This space is dedicated to Lolo Daddy (my dad) who is spending his birthday in heaven. We love you and miss you Lolo!!!!
credits:
ida’s birthday doodles at catscrap
Archive for March, 2009
Happy Birthday, Lolo!
Sunday, March 29th, 2009The TDS Easter Issue is out! sneekee peekie
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Kick off your shoes this weekend and check out Issue 06 of The Daily Scrapper. Just like your Sunday newspaper it’s loaded with featured products, great articles, hybrid projects, awesome layouts(I have 3 of mine there) and most importantly, coupons and freebies and lots of good deals all over the digiscrapping world. No more coupon clipping! Just bookmark them or be a regular reader and you will always be updated with the latest and the greatest scrapping news online.
This issue’s product higlights are from Jofia’s Designs, Damayanti Designs, Britt-ish Designs and Cafe J. For TDS readers, you will find discounts from these awesome designers in the Product Highlight section. Don’t forget the mega mega freebies Mystical Garden Kit by Enchanted Studio Scraps in the Interview Section and one by Vintage Paris Princess Design in the Free Kit section which is this Issue’s featured free kit.
Here’s one of my layouts in this issue where I used Jofia’s The grass is green II kit- check out the other two layouts online.
The Daily Scrapper – we bring the news!
It's Ballet Recital Season!
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been working on a project for a dear friend. She’s a ballet director and founder of her own ballet company, The Company of Acts Manila and I am tasked to do her souvenir program for this year’s recital at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Little Theatre a.k.a. as Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino because it’s ballet recital season. School’s almost out, summer is upon us and it’s the perfect time for our kids to explore the world of ballet.
Prep work for this project starts January or earlier and continues for the whole first quarter of the year. Hence, my absence from my bloggie duties. Good thing, the husband pitches in for me. 
Costume design, pictorials, souvenir programs, rehearsals, ticket sales and all that jazz are some of the many little details that have to come together for performance night. This year is more exciting for me and the husband because both our kids (yup, girl and boy) are joining! Can you imagine the stress of being part of the production and being stage mommy and daddy at the same time? Although the kids are not unfamiliar with theatre life because we bring them every year to the recitals and we watch it backstage, this year they will be onstage performing and that’s another ball game. I usually take photos during the show but this time, I also have to make sure that their costumes are not torn before they reach the stage LOL or if they have the right amount of stage makeup. Overall, its an exciting season for us as a family.
So if you don’t see me around here – that’s what I’ve been up to all along.
For those who are interested to study ballet, here’s a list of schools that offer ballet year round.
under Ms. Chelo B. Gemina (Artistic Director, The Company of Acts Manila, registered teacher under the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet (ACB), ABAP (Association of Ballet Academies Philippines) previous officer and current member) :
International Christian Academy (ICA) – Sucat, Paranaque (820-4521, 820-4524,825-8392)
International British Academy (IBA) – Aguinaldo Highway, Imus Cavite (046-4715922)
other schools affiliated with Ms. Chelo B. Gemina:
VCS Ballet Pasig – under Teacher Pia Paderes
STI Academy Ballet Las Pinas and Statefields School of Cavite – under Teacher Jan L. Manlapig
Palms Country Club Ballet School Alabang – under Teacher Johanna Sotto
Shekinah Ballet School Cavite and STI Paranaque – under Teacher Beth Ciudad
Wizbee Ballet School Dasmarinas Cavite (opening this summer) - ACTS Manila Dance School – Sta. Rosa, Laguna under Teacher Rean Tirol
(for inquiries call or text 0917-6253674)
Enroll now and experience ballet recitals with a difference!
Family Time
Monday, March 23rd, 2009Today was an interesting day for the family. After church, Tes and I took the kids to the Market Station at Paseo de Sta. Rosa. There they observed how to buy stuff in a market. We bought some live tilapia and some chicken. (We later fried the tilapia for lunch. ). We also bought some shrimps, rice and bread. ( Thus we had good fresh food for today’s meal). Later this afternoon, we cleaned the car as a family. Tes and I washed and waxed the car. The kids swept and shampooed the upholstery. The day was capped with a charbroiled chicken and spicy shrimp dinner.
It really felt good to have the kids involved in the chores. It seemed that our relationships grew a little bit today. Family time doesn’t have to be going to a movie or to a restaurant. It can be the simple everyday things just done with a higher sense of fun and involvement. Its really the engagement, rather than the expense, that counts!
New Phone
Monday, March 16th, 2009In the past few days, we have been considering getting new phones. We intend to get the services of Sun cellular on a prepaid basis. One of the strategies we considered was to get a new phone under our existing SMART plan and use the old phone for sun. We already requested for our free Nokia 6120 and are just awaiting for its arrival. We would have chosen an N77 for free but we couldn’t find any use of the required myTV subscription. Anyway, the 6120 seems to meet our needs. This 3G phone appears to have the reliable basics with expandable memory. We might buy a 4gb micro sd though the phone can expand up to 8gb. We are looking forward to getting this phone.
The right game
Monday, March 16th, 2009How do you deal with kids that are bored? Nowadays, most kids sit in front of the TV or play video games. In our home, you find the kids reading books or watching family or Christian videos. It was only lately that they learned to play video games. Their favorite is a game called bookworm which is a sophisticated word forming game. Another one they play is Zoo Empire, it teaches them to care for animals and manage customer satisfaction.
To choose the right games for your kids, ask yourself this questions:
1.) Is it appropriate for their age? Should your 9 year old be playing half life or counterstrike? Are they ready for blood, gore or sexual suggestion? (Street Fighter and Tekken are quite sexually suggestive)
2.) What values does the game promote? Is it in line with your spiritual beliefs? Do you really want your child to acquire the game’s worldview?
3.) Is there some educational value? A game like Civilization teaches the player how civilizations evolve.
4.) Does it develop analytical or improvisational capabilities? A game of chess, Command and Conquer or Harpoon are great examples. Have this questions handy the next time your child bugs you for a game.
Bathroom disaster!
Thursday, March 12th, 2009Last night the valve of our bathroom sink broke. It was quite surprising that contractors used cheap valves with plastic parts. I was quite irritated trying to figure out a way of stopping the steady jet of water flooding our bathroom. The night turned out to be a sleepless one that beats changing disposable diapers in intensity. We tried filling the pipe with plaster but the water still prevailed. Finally we decided to close the water main until we purchased a replacement valve. This time a bought a brass part. Another lesson learned to be applied in the construction of our own home!
Grilling anyone?
Friday, March 6th, 2009In the past few days, I have rediscover my passion for grilling. I used to grill a lot of our food particularly steaks. With a quest for family health, I decided to grill more of our food as opposed to eating mostly fried stuff. My first attempt was with tilapia (aka St. Peter’s fish). I miscalculated the amount of charcoal so my fish was quite raw in some parts but good enough to be eaten. The whole time I was cooking, I was thinking about cats or dogs that might take the fish. A pvc fence installation would be helpful! My second attempt was with a whole chicken sliced in the middle. Miscalculated the time in this case so I had to partially cook it with the microwave. My last attempt was quite fine and proved to be a delectable meal of tilapia for the family. For my next chicken attempt, I already had the vendor cut it up so I cook it well.
The kids love the grilled food I cooked these days. I guess I’m becoming a grill dad all over again.
Market
Friday, March 6th, 2009Our recent bout with pneumonia, led us to rethink the nutrition strategy we have for our kids. As it is, we feed the kids mostly fried meat or fish with rice and give them vitamin pills for the micronutrients. Now we have decided to give them vegetables with every meal. We also decided to buy our food from the market as opposed to a supermarket. The benefits are quite a surprise. Market food is fresh and typically cheaper than at the supermarket. Its really worth putting your dansko clogs. When was the last time you grilled tilapia still squirming in the bag? Or had fresh camote tops as a delectable salad for the family? I guess the old ways are still worth keeping.
Finances and freedom
Thursday, March 5th, 2009I bumped into a former co-worker from intel this afternoon. The first thing I asked him was about where he was connected. Intel Philippines will be ending its operation by April 30 this year ending 34 years of operation in the country. I asked him about his package and also about what his next move would be. I asked him if he was looking for another job or going into business ( a franchise maybe?). He said he was looking for another job while investing his savings in mutual funds.
I remember my own transition out of Intel in 2006 when I asked the question “what on earth am I here for?”. It was then that I transitioned out of the semiconductor industry and into energy by means of solar manufacturing, then into the NGO world and now as a freelance energy consultant. As the years go by, I crave for more freedom. While I’ve had to tighten my belt at times because of cash flow and collection issues, the freedom I now experience is all worth it.
At this point, I am beginning to realize that the challenge of financial freedom really lies in finding something simple but returns a lot of money. Why bleed yourself over complex projects when you can earn a lot doing something like servicing laundry, teaching kids, etc. I remember another Intel co-worker who sought a highly technical job only to get a poor appraisal later on. A strong financial base will be the foundation for personal pursuits and advocacies later on. In the end, its really about being practical.
