Happy Birthday to my loving husband!

We had a two day celebration of my hubby's birthday last weekend. His real birthday was yesterday but since my MIL requested a celebration on Saturday (so she can have time to spend on chores and prepare for work on the following day), we held the celebration on the requested and the real birth date. I felt a bit guilty though for not getting him anything special on his day. From his simple personality and lifestyle, it is a little hard to think of something that might interest him.

Oh well..everyone loved the Carbonara pasta I cooked last Saturday. I'm so happy that all of them did enjoy their meal. Both Missy and CJ ate plenty of pasta and ice cream=). I also made garlic bread to match the pasta plus fried potatoes for our appetizer. Our celebration ended with a yummy and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream dessert.

Again, happy birthday to the man of my dreams, my hero, and my life.. Your birthday won't end without a surprise dad, so hold on your seat coz I've got something special stored for you=)

Having fun on the Internet with your Baby

I so much enjoy the internet because it gives me vast knowledge and new insights everyday. And so I thought, wouldn't it be nice if we could also share, enjoy, and let our kids learn new things through the internet? Lucky me I found this Fisher Price website last weekend that is made especially for our little ones. The site has featured games and materials that caters infants, toddlers, and preschool. All of which are colorful and interactive so your babies will definitely have fun.

My 1 yr old enjoys pressing the computer keyboard keys while playing peek-a-boo. Her 2 yr old sister is now learning ABC's with animals from A to Z, Numbers, Colors and Shapes, and Musical Instruments! I am so happy and amazed that kids as young as 1 and 2 years old can now use the computer as an aid for learning and enjoyment.

This for us has become one of our educational bonding activities. I greatly encourage all moms to try this one out. I'm quite certain that your kids will enjoy and at the same time learn from it.

Have fun!

What happened the year You were born?

Thank you for sharing this informative tag Eds=)

In 1981 (the year you were born)

Ronald Reagan becomes president of the US Minutes after Ronald Reagan becomes president, Iran releases 52 American hostages that had been held captive for 444 days President Reagan is shot in the chest by would be assassin John Hinkley Space shuttle Columbia, the world's first reusable spacecraft, is sent into space A suspended walkway in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapses, killing 113 A female former lover files a "palimony" suit against tennis star Billie Jean King President Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the Supreme Court The Pac-Man video game is introduced in the US Alicia Keys, Elijah Wood, Kelly Rowland, Anna Kournikova, and Britney Spears are born Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series Oakland Raiders win Superbowl XV New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup Raiders of the Lost Ark is the top grossing film "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes spends the most time at the top of the US charts MTV debuts on cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day Gimme a Break premieres

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

JODY - 1977; (your name - birth year)
JOANNE - 1980
GRACIE - 1978
MANDY - 1975
CHRIS - 1976
EDS – 1980
EMZ - 1981


I'm passing this to : Jannese, Chelle, Quinnie Ann, Janis, Paolyn, and Irmee

Gmail's New Themes!!

Are you using gmail? Well, if you are then you should have already heard and used its new feature. I was soooo amazed after trying out one of their themes=) I will definitely enjoy browsing my email even more=)

Here's how my gmail looks like after changing my theme..



This is still on its beta version but it already has 30 different themes for you to choose from! If you haven't used this yet, all you have to do is go to the setting page, click on the Themes tab, and choose your style;-)

The Flower Blog

Thanks for sharing this cutie tag April!





The Rules:

1. Each blogger must post this rules.
2. You need to choose ten people to be awarded and list their names.
3. Don't forget to leave them comment telling them they've been tagged and to read your blog (soon).

Now here's a list of my Power Blog picks: LipstickAddict, Sheila, Kaye, Imelda, Claire, Issa, Laya, Emzkie, Umma, and Lorei

My First SocialSpark payout=)

I'm just so happy that finally I have received my very first SocialSpark payout. Hope I can get more opps for 2009.

Here's a snapshot I took from Paypal account just awhile ago.


Happy Monday and enjoy blogging everyone!

Plans for this year's Christmas bonus

Bonuses given at the end of the year is something that all employees are excited for. This extra money is what people use to buy those big amount of items they've always wanted. For us, we normally spend our bonus to celebrate and treat our family for a short vacation. The rest is spent to buy gifts and items we want for our home. But this year is different.

We have already planned on renovating some areas of our home, particularly the bathroom, the kitchen, plus we wanted to add an additional room for our daughters. But due to this disappointing economic and financial crisis that we are having, we had to change plans and pursue our home renovation 'til next year=( Instead, we've decided to get into a small business.

My parents home is situated near a school where computer shops and photocopiers are off the site. And this is where our small business comes in. Our plan is to start off with a small photocopying and typing job shop. I believe this is a good investment, is wise spending, and makes the cancellation of our home renovation worth it.

What are your plans for this year's Christmas bonus?

Chocolates!!

With this economic and financial crisis that we're having, getting a sideline or part time job is something that mom's should start taking into consideration. As for me, I'm starting to think of a chocolate store online. I enjoyed making chocolate goodies when i was still young to earn extra income and now that our budget has started to get tight, I am more and more convinced to pursue this idea.

Right now, I've started to do some research about the different types of chocolates which I would also use for my soon to be chocolate products. Here are some of the varieties of chocolates that I found (I'm sure chocoholics like me are already familiar with some of these):

1. Unsweetened Chocolate
- This is a pure chocolate liquor and is also know as the bitter or baking chocolate. It is usually used to bake cakes, brownies, and cookies.

2. Dark Chocolate
- This is produced by adding fat and sugar to cacao. It's know as the plain chocolate, the one without any milk additive.

3. Milk Chocolate
- This is chocolate with additional milk powder or condensed milk. The US government requires a minimum of 10% concentration of chocolate liquor but EU government requires at least 25% of cocoa solids. Maybe this explains why European chocolates tastes more chocolaty and thus more expensive.

4. Semisweet Chocolate
- This is often used for cooking purposes. In it's powdered form, it is the one used to make champorado or chocolate rice porridge.

5. Bittersweet Chocolate
- This is chocolate liquor or unsweetened chocolate with some sugar, more cocoa butter, vanilla, and sometimes lecithin is added. It's like semisweet chocolate with lesser sugar.

6. White Chocolate
- This is a confection based on sugar and fat without the cocoa solids. And this is one of my favorites!


I've started creating the online store and will tell you more about this and the products that are soon to come out.=)

Proud Milestones of my daughters as of Today

For the past few days I noticed that my youngest has already started practicing on her jump. She smiles and gets thrilled every time she sees her sister jump up and down. And she looks so cute when she attempts to do it because her feet don’t really get off the ground yet. Lol:) My hubby said that he saw her lift up her feet off the ground a few centimeters high when she attempted to jump from the bed. But I didn’t see it so I won’t count that yet. Haha. Anyway, I hope I get to take a shot of this new milestone that she’s learning within the week.

Here are some funny things that CJ can do at age 1 yr and 1.5months olds:

1. Knows how to bless (part of our Filipino culture, a sign of respect for elders)
2. Dances when you say dance
3. Says up when she tries to stand up
4. Dances and imitates some of our actions when I, her dad, and her sister sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and I have two hands.
5. Brushes her teeth on her own
6. Climbs on the sofa and toy box
7. Playfully turns off the television and laughs or grins when you try to scold her
8. Asks you to carry her on your back by tapping your back when she sees you kneel down.

And here’s what big sister Missy can do at age 2 yrs and 4 months old:

1. Can sing action songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; I have two hands;
2. Can sing A-B-C, not yet perfected but tries her best to finish the tune:)
3. Greets good morning in the morning and good night before going to bed
4. Knows how to say thanks or thank you when given something
5. Knows how to say you’re welcome when you say thank you
6. Enjoys playing with other kids
7. Says hi and hello to everyone she meets (even to strangers!).
8. Answers you with yes, no, and okay.
9. Says I’m sorry when she has a fault
10. Says it’s okay when you say sorry to her or when she sees that you’re sad
11. Interacts and imitates the song or actions she sees on television
12. Knows colors, shapes, and numbers very well
13. Know some of the animals though sometimes she still associates rabbits with cats. Lol:)
14. Forces to wake up her dad when I tell her too:)
15. Enjoys eating solids and seldom requests for milk once she’s asleep

Caring for your Eyes

I never thought that being an IT professional also means marrying the computer and gluing my eyes into the monitor for an average of 10 or more hours a day. And with the UV radiation that the monitor emits plus the fact that I’m starring and working in front of the monitor for hours, my eyes will certainly wear off and get strained easily if I don’t protect it with eyeglasses.

But at this age, even non-IT individuals nowadays cannot avoid from sitting in front of a computer to connect with friends and relatives or to maintain a blog. So if you’re one of these individuals I’m talking about, I suggest you check out ZenniOptical right now. ZenniOptical was on Fox news so you definitely can be assured of its credibility. You don’t have to worry about the cost since they have tons of great eyeglasses for less.

Here’s a pair of eyeglasses I found cute among the variable dimension frames from Zenni.

Zenni on Fox sells eyeglasses for as low as $8! Plus, you can even get an AR (anti reflective and anti radiation coating) for only $4.95. So go visit their site and start purchasing your eyeglasses.