Testing: One, Two, Three

Photo Credit: hustla.pl

Yay! This is my first post here in Blogger. Wrong. I had a blog site here. Which. I. Deleted. Which I mentioned here about deleting it. But before I deleted it, I had the chance to import то Multiply the very few posts that I had. Later on, I again found myself (like October 22, 2011 to be exact) that I wanted to switch back here to Blogger. I realized or 'di ko lang napansin, that Multiply is more into online selling of products. It is, to me, not a good spot to make a blog. I felt so sad that there was no Import option from Multiply back to Blogger. I still feel so sad. Sо sо sad. Multiply, to me, is not a good spot to make a blog.

Anyhow, I'm excited to again start a blog here in Blogger. So moving forward, ang gagawin ko na lang 'pag nag-post ako sa Multiply, copy ko na lang dito sa Blogger. Antrabaho! Pero keri lang. Good luck to me!

Still enjoy reading my posts in Multiply.

Ciao! ♥

Update: Gumagana na ang cross-blogging ko between Blogger and Multiply. Tagal ko nang tina-try, hindi gumagana. So hindi na ako mahihirapan na magma-manual post on both sites. Yay! ^_^

We'll Come Back To You, Manila

Educational trips, often called field trips, are now a part of most schools activities. My school in elementary and the same school where I attended highschool (oh yes, that's 11 years in OLSHA, now OLSHCO), never had any field trip AT ALL...or that's as far as I can remember. I guess the school already had enough activities for the whole year kaya hindi na maisingit ang field trips. My brother still attends the school. He's now in 3rd year high school. Last time I heard, may field trips na din sila. Bongga! Baka nga hindi lang uso nung time namin.

Now that I'm 20-ish and have two kids which one of them already goes to school...okay fine, nahinto ako sa compound statement na ito at nakalimutan ko na ang thought na isusulat ko dapat.  

Going back. Nikki already goes to school here in Baguio. She's in Grade 2 na. (Akalain mo 'yan? May Grade 2 na pala ako.) When she was in Grade 1 in OLSHCO din, I didn't let her join the field trip na. Kasi Zoobic Safari sila noon e nakapunta na kami dun before. Just last week, they had a field trip. Some time late last year, nasimulan ng pagplanuhan ng school ang field trip na 'to. Since first time ni Nikki um-attend sa school niya ngayon, plus the fact na wala akong idea how field trips are done, wala din ako idea how the school does it every year. Every year daw kasi nila activity ang field trip. So, join si Nikki this time. Manila tour daw. Whatever.

I'm not sure if keri lang yung bayad. P4,000+ for two na 'yun - student and guardian. Swak naman sa day off ko so ako ang kasama niyang guardian (angel :P). One day tour, including the travel time? I thought it was gonna be so tiring. And I thought right. Despite all the puyat and pagod na inabot KO, kasi si Nikki naman ay pagod lang, sarap ng tulog niya sa bus kasi may dala kaming blanket and pillow and all. Going back. Despite all the puyat and pagod na inabot KO, I have to admit na nag-enjoy ako more than Nikki did. Andami kong additional knowledge na nakalap. Bits and pieces of knowledge lang about Manila na hindi ko alam before. Like --

Tara Lets!

I have been so into reading travel blogs lately.

As 2012 entered, I started to have this feeling of the need to be somewhere this year that I have not been to before. Almost everyday I've been thinking about travelling. This time, I am gonna make it happen with or without anyone with me. I realized that my plans of travelling before were never realized because I didn't want to travel alone. But these travel bloggers whose blogs I've been reading/following a lot lately, inspire me so much. Some travel alone, backpacking as they call it. There's also this thing they call budget travel. Which is true, really true. I don't want to spend too much on accommodation because I'll be out of the hotel room almost the entire time.

One of them even said in her blog that there's no reason why one cannot travel. Time, money, <insert reason here> are not acceptable reasons why one cannot travel. And I realized, that's so true. People say "If there's a will, there's a way." So I am making a way. I am gonna make it happen. In fact, I've made my first step. Secret muna.

It's More Fun in the Philippines. I like. I support. So, in the meantime, I'm moving away from the idea of travelling overseas. I gotta familiarize myself first pa sa do's and don't's ng travelling by doing it first sa domestic travels.

Plus, I found this site. And I'm making this as my inspiration. Look naman kasi how pathetic mine oh? 

My Lakbayan grade is D!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.

Okay, I'm back to travel blogs reading.

Ciao! ♥

  

Valentine's Day Is Not For Every Couple

Valentine's day is overrated. Yes, I said it. It really is! (Or at least in my opinion). Because for most (read: people like Elmer and me), it's just an ordinary day. Elmer and I have the same belief that Valentine's day (with all the usual romantic stuff like dinner dates and chocolates and bouquets of flowers and heart-shaped whatever) is only for new couples, for highschool puppy lovers. Ganyan kami ka-kill joy ni Elmer pagdating sa Valentine's Day. 

I think one's fondness towards the celebration of this day is indirectly related to one's age. I'm just saying na as couples age, iba na ang trip nila sa pag-celebrate ng mga occasions like Valentine's day. How are we gonna spend this day? Wala. May work kami pareho at super baliktad ang sked namin. So wala lang. Just an ordinary day. But I'm still planning to cook something later, like spaghetti. Birthday party lang ang drama.

The Inescapable Appearance of White Hair

Some people have said that white (or grey) hair is a sign of wisdom. Is it true? Maybe. Maybe not.

My thought -- As people age, white hair begins to appear.  It's naturally inescapable. Thus, white hair does directly mean old age. But as people age, they experience a lot of things, interact with people, travel to different places and so on. These things teach people to learn from them. Learnings are acquired and accumulated as people age. There's a saying, experience is the best teacher. So at old age, wise na wise na talaga sila lolo at lola. Bongga!

My first white hair appeared I don't remember when. I think it was when I was in college. As I brushed Elmer's hair today, I noticed a strand of hair stood out among the rest. White hair! I told Elmer about it and he  refused to believe that he already had a white hair. At exaj sa reaction  si kuya, "May puti na ako?! Alisin mo, bilis!" Spell arte much.

Spotting For A Spot

Mohammed once said (no, not to me ^_^), "Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled."

Ouch! I feel so dumb, stupid, moron and all now. Yes, you got it. I am one of the (sooo) many Filipinos who are not privileged (time-wise, budget-wise, convenience-wise) to travel a lot, or next to not at all.

Earlier last year, I planned of going to Hong Kong as my first destination overseas. It never happened. Later last year, I again planned of going to Singapore. It never happened. Sometimes, I would feel like the right timing would never come.

Before 2011 ended, I told myself that whatever happened, I would go somewhere in 2012. I thought of, again, Hong Kong. I've always wanted to bring Nikki and Calli to Disneyland. Then cross over to Macau. And because Elmer and I are celebrating in August our 10th year of being together, we agreed on being somewhere we've never been and doing something we've never done before, preferrably without Nikki and Calli. He said we'd just plan another thing for all of us some time. (But I've already planned of going to Star City+Manila Ocean Park+MOA or Enchanted Kingdom+Tagaytay this summer vacation with Nikki and Calli.)

SM's Got It 'Almost' All For Us

Photo Credit: mycitymysm.com

What makes an excellent toothpaste? There are a number of brands in the market that offer a lot (minsan kahit parang imposible naman). Our toothpaste supply have always come from the US (sushal?). Please don't take that as yabang or what not. Remember this post? Toothpaste is one of the usual relief goods that Mommy Martha sends us. We usually get Aim, Aquafresh, Crest or Pepsodent.

Just this afternoon, our last tube already flattened to emptiness so I had to go out and do a quick grocery shopping after settling some bills. I mostly shop at SM Supermarket. I love it that the aisles are wide, the place is clean plus I also love getting points for my SM Advantage Card. I thought the brand did not matter to me but I was wrong. There were the brands mentioned above on the shelves plus a lot more other options but there was one brand that I still tried to search...Colgate. I thought I already checked all the shelves so I gave up. I skipped the toothpaste and went to the counter to pay for the other things in my basket. I decided that I just bought Colgate from another grocery store along the way to the jeepney terminal. So I did.

Perfect!

Just a few minutes ago, out of curiosity, I googled "no Colgate in SM Supermarket" and found this and this.

Those answered my question. Two of my favorite brands, Colgate and Palmolive, cannot be found in SM Supermarket. SM's tag line should really be changed then. We've got it almost all for you! With the emphasis on almost. 

Ciao! ♥
     

Hello Guimba!

Hindi ako naka-attend sa party. Hindi ako nakapaglinis ng bahay. I was invited by the team I was supporting before to an after-party party. Hindi ako nakapunta. Hindi ko pa rin napanood ang Praybeyt Benjamin. Hindi nag-kick in ang 'gana' to do house chores. To make this long story longer, wala akong ginawa kahapon. Nood nood lang ng TV at surf surf lang. Tinamad ako! :) Ay wait, there's more. Meron naman pala. Nagtupi ng mga nilabhan kong damit the other day. Nagtahi ng mga damit ni Elmer at PJs ni Nikki na may butas. O ha! Nagtahi ako. Habang nagtatahi nga ako kahapon, naalala ko ang mga teachers ko sa THE nung high school. I was trying to recall their names. Dead! 'Di ko maalala talaga. I hate that feeling pa naman na parang nasa dulo na ng dila mo. At...naalala ko din ang mga iba't ibang stitches. Ay, tatlo lang pala. Cross stitch, running stitch, back stitch. Yun lang ang mga naalala ko. Nakalimutan ko na 'yung iba. Back stitch ang ginamit ko. :D

At...habang tinutupi ko ang mga damit nina Nikki at Calli. Naalala ko din sila. Miss ko na sila. Pero hindi ko na mami-miss si Nikki mamaya dahil Nueva Ecija, here I come! :) Si Calli, miss ko pa rin. :( Pero 'di na din ako masyado nag-aalala kay Calli kasi uuwi din naman si Elmer sa Pangasinan. Tama 'yang nabasa niyo. Magkakahiwalay kami ngayong Undas. Elmer and I think that's just okay. Nasa Pangasinan ang "mga patay" niya. Nasa Nueva Ecija naman 'yung akin. So tama lang.

Excited ako! It's been 2 months na hindi ako nakatapak sa soil ng Nueva Ecija, particularly ng Guimba. Palaging kino-compare ni Elmer ang Guimba sa San Manuel (at syempre laging angat ang San Manuel para sa kanya). Kahit nagpaka-tourism ambassador pa siya ng San Manuel, 'di pa rin niya na-convince si Nikki na dun magbakasyon. Mas gusto ni Nikki sa Guimba. Si Calli kasi hindi pa makapili kaya kung saan siya buhatin, dun siya. :)

Ito ang 10 reasons kaya excited ako umuwi.

My Own 'Me' Time

Photo credit: yesandyes.org

I learned from the articles that I've read about parenting that moms should really have their 'me' time once in a while. I'm having mine for the next 8 or 9 days. Oooh yeah! Nikki and Calli are still on their vacation separately. Well, it's not really a 'me' time like 'alone'. There's Elmer on the side.

At first I thought it was going to be like as relaxed as I wanted to be. Yesterday when I looked at things in the house, I felt like everything needed some cleaning, fixing, rubbing and organizing. Just a little something on every thing. Tinitignan ko pa lang, napagod na ako. ^_^

Mga Pangyayari

 

Ang Nakaraan.

Hindi ko maalala kung nung elementary at high school ba ay meron kaming sem break? Parang wala naman. O baka naman OLSHA (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy) na OLSHCO (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College) na ngayon lang ang ganun? Naalala ko kasi, very strict sa attendance ang school namin based on my observation lang naman during the entire 11 school years na nag-aral ako dun. 'Pag may 1 araw na walang pasok dahil sa bagyo o lindol o kung ano pa man, siguradong may 1 Sabadong kapalit 'yun. Kahit patapos na ang school year at wala ng ginagawa sa classroom dahil kaliwa't kanan ang practice for the recognition or graduation, kelangan pa din pumasok ng estudyante. Parang okay lang naman sa iba, kasi may allowance pa din for the day kahit walang ginagawa sa school. Parang sa iba naman hindi okay kasi atat ng magbakasyon.