Thursday, April 29, 2010

Organizing socks and underwear

I watched Martha Stewart Show this morning and it made me inspired to clean our room. Don't make me wrong, I clean our room but of course I most of the time schedule cleaning our room. But after watching Marthe Stewart Show, I immediately went in our room and cleaned our fridge, hubby's closet and did the laundry.
I watched how Martha organized her closet and that is what I did to my hubby's closet too. Here is a pic of the before and after of his closet.

Hubby loves buying white socks. Since all his socks won't fit in his closet, I threw the old ones (and underwear) so that everything will fit in it hehe. I use to fold his socks and underwear in a different way but I learned a much better way of organizing underwear and socks thru Martha's Show. Yeah, my hubby's closet was messy (I think most guys are like that) but I am happy how organized it is now. And hubby doesn't mess up his closet anymore whenever he needs to get his socks and underwear in this kind of arrangement.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

It's my BIRTHDAY!!!!

I am so happy today! I woke up this morning and I saw 70+ birthday greetings on my Facebook Wall. I was touched because I was remembered by my family, relatives and friends. My family in the Philippines also called me and they all spoke to me. My nephew in the Philippines sang Happy Birthday song to me. Aww! that was so sweet. My family back there also celebrated my birthday. They bought cake, ube ice cream and they cooked pansit for me. Isn't that sweet that they celebrated my birthday even though I wasn't there?
Here in the US, we had simple celebration. Hubby bought cake and we had porkchops, mac and cheese, potatoes and beans for dinner. I am also happy because he gave me Topaz earrings with diamonds to match with the bracelet he gave me last Valentines :D

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Custom Labels

Last night, hubby came home from work and he said that he stopped by at the store to buy baby foods. When he got home, he was carrying this bucket-like-thing. I asked him " What is that?" he said "This is for the baby." I stopped what I was doing and looked at it. I read the Custom Label and it says "Wash Pod".

I never heard of Wash Pod before so I looked closely on it. I saw a picture of a baby in the wash pod and that gave me an idea right away on what is the use of this Wash Pod. I immediately imagined our baby inside that thing and it made me smile. I told myself "Oh! our baby will look so cute in it" hehe. I also so saw a caution sign at the back of it. It says "Children can fall into baths and drown in very shallow water". So I only put enough water that the baby will use, enough wherein he would not drown himself and of course, I would never leave my baby unattended to avoid drowning.

Reading Custom Labels are good. It tell us warnings, cautions, instructions and labels right away. Sometimes we don't even need to read the instruction manual because it is already said in the custom label. Custom labels are actually a big help in the industrial business and in the military. They give hazardous warnings, instructions and danger signs.

Our baby was really happy with the wash pod that hubby bought. I actually thought that that wash pod is a waste of money since the baby has a bath tub already. But seeing my baby all smiling and playing with water is a very happy sight to see :)

Why?! Why?! Why?!

I accidentally broke my Pilates :( Why is it now that I am enjoying exercising, my pilates got broken :(

I lost 1 lb. after 4 days or doing pilates and proper diet. I was so happy because I felt lighter and much better. I know it is only a pound but seriously, I am feeling much better now. Now that i can't use the pilates, I am going to buy a new one. I am thinking of buying a different kind of pilates or maybe I'll just buy those instructional dance videos that will tone my abs and thighs.

I am really eager to get back in shape so I am doing everything I can to lose 6 more pounds. I am happy that my hubby is cooperative with me but he said that he don't want me to lose too much weight. I asked him last night if he still loves me in spite of my stretch marks and some fat. He said that he is loves me more and more everyday because I gave birth to a wonderful baby so those marks and weight gain has nothing to do with him losing his love for me :)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Boats for Sale

Summer is coming pretty soon so me and my family are thinking of some activities to do this summer. My idea is for us to go swimming in a beach resort or lake and they all agreed. My hubby is planning of boating too. He said it'll be fun specially that I haven't experienced boating my entire life hehe.

My hubby had a boat but we sold it because we want a new one so I decided to browse the internet and typed boat for sale. I saw lots of nice boats that I like but of course I don't know much about boats so I asked hubby on what are the things to consider in buying a boat. He said that the boat should have a good trolling motors specially if we are buying used boat. The electronics of the boat should be in good condition too and it should have not too big/small storage for our rods. Another thing to consider is the price. We are actually looking for a boat that will fit our budget.

I can't wait on summer and ride on our new boat! Ok, I need to research now on boat buying tips. Oh! I am so excited!

Monday, April 19, 2010

I will get back in shape and this time, I MEAN IT!!!

I always get depress every time I see myself on the mirror because of my body shape. I was only 123-125 lbs. before I got pregnant. And after I gave birth, I weight 132-134 lbs. I seriously not happy with my weight and shape now so I decided to have good diet plan and do some exercise. I avoid fatty foods and chocolates. I lessen the sugar that I am eating. More fruits and veggies for me. And I do 40 mins of Pilates once a day.

I started doing Pilates last Friday and it made my whole body sore specially my arms the next day. That is because my whole body has not been exercised that well for a very long time LOL! Saturday afternoon, I mowed our yard even though my arms were sore from the exercise I had. That was the first time I learned how to mow our yard. I did it because I want to sweat more to lose more weight hehe. I was glad to learn how to mow though.

This afternoon, I did Pilates again in the living room and it was funny because my nephew (5 yrs. old) and niece (3 yrs. old) who saw me doing Pilates was imitating me lol! They stopped imitating me after they caught me looking at them. They got shy that is why they stopped. Kids are really cute, they like mimicking things.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Philippine 2010 Election

I asked my Filipina friends if it is possible for us (Filipinas here in the US) to vote this coming Philippine May 2010 Election. They said that I better contact the nearest Philippine Consulate Office in our area. So I called Philippine Consular in Chicago and inquired about my concern. The Filipino guy who answered the phone told me that I am already late for the registration of Absentee Voters. I asked on when was the last date of the registration, he said "The last date of registration was Aug of last year on all Philippine Consulate here in the US". He also said that they already posted the list of registered voters here in the US in their website and all the official ballots were already sent to them.

I wish I knew about this registration earlier so I'll be able to cast my vote on this coming election.
Lesson learned? I should always be up to date on the current news in the Philippines.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Life Insurance

I always see and hear accidents happening around the world on TV and newspapers. What I meant by accidents is car accident that can cause death. Few months ago, I heard a news from a friend of a mine about a Filipina who just arrived here in the US that died because of a tragic car accident. It was pretty sad. I don't know her personally but she is one of my friends in an online website. I still felt bad about what happened to her.

Last night, hubby and I talked about of getting Life Insurance. I thought about of getting it because sometimes we don't know on when is our "time". I don't like discussing things like this but we have to face the reality that life is so short. And when my "time" comes, I want to leave something for my family. I am looking for life insurance that has best rates with good policy. An insurance where I can get free quotation from a reputable company.

The accidents and life threatening news that I hear everyday on TV woke me up and made me realize that we have to make our best everyday and spend our day to the fullest. Also, I realized that we have to prepare our future. It's true that we can't avoid death but when the "time" comes I hope that I'd still be able to help my family.

First Birthday Card this year

I was surprised the other day when I opened my mail and it was a birthday card for me. I already forgot that my birthday is pretty soon til I got that mail LOL! At first I thought it was a birthday invitation to somebody's birthday party lol! I guess I was (actually still) busy with random stuff that I already forgot that it is already April but you know what? I remembered to greet my Aunt's birthday last 5th and I am looking forward on my friend's and cousin's birthday this month and I can't believe that forgot my own birthday hahaha! I just want to have a simple birthday. Maybe hubby and I with the baby will dine out or maybe will just go in the mall to stroll or maybe spend day in the park. I don't know, but right now what's on my mind is that I am thankful for ALL the blessings that I had for the past year and I am also thankful that I had another wonderful year. I am hoping for more and more and more and more years with my hubby and our baby. They are my life and joy :)

This is the card that I got from Shirley and Cathy (my boss) whom I worked with at the hospital where I volunteered. Ain't it sweet that they remembered my birthday even though I am not working there anymore? :)

Friday, April 9, 2010

San Francisco Hotels

A friend of mine invited me, hubby and lil Zac to visit her and her family in San Francisco. We are planning to go to SF sometime next month. It is my friend's birthday next month so I guess it is a perfect time to visit her and see her once again. The last time we saw each other was when we were still in the Philippines.

I asked her on what are the suggested hotels in San Francisco. She gave me several hotels where we could stay for a week. Truly that there are lots of nice hotels there in SF but what I am really looking for is a decent and an affordable hotel. In my opinion, I would rather spend the money I have in exploring the place than in expensive hotels. What I mean is, there are nice, clean and elegant hotels with decent prices so why would I spend my money to expensive rooms? She suggested cheap Fishermans Wharf Hotels. My friend highly recommend me this hotel because one of her friend already stayed in there and her friend liked the place. I asked her to give me information about things to do in San Francisco at Fishermans Wharf. She said that we could Bay Cruise, dine out, shop and there are lots of attractions to see.

I browsed the internet and it seems like Fishermans Wharf is a pretty decent hotel and the price of their rooms can sustain my budget hehe. I am sure that I won't get bored because of the things that we can do there. I am really considering this hotel on our trip to San Francisco next month and I am hoping to have fun with my friend and her family.

Poreotix is the ABDC Season 5 Champion

Hoorraayy! Their ABD (Asian Booty Disease LOL!) Rocked on the stage and they got the trophy and title of America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 Champion. I am so happy for them!

Last night I watched the show and I was nervous and excited to know on who will win the game. Poreotix and Blue Print Cru are both good group of dancers. The game last night was like Asian Vs. Canadian hehe. Blue Print Cru are good dancers too that is why I was nervous wreck last night because I want Poreotix to win. I think another reason why Poreotix won is because of their sense of humour that can be seen on their dance steps and their charisma to the audience. I can say that they are also creative and innovative in dancing. I also noticed that they did their best on every performances they did every week.

Woohooo! My votes wasn't wasted LOL! This is their Champ performance.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Labradoodle

Our dog got loose last month and we can't find her no more :( She is half labrador and half retriever. We are thinking its either she was caught by the dog catcher or someone took her and they are taking care of her now. Right now, we are thinking of having another dog as part of our family. I love dogs since I was a kid. We always have dog/s since I was little so now that our black dog is gone, I want to have a new one.

We are thinking of having Labradoodle. It is cross between labrador and poodle. Why do we want that breed? It says on Animal Planet that Labrador dogs are very loyal and Poodles are the smartest dog plus they are both kids friendly. Those are qualities that we are looking for a dog so I think that that breed is the best in our family. Specifically, I want F1B labradoodle. Do you wanna know the F1B labradoodle definition? F1B Labradoodle are the labradoodles backcrossed to a poodle. Are labradoodle hypoallergenic dogs? Studies says that they are hypoallergenic but we need to be aware that there is no dog that is allergy safe to everybody.

I really want to have a labradoodle dog because I find this breed suitable in our lifestyle plus I like how they look like. Oh! I can't wait to have another dog. This is what labradoodle dog look like.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Awesome Stones

We went to this nearby store where they sell different kinds of stones, gem stones and rocks. Before we go inside the store, we were welcomed by these huge rocks. They have blue, violet, maroon and green. I tried to lift one of them but oh my! It was freaking heavy so I wasn't able to lift it. Here are some of the pictures I have taken.
Violet Stones

Blue Stones

Maroon Stones

Before getting there I thought I'll get bored because my dad-in-law said that what I'll see inside are rocks. I told myself "Eh! rocks?" LOL! But I got giddy getting inside just right after I saw those colorful rocks outside the store. Inside the store, I can't count how many kinds of rocks and stones were there. All of them are gorgeous with different sizes, shapes, colors and designs. There were jewelry that was carved in gems and necklaces, ring and earrings with gemstone as pendants. There were also home decors made out of rocks. And also, you can buy tools with instructions on how to carve and design rocks and gems. But what really caught my attention was a fossil of a sea dinosaur. I forgot the name of that dinosaur as it was a looong name but there is one thing I remembered about it. It is EXPENSIVE LOL!

I wish I was able to take more pics of the rocks and gems inside the store to share here but the battery of my digicam got low battery (which was a bummer!) so I wasn't able to take pics :(

Monday, April 5, 2010

Christian the Lion

I watched Animal Planet yesterday and once again, I watched the story of Christian the Lion. This is a true to life story of a lion that was bought by 2 men in a pet store in London. Back then, it was legal to have a wild pet. They took care of him when he was a cub til he gets 1 yr old and on the other hand Christian treated them as his own parents. They set him free in Africa because he can no longer live in the city of London because of his size and of course we all know that he is STILL an "animal". After a year of being in Africa, Christian was visited by the men who took care of him. For unbelievable reason, Christian still remembered them and their reunion was a very heart warming one.

I can't believe that a wild animal like Christian has a very soft and gentle heart. This story proves that a beast could still have a heart. I know that this story is all over the internet but I wanna share this story for those people who haven't heard this beautiful story. I cry every time I watch the video.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Friday here in the US

In the Philippines, we abstain eating meat during holy week specially from Maundy Thursday til Black Saturday. Most of the stores and malls are also closed during those days. Most of the TV channels are off and if ever there is a channel on, what you can watch are Holy Week special shows. You can hear some people singing "pasyon" from almost all the churches and chapels. There is also Passion play called "senakulo" wherein some people will self-flagellate and some would even voluntarily nail themselves on the cross like what Jesus did. There are some people that visits numerous churches which is called "bisita iglesia" to pray.

According to Wiki, about 90% of the religion in the Philippines is Christian and 80% of that is Roman Catholic. Yeah, that is how big the population of Catholic in the Philippines that is why you can really feel the Holy Week.

Here in the US, I can barely feel the Holy Week. Holy Week feels like an ordinary day unlike in the Philippines which is it important religious festival. But in fairness, I like Easter Sunday here compare in the Philippines.