Baby Shower for Stella and Randy

Ahhhhh! What a day! I can't believe how successful it was....considering it took less than a week to prepare! Hehehehe. That included calling people, arranging the food, doing the souvenirs, decorating the outside, and preparing for the games! Whoohoohoo!!!

I wish I had pics to show, but everything is in Randy's camera. Which, by the way, he almost forgot to charge!!! hehehe. Good thing he's got a pushy big sister to remind him, huh?

Roc and I went to the office bright and early. Me to print out shower games, her to put her Lean Cuisine boxes in the freezer :) While I was finishing up, and doing an Options Summary for the Townhouse, Roc went ahead to the grocery to buy some drinks.

Meanwhile, Randy went with Mom to buy some steaks. Yes, despite the fact that we already had TOO much food, dear mother didn't want to run out of food! Sigh, sigh and triple sigh! It's how she is.

So we get home, and we all help Rejy and Tita B with the decorations. It's been a loooong time since we did something like this, so we were going slow in the beginning. The boys were helpful in doing most of the hanging-from-high-places stuff, so we were done in no time at all. Enough time for most of us to take showers.

I did the rest of the games preparations afterwards. Like filling bottles with soda, preparing the plates for the food-tasting game, getting clothes for the baby bears that were going to be used for dress up, etc etc etc.

All in all, the shower was a success! Food was courtesy of BJs, where we ordered this $185 menu option, along with extra buffalo wings, spring rolls, and a couple of their famous pizzookie. Yum yum! Mom cooked some white fish and served that. Thank GOD she held off on cooking the steaks----she FINALLY realized that our buffet table was bending from the weight of all the food on it!!!

Despite the fact that none of us except Mom knew how to cook, this was an EASY party to set up. Why? Mainly because we ordered out, hehehehe. Mom just felt COMPELLED to add some personal touch to the menu, which was why she was cooking an hour or so before everyone arrived! Sigh! The only glitch we had throughout the preparations was when Mom caught us tying a rolling cart to one of the posts. Since the ground was a bit uneven, we didn't want this cart that was going to hold ALL the drinks to be rolling off somewhere. So she freaked out and asked where the wrought iron cart was which we normally used for drinks during parties. Randy and Roc looked at each and I KNEW that they had sold this!!! Hehehehehe.

So we told Mom that that cart was gone and before she went all apoplexy on us, Randy was quick enough to spy a matching wrought iron table that we could use for the drinks! Hahahahaha! Whew! That was a disaster averted, for sure!

Here are some of the shower game sheets we used (just so I won't have a picture-less post, ya know!)




To Randy and Stella, congratulations on the impending arrival of Baby Tyler!!! Can't wait to see the new addition to the family very soon!!!

Guilt-Free Feasting, Packing and Preparing

Ahhhh....Souplantation. I just LOOOVE this place! We had dinner here, and i was absolutely delish!!! Yum, yum, yummmmm!!!

Hehehehe. Can you tell I am fully satisfied and that my tummy is bursting at the seams, practically? :) I just love eating at Souplantation, and not feel guilty about it, too! Okay fine, not *that* much *wink wink*. Hehehe.

The whole day was practically spent packing....I finally got the drums and the guitar sets from the Rock Band into a suitcase and a box...Stella made 2 guitars fit inside a slim box to further protect it from possible mishandling by baggage carriers. So with those things packed snugly, everything was easy peasy pretty much.

After dinner, Stella, Randy, and Mom helped me fix up the candles for the souvenir of the baby shower. Tomorrow! Hehehe. Nothing like last minute, eh? Sigh! We wrapped, poured confetti and ribboned plastic bags to hold the candles. Oh, and there was punching and threading the ribbon through chipboard and tags for the final touch.

Not quite the final *final* touch though...there's still some printing on sticker paper for the thank you note, and printing and preparing of the things needed for the shower games. Which is why first thing in the morning, I'm going to be at the office, doing all the printing on their nifty colored laser printer among others, hehehe.

Costco Bound

Woke up REALLY early this morning so I could drive for Mom. She had to go to Quest in Montrose to get some blood drawn. Had to be there early to avoid the crowd. Good thing Mom was able to see her primary care doctor before we left; at least she'll be able to get her bloodworks done before her next trip here.

After the lab, we passed by Arko to buy some boxes for packing. We had to wait 10 minutes for the store to open, hehehe. Must have been a first for dear mother! Then we went home so mom could get a urine sample done; she couldn't go when at the lab. Sigh. Oh well.

We finally get to Costco and I filled up my cart with some goodies to take home: peanut butter, strawberry jam, grated cheese for quesadillas, and polksa kielbasa! Way cheaper here than back home, that's for sure! If I filled my cart, mom's was totally overflowing, as usual, hehehe. And her bill was twice mine! That's normal for mom, though!

We passed by Party City to wander the aisles in search of some decorations for the Baby Shower this Saturday. I think we had thrown all the decor from the several baby showers we've had over the years, hehehe. So it was a whole new thing again!

When we got home, mom immediately started packing...with Stella's help. Yes, pregnant Stella, who was squatting and sitting on the floor to help mom pack! Good thing Stella's in great shape that she can do these at 34 weeks! She's about ready to pop, I think!

I couldn't pack straight away since there was a Lakers game going on tonight, too! Tita B and I arrived in time for the second half (I took her to TJ Maxx to return some stuff, and we passed by Joann's to get some stuff for the Baby Shower). Man oh man, what a game! The Lakers were down by as much as 17 points and they totally chipped away at it! We were all screaming and shouting and pumping our fists in the air throughout the last two quarters, it was exhausting! hehehehe.

But everything was worth it, as the Lakers blew away the Spurs to capture the Western Finals and get a birth for the championship!!! I'm hoping the Celtics will win their division this week, too. It would be cool to have the 80s revisited with the old rivalry of the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics, wouldn't it!!!

All the screaming and shouting did give me a bit of a headache though, hehehe. Not sure if it was a migraine coming along, or just a headache due to pms-ing (sometime soon, I reckon), but I wanted to be safe and so I popped in a Tylenol just so I wouldn't have any unnecessary caffeine in my system so late in the day. I'm just careful nowadays, especially since I know I'm in the peri-menopause stage, hehehe. I have been since a few years ago, I think. Not that I've seen a doctor, but I'm sure she'll be prescribing some progesterone for me soon, just so I won't needlessly go through these menopausal symptoms. Egad---I don't think I'd want to meet up with *me* when I get to that stage!!!

With my headache gone, it's time to do some major packing! I've got the PS2 Rockband to worry about, hehehehe!

Another Day at the Office

Yessirree....we spent another full day at the office. Mom was doing accounting stuff while I finished up prettying the Inspirada files, complete with a full costing of all options that we took, broken down per room.

For dinner, the 4 of us ladies --- Mom, Tita B, Roc and I --- drove to Brand looking for this Italian restaurant that we wanted to try before actually ordering food for Stella's shower. But after 2 passes of the building, still no Milano's to be found. So......Roc suggested Armenian food. YUM!!! It was right on Brand, too, so it was easy going there.

The place is called Bacara and it was just delicioso!!! I had the combination chicken breast (almost like Barg) and chicken kubideh. And I scarfed down everything, including most of the rice! Man oh man oh man!!! Diet down the drain I think! hehehehe. But it was sooooo good! There was a very very slight bite to the garlic sauce, and my canker sore wasn't too happy, but my tummy sure was! We were all full by the end of the meal!

Time to go home to clear off the floor area in the room, as per mother dear's orders. Hermie and company are coming over to clean the entire house and Mom doesn't want anything on the carpeted areas so that the Sebo vacuums can just suck all the dirt from the carpet. So that's what I'm going to do tonight!

TTFN!

Clerking

Yup. I was a filing clerk today :) We all went to the office and spent the entire day there. I busied myself with filing everything about the Inspirada homes we had all purchased this month. Everything went in it's place in a binder. Folders, staples, punchers, and sheet protectors were my best friends today, hehehehe. I had a medium-sized conference table all to myself where I spread out all the documents and separated them into their respective piles: Rembrandt 1918, Rembrandt 1980 and the Van Gogh.

We did have a little bit of excitement though, as ADT called the office saying that our house alarm had gone off. After making sure that it wasn't Hermie or the kids who had accidentally triggered it, Roc and I rushed home to check whether everything was ok. The house didn't seem to be disturbed, everything was in it's proper order. The windows to the sun room were left open, and apparently, a change in temperature *can* trigger the alarm! Either that or maybe a huge bird of some sort had soared right in front of the windows, triggering the motion sensors. Oh well. We locked up the rest of the house and armed the system.

We arrived home just in time to watch the Lakers-Spurs basketball game. The series was 2-1 in favor of the Lakers and they were playing their second game in San Antonio. They led by 16 at one point but watched that dwindle down to only a couple of points. Good thing they had their act together until the end, squeaking by with a 2-point win! Sheesh! But hey, a win is a win is a win! :)

Next game is on Thursday, I think, and they'll be back in LA. Crossing my fingers they finish off this series then!

A Holiday

It's Memorial Day today in the States. It's a day to commemorate the men and women who have died in the service of their country. To those who given up their lives, we thank you. For those who have had loved ones pass, we thank you as well, for giving of yourself unselfishly, that the world has become a safer place.

I know all these words are probably meaningless, especially in the face of fresh grief. But I think our world *is* much safer today because of the countless brave men and women who gave of themselves.

We spent a good part of the day shopping. I was in search of the every-elusive Mario Kart for the Wii....I have GOT to get that game for the kids!!! I went to Best Buy and Target. And the shelves were empty, hehehehe. I was able to get the girls their Full House seasons 6, 7 and 8 though, so they'll be happy with that for sure. I got them some shoes as well, and their undies! Yay!

Did some research on baby shower games as well, as everything I've done from waaaaay before I've forgotten, hehehehe. Gotta brush up on those! :)

Roc dyed my hair. Finally. She was itching to color my hair as soon as she saw some gray hairs at my temple since the day I arrived. I gave in.....not wanting to be mistaken for Randy's MOTHER more than 2 times!!! Can you believe?!?!?!? Sheesh!!!! *major roll of eyes here* Grrrr! Hahahahaha. Must have been the hair! Must have been! Hehehehe.

So as I type this, I am now enjoying my darker, gray-free hair. Only thing is, the color's a bit too dark than my usual, so I'm feeling I'm a bit on the paste-y side. Oh well. It should lighten in a few days.

Home to LA....for good. At Least, for this Trip!

Yes, we finally went home to Polaris. We had to leave the BMW at the dealer's in Vegas because the engine was just conking out. There was absolutely NO power even with the gas pedal floored. Both Roc and I felt it and Roc drove the car straight to the dealer's when we arrived. They said that it was a wonder that we ---and the car!--- were still in one piece!

Anyhoo, the dealer said the car was going to be ready on Tuesday (or Wednesday) since Monday was a holiday. Good thing Randy and Stella were planning on staying an extra day or two anyway in Vegas to help Tita Ingrid and Noj settle in their new house. Soooo....just Mom, Tita B, Roc and I went home.

Of course, we had to stop at some dimsum place for lunch. Quite authentic, if I may say so, with all the Chinese in there! Authentic = msg galore I'm sure, as I started to feel my head pound a few minutes after lunch. Oh well. Good thing Roc was driving.

We had decided to do lunch first instead of going to mass first thing. And so we had to rush a bit to get to Mass at St Joseph's in Barstow where they were featuring a Life-Teen Mass. It was quite an experience. Almost all the attendees were young people, although some did have their parents. The priest knew all of them by name practically, and the homily was a short skit by some teens, as they interpreted the day's Gospel. Pretty cool, I thought!

Also, the priest invited everyone present (about 30 or so of us) to gather around the altar for the consecration. It was very uplifting to be in the presence of the Body and Blood that close! The teens helped serve the host and wine, they did the music, and everyone danced and clapped during the finaly hymn. I told Mom that I would take the kids here someday so that they could see for themselves. Rogan was the first person I thought of when I witnessed these teens during Mass. :) I think he would fit very well in this environment!

The best part about these teens was that they were totally NOT self-conscious about singing, clapping, dancing, reciting from the Bible during the whole Mass. They were themselves. It was very refreshing to see something like this, and it would be great if it could be emulated in other places as well.

After a scrumptious dinner at some seafood restaurant in Victoria Gardens, we finally arrived home at around 930 pm. It's not even midnight yet and I am about ready to drop!

Good night and TTFN!

Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia!

I *FINALLY* got to see Mamma Mia! Whoohoohooo! For the past 4 or 5 times that we've been to Vegas, it was always on the day that Mamma Mia would be off for the week, adding to my endless frustration of seeing the show! :) But Tita B came through with tickets for Mom and me, and I found myself seated in the middle front section of the Mandalay Theater! Yes!!!!

I've always been dying to see it, and with the movie coming out soon, it was a *must* that I see the actual musical. I'm the type to note differences in shows when seen in different genres, hehehehe.

Anyway, for those extremely few people who have *not* seen Mamma Mia, here's a summary:

Writer Catherine Johnson's sunny, funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise.

On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.

The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, and every night everyone’s having the time of their lives!

And yes, Japs, the show features many of ABBA's musical hits which you would have enjoyed :)

The show was very lively and made you want to jump up and dance, hehehe. Boydee probably would have, too! I wonder if the movie version will feature a young-ish set of characters like the play. Apparently, everything in the characters' lives happened when they were less than 20 years old (I think), so the only missing apparel could have been school girl costumes, hehehehe, they were that young! And of course, I like the happily-ever-after type of endings, where everything, as in everything, is tied into nice little bundles of feel-good stuff. Bang, you should know what I mean!

Of course, with all our activities in Vegas, there was no time left for scrapping yet again! Sigh! This is getting quite frustrating as my creative outlet has been put on hold!!! Aaargh! I need some ME time to be able to scrap at least a measly page, right? But by the time everything has been done for the day, all that's left is for me to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion! Not so much the physical kind, but the mind-draining kind!

Oh well. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll be able to sit down in front of my computer and open up Photoshop instead of Excel!

Concert of All Concerts

The concert was such such SUCH a treat!!! Titled David Foster and friends, I honestly had NO idea who David Foster is, hehehehe. Do you??? All I knew was that I was in my seat, waiting to hear Michael Buble, Katharine McPhee, Peter Cetera, Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. McPhee was the only person I *didn't* know, but all the rest, I was all ears to hear them in person!


So. Imagine our surprise when not only did we witness the following sing live:

1. Josh Groban
2. Andrea Bocelli
3. Michael Buble
4. Peter Cetera
5. Katharine McPhee

we *ALSO* enjoyed the performances of the following (not sure if I'm even naming them all):

6. Babyface
7. Brian McKnight
8. Renee Olstead
9. Charice Pempengko ---> yup, the latest Pinoy singing sensation
10. William Joseph - an awesome piano player
11. some country singer who Roc adored
12. some famous guy who brought and sang with his brother
13. some impromptu performance by a guy who sang "Wrap those chocolate legs around me" or something like that
14. Kenny G

Hehehehehe. Is it obvious that I really don't know these singers? There was just a TON of celebs onstage, it was unbelievable! There were even some prerecorded messages from Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, to name a few.

I finally found out that David Foster was this huge songwriter, pianist and performer---music producer--- who wrote thousands of well-known songs! Who would have thought eh? I certainly didn't know who he was, hehehe.

Anyhoo, my faves were of course Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. I really went to see them. Bocelli received an almost instant standing ovation when he came onstage. He has presence, that man. A beautiful voice, powerful and moving. Mom was quite weepy when he sang The Prayer with Katharine McPhee, hehehehe. Totally expected. :) Bocelli closed the first half with a bang, that's for sure. Everyone was raving about him at intermission.

But the BIGGEST hit of the night came in the diminutive form of Mistress Charisse Pempengko of the Philippines. This powerful-voice wonder came in belting Whitney Houston's "I Will Alway Love You". She had this huuuuuuge voice coming out of her and people were just agog; the whole place was virtually silent as everyone listened to Charice. After the last note died down, she was given a standing ovation. Instant standing ovation! Whoa!!! Yes, her voice made that much of an impact. Not only did she get the standing ovation for her first song, she got ovations as well during her second, and her impromptu-third song! How cool is that for this little wonder!!!

It was a long 4-hour concert since it was being taped for a PBS special, but it was just an awesome treat to be able to sit and listen to all these great performers!

Thank you Tita B!!! :)

Busy Day Today

It'll be a super duper busy day today. Schedule is *filled*!!! We have an appointment with an Options consultant at 930 am tomorrow to do the Van Gogh and the Townhouse options. Then we'll probably have a quick lunch to make our 1 pm appointment for the flooring of either unit. And that's probably going to take a bit of time as we discuss sooooo many alternatives out there!

We're still trying to convince Mom that we can do the flooring ourselves --- yes, install it ourselves. Randy and I looked at some instructions online as to installing floating tongue-and-groove planks and it does NOT look hard at all! And that would save us at LEAST $4,000!!! But dear mother would rather not have her house looking shabby and second rate and oh-so-unprofessionally done *roll eyes here* by her children, hehehehe. In short, she doesn't think we can do it!!!!! Hmp!

While we're at the Studio, Tita B is probably going to be merrily gambling away while Roc and Stella will don their swimsuits and enjoy the day at the pool or at the spa. Then at night, it'll be spent watching either the Lakers-Spurs game OR a concert with Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban and others, depending if Tita B can get at least an extra ticket or not. If she doesn't, I can always watch the game :) No biggie. But I *would* love to go to the concert of course! Hehehehe. Who wouldn't!

And that's going to be our day today, and this my post for the day. :) Have a good one!

Back to Vegas

Yes, we're back in Vegas...after a few days. You would think it was just the next county over, hehehehe! But the Van Gogh house has been keeping us busy, and we're finishing up "shopping" for the options to complete everything. I never knew that everything was so detailed and time-consuming! Sheesh!

But it is going to be a great neighborhood for sure, complete with pools and schools and parks with slides and swing sets for the kids, as well as 22 miles worth of trails for biking, running and walking. Awesome concept, I think.

We're staying at the Mandalay, Tita B's home away from home hehehehe. Royal treatment as we get the 2-bedroom suite for all of us. After our visit at the Options Studio that included electrical and flooring discussions, we gladly had dinner at The Noodle House. After some so-so Chinese food (remember, I'm NOT a big fan), Mom and I trooped back up to the room to finish up some costings to see if we would come within budget.

And we....did.....not. We went over by about $2k withOUT appliances. We were trying to include everything in, but for the life of me, I could NOT figure out where we could take out some expenses! There are some options that we can do without, but we will have to discuss some at length tomorrow when we meet with the consultant.

With that, it's time for bed as we prepare for an exhausting day tomorrow at the Options Studio!

TTFN!

The Wii Craze

Well, we have the Wii. Got that at Philadelphia last year. Had to be at an out-of-the way place just so we could get our hands on a unit.

Today, I was up bright and early to line up at Best Buy to be one of the first ones to buy the Wii Fit. Yup. I was #11, and yes, I bought one. I practically threw that one in the back of the trunk and rushed to the nearby Toys R Us to get Mom one. God forbid I should come home with just the ONE unit!!! Hehehehe.

And luckily, I managed to squeeze by with 2 other units left!!! I was 3rd to the last to be given a Wii Fit Board! Whew! The accessories will have to come later in the weekend when the sales are ongoing and I can get a percentage off of them.

But hey, I'm happy, and Mom's happy.....despite the fact that she doesn't even know what the Wii Fit board does! Hehehehe. But it should be a good jumpstart to an exercise routine right???

Basta, all I know is, I'm proud to have one of these little buggers in my possession!!!

Last Minute Travel

Well, Mom did it again----deciding at pretty much the VERY last minute to go to the States. And of course, I did everything I could to get myself on that plane with her, hehehehe! So after going to the office first thing in the morning to do some interviews of potential employees, I hurriedly went home and started throwing clothes on the bed. While I took a shower and got dressed, I had Shirley put everything in the suitcase.

The good part about having large suitcases is that I have no problem packing stuff in it! In went my toiletries, some gift items, pants, shirts, blouses, a pashmina, and 3 pairs of shoes. And that's with room to spare! I've used some cheap suitcases ---especially those on sale---but Samsonite and Delsey have proven their worth. One of the twins stand by Swiss Army as well, so I have to give that a try, but hey, suitcases are an investment.....I've learned that with all the traveling we've done.

So anyway, I get dressed, put on make up, have my suitcase loaded onto the car and off I went to La Vista to say bye to Dad and the kids (the kids went straight there from swimming training). An hour later, Mom and I were off to the airport, with Dad in tow to maximize his time with mom. Awwwwwww....I know :)

The best part about traveling with Mom is that we always always ALWAYS travel in style. That means, at the very least, business class tickets and staying at some of the finest hotels. Hehehehe. It's a good thing to be her daughter, eh, sisterhood? *wink wink*

Conversely, the not-so-great part about traveling with mom is that most everything is at the last minute, hahahahaha! You've got to be ready to drop everything at a word just to be able to go with her. And with 4 kids, a household to run, and work, that's not an easy thing. Good thing I've enrolled the kids and Japa had already taken them to the pediatrician. I didn't have time to do laundry though, but Japa can do that.....although the kids won't have much junk food at all when he does the grocery, hehehehe.

Ok, gotta go! Flight being called! I'll be back to "talk" when I'm in the States next!

Interviewing People

We're setting up a new company, and we need people to hire people. I had to rush interviews, i.e., squeeze most of them in today at the last minute, because I'm leaving for the States in a couple of days. And so the whoooooole day was spent interviewing people and writing up summary reports for all of them so that Boydee could just go through them and pick who he thought was going to be ok for the position.

Not easy, interviewing people. I still maintain it helps if you have a psychology degree; different people will definitely give off different vibes, and there are different ways to address them! I got some tough, no-nonsense individuals to some needy and totally nervous applicants! And everything in between of course! It's hard trying to narrow everyone down, but I think I was pretty ruthless....but fair :) I did give everyone a chance to make an impression, and I did my good job for the day, too: I actually called the site office and told them to keep on call the name of a person who could do some maintenance work because he needed a job. I also forwarded a resume of someone who couldn't particularly fit into any of our open positions.

So yeah, interviewing isn't all that easy. It's still a lot of scribbling notes and dealing and talking with people. Who would have though I'd be a people-person eh?

I'm squeezing in these pages before I have to leave:

5th MONTH-ROGAN

Board Meeting

It *was* going to be just another day of boring board meeting stuff.....but it got pretty exciting, er, debating, at the end. Sigh! I guess when you put family together for a meeting, there WILL be emotions running high no matter what. We shelved a few things that couldn't be resolved at once, to be returned to sometime next month....

At issue: "The White Paper"

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Yup, it's that special day for moms all over the world. And of course we celebrated in style! We ate at HEAT at Edsa Shangri La where they had their usual Carnival Sunday buffet....for P1,600++, we could go to the 3 different restaurants (Heat, Japanese and Paparazzi) and get whatever food they served. I hit Paparazzi where they were serving up Asti Spumanti champagne! Yum!!!!

I also gave Mom, Lola, Bang and Lai their Mother's Day presents, all lovingly homemade:

The expressions on their faces were enough to tell me that the hours spend all day yesterday was well worth it! They loooooooooved their Starbucks tumblers!!!!

And of course I made one for Mom Nena as well:I *was* going make one for myself, but I couldn't find a pic of the kids *WITH* Japa in it....and he did tell me in advance that he was expecting a pic of HIM included in whatever I made for myself on my tumbler! Hehehehehe.

***for a closer look at the layout in tumbler format, just click on the images above!

Marathons...of Sorts

Marathon 1: Pentecost Fun Run

We got up bright and early to do a fun run organized by our parish church. We were outside the church a little bit before 7 am to register for the 3k fun run, get our numbers and stretch. I told the kids that I was NOT going to be walking, so they better not start walking super duper slow either, otherwise I'd lose sight of them.


Japa, we all assumed, would be running out in the front for time. Just because. And he did. The kids and I started out at the back of the pack and pretty much stayed there throughout the run, hehehehe. However, if you know me, you know that I had NO intention of coming in last ever at anything if I can help it. So even though I was pushing Rogan and Raine to run run RUN faster, I was telling myself NOT to stop and walk like they were. I did want to finish the whole thing in less than half an hour!

I did stop and turn back towards where Rogan and Raine were just so I wouldn't lose sight of them once we turned onto a busy street. Raegan passed me, but I had to make sure the other two were nearby before I ran after Raegan to finish the race. I passed Raegan and made a respectable time of 20:21 (I think, if I recall correctly). Raegan came in after 10 seconds or so while Raine and Rogan stumbled across the finish line past the 21 minute mark.

And Japa being Japa, he scolded Rogan and Raine for walking most of the way. Sigh. I still maintain they didn't walk most of the way. Maybe half. Hehehehe. They'll get better I'm sure! And the best part is, I did get some much needed exercise! Sure, it had to take the whole family to ensure that I did my part, but it worked!!! :)

Marathon 2: Scrap, scrap and scrap.

Why? For one reason and one reason alone: it's Mother's Day tomorrow!!! I can't post yet what I did for the moms in the family, because that will spoil the surprise, but it is going to be a great one! In a small way, hehehehe. I'm just glad I kind of coerced Japa into taking the kids to the pediatrician for some vaccine shots and wellness check ups. That would've taken me the whole afternoon, for sure!

As it is, I'm *still* scrapping and printing away here!

Are You Beautiful?

Here's your chance to be discovered, especially in the world of modeling. Not an easy industry I know, but there sure are a lot of people out there waiting for their very chance for someone to notice them.

Enter the world of Look of the year, probably the easiest way to enter a Beauty contest. Just click on the link, sign up and leave the rest to the people who surf the internet. They get to go and actually vote for you! Not only do you get discovered and live the life of a Model, you get to win some major bucks, too! How cool ---and EASY--- is that?!?

So, if you are Young (that means 19 years old and below) and feel that you are Beautiful, what are you waiting for? Go and sign up, sit back, and wait to be discovered if you have got the look of the year.

The Surprise Party That Wasn't

Well, it started out with good intentions, I guess. Zhar really really wanted to give Rod the surprise party that he had been hinting about, hehehehe. So she decided to give him one. The only thing was, Rod sort of guessed it....because of Zhar!!!

Let's see what the dead giveaways were:

1. Zhar dressed up nice and pretty to watch a movie. We're talking a nice sort of almost-formal DRESS......to watch a movie!!! Rod pretty much suspected what was up the instant he saw her!

2. Zhar suddenly decided that they were going to stop at a spa (on the way home to supposedly have dinner with Mom and Dad) and have a quick back massage. Ooookay. Hehehehe. Rod KKNEW something was up!

3. When they pulled up at the front door of La Vista, it pretty much confirmed to Rod that there was a surprise for him.....they usually enter through the kitchen!

Oh well. I do think he was surprised to see who showed up at his surprise-that-wasn't-really-a-surprise-party, hehehehe. We had good numbers, we had taken care to have all the cars parked away from the gate, the tables and chairs were set well away from the front door, and everyone hid out in the formal dining room. When Rod set foot inside the foyer, everyone yelled surprise and sang the birthday song. So yes, there *was* some surprise on Rod's face...for all that he tried to hide it! Hmp!

I scrapped, too:

FEAR OF VEGETABLES

Happy Birthday Randy and Rodney!!!

Ok, Rodney first.....in this time zone :) Randy gets his turn tomorrow our time!

Rodney arrived from the States early this morning. And Zhar CALLED me at the ungodly hour of 630 AM!!! Normally, this wouldn't have fazed me, but I have been sleeping very late the past few weeks, so 630 am was super duper early. Anyway, she called to let us know that her and Rod were on their way to breakfast at Edsa Shang. I told her that Japa and I probably wouldn't be able to make it since we were still in bed.

After TEN minutes, she calls AGAIN. Hehehehe. She said Mom and Dad (!!!) were going to breakfast......and I said ummmmm.....I think we'll pass since Japa was still asleep. Since I was ALREADY up, I decided to take a shower....I had just gotten out when Lai texted and said her and Dic were on their way and so were Boydee and Bang with Mom and Dad.

Can you tell that this family will NOT STOP EATING?!?!?!?! And they'll drag each and every member into every eating occasion there is! So fine. I wake up Japa and tell him that we've GOT to go since we're the only ones that were going to be left behind. Sigh.

So we get dressed and are on our way. Mom texts me to ask WHY we weren't at breakfast and how surprised she was that we were actually missing a meal! Hehehehe. I called her to tell her we were on our way and that of COURSE we were NOT going to miss a buffet! :) Then I find out that Boydee and Bang weren't there!!!

And of COURSE I had to call Bang! I asked her why they weren't at breakfast. She said Boydee had a meeting at the office, and that she was going to have her McDonald's breakfast there. Ummm.....yeah. I told her to chuck that breakfast to the drivers and to get dropped off at Edsa Shang so that we can ALL enjoy a wonderful leisurely breakfast with the family.

And we did. But we sure missed you, Randy and Stella!!! Wish you had been there!

***

After breakfast, we all went our separate ways. Literally. With the number of cars we had between us, I almost wasn't able to catch a ride going home! Sheesh! I squeezed myself in with the lovebirds since Rod was going to take a shower at home. Whew! Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what to do with myself! And I didn't have my laptop with me to boot, so there was no way I was going to the office without my baby mac-mac!!! :)

I spent the rest of the day at La Vista.....waiting for Tita Nonie to arrive for lunch since she was bringing lechon from Cebu. The kids waited for her oh-so-patiently (ok, not so much towards the end, hehehehe) so that they could sink their teeth into the REAL Cebu lechon! :)

With all the eating we've been doing, it was great timing that Dr Mitch had given me my Duromine yesterday! Yeah! At least it curbed my appetite by a LOT, so I know I didn't eat as much as I could have, hehehehe. I don't mind drinking the meds, just as long as they work for me. But I'm careful with the dosage of course; I don't want to end up in drug rehab you know!

You would think all these gluttony would end.....oh no no no no!! There was still dinner to consider!!! Hahahahahaha! I didn't leave La Vista since I had to download stuff for scrapping. And I DID scrap, finally finishing the 4th month of all the kids, with these pages for Ranger:


Yup, two pages in one afternoon! Yay me!

For dinner, we went to Choi in Annapolis. Chinese. Ugh. Again, thank goodness for my meds, I didn't eat as much so it was ok :)

Yes, gluttony is a sin. And our family seems to love indulging in this guilty pleasure whenever we can. Hard to stop really, despite the diabetes, the asthma, the obesity......hehehehe. Hey, it's FUN to EAT!!!

TTFN!

Productivity!!!

Yes, it's been quite a productive day! Lai and I were up early to go to jology Cubao to the PAL ticketing office. Today was the last day of the half-miles promo so off course we joined the rest of the Philippine population who decided to do everything at the very LAST minute!!! Sigh! When will we ever learn?!?!? But then again, I guess having a huge family, tuitions to pay and budgeting constraints really don't allow us to make sudden, spur-of-the moment decisions. Sort of. Hehehe.

Check out Mickey in his chinese costume.....yup, we're going to Hong Kong Disneyland!!! Obviously, if we had a choice we'd be going to Anaheim or to Orlando, but hey, beggars can't be choosers eh? Besides, the ONLY available dates we were able to get is in September.....and the kids have school. As it is, we're pulling them from their schools for 2 days only since we're going over the weekend. Not too bad, actually. Now, we need to pray that the dates of our trip don't hit their first quarter exams!!! Hehehehehe.

Now, all that needs to be done is budgeting for food and maybe a little bit of souvenir shopping at the park. Hotel and transportation, too. Admission tickets. Sheesh! The costs are going to start adding up!!! Yowzer! But I can't wait to have character breakfasts with the kids; I'm pretty sure most of our meals will be buffet-style, so at least the kids will be happy. Not to mention totally satiated each and every single day of our trip!!! Hahaahaaha!

The scrapper in me is uber excited of course. I'm going to start stalking Sophia Sarducci's On Vacation series for page possibilities, hehehehe. And you KNOW that there are going to be TONS of pictures being taken because I *MUST MUST MUST* have a whole album for this experience!!! Can you imagine the kids' eyes rolling in their sockets now? hehehehehe. Not only the kids, actually. The men are going to DIE from all the photo opps Lai and I are going to make up for our albums!!!! *rubbing hands evilly* I canNOT wait!!!

After that full morning, we had a first Wednesday mass at the office. I stayed for a few minutes after lunch, then went to see Dr Mitch to get another leptin shot. I lost a total of 3 pounds (despite the heavy lunch I had just eaten!!!) and a half inch here and there, and an inch or so here and there!!! COOOOOOOL!!!

Productivity, I tell you!

And yes, to top it all off, I scrapped a page :)

MONT ST MICHEL (2)

TTFN!

Where Did the Day Go?

Well! *insert exasperated sigh here* Who would have known that a day at the office would fly by so fast? Hehehehe. I was kept busy with paperwork and making some calls regarding vault adjustments, but that was it, as far as I can remember! I also did have to fire someone and have given her a 2-week notice. Now I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that we can find someone else in that span of time.

I never realized how emotionally draining being at Human Resources is. Sheesh! No wonder some companies prefer that you have a degree in guidance counseling! It really isn't easy dealing with so many different and complex personalities in an organization....

I passed by the grocery store today to buy only junk food. I've been craving for junk food the past week or so, especially when I'm up until the wee hours of the morning but have been frustrated for NOT having anything to munch on while I watch Las Vegas on tv, hehehe. So off I went to Rustan's and loaded my cart with ALL junk food. The healthiest thing I grabbed was probably the 2 loaves of bread and 2 bags of pandesal. That was it. Everything else included packs of Doritos, Clover Chips, Ruffles, Pringles, E-aji potato chips.......yup, I've definitely loaded up on the junk food!!!

Here's looking to an evening filled with Las Vegas....and chips, hehehehe. Scrapping has been put aside for now since I don't want to think. I'm *that* tired! :)

A Loooong Day

It was a loooong day today, mainly because I've been operating and moving zombie-like with only 3 hours of sleep!!! Ugh! For some reason, I could NOT sleep last night.....yes, I was watching Las Vegas but that wasn't enough to keep me up, really! When I felt the first vestiges of sleep coming, I immediately turned off the tv and closed my eyes. Sigh! Oh well.

We were up early for our weekly Columbarium meeting at MVC. And with no agenda, we thought we were going to have a short meeting. Um, nope. Mom was there, and with her and Boydee discussing in their endless debating style, it was FOREVER before we were able to leave!!! All talk of setting up new companies, management contracts, interior designing, furnishing the new offices, job descriptions, adjusting vault locations due to the widening of some fiberglass columns and org charts didn't help me fight off sleep at all! I could NOT wait for that meeting to end, I swear!!! But we finally ended going home at about 3 pm, and I just lay in bed for a couple of hours trying to sleep. In vain.

Oh well. I guess I'm recovering from NSD, hehehe. I did scrap over the weekend, finishing up pages for The Sisterhood Challenge:

5th MONTH-RAEGAN
5th MONTH-RAINE

The boys' pages will have to wait. I don't think I can scrap today, hehehe.

Happy {Inter} National Scrapbooking Day!!!

Whoohoohoo!! Yes, I'm afraid there's still a little bit more shopping that I want to do, hehehehe. We ended up not going to mass yesterday evening, so our morning was spent getting up late (we were watching Las Vegas until late last night), getting ready for mass, and going to mass. So I know I totally missed a whole lot of NSD fun, but then again, with the time difference and everything, I'm not sure what I missed, LOL!

So here's what I got over at Sophia Sarducci's:


My goal is to get her entire On Vacation Series a little piece at a time, depending on her sales :) I figure with the ton of Disney photos I've got, it's going to be worth it! I also got the grab bags from Sophia, Antonia and Patrizia. Lots of goodies, and yes I'm *still* downloading the last part of my On Vacation series as I type this!

Ok, I'm off to see whatever deals I can still get.....AND *SCRAP* at the same time!!!

TTFN and I hope everyone had an awesome NSD today!

No Internet and Pre-NSD

Yup, I've been updating either at the office or in La Vista. Pisses me off really, since the internet provider hasn't come up with a more valid response than "we're looking into it." Grrrr! This is the third day I think, and it is NOT making me happy at all!!! The internet people should be sending some people over to the village to fix the problem TODAY. Hopefully, when we get home tonight, everything should be a-ok.

I've started my NSD shopping early....that's National Scrapbooking Day, if you're not a scrapper and have no idea what NSD is, hehehehe. I've hit Kay Miller Designs and Nitwit Collections first thing, taking advantage of their (rare) 30% off sale!

Yes, I couldn't resist all these goodies, especially since we're doing the kids' first year album for The Sisterhood Challenge. Likely excuse, but hey, they ARE darling kits aren't they? :)

I know I got some stuff from Kate Hadfield, Rachel Young and Tracy Ann Robinson too:


Oh, and I almost forgot Amanda Rockwell and Iara of Baers Garten:

This is going to be a LOT of downloading time involved, so I'm crossing my fingers that internet problem will be solved when we get home!!!

TTFN!

Labor Day

No work today! Not that everyone celebrates Labor Day, but that's just me talking.....it's been weeks since I've held and read a newspaper, hehehe.

Straight from Wikipedia, Labor Day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resuted from efforts of the labor union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. The holiday had its origins in the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

Additionally, I found this interesting tidbit about this holiday:

"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

Quite true, huh? *I* thought that was one for the trivia books :)

We took the kids out for breakfast, at Crowne. And yes, of course, the kids stuffed themselves silly. Good thing they're starting to develop love of fruits, so at least they're getting the necessary fiber in their bodies.

We lingered after breakfast, waiting for the mall to open so we could watch the newly-opened Iron Man.

Synopsis: Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

Rogan was enjoying every single moment of the film, while the girls were cowering in their seats, scrambling to hold hands and covering their eyes with their hands. Hehehehe. You can TOTALLY tell the difference between boys and girls when we watch an action-packed movie! Too funny, I thought.

I thought this was a pretty brilliant movie, especially in terms of cinematography and special effects. My ears are still ringing from all the clanging going on in the movie!

Afterwards, Japa took the kids to Time Zone again, where they burned up all the calories they ingested over breakfast. In the afternoon, while Japa went with the kids to swimming, I stayed home trying to scrap and watching Las Vegas season 2. :) This show is so addicting! :)

TTFN!