Thursday, November 30, 2006

Wish Lists

I know it's nearing Christmas now and most of us getting to PANIC MODE. I promised Randy I was going to post the wish lists of the kids on my blog. Just so he can have ideas as to what will make them happy this Christmas.

So for those of you who haven't gotten the kids anything yet, here are several ideas for you to choose from. Hehehee. And please let me know what you've gotten so that I won't have to get them myself.

Calling on all Ninangs and Ninongs especially, I present to you The Kids' Wish Lists: (please click on the layout itself to read the lists more clearly)





I this these lists are a great remembrance of what the kids wanted at a certain age eh? I just wish I could have started this sooner!

Here's another one...just because its almost Christmas. Speaking of which, has NO ONE noticed my header?!??!?! How it's been changed to reflect the coming season?!?!?!? Sigh!

I hope this'll put a smile on your face:

Huh? Thanksgiving photos? Heheehe. Reserving that for tomorrow.

TTFN!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Thanksgiving Photos

You asked for it...you got it. Well, at least SOME photos. Keep in mind that these are non-Photoshop-ed pictures, hehehe. So the flash may be a bit bright here or there, may be lacking here or there, etc.

For today, I'm going to show off the SETTING of our wonderfully fabulous Thanksgiving celebration :)

Come inside the transformed formal living room....a hint of what awaits....


Here's a closer look at the back of our chairs....Very pretty so far, eh?


Yet another photo of the chairs, from a different angle. Forgive the artistic tendency of the photographers :) Mom --- do you even recognize the chairs and the living room? Hehehe.


Here's my place setting. Yes, we had the maids bring out the BEST China and silverware. Not to mention the wine glasses. And yes, the kids were very careful. NOTHING was broken during the night.


The cover of our Menus. But of COURSE we had menus! It was a formal affair, after all!


What did we eat? Funny you should ask..here's the INSIDE of our menu:


Here is Miss Stella putting the finishing touches on our lovely table:


An example of our whimsical place cards:

And last for today, a picture of our Photo Corner. Ever since Halloween, we decided to set up a place for photo opportunities. We'd take a corner or a small space and decorate it depending on the occasion we are currently celebrating. Stella and Randy did this; I was of no help at all because of my back. :(


That should be it for now. My back is KILLING me. Seriously. I have not been to work since the afternoon of Wednesday. I can barely stand; I cannot sit for more than 5 minutes. Too painful. It's a twisting kind of pain, shooting down from my butt to my ankle. Damn it, I think it's getting worse.

I'm praying and hoping that with the forced rest I am giving my damn back and leg, it WILL get better. Please include me in your prayers when you can!

TTFN!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Fantastically Fabulous!

Our Thanksgiving dinner, that is. EVERYTHING, as in EVERYTHING (!) was just perfectly yummy, perfectly fab! Seriously!

To our family in the States, it was really too bad you guys weren't here. You would all have enjoyed what we did. Ok ok ok, just so you know what I'm talking about, here's ONE layout I've gotten done so far about our wonderful night:

THANKSGIVING AMBIANCE
Credits will be linked when I've uploaded the layout to my galleries.

Can you even tell that that's our formal dining room at the bottom right photo? And Mom, of COURSE we brought out your BEST china and silverware! Hehehehe. We had so much fun using them, too!

Basically, our day went this way:

In the morning:
I went to the office to print out our Menu and our placecards.
Randy and Stella went to Dangwa to get flowers and other stuff to decorate the dining room with.
Rodney and Zhar went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for our appetizers.

I went to LaVista in the afternoon to see the dining room magically being transformed! Whoohoohoo! I will have some pics uploaded soon. Blogger isn't cooperating, and the pics are too large to upload anyhow. But TRUST me when I say that you would hardly recognize our old dining room.

Since we knew we were all going to be dressed formally, of COURSE we had to have a "photo corner". Stella fixed that up really really nice. We even had "spotlights" with some homemade "filters" i.e., cellophane, to enhance our pictures. Hehehe. Are we pros or what?

Before dinner, everyone came down fully dressed. The kids were unelievably behaved (for the most part) and we were able to take some nice photos of them and of us as a family. With 4 cameras clicking away, the probability of getting the perfect picture was high! *wink!*

Prayer was courtesy of Japa for the adults and Reese for the kids.

Then dinner. O.M.Goodness! I don't want to sound redundant, but everthing was PERFECT! Zhar and Rod's Cream of Pumkin Soup (made from scratch!!!) was delish! Yum, yum, yum!!! Then the delectable salad with walnuts and frozen grapes came next along with Zhar's Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Oh and YES, the kids at least tried everything, even the salad!

Yum, yum, yum!!! Then the Turkey was rolled in. Ahhhhh....our mouths were literally watering from anticipation! Hehehe. We were all clamoring for Turkey....and it was worth the wait, worth the expense! O.M.Gosh! Totally totally moist!!! Perfectly cooked. The only thing I didn't like? The stuffing. Ugh --- give me Tita San's wild rice concoction anytime! What we had was some sweet potato er....thingy. I didn't touch it.

Then the Prime Rib. Yum, yum, yum! For me, it was perfectly cooked: no blood oozing out whatsoever. AND it was still nice and tender! The boy were a bit turned off because there was NO blood, but they still ate it. And no Mom, we didn't have Melinda cook the entire thing. Just half. :)

Don't worry, we took pictures of EVERY COURSE we had! Hehehehe. Side dishes included rice (of course!), corn and mashed potatoes. Heavenly mashed potatoes, courtesy of Miss Martha Stewart herself. How'd we get it? Would you believe......ROD?!?!!? Ahhhhh....love knows no boundaries, hehehehe.

The mashed potaotes were super duper TASTY! Totally yummy! You just had to taste it to believe me! Butter, cream, garlic. All mixed in. Yum, yum, yum!

I am hoping the pics will do the food justice....coming soon, I promise! :)

{BACK DRAMA Chapter 100}

Yup. Same old thing. My leg has pretty much been killing me. A fact that I am proud of: I have been OFF pain killers for 2 whole weeks!!! Whoohoohoo for me!!!

However, silly me didn't know when to stop. I guess because I was feeling a lot better, with barely any pain down my leg, I was in the chair for at least 8 hours (at the office) Monday and Tuesday. This, of course, was enough to throw me into the the world of exploding PAIN again! Aaaaaargh!!!!

Thanksgiving was a nice break, but those damn high heels didn't do anything for my back though. Grrr.... And the morning I spent at the office? In a haze of pain since I couldn't sit for more than 5-10 minutes without having my muscles my bunch up in my leg. Needless to say, sitting in the car was pure torture!

At night, while lying down flat on my back, my leg throbs. Pounding. Painfully. With each breath. It's a wonder I get to sleep at all, for the pain. Maybe it's the stupid throbbing, but I've not been getting enough sleep...the past few days, I'd wake up in the wee hours of the morning after only about 4 hours of sleep. Don't know why. But it's frustrating: I know I need to catch up on sleep, but I don't get to catch any naps during the day either. :(

So the whole day Friday, I stayed home. For a major part of the day, I was either flat on my back or on my tummy. Legs stretched out. That was the ONLY position I was comfortable in. I had my laptop in front of me, so at least I was getting some Thanksgiving shopping done! :)

In the evening, I packed up and went to LaVista. We spent the night here because I had to SHOP online and the internet connection here is far more reliable. For reasons why, check out my other blog here. Hehehe. (that's called a PLUG, folks!)

More Thanksgiving tales and Black Friday buys to be posted tomorrow, along with some (hopefully!) pics.

TTFN!



Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It is now 2:07 am, Thursday, here in the Philippines. So a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you! I KNOW this is NOT a Philippine holiday, but so what! Thanksgiving is one of my absolut-est most-est favorite holiday! Ever! Hehehehe.

So for those of us left here --- we are going to be celebrating in S.T.Y.L.E! You'll just have to read about it later tonight or tomorrow. Oh wait, can't be tomorrow....I will be GLUED to my laptop trying to catch all the black friday sales going on!

Anyway, I have a lot to be thankful for:

1. Japa --- see, I put you first! hehehe
2. the kids
3. my parents
4. my brothers
5. my sisters in law, including the twins' girlfriends *wink!*
6. FAMILY --- you all know who you are! :) ----> you guys are just too many!
7. friends
8. my health (okay, except my back...but overall, I'm still in pretty good shape!)
9. my scrapbooking friends
10. my obsession....er, I mean hobby! hehehehe :)

Basic things, yes, but very dear to my heart. I usually have a gift for words, but to express thanks and appreciation for all that I have is just too difficult. Suffice it to say that this gratefulness comes directly from the heart.

He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart.
--- J.A. Shedd

Oh, I'm sure I've missed other basic things and people, so go ahead and let me know! Hehehe. If you do, and I agree with you, I'll come back here and edit your comment in!

{ A SCRAP}

SWEET SISTERS

Click on the layout of the girls to see the credits. If only they were always this smiley and NIC with each other ALL the time. Oh well, a Mama can always hope, eh?

{CUSTOMER DIS-SERVICE SAGA}

If you're here to read on the scandalous behavior of the people over at Smart Bro, visit the blog I created for that here. My letter is still there, but stay tuned for a continuation of this saga. It's not done yet! :) I've got some updates for all of you!

--------------------
Boydee and Dad left for the States this evening. Dad was funny --- although their flight wasn't until 10 pm, he was ready to leave by 430 pm! He was totally excited to go to Mom! Hehehe. So Ma, if you're reading this, make sure to give Dad a huge welcome hug! :) Ok fine, and a kiss, too!

Riley went with Dad to the airport. He was adamant that he was going to bring Lolo Boy to the airport. He was having an early dinner, and the poor boy was sleeping as he was chewing his food! He totally looked like a mini-Lolo Boy! Hahahahaha!

Okidoki, it is 240 in the MORNING. I've got tons to do for tomorrow .....er, today. So I bid you adieu, and I hope to post some pics later on!

TTFN!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It is now 2:07 am, Thursday, here in the Philippines. So a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you! I KNOW this is NOT a Philippine holiday, but so what! Thanksgiving is one of my absolut-est most-est favorite holiday! Ever! Hehehehe.

So for those of us left here --- we are going to be celebrating in S.T.Y.L.E! You'll just have to read about it later tonight or tomorrow. Oh wait, can't be tomorrow....I will be GLUED to my laptop trying to catch all the black friday sales going on!

Anyway, I have a lot to be thankful for:

1. Japa --- see, I put you first! hehehe
2. the kids
3. my parents
4. my brothers
5. my sisters in law, including the twins' girlfriends *wink!*
6. FAMILY --- you all know who you are! :) ----> you guys are just too many!
7. friends
8. my health (okay, except my back...but overall, I'm still in pretty good shape!)
9. my scrapbooking friends
10. my obsession....er, I mean hobby! hehehehe :)

Basic things, yes, but very dear to my heart. I usually have a gift for words, but to express thanks and appreciation for all that I have is just too difficult. Suffice it to say that this gratefulness comes directly from the heart.

He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart.
--- J.A. Shedd

Oh, I'm sure I've missed other basic things and people, so go ahead and let me know! Hehehe. If you do, and I agree with you, I'll come back here and edit your comment in!

{ A SCRAP}

SWEET SISTERS

Click on the layout of the girls to see the credits. If only they were always this smiley and NIC with each other ALL the time. Oh well, a Mama can always hope, eh?

{CUSTOMER DIS-SERVICE SAGA}

If you're here to read on the scandalous behavior of the people over at Smart Bro, visit the blog I created for that here. My letter is still there, but stay tuned for a continuation of this saga. It's not done yet! :) I've got some updates for all of you!

--------------------
Boydee and Dad left for the States this evening. Dad was funny --- although their flight wasn't until 10 pm, he was ready to leave by 430 pm! He was totally excited to go to Mom! Hehehe. So Ma, if you're reading this, make sure to give Dad a huge welcome hug! :) Ok fine, and a kiss, too!

Riley went with Dad to the airport. He was adamant that he was going to bring Lolo Boy to the airport. He was having an early dinner, and the poor boy was sleeping as he was chewing his food! He totally looked like a mini-Lolo Boy! Hahahahaha!

Okidoki, it is 240 in the MORNING. I've got tons to do for tomorrow .....er, today. So I bid you adieu, and I hope to post some pics later on!

TTFN!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The Scrapbooking SALES have Started!!!

To start us off, check out this ad from Katie the Scrapbook Lady:


Katie sells at A Cherry on Top. Click here or the ad itself for her shop. At the very least, go check out Katie's A Month of Memories Series. She thoroughly researches all possible events and holidays in a particular month and these are awesome jumpstarts to your journaling or even your layout!

====
I've been bookmarking every site I can think of in preparation for Black Friday, hehehe. I want my shopping to be ALL done when I get to the States! At least, that's the plan!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Blinkies and Scraps 2

This blinkie
is for my current stint at Scrappers Daily Dose. The CT, headed by the awesome and uber patient Dawn Webb, is a fun group of people. SDD doesn't have a store, so Dawn looks for monthly sponsors all over the digiscrapping world. I've worked with awesome, established designers as well as equally amazing, up and coming new designers.

We usually have 2 sponsors a month. We get anywhere from 2 to 4 kits per sponsor, and we plaster 3 layouts per sponsor all over the different galleries. It's a lot of fun.

Many many thanks to Karon, Dawn's sister, who recommended me for this spot! I will forever be grateful! :)

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}
THE HEADDRESS
Just click on the layout if you want to see the credits. I made this layout using Rina Kroes' fabulous Eastern Spice Kit. When I saw it, I just KNEW this picture of Zhar was perfect for it! And my vanity (hehehe) couldn't leave this without posting what Rina Kroes herself said about my layout!

Oh dear - I'm in trouble! I don't think there are many adjectives left to describe this page, Rona! LOL. "gorgeous beautiful fabulous luscious stunning vibrant wonderful amazing awesome great ..." Hmmmm, I think I'm going to add "dazzling, magnificent, splendid, brilliant, outstanding, marvelous, glamorous", but above all "vivacious and EXOTIC" ! I think it's that incredible photo that just makes this page pop, plus how you so creatively mixed the designs at the top. Add to that her beautiful name and it's just perfect. Thank you SO much for choosing my kit, Rona

Teeheehee! I just about died when I read what she wrote!!! Apparently, it was an eye-catching layout that it has 75 views to date!!! Whoa! Hehehe.

TTFN! ---> Just one layout folks! Otherwise, I'd run out of layouts....haven't scrapped in a couple of days. :)

Major Rant!

I've edited this to add that I have made a NEW BLOG specifically for people and companies who do not know the meaning of customer service. Check it out: Customer DIS-service or badbadcustomerservice. Read on :)

------------

I have got a hugely MAJOR rant to make about this company here who (attempts to) provide internet access.

The company? Smart Bro. Trust me. For those of you in the Philippines, or have relatives here even THINKING of getting a service provider, SCRATCH OUT Smart Bro. Why? I'll give you several reasons why.......read on......

Dear Miss (Wireless Operations Head):

I am writing to tell you of your Center’s deplorable “Customer Service”.

On several occasions --- too many to remember all the exact dates and times --- your customer service representatives have shown just how LACKING in training they are. They are courteous, yes, but they show no knowledge whatsoever of how to handle paying customers. They show no knowledge of what the current status of certain equipment (usually the bases/servers for the connection); they show no knowledge of inter-department procedures. If they have NO knowledge of these things, how in heaven’s name will they be able to answer the questions of clients?!?!

My “usual” call to 672-7277 (please note that I have actually memorized this number from sheer exasperation!) involves around the main fact that I keep getting the Smart Bro portal even while I am directly linked to the internet. My usual question is WHY??? Why do I get this infernal portal page when I am hardwired to the connection and NOT using my computer wireless capability?

And the usual answer I get goes something like this:

“Ma’am, please input the code shown on the screen” à as if I didn’t know how to read and follow the simple instructions! But ok, I’ve given your representative the benefit of the doubt several times. I know there is a script to follow.

“Ma’am, please restart your computer.” à what?!? Do they not know that to continually restart your computer/laptop is potentially damaging to the hard disk?!? Do they also not know that the screen shows the alternative of restarting either the router OR the computer? Why was I NEVER given this alternative?!?!

“Ma’am, have you paid your bill?” à now the reps are insulting my financial capabilities? Exasperating, I tell you!

But the ONE incident that stood out above the rest transpired sometime early October of this year, maybe October 4 or 5 if memory serves me well.

I had called the night before inquiring why I had had no connection for 4 to 5 days straight, with some instances of intermittent connection only. I was very understanding, willing to give your company some time to have your bases fixed because the whole country had just been hit by the storm, Milenyo. I had allowed for some technical difficulties because of this reason ONLY. Nothing else. Milenyo was a justifiable excuse I was prepared to be given.

The customer service/technical support representative who answered my call inquired as to the last payment I had made to Smart Bro. I replied that I knew my billing cycle was towards the end of each month, and that I usually paid on time. As my billing statement was at the office and I was at home, all the information I could give was the check number and the amount, which corresponded to what I was being billed for. Your company representative then told me that everything should be fine by the morning since he/she had put into the (presumably) computerized service log that I had paid my bill, but that I should contact PLDT to double check if the payment had gone through.

So, the following morning, I called PLDT and they did, in fact verify that I had paid my bill IN FULL, several days before.

I then contacted technical support and a certain Marilou Rillon answered my call. For the next TWO HOURS, I would be on the phone with her, with our whole conversation going in circles. I basically repeated my conversation from the night before so that she would understand my situation: I had NO internet connection, despite the fact that I had paid my bill on time, despite the fact that I had electricity, despite the fact that there was no problem with the internet base serving my connection.

And yet, the brilliant Ms. Rillon kept telling me to go to the Smart Bro portal. Each time she told me this wonderful piece of technical knowledge, I patiently asked her HOW could I go the infernal portal page when I had NO internet connection?!?! For obvious reasons, I entirely lost my patience when this went on for close to TWO HOURS.

Other issues that were brought up:

1. Ms. Rillon repeatedly told me to call PLDT to verify my payment being made. I told her that I had just gotten that confirmation right before I called her.

2. Ms. Rillon said that she couldn’t do anything because the system was showing that no payment had been received by Smart Bro. I told her that any internal agreements or work protocols between Smart Bro and PLDT were NOT my concern; that they were surely YOUR company’s concern and were in your best interest to see it resolved. As far as I --- a paying client --- was concerned, I had paid my bill and was therefore entitled to the service I had paid for.

I demanded to talk to her supervisor. Ms. Rillon told me that her supervisor had every faith in front people like herself in answering clients’ questions. I asked her if she had answered my question. She admitted she had NOT answered my very simple question of WHY I had NO internet connection.

Near the end of my patience, I again demanded to talk to her supervisor. Ms. Rillon said to hang on while she went to (presumably) talk to her supervisor. After a few minutes, she came back on the phone and told me that her supervisor had TOLD her to tell me that she (the supervisor) had looked at my questions/problems and that her (supervisor) answer was also going to be the same ones that Ms. Rillon had been giving me!

With exasperation, I asked Ms. Rillon what her job entailed. I quote Ms. Rillon verbatim when she answered me, “Ma’am I am only trying to assist our clients. I am NOT authorized to satisfy the customer.” (bold and underline my emphasis)

Well! Will wonders never cease! Your entire human resources department was probably working for your competitor when they hired these wonderfully brilliant people to work for you! Please, as you read this, you are welcome to insert the fullest amount of sarcasm with every ounce your body can exert at this point in this tirade of a letter.

When I asked the name of her supervisor, Ms. Rillon, in her trained brilliance, stalled and refused to give the name of her supervisor. It was only when I said that I needed the supervisor’s name for my records did she give in. The supervisor’s name: a certain Christine Paynor.

Upon realizing her “mistake” in releasing Ms. Paynor’s name, Ms. Rillon attempted to backtrack and told me to hang on. I did, more out of curiosity as to what deeper hole she would dig herself into, than any interest in hearing any more pathetic little excuses your department could think of that would supposedly appease me.

Imagine my surprise when Ms. Rillon came back and told me that Ms. Paynor agreed to talk to me. What! What honor bestowed upon me, a lowly, paying client, to finally be able to talk to a supervisor who had previously deigned to talk to me!

With great relish, I told Ms. Rillon, NO, thank you. I don’t need to talk to your so-called “supervisor”. I did wonder as to the final reason why Ms. Paynor wanted to talk to me. Hmmm…..Could it be because she may be reported for “performing” her job with great negligence? Or maybe it could be Ms. Paynor wanted to avoid the hassle of an investigation? I have no idea, nor do I care right now.

As a paying customer, I am aghast at the way things are being run inside your department. This is truly deplorable and pathetic. I am in the service industry myself and we DO NOT make it our policy to make things harder for our clientele. It doesn’t matter whether our client paid the lowest or the highest fee for our services. What matters is that the client is fully satisfied. THAT is true customer service.

The end result? You have lost this particular client. I may be just one client in millions, one client paying the lowest possible fee to try out what you had to offer, but this client WILL get this letter out and plaster it all over the internet, extolling to one and all who will listen about Smart Bro’s true NON-customer service way of doing business.

To date, I’ve convinced my entire family to NOT ever use Smart Bro. I’ve convinced my in-laws that your service, or should I say non-service, is truly not worth the effort to even try out your internet connection. I’ve convinced several friends to not even think of Smart Bro and the words “internet connection” in one sentence.

So at least, with this experience, one question HAS been answered: Will I ever go back to Smart Bro? With your questionable kind of customer (dis)service, there can only be one answer, and it is NO.

Dissatisfiedly,

RONA D. GAVINO

Client until November 25, 2006 (when my current postpaid subscription expires)

=====

Can you even imagine the stupidity of these people?!?? And they call themselves customer service or technical support representatives! Sheesh! There is truly NO exaggeration whatsoever in the events that transpired. It's the plain, ugly truth.

This letter has been faxed to Smart Bro's human resources department and wireless operations department. Additionally, it has been emailed to smart website. I dont care really who gets the email. The email was also sent to one of Smart Company's lawyer, a cousin of Randy Somera (thanks Randy!).

Stella's sister, Stephanie, has a good friend working at Smart. In a strategic position, no less. Approving payroll, if memory serves me well. I hope to God heads are going to roll! She was happy that my letter had DETAILS! Heck yeah, it has details! I made sure I got all the names right; I made that stupid customer service person spell it out for me! Bwahahahaha!

And the best part? Japa has a college friend who is the current head of Globe's Broadband service, THE competitor that Smart great fears. Hah! You just KNOW that this email has been sent, read, and responded to! Blums --- you are awesome!!! :)

=====

ahhhhhh.....end of major tirade. Breathe..........count to ten..........

Monday, November 20, 2006

Blinkies and Scraps

This blinkie

is for Kim Smith. I "met" Kim at RAKscraps first and then got to know her a lot more during our stint at another website, which will remain unnamed.

Kim is designing for Scrappin Digi Kreations. You can see her designs by clicking here.

If I'm not mistaken, Kim was the VERY FIRST designer to offer me a spot on her Creative Team! I think she's my lucky charm of sorts, because ever since then, I've gotten invited more and more to join other CTs!

The great part about Kim is that she's very easy-going and is easy to talk to. She has always been a caring person, ever since I met her for the first time a year or so ago. Has it been that long, Kim? :)

Some of my fave kits from Kim:



Just click on the kit previews to be taken directly to Kim's fun designs.

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}

Ok, seeng as I haven't posted any layouts for a few days, here goes:

MY 2 BOYS

MY 2 GIRLS

MY COACH

Okay, for credits, and if you want to read the journaling up close, just click on the layout itself! I finally figured out how to link it to my DST Gallery! Yippeee!!!

{FAMILY TALES}

Before I even forget, a huge shout of CONGRATULATIONS to Dic and Elizza for my newest niece, ROBYN!!!! She was born November 13, the birthday of her maternal grandfather.



Isn't she a sweetie?!?!? Totally adorable----you gotta look at those CHEEKS!!! Classic Bernardom hehehehe! Can't wait to meet her in December!

TTFN!



Saturday, November 18, 2006

Beta Blogger and Blinkies

Hmmmm....I've finally gone over to the "other side", i.e., Beta Blogger. And.....I don't see anything different. Yet....

Oh here we go.....as I type this, there is an option for me to LABEL this particular post. I guess tag it or something with a descriptive word or so. Like layouts, or family tales, or whatever I like.

Other than that, so far so good, transfer-wise :) *knock on wood!*

{BLINKIES}

<------------------------------ If you look on the left side of my blog, where the arrow is pointing, you'll notice the lovely blinkies I am featuring because I am part of the CREATIVE TEAM for that person or group! Isn't it EXCITING!!!!!

I know some of you will think that it seems like a lot of CTs to be on, but I am having the time of my life! Seriously! Sure, there are deadlines and stuff, but the best part is that I get to work with tons of fun scrapping designs AND get to meet lots of great people who share this hobby AND get actual exposure in terms of layouts I've done and where I post.

With just a small number of CTs, I've actually been noticed by some designers and it has been an AWESOME time from there!

With 4 kids and loads of activities, my trusty camera is constantly with me. Of COURSE I have pictures! More than enough to scrap with! Hehehehe. And a bonus? My brothers and sisters-in-law take pictures of my kids, too! So that adds to the ever-growing pile!

This obsession......er, I mean HOBBY......is just too much fun to do! :) The reward? The oohs and aahs of the kids when they flip through their respective albums.

I'm starting to rearrange my blinkies to have some semblance of order. I think I want to have the oldest team I've been on to be at the bottom and the newer teams on top.

I've actually sat on this post as a draft for 2 days now, so let me post it first, hehehehe :)

Monday, November 13, 2006

Scrapping News: When it Rains, it Pours!

Yes yes yes!!! Am I a lucky scrapper or what?!?!! I will need a full day to tell you guys about a LOT of exciting news for me, scrapping wise! Definitely Creative Team stuff, so if you're not a digiscrapper, then you really won't know what I'm talking about! Hehehehe.

If you look at my posts over at DST, take a look at my siggy -- I have a new blinkie added!!! I promise more news on that sometime this week.....I need to update my blinkies over on the left side, now, shouldn't I? I have to delete The Digi Dreamer blinkie since the site will be closing and there aren't any kits for the CT to work with.

However, that blinkie will be replaced by a few more!!! I am currently a GUEST CT member of 2 designers :) Whoohoohoo!!! One is only for a month, but the other (one of my absolute fave designers since I first started scrapping) gave me a 6-month stint, believe it or not!!!!

Additionally, another ABSOLUTE fave designer invited me to be a GUEST CT member in December! I am SO stoked like you would NOT believe!

2nd additionally (hehehe), this designer of templates accepted me to be on her CT! Can you see me jumping for joy over here? With the number of teams I am on, I definitely need templates to help me scrap! And I SO enjoy using this lady's templates! She's the MAIN reason why I've been cranking out layout after layout, too!

3rd additionally here: yet another fave designer asked me to be on her personal CT. She says I will actually get paid (!!!) for each layout that I do. But, really, that's not the point. The point IS: I am literally on DIGISCRAPPING HEAVEN, I tell you!

And lastly, I JUST now got an email from another designer whose designs are just fantastically EXOTIC, inviting me to be on her CT. I am of course, crossing my fingers that she actually accepts my application!

So, like my title says, when it rains, it pours! I am SO SO SOOOOO stoked, people!!! Yay me! Hehehehe.

Digiscrapping Heaven, I tell you!

Ok, on to scraps, which will be in a larger size, just so I can see how they look on my blog:

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}
CHOCOLATE FOR THE FEET
You'd say weird subject: our shoes. But hey, you'd definitely be surprised to know that this layout garnered the second MOST hits amongs all my layouts to date (beaten only by the layout of Randy and Stella here). But only by 2 comments, believe it or not! Credits for this layout here.

THANK GOD FOR YOU
A litte bit sentimental, this layout, but I love how it turned out! And that pic of Raegan is just phenomenal! Thank you to baby brother Randy for that photo! (There, see, I got my credits correct now! hehehe). And that letter? Definitely heartfelt. It's how I really feel about this eldest child of mine. Credits here.

WOMAN OF BEAUTY
And here is Lola Nene. The epitome of being a grandmother: retaining all her beauty, even at 87 years old!!! I can only pray that I HAVE those genes in my body right now! :) Credits here.

And that, my friends, have brought you totally up-to-date on ALL my scrapping work. I haven't scrapped today....and it's 7 pm. Gasp! What was I thinking?!?!??!

{CHRISTMAS COMETH}

And with it, tons of things to do. Wrap gifts, shop, wrap, wrap, wrap. Oh, and countless lists to do! Ugh! I would just LOVE to be a member of the opposite sex ---yes, you male fiends out there ---- during this super hectic season! To be a boy and not worry about Christmas lists, what to wrap, who to give gifts, WHAT to give......and on and on and on. Oh to be a GUY during the holidays! Probably the sweetest thing, wouldn't you agree ladies? :)

TTFN!



Sunday, November 12, 2006

Swimming Competition...and Just Layouts

The kids had an informal meet yesterday. Japa went with them to QCSC because I attended Justine's confirmation an hour earlier. Good thing that the races started a bit late; I missed a race or 2 a the most! Whew!

I think it's really great that the kids' coaches are doing these meets to give the kids some racing experience. More importantly, I think, is that the kids can develop the proper race mentality.....something which is totally missing in some kids of today. Not our kids though....I think they're pretty good in that aspect (of course, it totally helps that we brainwash....er, help them.....develop this sort of thinking!)

Randy and Stella were there as well to lend some support (thanks mucho, guys!).....and even if I didn't make an appearance, Stella was more than making up for it with her screams of "Go! Go! Go!" Hehehehe. In Raegan's words (after a race), "Tita Stella, I could hear you screaming in my ear!" Hahahahaha! That's straight from a kid's mouth!

I can't wait to get my hands on Randy's memory card....he showed me some awesome pics he took of the kids. And yes, you guys will get to see them, too.....just as soon as I get them on my layouts!

{AFTER SWIMMING}

Surprise, surprise! Of course the kids wanted to eat out after the races! Where else but Omakase! Tomas Morato this time, where we saw Lito and this other girl who used to be in the Eastwood branch. The kids started rattling off their orders and with each kid, my eyes got bigger and bigger......they were OBVIOUSLY hungry!

Rielle was a HUGE surprise: she had a Kid Bento plus 1/3 cup of fried rice, dalandan juice, and some spicy tuna salad. And an ice cream! She was definitely eating with gusto!

Which brings us to Rogan.....oh my. He had his usual Chicken Teriyakidon, plus an order of tempura (5 pieces), a mango shake....and he finished off Raegan's extra order of Chicken Teriyaki! We were about to leave when...we couldn't find Rogan. We thought he had gone down to the driver; nope. We thought he was in the restroom; the girls went to check. Nope.

We were getting worried. Japa said he was going to check the restrooms again. He was gone a bit, and that was when it dawned on me: Rogan WAS in the restroom. Doing #2 :) hehehe. When Japa came out, he was smiling and shaking his head. All I asked was, "how big?" He pointed to his forearm!!!! Aaaargh! Naturally, there was BLOOD...lots of it! My poor baby! *shake head here*

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}

Okay, after that last bit of not-so-blog-friendly information, you deserve to see my layouts to take your mind off of gross images, hehehehe.

THE GLADIATOR AND HIS CLEOPATRA
I like how this LO turned out. Very leather-like, pretty elegant. Ok fine. The subjects helped, too *wink wink* These costumes were TOTALLY perfect for Zhar and Rod! Total glam, eh?
Credits here.

LITTLE TEAPOT
Riley was super cute when I caught him dancing around in Reese's costume! Literally dancing around! Hehehe. Good thing he let me take his pic while he was having fun, too! Check out that middle pic.....is he little Chip, or what?
Credits here.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
I'm sure once you read those little tags describing our personalities, you can't help BUT agree. Only thing is, Raine exhibits these characteristics TEN times more than I do! Yikes!
Credits here.

WHEN MAMA CAME HOME
Hehehe. I think it was Elizza who took these photos. Thank you! I got some pretty nice comments about this layout. Check out what some of them were, especially about the kids going "ewwww!" in the credits.
Credits here.

WOODY AND HER COW
Totally HILARIOUS photos of Raine on Boydee. Hahahaha! Boydee was such a sport for sure. But it was so much fun, especially when Raine took of her hat and started waving it around rodeo-style! Too funny!
Credits here.

Had your fill yet? Fine. I can't leave you with Rod and Zhar in their costumes and NOT show you a photo of Randy and Stella in theirs now can I?

PIRATE LOVE
Is that scary or what? hahaha! This photo is priceless, I think.
Credits here.

I've got a few more, but I guess those will have to wait until tomorrow. :) I promise to bring you guys up to date on all my layouts!

TTFN!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Magical Hands

No, not Japa. But my umm.....let's see what should I call him......well, he calls himself a Myovasotherapist, a name he said he invented. Well, whatever he calls himself, Miguel has some magical powers in those hands of his!

The only way I can describe the healing effects of his hands is when I compare him to Raine. For those of you who have been massaged by Little Miss Bruha herself knows how comforting Raine's hands are when she massages your hands, your back, your legs. Take that feeling and magnify about tenfold. Hehehe. Miguel IS a guy, after all.

This morning, he "found" and "moved" this nerve along my leg...the EXACT nerve that has been bothering me since the very beginning of my Back Pain Drama. I have no idea how he found it, but he did, and I'm sure as heck NOT complaining! All I know is that I feel GOOD now! I've been sitting on my tush for the past 5 hours, and I've felt only a slight twinge that made me need to get up.

Of course, Japa being the son of a doctor that he is, totally discounts my feel-good feeling and says it's all psychosomatic! Hmp! *sniff and roll my eyes here* Whatever! All that matters is that I FEEL BETTER! :)

Anyway, I have a few more layouts to share so I can get caught up:

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}


I just love doing layouts in black! And no, it doesn't have to be a spooky Halloween layout either (although it helps the theme, don't you think? *wink)

I enjoyed using photo filter actions on these pics as well. They totally make your photos POP!

Look at Raine in this layout, totally hamming it up for the camera! Only her :) Ranger, on the other hand, was feeling antsy and irritated with his Mickey Mouse costume, hehehe. He was probably hot and wanted OUT of it!

Credits for this layout here.






This one, Annabelle will KILL me for, for putting it up on the web. Hehehehe. Hey Annabelly----I've had several comments saying what a cute witch you are! :) I kinda like this layout of you!

Credits here.

Okay. That should be it. No, I haven't quite caught up with showing you my layouts, but I had to hold something up just to pique your curiousity, right? And just in case I forget to blog again.

It's been a pretty much uneventful day for now. Just at the office, trying to get caught up in a ton of paperwork! Which means I really have GOT to go!

TTFN!!!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

A Few Layouts

Ok, will start posting my newer layouts :) I'm sure you faithful blog readers want to see what I've come up with since Halloween, hehehe.

Of course, everything from here on will most likely be 98% Halloween pages. And I've got a few good pictures to play around with, too!

So, without further ado, and it's 1:30 am here right now as I am posting this....I present......

{SCRAPS OF MAMA}

For the first time in Halloween history, Raine decided to NOT be a kikay, girly character. Instead, she opted to have fun with her Kuya's Woody costume. She looked pretty cute in it, too! And this girl is EVER the professional poser, don't you think? Credits for this layout here.



Ok, these are probably the 2% non-Halloween layouts, hehehe. Credits here and here.

More you say? Ok....I'm easy :)



You will have to click on the credits or on the layouts themselves to see the photos a little bit more clearly. But trust me, you'll want to read the journaling too! *wink! So click on the credits here and here and leave me a comment!!!

And that should really be it for now! Gotta get some shut eye!

TTFN!!!

Friday, November 03, 2006

My Poor Baby! :(

We brought Raegan to the ER today. Apparantly, she slipped and fell.....and ended up with the base of her right pinky splitting open. We hypothesized that she had hyperextended her hand somehow and the skin split open to compensate. Gross. Ewwwww!!!!

I did stay with her throughout the entire procedure. When she got home after swimming, she was bawling her eyes out, refusing to look at her hand. This, from someone who doesn't even cringe at the sight of a needle for her vaccinations! Aaargh! I will never begin to understand how kids think!

Anyway, when we got to the hospital and the orderly had cleaned her hand up a bit, and an intern or a resident had looked at her hand and remarked that it wasn't too bad, that was when she finally deemed it time to peek at her hand. *rolling eyes here*

Her hand was covered in betadine, so it was all gross looking and YELLOW. But she looked straight at her wound and saw that it had stopped bleeding. So she stopped crying and saying ouchie, ouchie! *insert sobbing sound*

Well, after that, she was her usual motor mouth self and talked nonstop! Even when the doctor finally got to her and said that he was going to sew it up, she still couldn't stop herself from talking! And I don't think it was nerves, either. She probably was just making up for lost time she wasn't able to talk during her "traumatic" hour or so on our way to the ER. *roll eyes again*

The doctor told her to NOT move her hand no matter what. She answered by saying that she might scream. The doctor rebutted with "that's okay, scream as loud as you want, but don't move your hand."

And she didn't. Proud Mama moment here. :) She just lay there with her hand open. She still refused to look at her hand during the anaesthesia and suture process. She DID feel the sting of the needle when it went INSIDE (!!!!!!) her flesh. But she didn't move at all. She held her breath, rolled and crossed her eyes, and was purple in the face. Literally. But her hand lay still.

I was the one making faces....I thought the stupid needle was supposed to go on the OUTSIDE of her wound, making it numb. But NOOOOOOO!!!! It went on the inside!!!! FOUR times!!!! Aaaaaccccckkkkk!!!! I wanted to scream! hahahahahahaha! Ewwwwwwww!!!!

She was a real trooper for sure!

After the whole ordeal, we went straight to Omakase for dinner. Her "reward" for being such a good patient. She hadn't eaten yet, either, hehehehe.

And no, I wasn't allowed to take pictures while in the hospital believe it or not! Some STUPID rule about protecting the privacy of the HOSPITAL. Take note, the privacy of the hospital and NOT of the patients!!! How IDIOTIC is that response?!?!??!! Grrrrr!!!!!

TTFN!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day

We spent November 1 at the Cemetery. The GOOD part about today is ---yes, there actually IS a good part! --- there were only a few people around. Fewer cars, fewer people. We figured it was because the next day was a workday, and people didn't go home to the provinces. Ergo, it was a relatively OKAY day for all of us.

As usual, we played board games while at The Garden. We had Taboo this year. I also brought my laptop...just in case *wink *wink!

We did however, have the perfect excuse, er REASON, to leave early. We had to go to the St. Therese Shrine to check out what was happening and learn from it for the succeeding years.

I did this for the Shrine in time for November 1 and 2:

Not sure if you can read it, but it simply states the proper rules for visiting a Columbarium. :)

Additionally, Gelo asked me to write an article for the Office Newsletter. Here's the text of my article.....can you tell that I was the one who wrote it? Hehehehehe.

The Columbarium: A Depository, Not A Cemetery

The concept of a Columbarium is relatively new in Filipino culture. It is only in recent years that we, as a people, have accepted the concept of cremation as an option to bury our dead. The notion of a Columbarium may also be a foreign topic, one which we must be enlightened on, given the fact that buildings of this type have increased in number.

A Columbarium is a building designed specifically to house cremated remains of the dead. These cremains are stored in an appropriate container within the Columbarium. Rights to the niches, or vaults, are purchased by the family of the deceased for the specific placement of the urns containing the ashes of their loved one.

As such, a Columbarium is merely a DEPOSITORY for the cremains of the dead. It is a place to leave our departed loved ones; a place where we can visit them at our convenience; a place of prayer.

Conversely, a Columbarium is NOT a cemetery. It is not a place to pitch tents; it is not a place to hold an overnight vigil. It is not the proper place to eat and drink, nor have loud and deafening music. It is not the place to have fast food vendors or have enterprising people hawk their wares.

We go to the Columbarium to pay respect to our departed loved ones. We pray for the salvation of their souls. A Columbarium is a place of peace, of solemnity, of prayer.

TTFN!