $725 on Cryo-Cell's U-Cord service. It's a once in a lifetime offer so I hope you can grab this opportunity to invest in a life saving gift. You may check out the current offers page and update yourself with their latest offering. Cryo-cell has more accreditations than any other private cord blood bank so that should give you a hint for a smart way cord blood banking service.

It's Weekend and I'm Loving it!!!

I always look forward to weekends and the seventh-day of the week is one of the reasons why I do so. It has been a hot, humid, and busy week here and I am glad to have done so many packing ups around. That only means I am getting more and more ready for our upcoming move to Wisconsin. Just a few more weeks left and off we'll leave this place. There are so many things and people to miss but life awaits us up there so we'll take it. Did I mention it's going to be a tough start? Oh well, I guess every beginning is crowded with difficulties and our independence is no different at all. Financially, we are lacking but I am hopeful that we will make it through. After all, we don't need much, just enough to keep us going and though I dread to face the burdens that lie ahead, swithart and I think we will make it together with God's help.

Also, our daughter's upcoming 3rd birthday is fast approaching. Come July 4th, she'll turn three and it's just amazingly remarkable. She is doing excellent and we are always grateful for God's providence and guidance. We will be in Wisconsin on that day so our 4th of July will be celebrated there. Thank God for a very generous and kind donor, a UWSP professor (who is going to be swithart's colleague) who offered us her condo unit so we don't have to pay for hotel accommodation on our 5-day-stay there while we'll find for a place to live. See? God is good to send us good people around us. She's just one of the many I'm telling you.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some photos of our Father's Day weekend last week. This is a very late sharing time, I know. I am blameworthy for always procrastinating with sorting out the photos I got and sometimes, I regret getting myself a 12MP digicam loaded for 4GB memory card, but of course, the advantages of it all are countless. I am just glad that I got to finished doing the slideshow for my family and friends to enjoy. (If you aren't one of those who'll have fun looking at us, just don't mind the following shots then!) He he he. Here it is anyway!

There you go! I hope you like it and I wish you all a great and safe weekend! Keep a smile... God loves you!

So, You Want to Be a Geisha?

What was your halloween costume last year? Do you recall how you looked like? Were you believable enough with your costume? Well, that's what my niece-in-law Cyndi was trying to portray when she was looking for her halloween party costume and just because of the absence of boots to match her outfit, she thought everything was screwed up. The thing is, the mom didn't want to spend too much on just a costume that's only going to be worn once, thus, she hesitated buying the boots. And just because of that, Cyndi's halloween time became unhallowed. LOL

I think it's just alright to tell you all about sexy halloween party costumes that offer looks of fun and excitement at affordable prices. Have you known netpinky.com? They've got the largest selection of party costumes and right now, they're giving away 40% off on all of their sexy adult costumes. How about going international like this?

Well, I am thinking this is perfect for my niece-in-law who prefers going unique in every party costume-wise. It is a Cherry Blossom Geisha Sexy Costume and I can tell this will certainly be a preferred outfit of Cyndi. Yay, I wonder if she won't get excited to see this. I'm sure she will. So check out the site people to get yourselves party costumes at a lower price. It always pays to buy early as prices are not that high yet so I hope my links are of help. ;-)

Tag Your Friends at Facebook

There's the Farmtown, the YoVille, the Pet Society, and so much more invites that I got from Facebook friends and to tell you the truth, I've never accepted one. The reason? Simply because I don't have the time to hang around at those applications and give my eyes a task which can just make them worse. So to all of those Facebook friends who sent me invites, I am sorry if you haven't seen me there. The truth is, I have ignored your requests. BUT, the latest application that I discovered which is Tagyourfriend I think is irresistible. Why do I say so? Because I found myself adding the App in my account and started tagging my friends. Ha ha. Maybe you want to try it for yourself! I'm telling you, it's a great way to interact with your real and virtual friends. After all, isn't that the reason why we stay connected-- to interact with friends? You should see it!

A Tag and an Award in One

I'll give a break to all of my somewhat personal posts. But somehow, this, too shall be a personal post, only that this is about the Using Only One Word tag that Race has passed on me and about an Over the Top Award that Star has given me. YAY. Makes me one fab blogger! LOL This is actually a good option while I still am sorting out the photos I got from the Father's Day weekend we've had which I ought to share right here. For now, off with this tag!

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

But really? Okay, here's my take!

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Your hair? Shiny
3. Your mother? Caring
4. Your father? Sleeping (in the grave)
5. Your favorite food? Spaghetti
6. Your dream last night? Loan (LOL. Even in dreams I'm thinking of money matters! Haha)
7. Your favorite drink? H2O
8. Your dream/goal? Heaven
9. What room you are in? Living
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Snake. Ewww!!!
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Missionfield
13. Where were you last night? Bed, snoring! LOL
14. Something that you aren’t? Greedy
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? House
17. Where you grew up? Mindanao
18. Last thing you did? Napped
19. What are you wearing? (Of course) Clothes (LOL)
20. Your TV? Old
21. Your pets? None
22. Friends? Lots
23. Your life? Fulfilling
24. Your mood? Joyful
25. Missing someone? Shai-shai
26. Car? Caravan
27. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
28. Your favorite store? Wal-mart (Save Money. Live Better. LOL)
29. Your favorite color? White
30. When was the last time you laughed? Moments ago
31. Last time you cried? Forgotten
32. Who will resend this? (Supposedly) Me
33. One place that I go to over and over? Store
34. One person who emails me regularly? Anamae
35. My favorite place to eat? Kitchen (LOL)

Okay, so it's not that easy as I thought, huh! Ha ha. Thanks Race for breaking my monotonous thoughts! Anyone finds this a fun thing to do? Go ahead and try it yourself! I'm not passing this to particular people, just grab this if you want!

And now for the award. Star of A Maiden's Testimony thinks this blog of mine is Over the Top! Accordingly, this blog has an exceptional design and content with new knowledge presented, with a sense of style, or at times just giving the readers a smile! Well, whatever that means, I thank you Star! Bow!!!

And because I've thought of several blogs who gave me those chilling descriptions, I've got to pass this Over the Top Award then to the following:

Anne's My Virtual Diary
Gleen's A peek Into My Life and My Thoughts
Juliana of Juliana's Lair
Kero of Kero's Celebration
Leomar of Leomar's Den
Redlan of Redlan's Web of Arts
Enchie's Sweet Nothings
Windy of Windmill on the Hill
DorothyL of Women's Self-Esteem Blog
Lainy of Lainy's Musings
Ritchelle's Mummy's Bestfriend
In-in's Whatever Comes to my Mind
Shawie's A Grateful Heart

Go ahead guys! I sincerely pass this award to your respective blogs because I thought you've got the Over the Top Blogs! I hope you like it! ^-^

Family Friendly Events this Summer

Summertime means a whole lot of outdoor activities, right? Well, it's what I am accustomed to ever since I've lived here in the place with four seasons all through the year. Back in Philippines, I can feel that it's always summertime since it's tropic in there and therefore, we could go out anytime we wanted to and head somewhere for a fun escapade. Well, definitely not here in this part of the world where I am because winter season demands a time for indoor activities and most often than not, even fall and spring seasons as well, when the temperature refuses to rise.

And because it's now summer, then what?

Well, if you are a parent like me, I bet the kids in your house are asking for swimming, biking, game time, and more activities outside. Now how about if I'll tell you that you can find daily family friendly activities in your neighborhood and in the nearby towns where you live all through the summer? How so? Simply through ParentsConnect.com! Check out this widget below:

By typing your city and state or zip, you'll be given the list of all the events that are happening near you, perfect enough to let your children's boredom go away because the events are somewhat catered to kids of particular ages so it should be fun for the entire family!

I've just talked with a fellow mom a couple days ago and she's been complaining of her fifth grader daughter who keeps on asking her for a break from her reading classes and math tutorials this summer. I've told the mom about ParentsConnect.com and let her find cool and interesting activities for her daughter in lieu of those academic activities that her child finds to be burdensome at times and guess what, the mom was so thankful for the link because of her discovery: everyday family friendly activities here in town!

Check for those activities near your area by searching through the widget I have in the left side of this page!

Father's Day Thoughts

Just like the month of May when all mothers get to be pampered and treated with special Mother's Day thoughts, it is just right that the month of June will be for all fathers as well to celebrate the same amount of joy for being an equal parenting partner towards children. Come Sunday, all the fathers out there have the day to go out and enjoy and be proud to be dads! After all, not all husbands are that lucky to become fathers and therefore, being a dad makes the Father's Day truly meaningful.

Unfortunately, my own dad is one of the many who won't be able to especially celebrate Father's Day 2009. This will be his 11th year of not being able to hear or see me greet him on this very special day since he has been resting in the grave and waiting for the first resurrection morning for 11 years now. It's been so long, I know, but the memories are always fresh to reminisce and I am thankful that I've got wonderful times with him when he was still alive. I owe my Papa Jose big time, and he knew it then. He hasn't witnessed my life in the past 11 years but I hope that when the day comes for our great reunion, I'll have a lot to tell him that would give him pride and joy. There is no "Happy Father's Day", "Thank You for everything", "I love you, Pa" greetings to him for now (because I know he couldn't see or hear me [Ecc.9:5]), but, I've got memories of him to treasure and share with his grandchild and even with the short time that I got to spend with him (I was 15 years old when he died), those were wonderful memories. (I searched for a decent pic of him that I have with me here and I regret to realize that I only have two in my albums. This one I got here is him sporting his kindest smile, three years before his death.)

All my life, the people around me have always known my vent that my dad is one irreplaceable father. All of my siblings feel the same, too. And though I may never get to celebrate Father's Day with him until then, I am still at the happiest condition to greet the men (yes, there are many of 'em!!! LOL) in my life right now a wonderful and happy Father's Day! To my only brother (Kuya Lens), to all my brothers-in-law (Manong Bernie, Kuya Jojo, Kuya John, Kuya Rico, and Kuya Tom), to my father-in-law (Papa Nic), and of course, to my dearest and awesome husband (my swithart, my co-Truster of Our Love) who fathered my child (LOL):

Have a wonderful time as you celebrate your day as fathers!

And Happy, happy Father's Day to all dads out there!!! Stay blessed for being a father!

There are 5 Blu Prizes for you!!!

Are you interested to win any of these five available prizes that itsabluworld.com has for everybody? Their main product is BluFrog, a healthy energy drink which is so perfect for the summertime to quench your thirst away but no, you don't need to make a purchase in order to win. Here, take a look at these amazing five prizes that you have the chance to win before knowing the contest rules:

Which one is your greatest want, huh? Well, Happy Blu-Year New York is my desire, simply because I have been longing to spend the new year holiday in the Big Apple! My sister-in-law has experienced it twice already and each time, she always brags how awesome it is! Hopefully I'll make it, especially that my sister and her family from Japan are planning to spend their New Year here with us so it would be an excellent getaway, don't you think? Hehe... Now for the contest rule, I'm sure you can't wait to know it, so here, I'll let you decide what to do after picking one of those five great prizes!

First of all, a contestant should be a legal US resident and should be at least 18 years old to make him/her eligible. And then, check out the contest page, post a comment, or tweet about the contest if you're a Twitter, or share this huge contest in your blog posts if you're a blogger! Well, I just did, and I hope I'll be officially in! :-) Meanwhile, I urge you to check out the official contest rules and from there, you can start joining the contest! Hurry up and good luck!

Is this a wild daisy?

Tell me about it! This is another post for my Spring Find Series and this time, I am featuring a shot of this yellow flower in our lawn around here, one of the very first plants to grow and bloom when spring season starts. So, what do you call this?

I've googled about this but I haven't found the name. Swithart is so sure to call this Wild Daisy and I think he's right when I have to consider the leaves because the leaves sure looked like those of Daisies. But it got multiple petals like Chrysanthemum so I'm thinking calling this Wild Chrysanthemum would do, too. I hope you will spare me your thoughts! ;-)

Related Posts:
See Green (Spring Find 1)
Red Tulip: Spring Find ii

Charter's 60 Mbps High Speed is UltraFast!

How fast is your internet connection? Are you using high-speed DSL or dial-up? Are you contented with the service you're getting? How about a 60 Mbps high-speed connection, would you take it? HAH. Check out the Ultra60 Information Page and learn more of Charter Communication's UltraFast Ultra60 new Charter High-Speed® Internet! I think it's the fastest internet yet, ever, so with such speed, you can be sure of a thrilling internet experience! YAY on the fast streaming of online movies then, a thing which I have been complaining about every time I watched online videos of the news back home and I always experienced a lot of buffers!

Thing is, the people around St. Louis area have been experiencing this Ultra60 Mbps as it is where such product is currently available so you bet their gaming, movies, telecommuting with mega-files and so much stuff come so easy and quick with such super high speed! The good thing though is that Ultra60 will be rolled out to other areas throughout 2009 and beyond so you might want to call today to check for special offers in your area; see if Charter works in your location! Charter’s Twitter Feed is also available for all Twitters out there!

Ahh... I am just thrilled to know that Charter Communications is available in the place where we are moving to next month. I've been inquiring them about the packages and bundles they're offering and I think I'm settled with one of their products! Hurray to this Phatband speed that only Charter has!

Awardee Me!!! Thanks Windy!

Big time procrastinator I am, no doubt about that! I've got quite a few tasks online but I've always managed to leave then undone, blame it on how slacker I have become these past few days. Well, there are so many things offline that I need to do and it's just a good feeling to see some accomplishments at the end of the day (read: packed stuff for our upcoming move). I've got writing opps gone, some posts drafted and left unpublished, but these awards that Windy of Windmill on the Hill has bestowed on me, these I don't want to forget mentioning without sharing these here, especially that these two awards are awesome!

See? Windy thought that my blog is lovely! Whoa, sweet!

And what's more, I got the this award that any blogger would love to receive!



Hmmm... I don't think I've got the best blog, nevertheless, I am truly honored to be awarded by the brilliant man Windy whose blog posts are all worth reading! Thanks a lot Windmill on the Hill for the inclusion of my blog in your list! This has been truly appreciated!

Now...
The Awards came with these Rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I shall, however, pass on the rule number 2 right now (read: busy, busy, busy as a bee!) but I will try my very best to do it as soon as I could find time!

Dinovite Makes Doggie Daisy Lucky!

Introducing Daisy, my older sister's doggie!

I have been very vocal here in my blogs about how close I am to my older sister whom I adoringly call "Yaya". We differ in so many aspects in life but those differences made us stick even more and more closer to each other, despite the distance. One of our differences that is worth mentioning is Daisy the doggie! Yes, Yaya is one of the several members in our family who is so much into pets, particularly puppies/dogs and fish! Fortunately though, most of our nieces and nephews have the same likes, so you bet Yaya loved them even more! And while they are very much into pets, I am the exact opposite of them. The reason? I got traumatized by a dog bite when I was young. Yes, I was only 5 years old, if I remember it right, when one of our four puppies bit me. It was rabies-free though since my parents have them injected by anti-rabies shot. But still, it left me not liking dogs up to now. Such a pity, I know.

But I do adore cute puppies though! Especially dogs that still look like puppies, even when they're already old. Like Daisy, Yaya's doggie who seemed to look like unreal! You see, that pet of hers is just like human I should say, considering that she smells so good and behaves so well! But more than anything else, I should say she is one lucky doggie because Yaya sees to it that she'll stay healthy by using Dinovite products! When I learned how much Yaya is spending for her pets (she's got two puppies and a couple more aquarium of fishes), I was overwhelmed. Well, the pets are just like their second children next to their only one real daughter so I don't blame them for such care!

Aren't they worth emulating? Oh well, if you've got pets yourselves, especially dogs, you should check out dinovite.com, if you haven't yet! They've got steps to a healthy and happy pet which I bet what you will like to happen to your own so it's worth checking out. The main problem accordingly for dogs is either the itching and scratching, excessive shedding, the sores and hot spots, and the one which I hate the most: the stink! So if your dog has any of these symptoms, then I should say Dinovite's solutions center is waiting for you!

Great Weekend We've Had!!!

I've posted last Friday that we are gonna have a full weekend ahead, and sure enough, our Saturday and Sunday was a blast! I've mentioned how we will spend the remaining days here in Twin City, Illinois before we'll move up to Wisconsin next month and though I didn't especially mentioned every exact activity that we're gonna do, one thing's for sure, we will have days of fun and enjoyment and that's what all that matter! I still have a lot of packing and cleaning up to do around here, but our coming days, especially weekends are already full and scheduled ahead of time. Come weekend, it's going to be a trip to Galesburg to be at the campmeeting over at Camp Akita and I can't wait, not only to spend the time with my loves but to be blessed as well.

Last Saturday was Sabbath and our time at church was truly a wonderful one. We had potluck and I brought several dishes (don't worry, I won't be showing 'em here) and it was when some of the sentimental moments took place. That was actually when most of our church family expressed their sadness towards the fact that we will be leaving them soon and because we were at the potluck, they said they're going to miss the Filipino vegetarian dishes that they've only got to have eaten from me. They were happy for us, but they wished we wouldn't have to go. Unfortunately, we still have to. And oh... I can't wait for the send-off party that they're gonna be throwing for us. It's still next month, but I'm already excited for the drama. LOL

On the same level of weekend of fun and enjoyment, yesterday, I planned of going to the zoo with swithart and Triz to celebrate Father's Day, however, I realized Father's Day will not be until next Sunday, so I was thinking oh so wrong about my schedule. The better thing was that we had a party to go to yesterday afternoon and off we went to Myrna's place to have another set of a blast meeting and getting together with fellow Filipinos that were so amazingly hilarious! Oh yes, no doubt we had a great time, and thank God for our precious daughter Triz's presence: she became the darling of the crowd!

^_^

Well, that was because there was no other children in the party! LOL Most of the attendees we've only met for the first time since we were not really party goers so I didn't mind clicking my camera at all; instead, we chatted like there was no tomorrow. Of course, we indulged on the yummy foodies that the host has prepared. (I didn't care photographing the table though because there were dishes that we didn't take part with.; read: lechon, etc. LOL) There were splits and divisions of guests though since there were those who drunk, smoked, and played outdoors, and because our attendance was intended to just chat with friends, we chose to stay inside the living room and chatted endlessly. Overall, it was so great to see everybody and Triz did such an amazing job for lasting several hours (from 4pm to 9:30pm) without getting fussy, even a bit, inspite of the fact that there were no playmates and no toys to play with (but my cellphone) and everybody complimented her for such an unbelievable attitude. When the guests started to leave, it was time for us (closed friends) to belt out songs via MagicSing and yep, that made our night!

Here are some photos worth sharing:

Well, those are just few since I didn't use my camera much, but I'm waiting for the uploads from friends who were there. It will be fun to watch those hilarious moments we've made. The unfortunate part was, we got home at 10pm and we weren't able to watch the Lakers brought home the NBA Champion title during their Game 5! Ha ha ha! It's okay though, I am not a Lakers fan but I am happy for them! I still believe they deserve their win!!! :-)

The Lasting Bond Between Moms and Children

We were out to enjoy a birthday party which was a great time to get together with our fellow Filipino friends here in our place yesterday afternoon and I was thankful to have our precious daughter with us. You see, our child was the only kid in the party and you bet she was the darling of the crowd, reason why I am grateful to have a child now when I go out and socialize because the attention will not be centered on us adults, but on kids. Everybody just wanted to hold her and even if I sound to be really bragging here, I still will have to say that everybody found our Triz to be a doll and several of them asked if they could borrow her for a day or a night of sleepover at their place. No kidding really, and this Aunt who met Triz for the first time asked me and the dad if we could lend Triz to her for a day or night.

Tita (Aunt) Mehl and Triz

She said it's just her and her husband in their house as their two children are already grownups and they would love to have sleepover at their place, thus, she was really serious with how she asked us to borrow our daughter. I thought and said, "Sure, I could let her sleep over at your place BUT... I'm not sure if either of us could make it through the night without each other." Ha ha. The fact is, ever since she was born, there was never a night when we didn't sleep beside each other, not one. And even until now, we still have that bonding that even Triz's dadi finds to be so unbelievable. It is true, I can't imagine my life without my child, especially now that she is still young. I think I can let go eventually, but for now, I am not ready yet.

And then comes this desire that all moms have toward their children: to give the best protection that they could have as long as they live. And how's that possible? Well, C'elle does wonders. This stem cell preservation found in women's menstrual blood is only available for women. How lucky we moms are, then! C'elle benefits will enable us moms to be there for our children even in the future, when medical experts can use our stored stem cells in their scientific breakthrough towards finding cure to those major diseases like Alzheimer's, cancer, arthritis, leukemia, etc., that our future generation might inherit. Do check out celle.com for the pricing and for more information about stem cell preservation. It will be worth your time.

As for me, I'll continue to enjoy my child's company while she's around me. The bond that moms and children have are pretty unique, and it won't be long till our kids will grow and live on their own, so while they're young, it's best to to cherish what the present offers while thinking ahead of what best we could give them in the future.

Choosing a Web Host for my Blogs

There are two things that caused my desire to start blogging a little less than a couple years ago. First, to continue doing the thing that I love doing ever since which is writing and second, to earn a fair amount of money while doing number one. True enough, after almost two years now, I've successfully achieved those two. It's more than worth it because the second reason which I've mentioned actually made me earn not just a fair amount of money, but to say the least, the amount is actually bigger than that. But that was before though when I was enjoying a good number of page rank; when my web host didn't become a factor yet for the advertisers to consider my sites.

Yes, the choice for a web host provider. It plays a huge part in one's blogging career, especially when one blogs for money.

You see, around last month of last year, I got banned by a particular advertiser for a very simple reason: not the quality of my blog nor my writing skill, but simply because of my web host. That they simply do not accept the platform of my current web host any more and I was given no other reason but an option to change my web host if I want my ban be lifted. It sounded unfair at first, but when I learned the little pros and too many cons of my current web host provider, I understood the advertiser's ruling.

Now that I don't have any reason yet to stop my blogging career, I'm thinking to still take this online writing to the next level and once my contract with my current web host expires, I have a plan to switch to another web host provider, that that will give me the best that I need and I deserve as a blogger who maintains three sites. I am currently looking at webhostinggeeks.com and their feature of the top 10 web hosting sites reviewed and rated by users and experts alike plus the web hosting awards received by those featured web host providers and I think I am in the right page as far as my search for the best web host is concern. Disk Space and Bandwith and how to find its perfect balance-- it's one of the many things that I need to understand as well and I am thankful that I found an article of it at webhostinggeeks.com/blog.

If you are looking for the best web host for your sites, check out webhostinggeeks.com and compare the features and ratings first as well as read the reviews and you will be on your way to finding for the best that you need. Good luck!

Walk. And Enjoy Some More!!!

Our weekend's weather forecast around here is pretty much awesome, given the bright and sunny days which started today and until Sunday. That means, we will have a lot of time to spend outside, do a lot of fun things, take a break, and unnoticeably burn some calories. That is, walk, walk, and enjoy some more!!! T'wud be great, right?

(Just one of our afternoon walks at the nearby lake after our church time one Sabbath noon)

There are a lot of parks and lakes nearby to enjoy, especially that our little one is loving it most. The slides are her favorite, and on Sunday, we plan to head to the zoo which has waterparks just outside the animal sanctuary and it should be fun. There's just few more weeks left to enjoy this place before we'll move up to Wisconsin and the past weeks have given us a super hectic schedule offline. So while we're here, we'll try to do make the most of our days as much as we could! There are few short trips ahead, especially for the upcoming campmeeting next week and I can't wait for it. For now, I wish you all a wonderful and great weekend ahead! Keep safe and keep a smile!!! God loves you....
^_^

Get Your Business Done!!!

Do you know of any business experts called mavens? They are entrepreneurs, consultants, subject matter experts, and knowledge professionals who are highly qualified to answer your questions and accomplish your projects, and there are a lot of them at Mavenlink-- a complete online marketplace site with a touch of a very professional community, perfect enough to get your business done!

I actually just got to check out this site recently but I've heard about this sometime in the past when my MBA-degree-holder sister-in-law has once shared with us that one on her professors in the MBA program was a maven. Now that I learned how Mavenlink works, I realized how cool it is for my SIL to have such a huge advantage. I would expect her then to perform a great job business-wise since she has the source for any assistance she would need towards her entrepreneurial endeavor.

The good thing is, if you are into business, be it small or large-scale, you can sign up for FREE at mavenlink.com and start having access to a professional community which can help you get your business done with tools available for your projects to achieve progress.

I won't be able to fully explain this stuff but if you are into business, checking out mavenlink.com would be truly worth your time. It is like finding the perfect marketing strategy that you need to show off your business and your projects and with the right amount of time and money, getting the help that mavens can give you would truly be a good way and step to achieve business success. If you are a business professional yourself on the other hand, you've got a space at mavenlink.com as well to work and get compensated as one of their reliable and secure mavens! Got the skills? Head on to www.mavenlink.com now!

H1N1's Now to be Declared a Global Pandemic

UPDATED:

It has just happened. Today, June 11th 2009, The World Health Organization has just declared that SWINE FLU PANDEMIC HAS BEGUN. It is the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases. Checkout the latest news story about it! (Links are in this post.)

Did you know the latest of the Swine Flu Update? Well, as of 06:00 GMT, 10 June 2009, 74 countries have officially reported 27,737 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 141 deaths. And with such number, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now bracing to declare a swine flu pandemic!

Though most cases are mild and require no treatment accordingly, when the highest level in the pandemic alert scale has been reached (which is quite imminent as of this time), it will push drugmakers to fast-track production of a swine flu vaccine, which until now is still on the work. It's quite scary, and my pity is for the poor nations in the third world countries that don't have immediate access to hospitalizations and medical care. To mention, Philippines is one of those nations, and I dread the fact that the virus has been spreading in there.

The World Health Organization never fails to warn people about the virus and that we need not panic about it, but the fact that its spread is now UNSTOPPABLE, who isn't afraid of it?

(Click the map image for a larger view)

Scrubs for Nurses and Beyond

I've blogged about Scrubs magazine, a site which I frequent to as a source for awesome health tips and ideas for good living, and though it is mainly catered for nurses, I must say that all of the very informative posts and relevant information are not only for nurses but for everyone who has concerns about his own self and lifestyle. If you know of someone who is a nurse, you might want to let him know about scrubsmag.com!

Actually, I adore their fashion tips and style! For the summer season, Anita Bruzzese shared her idea of how to do vintage and still look fabulous and you can do it the smartest and cheapest way! Isn't that interesting? I remember our family friend Nini who is a nurse who used to live with us here, she is the picky type of a shopper and so her sense of fashion does go over-the-top but the price of her uniforms is that which I am not willing to spend. I know, I'm thrift, but I think as a nurse, it helps to be one since nurses tend to change uniforms per season. I'm not sure about it actually but Nini did tell me that the hospital where she works does follow such routine. Oh well, if you're interested to see the nurses' summer fashion at Scrubs, you can check out the links in this post!

Now how about this to spark your interest? Wake Up Looking Younger! "How could I do that?", you ask. Well, it sounds impossible, but the same writer I've mentioned above did share the secrets in doing so! She's actually got five secrets revealed in the article and I am so guilty of the number 3 secret which is to sleep right. Are you not? But wait, the 4th secret it to be kissable. Now that's a dream, right? I gotta ask the hubby if I am one! Ha ha. So, are you wondering what the other secrets are? Go ahead, check the article now! It's really interesting and it will be worth your time, promise!