US Trip

Aaargh! Blogger ate my post!!! Grrrr!

Anyway, in a nutshell, we're still unsure as to when to book for our trip to the States. With Tita San back in the hospital, Mom can't decide when to leave. It used to be that she was all set to leave by the first week of July. But because Tita San was rushed to the ICU for pneumonia complications Friday morning and the doctors have given her a few days to live, Mom can't make heads or tails of this news.

If we go with the original plans, it would be Hawaii for Japa and me, taking Dad with us. Mom would be meeting us there. It would be nice to find some great Hawaii Vacation Rentals not on Oahu but on the Big Island or Maui for a nice change of scenery. Although Mom and Dad are not beach people, they enjoy staying in resorts and ocean front vacation spots. They also enjoy staying in condos as opposed to spartan hotel settings. It's always nice to have some laundry facilities AND kitchen facilities for sure. With this family's love for eating, a kitchen is a MUST whenever we vacation for more than a couple of days.

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive.com.

Wedding Giveaways

The Sisterhood was in charge of the wedding giveaways of Randy and Stella. We were doing chaplets to St. Therese. We thread memory wire through 24 pearls, 26 silver filler beads, and through a St. Therese medallion. Put some glue on the silver rubber-filled stoppers and voila! A chaplet!

Chaplet making was a lot of work; fun, but a lot of work. We had to make 400-500 chaplets...and these were for the female guests! Woodeb beads were used for the male guests; we had 300 of those.

Wish we had learned of unique wedding favors* sooner, hehehe. A plethora of truly different kinds of giveaways, including gifts for the wedding entourage! For the scrapper in me, there were picture coasters and a mini-album. There's a bunch of personalized favors as well, ranging from matchbooks to champagne and water labels, to CD labels. Other unique favors include a bucket of flower seed packets (personalized of course!), chocolate bars (yumm!), wonderfully-shaped rose soaps (they look real, too!) and totally cute wedding cookie favors! These are sugar cookies shaped and decorated to look like the bride and groom.

So for the next wedding, I'll be sure to look this site up for different wedding favors for sure. Let's see....there's Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary and Rod and Zhar's wedding. What do you think, guys?

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive.com.

Trading Overseas

Not physical trading, but stocks. Japa just told me he was looking to trading internationally, more specifically in China and in the US. He is scheduled to talk to this guy who can help him trade. I wonder how different this is from an options screener*....I've come across that term recently and I've always been intrigued by it. :)

I don't like anything to do with finance but if there is a tool out there that helps you analyze the millions of stocks and bonds out there in a timely manner, wouldn't that be a huge help? Time saving too, I'm assuming. Japa's tied to his laptop every weekday morning because of trading. I'm sure this will be a big help to him.

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive.com.

Additional Education

Hmmmm....school again, anyone? At least nowadays, it is so easy to "go back" to school. With the plethora of online colleges now, it's as simple as clicking on "Enroll". With schools such as capella university*, getting an [additional] degree for me should be quite an experience, I think. There's such a wide variety of choices of degrees to choose from now, sometimes it's mind-boggling, especially when I see the "newer" degrees available.

I've always wanted to get into Law and also Education...so maybe getting a degree in either of these areas online is an option worth considering, in my honest opinion. Okay, my biased opinion. I've always like school, and online schooling is looking more and more appealing. Now, to find more hours in a day..........

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, visit Blogitive.com.

Update #2 for the Day

Yes, it's late, but best to write down the update before I forget. The OB-GYN finally got to Tita San, and from what I understood from Bang (who got the info from Mom who was at the hospital), the poop did NOT --- did NOT!--- come from the vaginal opening. It did in fact, come from the rectum and just spread to the front of the diaper due to the sheer amount of it.

Gross, I know, but it was SUCH a relief to know that there was no need for another panic attack for Tita San's condition. Tito Lito was probably having one, but I discounted that mainly because a resident from the hospital had confirmed it. Oh well. At least it's not yet another thing to worry about. Whew!

{Flowers or Food?}

I don't know what it is about Filipinos and hospitals but where people in the States bring flowers to visit someone at the hospital, here people bring food! Each hospital room has a refrigerator and closet space with shelves to hold these gobs of food people bring! Seriously! I mean really, can the patient eat all these junk? Sigh! I wonder if other cultures do the same thing? :)

Flowers* are always a wonderful addition to any room, but most especially to a sick person's room. Flowers brighten the room immensely, and provide a wonderful relief of COLOR to drab hospital rooms. I love the splashes of reds and pinks and yellows and greens that a huge bouquet gives a room. If you were the patient, you'd feel a lot more cheerful if you were to see this colorful bunch of flowers in your room, too!

Flowers for any given occasion is awesome too; but sometimes getting flowers just for the heck of it is always sweet :). Of course, I'm also practical....sometimes I'd rather get something else other than flowers. Like cookies or chocolates, hehehe. So if I were in the hospital, you don't need to send me a huge delivery of flowers; a much smaller one will do (for the splash of color in the room), along with a good book to read, or a Sudoku book to do. :)

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, visit Blogitive.com.

Oh, Another School Prep To Do!

Another thing that needs to be done BEFORE school starts is have ALL the kids go to their dentist. Sigh! More bills! Argh! And this is on top of tuition fees! :) It is SO not cheap to have kids! But I love them, hehehe.

For the past few years, a few days before school, the kids all troop to Dr. Buduan's office for their first dental check of the year. A friendly reminder: visits to your dentist are encouraged TWICE a year! :) Thank goodness her clinic is just 5 minutes away, so it's not a major trip in any way.

When they're a bit older, I'm going to look for a clinic like the Hayfield Dental Care Clinic. I love places where they cater to both adults and children. Also, they have an orthodontist on board, which means not having to go to another clinic just for braces (which I'm pretty sure some of my kids will need in the next few years!). They also offer FREE orthodontic consultations; at least I'll have an idea of how much I really need to spend to pretty-up the kids' teeth, hehehe! Their dentists have also had perfect records with zero complaints. Zero! How can you beat that! But the best part is that they are open for you if you happen to have a dental emergency! No need to drug myself (or the kids!) with pain killers for toothaches. Just drive on through!

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, visit Blogitive.com.

Some of Ranger's Loves

Aside from Mama (hehehe), Ranger loves his Thomas the Train trains. All of them. He has gazillions and knows them all by name. One of my goals is to scrap a whole album of some of his favorite ones.

This is the third page:

I LOVE JAMES
Ranger having fun with James, the latest train in his ever-growing collection.

Journaling reads: James has 6 wheels. He isn’t as big as Gordon, or as small as Thomas. He has a bright red coat and a brass dome. James is a mixed traffic engine: he can pull both passenger and freight cars.

Credits: kit - Pearls of Joy by Royanna Fritschmann at Divine Digital; cardboard tear - by Linda Gil Billdal at Scrap Artist; fonts Century Gothic, Adler, DJB JenB2 by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; layered sketch - Collection 18 by Jen Caputo

Ranger has fallen in love with Dora, so Thomas and friends have taken a backseat for now. But I'm going to be snapping photos of him once he gets those trains out!

Another of Ranger's loves? Donuts. Chocolate covered ones. He loves Krispy Kreme ones, Starbucks ones, and I can't wait for him to try these Wonka Donutz. I've tried the Wonka chocolate bars, so I just know these are going to be delish as well! :)

Had to share a pic of them, hehehe. They look yummy, and oh-so-caloric! I'm not sure how big these donutz are, but they come in packs of 24. Don't they look yummy with all that chocolate and all those sprinkles? I'm sure the kids (and not just Ranger) are going to love them! Didn't know these snacks were vintage-type, until I read that about them! Cool, huh?

*This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

That Time of the Month: Bills!

Yup. I go into the office and the first thing I see on my desk are bills. I open up my Inbox and the first thing I see are bills. Sigh! Time to juggle money around again. The cycle never stops, does it?

Thank goodness for my trusty credit card! Or credit cardS, with a capital S! For someone who abhors taking cash with her, these plastic cards are heaven-sent! :) I am lucky to be able to have a whole world of different credit cards available to me. There are some out there that have a very difficult time trying to get approved for these plastic wonders. But honestly, there are a lot of different kinds of cards out there, and one that will fit everyone.

There are credit cards for students and for businesspeople. Cards connected to the airlines for points. Cards specifically for gas or for a department store. Of course, one of the best features of a credit card is one that will allow you to accumulate points everytime you use it. Then you can convert those points into some fun items :)

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Talk of Wedding Gold

Randy and Stella's wedding is coming up fast: June 22! In a previous post, I blogged about the arrhae they needed for the wedding. For non-Filipino folks, this is what the coin bearer carries down the aisle, after the ring bearer who bears the rings of the couple. In Filipino custom, the arrhae is given by the groom to the bride to signify that he will take care of her financially and will support her during their married life. The arrhae consists of coins arranged in some manner (I don't think there's a specific way) and is taken from the coin bearer and given to the groom to give to the bride during the wedding ceremonies.

All our arrhae so far have been patterned after Mom and Dad's original one: they look like some sort of small crown, with the coins dangling from the lower ring, with a solitary coin hanging in the middle. All our arrhae (mine, Rondic's and Boydee's) were all dipped in silver. However, for Randy and Stella's wedding, we had to re-think the silver motif since their colors were white, black and GOLD.

So I called Imelda, our jeweler, to give me a quotation for an arrhae dipped in not silver but in gold. I needed to know the price to be able to give a go signal to her because Mom was still in Korea attending to Tita San at that time. I figure if it was a mangeable figure, then Mom wouldn't mind and needn't be bothered by a call or text message about the whole thing. Imagine my surprise (and horror!) when from a silver arrhae that cost P7,500, the gold-dipped arrhae would cost a whopping P125,000!!!! Yowzer!!!

Obviously, I know gold is expensive. Even more so, in these times of low dollar exhange rates and all. Gold has always been an investment type of commodity. No doubt about it. Gold is safe, and its value will only appreciate, rarely depreciating. No wonder Mom loves gold, hehehe. Gold has always been a sign of status, of wealth. Kings, queens, emperors and empresses...they all wear gold on their bodies or clothing.

No wonder Japa talks of investing in gold. This is the one and only commodity that is a sure thing. It increases purchasing power and gives the investor a sense of stability. Bullion, bars, jewelry. Gold is gold, and is the all-powerful investment.

As for the arrhae, I told Imelda to dip the whole thing in silver and coat it in some color to give the effect of gold. It will be used for a whole 2 minutes in the entire ceremony after all, and will be put in the vault for safekeeping.....for when Randy and Stella's kids get married :)

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Homeward Bound

Tita San will be coming home tonight. She will probably be in a stretcher, if the airline will allow it, along with an oxygen tank on hand, again, depending on whether the airline will allow it. Her doctor, Dr. Bitanga, will be traveling with her from Korea to Manila, as well as Tito Lito and Mom. An ambulance will be waiting for her, ready to whisk her to the ICU at Medical City.

I am blogging everything I can about Tita San and her arrival so that our relatives in the States can read about any updates on Tita San's condition. I'm sure Valerie will be checking my blog *wink* as well as Roc and maybe Peach (hehehe). Roselle and family, I'm not so sure when they can check in; I think they're in Orlando now, having fun with Mickey Mouse and company.

I remember Roselle asking about resorts and any orlando discount hotel that we have stayed at before. When staying in Orlando, it's always best to do some research before you actually get there. Aside from the plethora of gigantic theme parks within a small area (i.e., Kissimmee), Orlando has so much more to offer!

There's shopping of course, some nightlife sans the kiddos, and the food! Of course the food! This family loves to eat, and we've run the gamut of all sorts of eateries in this magical place that we call Orlando. I cannot wait to go back with the kids. And we're staying for more than a week, too, so that we won't have to rush to see everything!

{SCRAPS}

Still doing pages for my Cebu album....here's another one done:

ENOUGH, MAMA!
Ranger was sick and tired of indulging Mama to smile for the camera, hehehe. He just wanted OUT of the hot sun!

Credits: kit - Spunky by Rina Kroes at SBE; license plates - Creative License by Dani Mogstad; fonts - Love Ya Like a Sister, DJB Lorraine Bold by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo

Isn't this such a FUNNY page? Hehehehe. That expression of Ranger was just too priceless to NOT scrap! So now it is forever remembered! :)

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information please visit Blogitive.com.

Forgot to Post these Scraps!

Can't believe I forgot to post my Scraps yesterday! I guess if you slept at 6 am the FOLLOWING day, then you'd forget too, hehehe. Can you believe I stayed up that late? All I had was a can of Diet Coke at about 3 pm.....that shouldn't keep me up, should it? Sheesh!

Anyhoo, here are my layouts:

JUMPING GIRLS
Not really a sports page, but these photos of my brother's girlfriend, Zhar, and the girls running and jumping while at Chateau de Busay in Cebu reminded me of Athletics. The girls' ages range from 6 to 10. Zhar is 28

Quote by Joan L. Curcio reads: Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty, fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars.

Journaling reads: Tita Zhar was like a little kid let loose as she held hands with the girls and demonstrated how to run and jump as high as possible. Squeals of girlish giggles echoed across the grounds of Chateau de Busay as the jumping girls showed off for the cameras.

Credits: Kit - Spring has Spring by Kim Smith at SDK; embroidered flowers - Spring Mix by Amy Martin; sequins - Sequin Bits by Amy Martin; vintage frames - by Nancy Comelab; alpha - Big Stitched Alpha Template by Janet Phillips; font - Colour Me Purple; 2-page layered template, stitches - Smart Start A by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo

If you want to leave me some love, or want to take a closer look at each separate page, click on the pages:

Isn't that cute? :) Hehehe. Love the 2-pager templates by Darcy...but sometimes it is just sooo hard to find a lot of pictures for a particular event!

Cebu was definitely a FUN vacation. The family should go and do this more often. One thing we should look at is a vacation at an all inclusive family resort. This simply means that after paying the travel agent or the online booking facility (wherever you get your tickets), that's it. You don't have to pay anything else. Kind of like a cruise. Whatever you pay for upfront is it. No other additional expenses for food and drinks. Although in a cruise, you pay for drinks for a sit-down dinner.

Japa and I honeymooned at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica. Ten years ago, whew! Then, it was hard to find a FAMILY resort that was all-inclusive. Not that we looked for one, hehehe. But with 4 kids in tow now, a priority is trying to get the best deal. We'd love to take the kids to Jamaica or the Dominican Republic or Mexico, which is probably the closest to SoCal. Good thing our kids are natural water babies and love the water. Swimming pool, beach, doesn't matter. Just as long as they can romp around in their swimsuits all day, they are set.

Yes, the more I write about an all-inclusive resort, the sweeter it sounds. Now, to try out my powers of persuasion on either Japa or Mom and Dad. Hehehe.

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information please visit Blogitive.com.

Orlando Fun

Just got an email from Roselle asking about RCI resorts to stay in while in Las Vegas, San Diego and Orlando. I told her that she'd have to look through the rci website so that she can take a look at the accommodations for each resort.

I did tell her that for Orlando, it would be best to stay in the Kissimmee area, just because it's the closest to the Magic Kingdom and all the other theme parks AND it's got a lot of resorts or other places situated there.

Of course, to fully enjoy Mickey Mouse and friends, it's always beneficial to obtain Disney Discount Tickets --- there's something about enjoying something more if you were able to get a huge discount to enjoy it, hehehe. :)

Orlando. I always have fun here. I've told Japa that the next time we go, it has to be at least 2 weeks to fully enjoy everything AND relax. With 4 kids, we need that relaxing bit! I love the Park Hopper tickets, which let you go in and out of any of the Disney parks for each day of your ticket. That to me, is the best deal, short of buying an annual pass. Another cool option is to get the tickets with NO EXPIRATION on them! So if you don't use a day or 2 of your ticket during your stay, you can always come back and still have some tickets to use!

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information please visit Blogitive.com.

Appreciative Coaching, i.e., Positive Reinforcement

Sometimes, when life just seems too much, I think back to the days of when I was still in school. No major worries except for tests, quizzes, group work, etc. Barely a financial worry since Mom and Dad took care of everything. :)

The quest for higher education always intrigued me. I remember when I was in Grade School, it was one of my goals in life to get my Master's Degree. In what, I didn't know then, just that I wanted to have one. Ahhh...the simplicity of life then, eh?

Even as "responsible adults" one should still continue our education. There are still a lot of things out there that we don't know. Things are always changing, evolving. In the business place, there is talk of Appreciative Coaching. I've come across this term in the sports world first. While dragon boating and rowing (sweeps and sculls), I was lucky enough to have male coaches who knew how to coach women.

With women, it is easier to get results if we are reinforced in a positive way. No screaming-in-our face, no swearing methods will work. Maybe on men, but definitely not on women. For women, we like to hear the positive things that we are doing. Things like good job, looking good, and way to go, are things that we women like to hear.

In my work in the HR department, I find that I can easily apply the principles of appreciative coaching as well. We help the employee focus on his or her goals and how he or she can follow a path to attain those specific goals. We don't dwell on the negative aspects (although they should be touched on and learned from, definitely) but instead reinforce the GOOD things that a particular employee has done. This in turn, makes the employee more productive and more conducive to working....all because of a few choice words of "great job you're doing."

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.