Earth Day Part 2

Today is Earth Day the DAY. :) The kids started to freak out when I mentioned that we were celebrating Earth Day today. I meant "we" in the collective, globewide "we". They thought that we were going to "celebrate" by not using any electricity for one whole day (as opposed to Earth Hour when it was just one HOUR). LOL.

I went over to the Earth Day Network, to use the Footprint Calculator, and see how many planets are needed to sustain my lifestyle. The results:


Sheesh! It would take NINE planet Earths to sustain MY kind of lifestyle IF everyone on Earth lived like me! And I thought I was pretty ok, trying to do my part to save Mother Earth! I guess I have a penchant for relying too much on convenience and technology.

I spent a couple of hours running all over the place buying last minute stuff that we need for our trip to Hong Kong. Thank goodness I decided against going to the office. It practically took me the ENTIRE day to pack everything! Two suitcases and a duffle bag. No rush, no panicking. Just a slow, systematic way of putting everything in the proper place. :) Yes, call me OC.

I was able to:

1. buy my hanger-thingy for my undies
2. get the R4 cartridge for one of the kids' DS
3. buy Krispy Kreme for the kiddos :)
4. shop for vienna sausage for food on the plane (yes, the kids WILL eat that no matter what)
5. withdraw some much needed money for food and incidentals

All the above in the space of a couple of hours. Not bad, I say!

Ok, continuing to pack.....

Happy 11th Birthday, Raegan!!!

Oh my goodness! My first baby is ELEVEN years old today!!!!! Officially (?) a tween....or has she been a tween for several years now and I was just clueless? Lol. Wouldn't put it past me! :)

A different birthday "celebration" of sorts.....Raegan and I are in Singapore and everyone else in Manila. Well, we did have a "pre-birthday" dinner of sorts before we left, when we ate at Sweet Inspirations, but I guess it's still always best to do something special on your birthday.

So.

We started the day getting up REALLY early. We did have a swim meet to go to, hehehe. Breakfast was a pathetic bowl of noodles. Yeah. The breakfast of champions right there, bwahahahaha! But the birthday girl was pretty content and looked happy with her noodly power breakfast:


Packing up the things she would need for the day, Raegan didn't forget her birthday gift, her new Guitar Hero for the Nintendo DS:


We actually got this yesterday, at a Toys R Us inside a mall on Orchard Road, but I told her she could only open it today, for her birthday. So she was excited to rip into the box and prepare everything for her (long) day today.

The birthday girl had a pretty good day, swim-wise. She improved on all her times, and came in first in 2 heats and 2nd in another. The Singaporeans were just incredibly fast! Raegan was 16th (out of 28th) overall, the top swimmer from the Philippines in the 10 and under category.


Her second event was 100m freestyle, one of her favorites (I think). She came in first in her heat, and placed 15th out of 33. Again, top swimmer from the Philippines in her age category, woot!


Last event for the day was what seems to be Raegan's specialty. At least, that's what it looks like to my untrained eye. The 200m individual medley. I like to think that Raegan's coaches took note of her potential in this event when she placed 4th last year at Mantas. Raegan came in 2nd in her heat (to some Singaporean) and was 14th overall, out of 24 swimmers. There was one other Filipina swimmer, and another from Brunei. The rest were Singaporeans.

Yes, the swim meet pretty much took the whole day, never mind the fact that we left right after Raegan's last event. After a couple of hours rest at the hotel, we were off to dinner. An early dinner, since we all had to be up with the moon, er, sun, tomorrow.

Raegan shopped for a few things, the FIRST time she willingly and enthusiastically shopped for clothes! Lai got her a pair of shorts and a shirt for her birthday, too, which added to Reagan's stash for the day, hehehe.

Here's my baby's "first official shopping spree":


And for dinner? Raegan treated us to an all-time favorite: KFC!!!


hahahahaha! I know, I know, what a place to celebrate! But trust me, we ALL wanted KFC! While I was buying our chicken, Lai went to the nearby Yoshinoya to buy R.I.C.E. Of COURSE we had to have rice with our chicken! Wouldn't be complete without it!

And yes, we were STUFFED by the end of the meal! Not to worry, the kids definitely need it for tomorrow's events. As for us moms, uhm..........it was a GREAT meal! Bwahahaahahha!

Shopping for Scraps

There's a HUGE sale going on at Weeds and Wildflowers Designs today! A sale I've been waiting for so that I could pick up the Life 365 Collection....and then some. Yes!

Here's the wonderful stash I got. Stuff that I had saved for---which meant NOT buying anything in the scrapping world for several weeks. Seriously!




I spent most of the day downloading. With our wonky connection, it had to take the whole day! Grrr! Something going on there......hopefully it's because they're improving speed and all. Sigh!

I canNOT wait to scrap with these! Whoohooo!!! Sooooo worth scrimping for all these!

7 Chikkas and an Unico Hijo

7 Chicks and a Guy. That was us, traveling to Hong Kong. Mom, Lola, 4 sisters-in-law and me......oh, and Rod, the Chikko. Hehehehe.

It was supposed to be an all-girls trip, but Rod maneuvered himself in and thank goodness he did! At least he did the guy-stuff, like get most of our bags from the baggage conveyor, lug the bags in and out of the airport bus, carry the ton of stuff we shopped.....and ate the food that no one else could stuff inside our already-full selves!

Yes boys, this is the barest minimum of what is expected of you when you go with the girls.

I'm stealing this pic off off Zhar's blog since I don't have any pics. I (wisely) didn't bring a camera, big OR small. Stella took tons of pics and Elizza brought out her camera when we insisted she did (probably because Stella's cam had run out of batteries). Hahahahaha.


And what a trip we had! The main purpose of the trip was twofold: One, to force mom to have some R&R, what with all the time she stayed at the hospital watching over Dad, AND two, to eat authentic Chinese food. This CRAVING for REAL Chinese food started with Bang and Elizza a few weeks ago. We didn't get our fill of real Chinese food during the Chinese New Year, and it's been a topic of conversation ever since.

So....our Hong Kong trip was filled with tasty, authentic Chinese food. For ALL meals except breakfast. We had our regular breakfast at the Executive Lounge and it was quite filling, really. However, with Bang in charge of food (O.M.G!!!), our tummies were streeeeeeeetched out to the max with 3.5 days of appetizing, heavy, oily and yummy lunches and dinners!!! Heeeeelp! hahahahaha!

It was a FUN-filled trip, too, with the laughter, the secrets (that weren't really secrets since everyone knew what it was before the hour was up), the kikay stuff, the shopping....and the eating. I took pics with my phone for my photo-for-the-day, but that was it.

I leave it up to you to click on my sisters' blogs on the right for a full-blown account of where we ate and what. I don't think I remember everything!

All I know is that we had delish Peking duck, dimsum and the uber uber yummy lobster in some creamy buttery sauce, on the last night that Tony (friend of the twins from Taiwan) brought us near the racestrack. Oh my oh my oh my! That was just DIVINE!!!

It was the FIRST time I remember us being gone from our hotel room the WHOLE DAY! From after breakfast to AFTER dinner! Whoa! And we had Lola with us, too! Whew! By the end of the trip, my back was so sore from all the walking and the standing. Foolish me forgot to bring a gidle to act as a brace of sorts. Tsk, tsk!

I did manage to scrap, though, so my bringing my laptop wasn't a total waste! Hehehehe.

ON THE CAROUSEL

Hong Kong Still

still eating......

and eating.....

and eating..........

ok, throw in some shopping too! :)

Still in Hong Kong

Eating.......

eating...........

and

eating.............

I Couldn't Help Myself....

...The fabulously talented Kate Hadfield had an awesome too-good-to-pass-up 40% off sale at her store and I picked up some of the cutest stuff I've been eying:





Now tell me that those weren't SO worth it!!! When will I use them? I have NO idea, but they were just too cute to pass up! Probably on the kids' First Year Books for the Sisterhood Challenge...we'll see. I can't wait to play with them though!

I scrapped quite a few pages today, here are a couple:

LOVIN' RAINE'S BOOTS
WHIPPED CREAM FACE

Go ahead and click on the images to leave me some love! :)

Shopping for Cars

Ahhhh, the world of cars. As a normal female, I can tell you I could care less about a vehicle's features. Sure, I like the basics: air-conditioning, options for music (this means a radio, hehehe), power windows, automatic transmission, and power-steering. Oh, and an SUV would be nice since it's been a tried and true thing for me, especially in this country of flooding. :)

But ask me about the engine, the wheels, the chassis, the seats? I don't even look at those things, really! For me, just as long as it goes and I can drive it (see basics above), I'm fine.

Now, our little family isn't so little anymore. For the longest time, Japa and I have been considering getting a new (or gently-used) car that'll fit all of us comfortable WITH trunk space. Sasha the Everest was peachy when the kids were in their older toddler years. Now, Ranger's the toddler and the others aren't. Ummmm....you can just picture us in the Everest squooshed in. Thrown in 1 driver and 1 yaya, and you've got a car of sardines. Fat sardines, with the exception of Japa and Ranger.

Hahahaahha! I can't get the picture of that from my head!!! Can you???

Anyway, we've narrowed down our search to 3 vehicles:

1. First up, our "bugaw" car, the Chrysler C300:

The C300 is one of the few cars that Japa and I agreed on. We both like the look of it, basically. And yes, I *know* our family's not going to fit in there, but it sure would look FINE when we have formal occasions, hehehe. I drove this car when Rod's car was brought to La Vista. Man oh man oh man! It drove like a DREAM! Like a Benz (no wonder, it shares the same chassis with some Mercedes model---like I would know that, if Bobby, the salesguy didn't mention it), but definitely NOT at the price of a Mercedes!

Rod got an excellent deal on his, but Japa wanted the Hemi C300. To me, they both looked EXACTLY the same. Japa made me go out to look at the Hemi to compare. Ok. The difference? The engine is supposedly more powerful, needed for a heavy car such as this one, there are 2 tailpipes instead of one (like I *CARE* about tailpipes!!!) and the leather was finer. The leather was finer. Yup, you read that right. Could I tell the difference? Nope!

2. Next, the Suburban:

When we were in the States, we were all set to purchase a Suburban and have it shipped here. But for some inane reason, GM (yes, the company that's about to go bankrupt and is waiting for bailout from the government) would NOT sell us the car?!?! What the??? I have NO idea why, but oh well.

We like this car for one main reason: the SIZE!!! Look at this baby!
Now, don't ask me about those model numbers there, I just got this pic off the internet. You think I can tell you the difference between the models?!? I seriously doubt it!

This car is a monster. Our entire family can fit in this car, including a yaya and maybe a driver....if Japa or I decide to let someone else drive it, hehehe. And the trunk space, oh the trunk space! Can someone say HUGE?

Another great thing about the suburban is, even if it runs on regular gas (as opposed to diesel), the engine is a technological wonder: if the car thinks your driving doesn't deserve a V-8 engine, it'll switch down to a 4-cylinder one! Cool huh? Yes, I listen to the salesperson's explanations you know! So aside from the size, the fuel-efficient engine is a definite plus.

The major downside to getting the Suburban? The PRICE!!! Ack!

3. Last car we're considering is the Hyundai Starex:

Not a winner in terms of looks, but man is it roomy inside! Even the back seats can move forward OR backward, depending on how much leg room you want! That is a major plus in favor of this car! The second row can also swivel...look at how much room this van has! Comfortable seats 8, maybe 9, but I count 8 seatbelts, how about you?

The starex has some great trunk space as well, which is what we're looking for, ultimatel y. With the kids' activities, they've got mountains of stuff they need to stuff in the trunk: Raine's taekwondo equipment (helmet, pads), Rogan's guitar for Kids' Band, and the kids' swimming stuff: fins, pull buoys, goggles, towels, toiletries....and the list goes on.

So there you have it. What car would YOU choose?

Another Scrapped Page!

I *knew* all I had to do was scrap that first page! Hehehe. Tickled my creative juices that's for sure! I spent the early morning downloading some CT kits and I came up with this:

IF ALL THE SNOWFLAKES

And the words? From Barney the purple dinosaur, of course! It was just perfect for my photos! The kids were so excited to have some snowfall that day, they were sticking out their tongues trying to taste the snow! Take note, they were so busy sticking their tongues out, they were tripping over their own feet! Hehehehe.

Mom, if you're reading this, know that I've already ordered Dad's Transport Chair and his nebulizer. The chair's the same as his current one. I wanted the "suv" chair, the ones with the 12" wheels, but the arms probably wouldn't go under dining tables. Like Dad would be seated at a table with him being fed on a Peg tube for now! I just thought about that! Oh well.
The nebulizer I chose was a new portable one. And it is tiny, weighing less than 3 pounds, I think. But the motor is relatively new, and very quiet. And the best thing is, treatment time is cut into half because of it's ultrasonic capability....or something like that, hehehe.

Hey, at least if we're traveling together, the kids can use that, too! Best to nebulize and pre-empt any and all sort of throwing up on the sofas, Kohler sinks, toilets, wooden floors, etc., right? Ugh. Just thinking of what all the kids have gone through because of asthma and allergies just gives me the shivers, hehehe. Blech!

After work, I went to the grocery store. Again. But this time it was for La Vista; I had called Marivic to go on ahead and fill the carts with must-need stuff only. So that when I got there, all I'd have to do was pay. And as luck would have it, Rustan's looked like it was newly-stocked, too! I quickly grabbed some Tostitos that weren't there a few days earlier and checked out. My lips were a-smacking as they anticipated the taste of those Lime flavored chips! Yummmmm!!!

Ok....off to start my Monk marathon for the night....

Long Day?

Sure, you can say that. At 11 pm last night, Dic, Stef and I went off to the Charleston outlets. As we were exiting the freeway, we saw TRAFFIC. Red lights were everywhere, which translated to so many people out tonight to do some shopping. Yup. Black Friday was starting a few minutes early!

We finally got a parking space (or rather, we MADE a space for us in this dirt lot right next to the outlets) and moseyed on over to the well-lit, CROWDED outlets. Yes, it was barely midnight and already people were milling around, forming lines for certain shops. Sheesh!

I shopped for some undies (no line there, so I just breezed through) before finding the Nike store. It was very crowded inside but I figured I'd look around to see if there was anything I could get the kids. Sure enough, after searching through the crowds, I came across some cool shoes for the girls where they could change the swoosh colors! Cute! I couldn't find 2 pairs of the same size, so I grabbed a 7.5 and an 8 and I just hope they'll fit! :)

Good thing I did go into the Nike store and veered off into the men's section. I found what Japa wanted (I think), and after a phone call to him to verify that it was, I grabbed a couple of the training shirts he liked wearing. Grabbed a couple of caps that *I* wanted and stood in line.

Close to am hour later, I was STILL in the freakin' line!!! Aaaaargh! Turns out some %^&* lady bought 70 plus pairs of shoes!!! She was obviously going to resell them, but I sure as heck wished that she had done her pre-arranged Black Friday buy in a separate cashier, preferably somewhere in the back of the store instead of joining us mere mortals who counted every precious minute we were in line!!!

I rushed to the Disney store to stew in a line for a short bit; bouncers were posted in the front of the more popular stores to control the number of shoppers. Dic and I met up here and sifted through the mountains of Disney shirts that were only $4 after the early bird special discount. Worth it, sure it was! :)

At 3 am, we all left the outlets to go to Walmart, ready to do a stake out if necessary when it opened its doors at 5 am. As it turned out, Walmart was open for 24 hours and we excited went in, ready to grab the stuff that we wanted. Ummmm....wasn't going to happen, since Walmart employees were stationed at the early bird specials to make sure that no one was going to get to the goodies earlier than 5 am! Man-oh-man!

Anyhoo, we went around, doing some regular shopping. I was able to get the towels that were on sale when I wandered into the towel aisles. Specials were placed on the middle aisle for easier access for customers. With my towel "contraband", I pushed my full cart into some obscure corner where no one was going to get it (area rugs and other houseware)......and went to the place where the portable DVD players were on sale. I *WANTED* one of those as a back up plan for when Ranger's was going to go on the blink (which I'm presuming is going to be soon, judging from the looks of things).

I squeezed through the bodies and found myself standing somewhere in the front of the line, hehehe. The poor guy guarding the DVD players was nervously looking at the huge crowd eyeing the merchandise that was going to be GRABBED from behind him in a few minutes. Hehehe. Too funny. And in the front of the crowd were large women. I mean, I wasn't even considered large when compared to some of these women! hahahaha! Think chunky, muscularly built, tall, large, DETERMINED-TO-GET-THEIR-HANDS-ON-A-PORTABLE-DVD-PLAYER type of women. Bwahahahahaha!

Most of the women were pretty nice, and we struck up some shallow conversation about staying up all night and Black Friday horror stories. We tried to make the whole distribution of the DVD players have some sort of semblance of order; I have NO idea why Walmart didn't have us form a line or something. Anyhoo, I just wanted to grab my first 3 units before passing on what I could to my newfound "friends" behind me.

As we were counting down the minutes, I remarked to another woman how I felt like everyone behind us were slowly inching towards the front of the line until I pretty much could feel the breathing of the person behind me! Anyway, the clock struck 5 am and the surge began, bwahahahaha!

Good thing I was in front; I rushed forward and put my arms around 6 units, hehehe. I clutched 4 to my chest and handed another 4 or so to the lady behind me, who passed it on to others. Then I got out of there, squeezing through the bodies of people still surging forward. I took a deep breathe when I broke from the crowd, sighing in relief to see that I still clutched 4 units. Whew! :)

Then it was time to break through even more crowds as I wandered through the aisle in search of more deals. I grabbed some $8 jackets for the kids for when they arrived here in a couple of weeks. I figured for that amount, no big deal if they weren't ever going to use them again.

Stef also had her own baptism by fire, waiting for the toys she wanted. Being the smart cookie that she was, she went on the INSIDE of the perimeter of specials to grab 3 BOXFULS of Hot Wheels cars among other toys. When I saw her, her cart was stuffed full of toys and she had on this flushed excited expression on her face, hehehehe. Looks like she had fun and was running on pure adrenaline!

Rondic was waiting for us by the TVs. I guess the mostly-men crowd waiting for the TVs were a lot less boisterous and less demanding than us crazy women all over the store! We assessed our carts and redistributed the goodies we had gotten for each other. This is how Black Friday shopping should be done: divide and conquer! :) Made it less strenuous and less hassle for sure!

And we were done. Rondic "lost" that prized portable DVD that I had clawed for (hahahaha!) but thank goodness Stef decided to take that extra unit I had grabbed, so she offered to give it Dic instead.

On the drive home, we were quiet: exhausted, sleepy, hungry. We got home, we stuffed ourselves with leftover rice and salpicao, I took a shower and I went to the hospital.

Told you it was a long day! It was close to 10 when we got to the hospital. i ordered the largest sized coffee ever, just so I could stay up. And I did, for the most part, although I did tons of catnaps the whole day, sleeping when Dad was sleeping :)

What A Stressful Evening!

I spent the morning at school helping the kids out with their bazaar stuff. Yes, it's almost Christmastime, and I've always found myself giving more of my time at this period of the year than any other. Consciously or sub-consciously, I have no idea. But when I think about it, I seem to barely have enough time for me than usual! Hehehe :)

In the aftrnoon, I met up with Lai and Bang at this warehouse to buy some supposedly cheap branded toys. And there were some great bargains, but when I was wandering the uber crowded narrow aisles, it struck me that practically the only child that I had left that was a kid-kid was Ranger! *sob sob!* Where did the time go??? There was no need for me to go to the aisles containing megablocks, pigeon bottles and accessories, crib bedding and stroller toys. I mean I couldn't fathom grabbing a doll for Raegan or Raine, nor some Hot Wheels cars for Rogan! And stupid me forgot my faithful black notebook that had my Christmas list! Sigh! Oh well.

The line was winding through several aisles, so we left one of the drivers to line up and pay for our few purchases while we went to SM Marikina. I wanted to look for cheap toys to give to the Marytown kids without having to go to Divisoria to do it. Not at this time of the year, no way! And we found some great sale items in the toy section! Whoohooohooo!!!

While we were paying, Chee, the mom of Bea, Raegan's classmate, called to tell me that Raegan had been burned. I almost dropped the phone, if not for the fact that I thought I didn't hear her correctly! Aaargh!

Turns out that Raegan was feeling cold at one of the cold pools at Ace Water Spa and decided to get some hot water from the hot pool. Her friend suggested the water dispenser and they both got a cup from the HOT dispenser. Oookay. They walk back to the cold pool and sit down. Thankfully, Raegan splashed SOME cold water onto her cup (which I think she was holding in the water) before she tilted the cup halfway to her face!!!

Can you hear me (and her) screaming now????

Thank God they were required to wear caps. That was both a saving grace and a curse for her face. Major saving grace because the cap pretty much stopped the hot water from dripping towards Raegan's eyes, and a curse in a way since it stopped the water, it burnt a bit of her forehead and hairline. Sigh!

Scream here again. Aaargh!

So I come home to see her on my bed, under the covers. And I thought to myself, "Do I even want to see my child's face??? I hope I don't freak out the way she did when she was hurt!" Apparently, she had started crying and refused to come out of the cold shower because that was the only relief she could find for her forehead!

I take a deep breath and turn her around and see a purplish line across her forehead. And this purplish line was SWOLLEN. Think of those aliens from Star Trek...the Klingons (I had to think quite a bit for that one!), the ones with the fleshy foreheads. It wasn't TOO bad, really. This, coming from someone who had 2nd-3rd degree burns on her entire left hand (from attempting to cook!) which resulted in a blister that rose at least an inch (I kid you not)!

Raegan did have a very small blister pop at the right side of her forehead, but she would live :) I was just more concerned that this was all happening on her FACE! Her face!!! I told her anything but the face! :) Hehehehe. But really, not the face, can I stress that enough??

Ate Becca, a derma, came to see Raegan. She prescribed Flammazine to soothe the burn and bring down the swelling, Bactroban for the open blister and Duoderm to keep the Bactroban in. Burns were cleaned, blisters were dressed. Everything was fine. For Raegan.

As we were saying our goodbyes, the lamp fell towards me. I know I caught it before it hit Ranger, who was sitting on my lap. But he was crying so hard; I thought it was all an act because he was so sleepy. After a little bit, I looked down to wipe his tears and noticed that his tears on my chest weren't clear; they were brown. Ooookay. That looked like blood!

I tilted his head up and saw a cut very very near his eye. The lip of the lamp hood HAD hit him, the poor baby! No wonder he was crying up a storm! :( So I screamed so that Japa would hear me and that brought him and Ate Becca back up the stairs to look at what was causing the ruckus, heheehehe. A swipe of opthalmic ointment and a small bit of duoderm later, and all was quiet in the house.

Ahhhhhh......

And as a stress-reliever, I scrapped this:

WALKING DOWN THE AISLE

and this:

ASTROBLASTIN'

Starting December Activities

I've just typed the list of the poor community right behind our house, divided into kids ages 5-12 years and their families. I'm not sure if I'll take out the 11-12 year old kids from the list, but I've started buying stuff for everyone else already.

I went to Greenhills first thing in the morning (well, 1030 am!) to scout around for toys and other knick knacks that we can give out. The Everything P50 was full of crappy stuff, so I skirted around them and REALLY started looking. Sigh! I finally spotted a stall that sold silverplated jewelry from Korea, so I knew it was going to last. I settled on some cute Hello Kitty bracelets for girls in the 9 and 10 age brackets. At P80 per bracelet, it was higher than what I expected to spend, but since we had a much smaller list of kids this year, I figure it was ok.

From Greenhills, I went to the office to spend a few hours there signing checks, talking to people and finalizing Rogan's passport application. I have GOT to send that off tomorrow so I can keep my hopes alive that I get his passport BEFORE the year ends!

Then I rushed out at 230 to bring Raegan and Ranger to the pediatrician. Ranger's going to be on antibiotics yet again because of phlegm-y cough (ugh!) and Raegan got her DPT booster shot. The kids left to go to swimming while I waited to see MY doctor. I *had* to have my leptin shot to burn more fat from this body, hehehe. The good news is that upon measuring, I had lost 1 cm off my thighs, 2 cm off my hips and 3 cm off my waist!!! Whoohoohooo! The bad news is that my arms and calves remained the same. Oh well. Those are my hard-t0-get-rid-of-fat places really, especially my darned arms!!! The answer: exercise. Oooookay. Moving on....

Japa and I went on a date! Yeah! Hehehe. Nothing like us-time once in a while, eh? We watched the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

Summary: Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organization.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop his organization.

Very very COOL and FAST movie! So fast in some scenes that my head was spinning! But it was the first time I've seen Daniel Craig in action as James Bond; I actually refused to see him in his first Bond film because I was protesting the removal of Pierce Brosnan who was my definition of the quintessential Bond, hehehehe. But after Quantum, I think I'm going to go look for that first Daniel Craig bond film. I LOVE him as Bond! Not as refined looking for sure, but I like the fact that he's not perfect, he can get hurt AND show his cuts and bruises on his face, he's got a great bod (hot hot hot!) and he can be downright tender when it came to it! Gorgeous and sexy man, he is!


Oh, I scrapped tonight, but I can't post it just yet...the kit I used on it will be coming out this Friday, so I'm sitting on it til then!

Last Minute Halloween Shopping

No, not for costumes, the kids have those. They're wearing what they wore during Literacy Night, of course. Last minute shopping for loot bag stuff for the kids. We had sent Nora out to buy el cheapo snacks, pencils and toothbrushes to give away to the trick or treating kids on Halloween. But Elizza and I needed to put together loot bags for our kids, as well as plan our Halloween menu!

So off we went to the SM Marikina supermarket, bright and early. At least we practically had the place all to ourselves! We tossed in oreos, some chocolates, snacks, crackers, candies, and jelly worms, among others. We decided to go with plastic bags again this year for their loot bag, since we couldn't find a plastic container big enough to contain their junk food.

Then it was off to the office....Elizza did actual work, but I finished editing and printing Japa's The Amazing Race:Halloween edition for the kids! Talk about last minute, sheesh!

Oh, I scrapped Rogan's Literacy Night costume:

RED RANGER ROGAN

TTFN!

We Got Crocs!

Yes, CROCS are thE ultimate shoe, I tell you! All of us in the family have our own crocs, and we just LOVE them! And since it's been a little bit more than a year since I got the kiddos new crocs, I figure now's a good time as any. Oh, and the little OUTLET button at the Crocs website helped! Hehehehe.

I got these for Japa and me (although I'm not sure if Japa would like them...he's not the type to wear these mammoths):
I tried on Dad's and they were super duper soft! Nice and warm, too, but not too much that my feet would sweat here in Manila. Of course, the furry stuff *would* absorb the sweat! Hahahahaha!

I got this one for moi, too, called Motion:
Raegan got the orange crocs she's wanted forever:
And boots! Oh my goodness! I have NO idea WHYYYY my girls wanted boots, but they do, and the price wasn't too bad, so Raegan got the black Georgies:
while Raine got the hot pink ones (can you SEE me roll my eyes at this choice of color?!?!?)
And since I got the girls a few pairs, it wouldn't do me any good NOT to order some for the boys, right? I got these for Ranger:
He's wanted those Lightning McQueen ones for the longest time. Unfortunately, no size for him, so I ordered up...hoping that they'd still be in style when they fit him! hehehehe.

For Kuya, I got him these Off-Road camo ones:
He'd be ecstatic when he sees these, for sure. I swear this boy can go through pairs of Crocs just like that (snap your fingers for effect here). I don't know HOW he wears them, but he's TORN them practically in half!!!! Ack! Boys! Need I say anymore???

Huuuuuge Sale!

No not in the digiscrapping world, but in the Galleria and Mega Mall area. Figures. It's salary time and it hit close to a weekend. So these smart mall owners figure they'll have a huge sale. From 50-70% off! Told you it was huge!

I was late leaving the house, so I went straight to the department store, leaving Dino to bring up my laptop to the office. It was 1030-ish, which wasn't too bad, really, considering it was a Friday, a weekday. In other words, the best time to go to the department store is when most everyone else is at work! Hahahaha.

Anyway, I finally picked up Bang's birthday gift. A birthday gift for Tita Nonie. Some small toys for Christmas. And Christmas gifts for male office workers! Yeehah!!!! I am done done DONE, and I can check off these names from my Christmas list! Whoohooohooo!!!

***

I sewed the night away quite literally last night, going to bed at around 3 am. I was putting the finishing touches on Raine's Jesse the cowgirl from Toy Story costume. It's Literacy Day in school today and I finished the blouse just in time to get a few hours' sleep. The chaps I had done in the office last night, and Coset sewed in onto the jeans while I slaved away at the darned top! Sigh! My laziness made me use running stitch for EVERTYTHING!!! Hahahahhaa! Here's hoping Raine doesn't come crying home from sheer embarrassment if something of her costume POPS!

The whole ensemble did look quite snazzy, I might add, especially in the pictures. And because I can't resist bragging about my handiwork, here are a few:




That WHOLE yellow top over the white shirt is handmade. The red ribbon was from an old Rustan's ribbon lying in the drawer. It was too wide, so I cut it in half, not thinking about the fraying. Grrr! that took me forever to tuck under the running stitches! And take note of the wrist band thingys. Totally made out of PAPER and red marker! Hahahahaha! talk about ingenuity, eh? But my fave part has got to be the chaps (that IS the correct term, isn't it???). They look great in the photos, and sure are a faaaaar cry from what *I* wore as Jesse last year --- black jeans and cut out white spots, blech!

So, watcha think? :) This is one happy Mama at the outcome of the whole outfit!!! :)

PTCs x 3

Uhm. Yeah. That took up my entire morning. I dropped off the kids at the dentist (the girls had cavities and Rogan had to be checked if he could wear braces), and went to school.

Embarrassing moment of the day: I went to the WRONG classroom!!! Aargh! You would think with ALL the years I've been with the school, I'd get the right classroom. But then again, with all the KIDS I have in the school, I guess my mistake is justified?!? Bwahahahaha!

Anyhoo, the classroom I was looking for was 2 doors down, and I mercifully lunged for it.

Rogan's teacher was Teacher Erika. She was a bit young, but was already on her second year of teaching. She said Rogan was a funny boy; smart, but easily distracted. Typical and perfect description of my son, I say. Especially the easily distracted part. Apparently, his desk is one of the messiest ones in the classroom, he seems to NOT be listening to teacher and doing something else, but when he is called, he KNOWS what the answer to the question is! Which teacher couldn't fault, she says, hehehe. (Go, Rogan!)

He needs to work on his writing (in a MAJOR way!) and on his neatness. He is everyone's friends, loves to play soccer during their free time, and surprise of all surprises, he READS his Pokemon books in class! Of course, he does get into trouble because he reads the darned books WHILE class is going on, the little turd! Sigh! I told teacher at least he's into reading now! Hehehe.

Raine was under Teacher Tess. One of my favorite teachers in the whole school. One of the most practical, too. A no-nonsense teacher who really knows how to deal with her students. She is truly a second mom to all the kids. Her love shows in the way she talks about "her" kids. She says Raine has undergone a transformation of sorts from being a big, loud, rambunctious girl to someone who has mellowed and toned down, is a big sister (literally) to her classmates. She is a mediator (whoa!) and a comforter to those in distress for some reason or another.

Raegan seems to be a fave of Teacher Nez, their mama-bear. Rae-rae (hehehe) is responsible, funny, charming, smart, and always ready to help her classmates. She always recites in class, can be counted on to make sure everyone stays in line, and is teacher's little helper.

All the kids got mostly A's. The girls got 1 B, Raegan in Social Studies and Raine in Science, while Rogan got 2 B's: Social Studies and Filipino. Not surprisingly, hehehe. All in all a good haul for the kiddos, and I'm proud of them! These grades despite the fact that we were super duper busy during the ruby anniversary and wedding events and I couldn't even be counted on to look at their homework notebooks! At least, I told them, they were learning to be independent :) Besides, they needed to learn how to study on their own anyway, and not have to count on either me or Japa to have to review them! That would be spoonfeeding too much, I think. I survived without being reviewed/tutored by my folks, and I think it made me a better student.

* * *

My back has been KILLING me since yesterday. The same kind of pain that I was experiencing during the dance practice we had for the wedding anniversary program in Shangri La. Excruciating. Hurts to sit, stand and walk. Like I had a choice today.

I *was* going to go home and rest after the PTCs, but Elizza's prodigal employee decided to show up at the office today of all days. Darn it!!! So I went straight to the office to deal with the situation and get it over it. In short, I had to fire the guy for some circumstantial evidence that directly incriminated him. Sigh. What a job, eh? Took about an hour to do, but the poor guy was talking a mile a minute and then would break into tears. But my hands were tied; I had to do what was best for the company, I told him. And we couldn't have an environment of doubt in the office because of him. Thanks, Lai, for the idea!!!

Before I went home, I decided to pass by Greenhills. I wanted to buy a couple of bags to take to Hong Kong with us. Wrong thing to do. I knew I should have just asked Lai to buy the bags for me when she went there next. As it was, I was there for an hour or so...in ONE store. Buying a total of 5 bags and 3 mini bags. Sigh! Yes, Lai, I shouldn't have brought that much cash with me! Grrrrr! Oh well, at least I have some really really cute bags now! Hehehehe.

I was able to scrap early this morning:

YOU AND ME

I used the new collab SIMPLY YOU by Nina Scraps Designs and Sue Cummings, coming soon at Oscraps!