Happy Holidays, Thailand! (huh?!?!)

Merry Christmas!!!

Oh I love the December breeze outside. It's rare, though, here in Thailand but I hope it will last for the whole month or continue till January. But experience reminds me that the coolness of the air is only for a few days here in the land of the sun.

Christmas falls on a Wednesday. A workday! As usual, I got to excuse myself from work because it's the holiday! Yey..another day spent with Joevy and Sean.

What have I been up to these past few weeks? 

• Well, a trip to Chinatown (Pahurat and Samphaeng) for Christmas gifts shopping with Elvira and Nenette.
• Got a call and order for Royale products from an anonymous buyer. She has to wait till today for the delivery because shipping from Philippines is a little expensive and takes time. 
• Kabayan store owned by Ate Emily and managed by Jerome was opened last December 7... we went and bought some Filipino products.
• Joevy and I had a huge fight two Sundays ago...it was horrible. I don't want it to happen again..but then they do spice up the marriage life.
• Tickets still being sold..though Cebu Pacific's promo is a thousand baht higher than last year's. Oh well..I guess the company has to cope with their escalating expenses.
• Sean had his hair bald. It's now growing and he is still as handsome as ever.
• Today, Papa is in Penang, Malaysia to get his Non-O (dependent visa) but requirements were not complete so he just applied for the 2 months tourist visa.
• Power Line's year end party will be on Saturday afternoon till midnight.. I won't be staying till late because Bhe and Kent's birthday celebration falls on the same night. Can I be at two places in one time?

There's the recap...I know I forgot a lot of things to jot down..please bear with me, I am a ceasarian-operated woman. LOL!

Enjoy the holidays!

The Power of Yolanda (Super typhoon Haiyan)

Last Saturday, November 9 marked another first in the history of the Philippines. The first super mega major typhoon Yolanda (signal number 4) has made several landfalls in the our country.  Its international name is Haiyan, which is a combination of two Chinese words meaning an Angry Ocean. It stood up to its name as there was a storm surge and washed away the city of Tacloban and other towns in Central Philippines. The aftermath was devastating! The city was flattened, dead bodies all around and hungry survivors in need of food and clothing walked like zombies as described by the news agencies.

 

Deep inside, my heart is breaking. Tears are falling for the victims, empathizing with them as our province back in the Philippines (Bicol) is a typhoon-prone region. Every year we had to prepare the onslaught of a typhoon but luckily this year, with the passing of several typhoons like Ondoy, Pablo and Yolanda, our province was spared. Nevertheless, the impact is still disheartening. For several days now, I have been stressed, terrified and sad over the news that I stopped watching. I helped in my own little way by sending some cash to someone trustworthy that my donation will be received by the typhoon victims themselves. But I know its not enough..the need is enormous. The victims need to build back their houses and their lives and try to cope with the loss of their loved ones.

Heartbreaking.

However, one good Filipino trait is that we are RESILIENT, we may have bended but not broken. We can stand on our feet in no time. Thanks for the international support coming in, thanks for the Bayanihan of our countrymen. Some people in our government may not be worthy of being lauded but some are doing their best in their job. And for that, we salute you. We salute our police and military officers, we salute our President and Ms. Soliman. Thank you for being our public servants. I just hope the corrupt people in the government will have change in their hearts and stop being greedy but have compassion to the needy.

On My-Not-So-Friendly-Neighbor

Warning! This is another rant...

Oh my, pessimism has been around me for some time now. I know it's bad for my health but I can't seem to avoid it. The only thing that appeases me is when I pray to God. Prayers really help...so my advice for those undergoing depression, pray and pray some more.

Here's my rant...

Last September, we moved to a new condo. The place is nice with a pool, playground and mini-gym. The environment is commendable as it is quiet and child-friendly. One thing is not friendly...our European neighbor and his (according to him) police girlfriend. Two weeks after we moved, here comes a complain from our neighbor that we are NOISY! Whaaattttt? We don't get to scream at each other, we don't sing videoke songs, we don't even watch TV (as we often watch from our Iphones and Laptops). So what is he rambling about?

I personally don't know. 

However, he knocked again twice in our room yesterday and threatened us that he will report to the Immigration office. For what? Obstruction of peace? Oh well..he should have reported the guy who committed suicide last Sunday at the other building...he definitely obstructed peace and brought terror to us. Funny thing was, to make us believe that his girlfriend is a member of the police force, he showed us her uniform. Haha!

Okay, well we believe you are most honored to have a very brave lady by your side but please don't hide under her skirt.

So what do we do on these type of people? Ignore them? Or move to a new place...if only our contract is not for another year..I would have moved right away. I hate fussy neighbors.

As my sister said, nothing to be done except to pray...and pray more.

"Paramyding" & "Notworking"

OK, that's how my friend Abe, pronounced the word 'pyramiding' so we jokingly add the 'notworking' for the word networking.

Referring to the many Multi-level marketing companies like Amway, USANA, Aim global, Vita plus, and Royale Business Club..these networking companies aim their members to recruit other members and patronize their products. I have been a member to most of these companies but I am a failure maybe because I don't work it out or probably because I was turned off by the pricey food supplements that actually can be purchased at a cheaper, way cheaper price online, like in iherb (if you guys want, you can use this code JIT649 so that you can avail of a 10$ discount on your 1st purchase). Like the Alive Multivitamins from Nature's way that is distributed by Aim global ( name changed to C24/7 but the same product), I buy it at less than 10$ for 90 vcaps but the MLM company sells it 30$ for 30vcaps!! A rip-off don't you think??? Oh well...  there are some who believe they will get rich from mlm companies, and I don't blame them.. with working smart, it's possible but one must be smart as well to make the right choice in joining a networking company. Plenty of scammers out there, so be careful!

As of the moment, I am promoting and selling products from Royale Business Club company, health and wellness products like the Kojic Soap and Grapeseed food supplements. I am a user and a believer of these products as well as my regular customers.  The good thing with Royale is that you will purchase a package worth 12,888 pesos and in return you will receive products (package options are available) worth around 15,000-16500 pesos. So, just by selling and not merely recruiting, your initial investment has been returned, unlike other companies wherein you need to recruit other members because products in the packages are not even half the price of the membership fee.

Below is a sample of a Super king package

A Mother's Fear

I don't fear for my life..I am brave enough for that. 

The thing that scares me most is if something tragic happens to my family, which I pray would not happen ever!!!

Tonight, I was really frightened. When I went out from the restroom, Joevy and Jera were checking out Sean's foot. Sean was limping as he walked.Really strange from his regular stride. It seemed that his right leg had become a liitle shorter and he cannot walk with both feet flat on the ground. My heart melted.. thinking of what happened to Auntie Jade when she was still small and she grew up with that disability. I don't want that to happen to Sean, Lord please no! Please, I beg you, oh God!

I wonder if the nebules(around 4 in 8 hours span)have anything to do with what happened this evening, I really cannot help but blame myself :(

However, I cling on to God's promise that He won't allow this thing to happen to Sean, I know it's temporary and I know God's healing hand will touch him and Sean will recover in no time!

PS: Nothing has changed.. he is still the same active boy even in injury! As a matter of fact, it is now 11:26 pm and he still awake with me and seems sleep is far from his thought right now. LOL!

Puto Cheese, Anyone?Please....please?!?!

Har har! Okay, the title does not mean that the Puto Cheese I made was distasteful, I guess I just made too much and my hubby had eaten a lot and that now he doesn't even want to touch and see the leftovers! (grin)

Since Saturday, my experimental side of the brain was spurred and I steamed 3 batches of Puto Cheese referring to recipes from 3 different food bloggers. The first batch was made from this blog www.pinoycookingrecipe.com and here is the recipe :

 I like this recipe much better than the two other bloggers. The taste is a little similar with Goldilocks puto cheese which I love, by the way! However, I prefer using only 1 tsp of baking powder as the puto will become like an erupted volcano after cooking if too much baking powder is added. Below is the result of my Puto Cheese... notice that it is not as well-rounded as I poured 2 tsps of baking powder.. but well, they tasted good!

Recap for the last 3 months.. harhar!

OMG! My last post was published last May? Haha! Where have I been all this time?!?! Oh I wasn't that busy.. just simply LAZY!

Anyways, recap on Joevy's computer selling and repairing business.. 

- There are highs and lows.. this week he sold 4 computer units in a span of 4 days, nice eh? That gave him a revenue of more than 400 US$.. not bad at all!

I took a photo of his gross income last night.. here it is...

We are trying to find a supplier of AIS pilot plug but to no avail, we wonder where Vincent is getting his supplies... sigh :(

Recap about Sean, oh well, getting more and more addicted to Ipad.. watching and playing the Angry Bird app..I really want him schooled but Joevy thinks otherwise as he is still small and he is not fluent in his speaking yet.Jera is staying with her during daytime while we are at work.Here he is in his usual kulit time..

Recap on me.. I had my hair rebonded at Jakrawal Salon in Seacon last Monday ( during Mother's day) but I am not satisfied with the result.. after 3 days, I washed my hair and it still a little curly on the front, I am afraid to use another straightener again as my hair might be severely damaged.Oh for the life of me :(

I went to Seacon Square last night to pay my Krungsri credit card bill and had this for dinner at Hachiban ramen.. it is the only one with chicken soup.. so definitely this choice as I don't eat pork.

Joevy's Birthday @ 31

God is really wise for giving me such a loving, kind and responsible husband. Yes, there are ups and downs to marriage but still the ups outweigh the downs and because of that I can never thank God enough.
He turned 31 last May 28 and here are the pictures of our dinner together in Paradise Park.

Another Buddhist Holiday

I forgot what the name of the holiday was.. but all I remember was Sean had a blast playing at Playkidz in The Nine Community Mall and all of us including Daddy and Jera, Joevy's sister had a hearty lunch at Ai Japanese Village. I bought the deal last February for a two- hour play at the kids playzone worth 240 Baht instead of 480 Baht. The deal is so worth it!
Here are some pictures taken during Sean's play.

I Scream For Swensen Ice Cream!

Lunch break at work last Wednesday, Sean and Daddy picked me up for lunch and ate Khao Mun Gai ( Thai version of Hainanese Chicken).Afterwards, due to the heat, we decided to eat ice cream at Swensen's inside the Tesco Grocery.. so off we went and enjoyed chocolate sundae.. yum yum!!!

(By the way, Sean came from his Little Gym when they picked me up from the office.)

My Party At 33!

I had a blast on my 33rd birthday.. thanks to the combined effort of friends and family and most especially to my hubbylicious who was supportive feom the start!

We had a Boodle Fight Party... this kind of party is gaining popularity now in the Philippines.. it is a kind of eating together with the use of bare hands, eating food placed in banana leaves. It was FUN! I had fun in buying from the Mum muang market in Rangsit ( a wholesale market ), to preparing and cooking the food as well as eating them.

We had it at Baby's home, so more fun was added..
here are some pictures taken...

Random Post Only

It is 8:30 am here in the office and I have nothing to do,even browse the internet as my PC is with the IT department for reformat. Reformat has long been delayed and I am thankful that finally virus will be deleted completely. I use Symantec but I don't think it really works because the viruses kept coming back! Oh well..

Today is Wednesday and my little tot will go to his Little Gym. He will be raucous as usual.. :D much to his teacher's dismay.

That's all... just want to ensure you guys that I am still alive and kicking! :)

Here are two pictures of Sean in his first day at Little Gym.(Sorry if the pictures are blurry.. these just show how active he is in Little Gym)

Songkran is here again...

It's April.. and in Thailand, it means the New Year.. yes, every 2nd week of April is Songkran holiday (Thai Buddhist New Year). I'm alone in my table.. my colleague has started off her vacation until the 16th.
As for me, I'll start my holiday on Friday, 12th..we will be going to Sattahip, a few kilometers from Pattaya as the beach there is cleaner than in Pattaya beaches. The plan is to stay there for 2 nights and 3 days..whew, I wonder as to how much money will be spent there as Jera and Ging are with us too.
Anyways, hope we will be having a great time there.

Good Morning World!

Just woke up... and remembered it's been ages since I last entered a post. So here I am bumping up my blog :D

Hope everyone will have a great Wednesday!

LOL! Is this a tweet or an FB status?

Be happy y'all!

Valentine's Day = Crying Time

I know, I know, I'm ruining the lovers' mood. I just want others to share my frustration for that day..haha, that's how generous I am.LOL!

My day of hearts started out fine..a red rose and a kiss from my hubby and a dinner at Ai Japanese restaurant later that night. The dinner was good and the ambiance was romantic and so we had a hearty Japanese dinner.

As we were going to the car came the bad part. As I was too excited and happy, I surfed my Facebook to upload our pictures and unfortunately, Joevy had a peek of an online friend that he doesn't know... and there it all began.

Angry words, tears and frustration for a day. So my valentine's ended so badly...too bad for us :(

Thank God we are okay now!

Whew...tell me about relationships!

Pattaya Escapade

Pattaya is one of the cities in Thailand bursting with fun-filled activities from dusk to dawn.Sun,sand and sea plus bars and nightclubs for the party goers, just name it...they probably have it!

We went for an overnight escapade in that city and we stayed in a small yet very clean, accomodating and very affordable hotel named Malee Jomtien Hotel. The beach is just 200 meters away, so we spent the rest of the afternoon on that sunny Sunday, swimming at the Jomtien beach.

The following day we went to the picturesque Nongnooch Garden, a few miles from the beach.

One word: BEAUTIFUL!

Below are some pictures taken in the garden