Lovin' FS by F21 Cosmetics

For almost 20 yrs of my adulthood, I was loyal to only 1 pressed powder and
blush-on brand. Maybe because my pimple-prone face was used to it which it
never caused me irritation and seldom brought me blackheads and pimples.

I actually had several attempts in trying different brands but I just ended
up going back to my old one. Either I suffered itchiness the first time I use
them or it just not give me the glow I am looking for.

Just last December, a friend gave me a make-up set that she thinks would
perfectly suit my skin type. It is a Fanny Serrano by F21 Cosmetics' Two-Way
Cake Foundation and a Powder Blush-On.

The Two-Way Cake Foundation can be applied wet or dry.  It has UV-protection,
oil-control and contains Vitamin E that make the skin glows.

The Powder Blush-On promises silky soft blush that has a natural-finish look.

To my surprise after giving it a try, it gave my face radiance, I can feel the
smoothness and my blemishes and wrinkles are perfectly covered. Most of all,
I did not suffer any irritation or itchiness nor got a serious pimple problem.
Yes! I surpassed the 1-month trial.

For my 2nd set, I bought same shades below plus the sales lady was just so kind
to give me a FREE lipstick after asking her if they have a promo product that I
can try. It is a Moisturific Gold with a shade of Cream A La Mode. It is a
glittering lipstick enriched with Vitamin E for moisture-rich application.

Its really time to say goodbye to my first love make-up brand, and welcome
Fanny Serrano by F21 Cosmetics. Aside being affordable, my face just love it.

Bumblebee found the AllSpark in me!!!

Just as my son was  amazed on my sister's surprise to him - a Bumblebee-graced
event by Chevrolet,  I also found myself caught up in a photo-op kissing Bumblebee.

OMG, I just thought Bumblebee had found the ALLSpark in me!!! See how he
grasped my hair while kissing me.  This photo got a number of texts, likes and
comments in FB  from my old-time friends.

Thanks BUMBLEBEE...

The fireworks of our times is rockin' Manila

Since this event was first held last year, I thought it would only be a dream
for my family to watch these dancing fireworks. Mainly because SM MOA is too far
from us, tickets are expensive, sure traffic jam and much more its too exhausting
to be bringing a kid that far considering that time of the day. Not until last Saturday
Feb 19, my family was given that chance of a lifetime to witness the
2nd Philippine International PyroMusical Competition for FREE. 

It was really a great experience that we will be forever grateful thru the kindness of
my sister's friend(Arlene) who works for Chevrolet which is one of the sponsors of
this event.

You can check its website http://www.pyrophilippines.com/ for information. Since
so much has been said over the internet, I'll just post the photos that my sister and
my 4 year-old son got using our digi-cam for my family to reference in the future.
Yeah I know that a lot of photos have been around the internet, clear and
alive-looking, so I promise my self to get a better cam for next year's competition. 

For February 19 competition, we witnessed the Portugal and United Kingdom's
breathtaking and colorful dancing fireworks. It came in different shapes, sizes and
colors which danced in a variety of electrifying music. My son really loved it. 

These are the fireworks of our times which is rockin' Manila for couple of
Saturdays now.

You still have 3 more Saturdays to watch this so-called
THE BRIGHTEST SHOW ON EARTH.

 

And big thanks again to Chevrolet for this yummylicious food. 

Living richly for less

I am a frugal mom who wants the best for my family as well as a woman who wants
to enjoy the vanity of life from my hard-earned money. More often than not,
those bests are pricey and difficult for us to have them for less. 

But cheer up! With the emergence of online selling companies which provide
daily amazing discounts and deals from different merchants, this is just one
of the many ways we can live richly for less. 

From apparels, food, restos, hotels, entertainment, events, health and beauty,
they have them here... discounted from 20% to 90%. 

So hop to these links, register and you might find what you are looking for.
It can be for your personal consumption or as a gift to your family and friends.
Once registered, refer your own referral link to your friends for them to enjoy too. 

http://www.buyanihan.com/?plnk=VmtaYVUxSnRVWGROV0VaU1ZrVTFUMVZyVmxkT1JsRjRWV3hLVDFGVU1Eaz0=

http://www.cashcashpinoy.com/referme.php?refer=54bd81118c00189ceb801899373d6082-8f5a2926511c24e9fec03c3e8cfb2600-e28f6dbc07d70319611decfa4d727762


 http://www.ensogo.com.ph/manila/invitation/?s=e28f6dbc07d70319611decfa4d727762

Snack Picking

Lately, my son had been asking me almost everyday on what I prepared for his
snacks in school. I can see on his reaction if he wants what I prepared or not. 

Though I ensure that what I give him has variations everyday
(sandwich, biscuits, bananas, ensaymada as his favorite, mamon and soft
breads), I'm still worried that someday he'll get fed-up of it. 

Aside from the new easy-prepared healthy snacks that I browsed in the internet
which I will try one of these days, I came across this reading that better if you
involve your child in grocery shopping. You can let him pick out one new
fruit or other nutritious food each time you shop. Also, let him watch you
every time you prepare a new meal for the family.

By doing so, you provide him a lot of options of healthy food that he can eat and
relieves you of pressure in looking for other meals every time. You will also
develop at least his habit for eating nutritious food despite having easy access to
unhealthy options around.

Oh no....looking at the cookies.






So just last week, I brought my son with me in the grocery but this time I let him
do the picking for his snacks. Good for me, he does not actually eat junk foods
(chichirias,candies, chocolates, hotdog, etc.) because he knows that these are
bad for him especially to his teeth, thus, no junkfoods on his cart. He filled his
cart with fresh milk, milo, yakult, yogurt, pineapple juice, soft bread and cheese,
apples, grapes and tried the new pretzel with filling. 

Why smiling looking at the knorr cubes my son?
Are you gonna buy that for mama?














Thanks to Rustan's Supermarket for having a cart just enough for kids, this made
Marty more happy on his snack picking.  I hope that other groceries will have this
cart too making shopping an easy and fun way of bonding for the entire family too.

A wonderful and active weekend - Feb 19-20 2011

Had been off from blogging this weekend due to our family's busy and active
weekend.

A saturday date with bumblebee courtesy of chevrolet @ MOA and watched
the 2nd Philippine International Pyromusical Competetion - the fireworks of our
times. Actually it was a surprise of my sister to my son courtesy of her friend
Arlene from chevrolet. THANKS TITA ARLENE...

As of this writing, just arrived from the school olympics of my son.
Marty enjoyed it as we parents also enjoyed all the games and prizes.

Will publish posts on these wonderful experiences once recovered my energy
from the exhausting but fun olympics.

Marty's 1st encounter with a dentist

Because of my son's aching tooth, we were able to bring him to the dentist at
Pediatric Dentistry Center Philippines last Saturday after several attempts.
We were actually referred there by my son's pediatrician since this center
specializes on the oral health needs of  children. 

Before making an appointment, I did my assignment of researching it in the net.
They actually have a website giving emphasis on  "Committed on the oral health
care needs of children and special children." and with services offered for oral
hygiene and diet instructions and preventive maintenance to name a few. 

We were too early then for our appointment of 8:30 AM so I let my son had a
photo-op to have a remembrance for his first visit to the dentist.

Just on time, we were approached by a gorgeous dentist, handed me a
registration form/questionnaire to fill-out and interviewed me afterwards.
After getting my son's medical background, we were brought inside the clinic
where the consultant checked Marty's  teeth. 

My son was cooperative then that the consultant didn't find it hard to
count and checked Marty's teeth.  Marty was given a Ben 10 toy for
being behave during the checkup.

Not too long, we were called by the consultant and discussed to us
his assessment on my son's oral health condition. Not as detailed as the
consultant explained to me, there are several teeth for pull-out, some
needs filling, needs to be cleaned-up and has 1 swollen tooth. In short,
a major repair/treatment is urgently needed if we want his permanent
teeth to come out and grow properly.

I asked the dentist on what could be the causes of all these.
a. Non-brushing or improper brushing of teeth. Should be 2-3 times a day.
    At Marty's age @4, he can now use adult toothpaste. No need to rinse. 
b  Since Marty is still drinking milk at night time, milk which contains acid
   damages the teeth. There should be no more milk after teeth is brushed
   before going to sleep.

After the assessment was explained, the options were discussed to us
on how the treatment will be done to our son.  If my memory is still right,
these are the options:
a. One treatment at a time, meaning 1 appointment maybe for 1 tooth
extraction which will entail a lot of sessions. And since my son is only
4 yrs old, its possible that he will be uncooperative for each session
and for sure will have that traumatic experience with a dentist which we
don't want to happen to our kids.
b. One-time treatment. With this, patient will be injected with anesthesia.
He is awake but not aware of what is happening and will not even remember
what was done to him. Aside from the side effects that anesthesia will
bring to my son, geez, it will cost us around 28-35 thou.

Contemplating between possible traumatic experience for my son and
that costly one-time treatment, I decided that we will visit our family
dentist this weekend and have my son's teeth checked.  Maybe for
a second opinion? And I hope it would not be that costly. 

Here is the contact information of Pediatric Dentistry Center Philippines:
Website :  http://www.pediatricdentistry.com.ph/PDCP/services.html.
Address: 5/F Medical Arts Building
              Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center
              11 Banawe cor. Cardiz Sts., Q.C.
Tel. No.: (632) 740-7728;  (63917)899-7336
Clinic Hours: Monday-Saturday 8AM-5PM

Better to make an appointment with them esp. if you want to go there on a
Saturday. Check-up fee is 500PHP.

With all the information I got about my son's oral health condition, still two thumbs
up for the great check-up service. At least, they are just being transparent in
terms of cost.

Keeping the romantic flame burning...

Yes!!! Had always been excited to celebrate this Valentine's Day.

Who wouldn't want to make someone feel special this hearts day especially if that
someone is your friend, a confidante, your fan and supporter and most especially
your great love?

Being together with my husband for 12 years and married for 7 fruitful years,
is not an excuse that we just let this lovers day pass by without dating. This is
actually the day which reminds us how our love for each other stands the  test
of time on this complicated and chaotic world of ours.

Despite our busy schedules, roads congestion and jam-packed restos
everywhere today, we will still take the challenge to date out and make it as
another special day of renewal and a commitment for us to continue keeping 
the romantic flame burning...

This is my entry to http://animetric.blogspot.com/2011/02/happy-valentines-with-ponds-age-miracle.html. Happy Valentines with Pond's Age Miracle! Post and win

And I hope I win...

On Laking National loyalty card

After quite a long time, I had been @ National Bookstore last night to buy an
addition flash card for my son. I was also surprised to see a lot of educational
posters which were mostly learned by my son on their school.  I decided then
to buy one every time I visit the NBS and will post  them on our room so that
my son will be reminded always of their past lessons.

I ended up by buying the Parts of the Body poster.  Though Marty already
knew it, this will remind him every time he takes a glance on this poster.

While paying at the cashier, I was saddened by the fact that I don't have the
Laking National rewards card. I should have gotten 3pts. for what I purchased.

With all these great rewards and perks(from NBS website), I think I will now
avail of this membership card most especially now that my son is already in
school and loves reading books.

   -Members earn 1 Point for every peso purchase. Points are converted to P10.00 
    ePurse for every 1,000 points earned. ePurse may be used any time and at any
    branch, to pay for the member’s purchases. 
    *In short , for every 100PHP purchased amount, you will get a rebate of 1PHP.

   -Sign-up bonus worth 1,000 points. 
    *With reward points worth 10PHP

   -Renewal bonus worth 1,000 points
    *Reward of 10PHP upon renewal


   -Discounts on selected books and non-book items on specific occasions. 

   -Free gift-wrapping service on special occasions such as Mother’s Day, Father’s
    Day, Valentine’s Day and Graduation.

   -Free email alerts on in-store promotions and events. 

   -Discounts and freebies from partner establishments. 

   -Pre-sale privilege at the annual Cut Price Book Sale. 

   -Free premium item for every P1,000 accumulated purchase during the 
    program’s anniversary month (October). 

   -Special privilege during in-store events, i.e. free entrance ticket for one
    companion.

   -Exclusive Quick Shop Service for a minimum purchase amount worth P1,000.


Despite the 100PHP worth of membership fee, it is not only the points that
come with your purchase, it is the other discounts, freebies and other
NBS-sponsored events that I am after for especially on kids events. 

With NBS's great selection of products and services, who will not benefit
from this loyalty card? 

Will post here once I got my Laking National loyalty card...

My TO-DO-LIST for 2011

Just like I maintain a daily to-do-list at work, I also have a life list - for short or
long term one. This guides me in accomplishing something for myself and my
family yearly.

Quite late in posting but worth sharing to some who wants also to start with this.

On family and home keeping
   -Whenever, wherever and whatever ways possible, more bonding time with my
     family.
   -Attend mass regularly
   -Will have Marty see the Chocolate Hills
   -De-clutter our house (for good as new stuff, can share some and have some
    sold on-line)

Health & Fitness
   -Drink more water
   -Engage myself and Marty to sports activities. Badminton for me and swimming
    or taekwondo for Marty
   -More healthy food - less cholesterol and more on veggies and fruits
   -Try 1 or 2 new recipes monthly
   -My son's date with his dentist

On Education
   -Online reading and blog hopping for me.
   -Maybe a Math and Religion summer for Marty

On Finances
   -Save, save and save whatever we can for our son's education.
   -Start Planning  for a business

My Personal goals
   -Start blogging
   -Career wise, continue to learn and adopt new technologies
   -Reconnect with old friends
   -If budget permits, will buy DSLR

Stackable drawers, an all-in-one organizer

Marty's toys and books have been all around the room and oftentimes, he finds it
hard to locate the toy he wants to play.

So to organize his toys and books, I decided to buy these so-called small-sized
stackable drawers.

It is actually an all-in-one organizer for from kids stuff(toys, books, school
supplies) to mom's closet(jewelries, bags & wallets, undies, toiletries) and to
dad's tools and gadgets.

Its features are:
a. space saver because it maximizes the vertical storage space
b. available in colorful design
c. available in different sizes whichever suit your place
d. made of plastic making it portable to transfer in different parts of your
    house
e. with easy sliding drawer for kids to open and close
f. quite sturdy
g. so easy to clean, wash and wipe
h. stylish in a way

Torn in between...

With blogging,  I was able to share with my friends and relatives the great
experiences and activities of our family especially those of  my son Marty.
I have shared my thoughts and was able to share my great finds. And what
is amazing, I already have a list of the things I will still post to my blog.

In posting, I see to it that my readers can at least get something beneficial
from it.  I just don't blog to put my life diary over the internet. And to avoid
my readers to just imagine on what I am talking about, I put images
whenever possible aside that these enhances my posts.

Lately, when I was reading back my posts on our family experiences
with pictures of my family exposed to the whole world, I felt afraid.
We all know what people can do with the information from internet, right?

Now, I AM TORN IN BETWEEN including or not our pictures in sharing
our experiences through this blog.

Preparing kids for exams

In the school of my son, February is the busiest month in terms of major quizzes
which is conducted almost every week. And aside from the quizzes there are still
the regular seat works and assignments that go with it. 

Although I think this is a good training to develop study habits and adopt my son
to the fast-paced reality of schooling, still, I worry that he can feel an information
overload and might get tired or fed up easily. 

Also, in today's world wherein children are faced with diversified activities, games
and habits, it is sometimes difficult to instill in them a good habit for studying and
most of all reviewing during examination period.

Most kids just want to browse through their past lessons once and my son is no
exemption from them.  He easily gets annoyed if I tell him to review it for the
NTH time.

Curious of what other strategies I can apply in preparing my son for exams, I
have asked some moms and read from researches.  Some of which I am
already doing and some will be tried. 

1. Create the right environment to make studying easier and relaxed.
   -I bought him a study table and positioned it in a secluded part of our house
    where he can concentrate and away from any form of disturbance.
   -Ensure that TV or computer is turned off while studying
   -Healty snacks to feed the brain.
   -Temperature is just enough, not too cold and not too hot.
   -Must wear comfortable shirts

2. Prepare review materials.
   -I download worksheets from the net so as not to focus only on the
    book or what were discussed in their class. In so doing, I can say that
    my son understands their lesson and can apply what he had learned.
   -Use Visual aids to elicit interest esp. to kids.

3. Review ahead
   -Should start weeks before the big exams. Still the best way is to study/review
     everyday.

4. Practice answering questions orally.
   -You can check if he really knows the answer and how fast your child can
     answer esp. if exams are with time limits.

5. Rest the mind by having plenty of sleeping hours before the big day.

Beating the Valentine's Day Rush!!!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Gift ideas in different forms are all
around malls, streets and in the i-net. Men are now busy scouting  for the
perfect gifts for their sweethearts.

Not that I dislike flowers, cakes, chocolates, perfumes, accessories etc. as
gifts, maybe I just want to try something not extra ordinary but not the
usual celebration.

Here are my options and as early as now I am already preparing for it to
avoid the Valentine's Day Rush...
1. A SPA (Ace Water SPA, Massage King,etc) gift certificate for a couple.
2. A gift certificate from dress boutiques so that he can buy what he likes.
3. A lunch date in an authentic and specialty resto (thai/korean/indian/
    chinese food), followed by a coffee date and dinner date at home.
4. A one day get-away from the city and head to Tagaytay or Subic
    with our son.
5. Will still search the net for the newest attractions in town.

It is on how you say it...

Lately, my son had been addicted to watching videos of  his favorite cartoon
characters in my laptop. He does this at bedtime maybe around 1-2 hrs.
Although my facebooking and blogging time were lessened since he's
using it, I was happy seeing him enjoying his watching. Until one day when
I received his quiz folder, results were low. Despite reviewing before his
watching time, I think maybe everything that he reviewed were eaten up by
this cartoon characters playing on his mind.

Knowing my kid's defense mechanism to cry if he doesn't get what he wants
and would not want to worsen his colds by crying, I just lied to him that
the USB inet dongle needed to play the video on You Tube was lost. As
expected, no explanation was able to appease him, which forced me to say
"NO" in a harsh way.  With consistently saying "NO, NO and NO", my son
just turned his back from me and sleep with his eyes full of tears. 

Contemplating on it, saying "NO" already made him sad and saying it with
anger had hurt him very much.

It was time again to reflect on the saying: IT IS NOT WHAT YOU SAY,
IT IS HOW YOU SAY IT...

I knew my son should had been willing to agree with me that time but when I
said NO in an unnicely way, a very negative response came out  of him.  If only
I couched NO in a caring language, great percentage that I should have elicited
a cooperative and better response from him. What do you think?

Now, I'll be sleeping with an aching heart for appearing as the BAD GUY
to my son.

Balancing my work with family life

I am a mother raising a 4-yr old boy who is already on its kinder level, have a
profession which requires me to manage not only people but systems that help
people manage their work, a wife to an IT professional also who is on-call
even at night, have a house to maintain and most of all a home to keep
together. I am not a super mom neither a super wife which I can say that it is
easy for me to balance work and family life at the same time.  Thanks to the
sharing of others and readings from the net which I got ideas and have been
applying them now.

Hope you can find them useful too. 

1. I make time for my family.
   Although quality time is acceptable to my husband, I think quantity matters
   for kids. Now that my son knows the days of the week and activities associated
   with each day, its kinda automatic that I have to be with him on the weekends. 
   To have that time, I always try that all my work tasks are done in the office
   which I render OT sometimes. But in cases which I need to work at home, I do it
   when my son is asleep. Its really difficult to find time, let us make time for
   our families.

2. Have a date with my husband.
   Having kid/s does not mean that after work, all my attention should be on my
   son.  Aside from going out as a family during weekends, we make sure that
   we go out and date once in a while may it be in whatever form (dining,
   watching movie/DVD, malling around, grocery,etc.). This is our time to talk
   of everything under the sun...from future plans to romantic moments and
   talk even trivial things. 
  
3. I treat myself once in a while.
   A SPA, date with a salon expert, date with old friends or families can help
   de-stress our minds. Feeling good make ourselves look better to others.
  
4. I have a life list
   First, I give my self a time to meditate which helps me organize everything
   for myself, in my work and for my family. I list my short and long terms
   plans in a TO-DO list  Notepad app then put a time frame for each item.
   Based on priorities, I commit to make it happen.

Basics of Blogging

I was really surprised when I saw in my blog site that I made 21 posts for January.
Actually, I've never counted them. I just write my thoughts and whats happening
with my family which I know others can benefit from and share my great
finds(promos & freebies) . 

From Notepad application to posting it to my blog site,  it always draws the thirst
within me to blog. I always look forward to ending my day with posting something
of worth not minding if there is a set of rules in blogging which I must follow in
posting. Simply put, it becomes a routine and I am enjoying it very much
regardless of how it should be written.


Curious if there is any set of rules to follow in blogging, I've searched the net and
found these BASICS where I can start with.

Step 1 - The Power of Title
             *No matter how simple and straight forward the contents of the post, if
              the title is catchy, it will surely invite readers to your post.
Step 2 - Blog Posts Must Be Reader Friendly
             *Must be written in a format that it will attract readers rather drive them
              away because the post cannot be easily read or browsed.
Step 3 - Pictures are Worth 1,000 Words
             *It serves as a testimony for what you are writing.  
Step 4 - Use Video From Time to Time
              *Use it if it will add value to the post other than only images.
Step 5 - Keep It Simple Stupid
             *Just write less (not too wordy) because people will not spend all of
               their time reading the entire post.

For further information, see this link  http://www.bloggingtip.net/5-blogging-basics-you-cant-live-without/