Posts from — July 2008

My husband and I usually have some quick planning discussions on where we’re going as a family. Topics? Well it can be practically anything such as kids education, housing, etc. One interesting topic which normally comes up is career. With a rapidly changing career environment globally, it is something we always have to be updated with. We’ve moved countries twice for work and we did see the need to constantly feed career. For parents, career isn’t just career. It is one way to ‘keep the family running’.

My husband kept on telling that we need to be on our toes. It’s nice to know that there are programs that support people who would like to develop their career. The Cisco certification is one of the programs that he has been looking at. It does appear to be a good career building opportunity even for IT professionals who have already rooted in their current field. And with a certification under the belt, it would surely build credibility and consequently, career. The entry level IP Networking (CCENT) seems to be the first step to explore. Starting at an entry level is not bothering him at all (since he’s already quite well progressed in another career area) as the success of other Cisco certified professionals is simply inspiring. But I guess it shouldn’t stop with being inspired. The potentials of this program can only be realized after taking the first step.

Well, I myself had an IT education. Though currently a SAHM, I, too, am starting to look at career options. My youngest daughter will be starting school in just over a year and it looks like it’s a good time for me to warm up.

I know I still have to post photos from our snow holiday. But I guess the whole excitement in that trip practically drained me out. That is not to mention that the past week was really busy as it is the last week of the school holidays. Also, I am still trying to catch-up on sleep these past days. Even though I did get some sleep when we were in our snow holiday, it wasn’t what you would call a ‘deep sleep’. I think that it is partly because of the bed mattress. It wasn’t that bad but let’s just say my back does not fit all types of mattresses.

Now that I have caught your attention, I have to be clear that at this point, I am not. But surely I would never forget the entire experience of pregnancy, which is probably true for most mothers. Both journeys (got two babies) are just fantastic! I could still well recall when we, as a couple, discovered the great news through this small kit used for home pregnancy tests. I think pregnancy kits such as Pregnow present good value not only for the cost but also for the comfort that you can take the test at the confines of your home. Fertility Solutions Australia test kits that can help you get the chance to be the first to know that a new family member is on the way!

Just how good are you with directions? In our recent trip to the Snowy Mountains (south-west of Sydney), my husband had to use his GPS Navigation device to help him through negotiating the roads. This technology is pretty good compared to working with the ‘manual navigation’ (or also known as ‘wife with a map telling husband-driver where to go’). Can’t help but wonder how good it is to have a bird’s eye view when we’re going somewhere. It’s probably hard to make a mistake. If it’s towards the west, then west it is! But as one kid’s song goes… I just thank you Father for making me… me!

Gaano kayo kagaling sa direksyon? Sa katatapos lamang na byahe naming sa Snow Mountains (timog-kanluran ng Sydney), gumamit ang asawa ko ng ‘GPS Navigation’ para tulungan sya sa pagbaybay sa mga kalsada. Itong teknolohiyang ito ay maganda kumpara sa ‘manual navigation’ (o kilala bilang ‘asawa na may mapa na nagsasabi sa asawang drayber kung saan pupunta’). Hindi ko tuloy maiwasang isipin kung gaano kabuti ang magkaroon ng “bird’s eye view” kung tayo’y may pupuntahan. Mahirap siguro magkamali. Kung gawing kanluran, eh di kanluran na nga! Pero gaya nga ng isang sinasabi ng isang awit pambata… Nagpapasalamat ako sa Iyo Diyos Ama dahil ginawa mo ako’ng… ako!

It’s the last week of school holidays. Today was particularly busy. Let’s just say I’m busy ‘defrosting’.

We had a weekend trip to the Snowy Mountains here in Australia. It is about 5 hours of driving from Sydney to the town of Talbingo where we stayed. We went up twice to Selwyn Snowfields which is another 30-45 minutes from where we stayed.

To most members of the family, the day after a holiday is typically termed ‘back to normal’. To a mom like me, it is not quite the case. Why? As we did the packing, we also have to do the unpacking and placing everything we took with us in the trip back to where they’re supposed to be in the house.

So what’s next after defrosting? Blogging! (And watch out for the photos)

My husband, C told me that as a child, he once thought that wearing glasses is ‘cool’. Anyway, he’s blessed to have a great vision to date. Though I realized that at some point, myself and my husband did have to wear glasses. But it’s not really because of blurry vision. It’s more of an eye strain solution. I had it way back in my college days when I had to soak in front of a computer monitor. On the other hand, my husband’s job up to present still requires him to be constantly ‘connected’ with his computer and so he, too, was prescribed with one of these types of eyeglasses.

As I have been writing in the past, my two daughters have to wear eyeglasses now. Hopefully, they would outgrow them and would not have to use them in the near future. At this point, they do ‘outgrow’ them. As time goes on, they would need new frames and even new lenses as their eyes continue to develop. Without sacrificing quality, it is but wise for parents like us to go to shops offering low cost eyeglasses. ZenniOptical.com is one shop who, because of their great deals, have ‘caught the eye’ of several groups including Fox News TV and The Clark Howard show. They have a great selection of frames to go with different types of prescription lens.

Thank you Gracey for this tag…love answering them

5. Beef, pork, or chicken?:: Beef, pork and chicken
6. Starbucks, Coffee bean and tea leaf, or Gloria Jean’s?:: I love coffee
7. Cornflakes, Honey Stars, or Milo cereal?:: Cornflakes
8. Goldilocks or Red Ribbon?:: Red Ribbon

10. Take Out or Dine In?:: Dine In the car…drive thru

Players: kathyrazzi kathycot buhaymisis whenmomspeaks kathycotcooks when silence speaks etc atbp realities reflexes collect and connect your site.

Hey I’ve got 2 daughters. And even though they are still quite young, I can’t help but imagine how things will go around the house once they grow up a bit more. I’m talking about ‘Hi Mom, can I borrow your shoes” kind of discussion. To moms who have daughters, I’m sure this is an inevitable experience. Or maybe we can all go together for a trip to the salon or the mall for an outfit. Looking even further in time, they’ll surely go for girly dresses. It’s good to know ladies nowadays didn’t really have to go far with the rise of online dress shops such as Rissyroos. For special occassion such as prom dresses, they’ll surely have something to find. For the more adventurous, they can go for something more exquisite like the celebrity dresses. And there’s a lot more.

Not that I’m in a hurry. But I’m still curious how things will go once my kids are that point in time. And if Reflexes is still around by that time (which I hope it is), then you’ll certainly get to know! But for now, I’ll just enjoy having a kitchen play with them.

What’s in it for me? When I started with this blog, I was full of ideas on what to share to my readers. There are lot of things under the sun to talk about. But I prefer to keep my focus on what’s important to me: family. Anyway, as I went on building a network with other bloggers, I have been exposed to various topics and have no doubt enjoyed them. A lot of blogs present a collection of opinions… and these opinions do count. I guess this is an element possessed by some successful blogs since it somehow personalizes the experience. Others also put their thoughts on Blog Advertising, perhaps as a form of review of something and anything. Paid Blogging has been an arena for bloggers to explore and share thoughts… and it’s a cool way to get some extra cash, too!

You are very open to new experiences, and even more open to new ideas and theories.
Wisdom and personal accomplishment are important to you.

You are naturally sophisticated. You are drawn to art, especially art by independent artists.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You? Take the test and know what does your taste in music say about you. It’s fun. Snagged this from my very musically inclined friend and author of Realities blog, Gracey. 

My daughter RD has been progressing quite well with her piano lessons. Actually, she started her first lessons with her dad in her early years. I could still recall my husband, C, carrying then one year old RD in front of an old piano in my in-law’s house. That was actually the same piano where C learned playing the keys back then. C kept on telling me stories about how good that piano sounded and how it survived a flood. But with all these years, he thinks that piano needs some restoration. LindebladPiano.com is one of the companies that perform professional piano restoration services. In North America, they are known for generations for piano repair NJ.

Even I would love to have that piano restored. As it does have some part in our family memories, I would only work with experienced piano restoration firms like Lindeblad.

I’m starting to miss the rich color of green. It’s winter so a lot of trees have to lose their leaves for the season. I can’t wait for spring to come. Then probably I’ll be able to produce a ‘greener’ photo. It’s just not a green season right now. But same as life, it’s not yet the last leaf. The greens will be there to come.

Filipino Translation:
Nami-miss ko na ang kulay na berde/luntian. Tag-lamig dito kaya maraming puno ang nawalan ng dahon para sa panahong ito. Hindi ko na mahintay ang pagpalit ng panahon sa ’spring’. Marahil makakakuha ako ng mas berdeng litrato. Hindi lang talaga panahon ng berde ngayon. Pero gaya ng buhay, hindi pa ito ang huling dahon. Babalik muli ang mga berde.

My two daughters are so fond of putting up their own theatre act. It is not uncommon to find them in a huddle trying to plan a quick ‘show’ to be presented to their top fans… myself and my husband! Just like any theatre show, they too would prepare their props and costumes. Other than their home show, both my daughters had their chance putting up smart costumes for other occasions.

I could well recall taking our eldest daughter, RD, to her father’s office for a trick or treat event. Halloween costumes fitted on young kids flooded the entire office. While we’re not really a fan of celebrating Halloween, we went to that event just for the chance to dress up and for the goodies (or what others may call ‘the loot’). RD went on a ‘Belle’ costume from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. It definitely was not an easy task finding a costume. We had to go to several shops to find something suitable. I kept on telling myself that there should be a one-stop-shop for these costumes. I have recently found the Costume Cauldron online shop. They have a wide range of costumes which are suitable not only for Halloween but also for theatre and other parties. Their long list of products (which by the way caters for both kids and adults alike) are further backed by a low shipping rate and even a money back guarantee. The website is well organized as the products are well categorized. That means there’s a better chance to find what you’re looking for. Also, it does not matter where in the world you are because they ship worldwide. You can also get a discount by going to the ‘backdoor’ in the website. Well I should have seen this shop back then. But all is not lost. Should I need a costume in the future, then I know where to go.

In the meantime, as my youngest daughter CN is also fond of the Disney princesses, I had a quick look on what costumes they’ve got in their stock for that theme. So navigating to the kids section and under fairytale costumes, I found a good selection. The Aurora and Cinderella outfits are just a couple that stood out.

Costumes are now taken cared of. It’s now time for lights, camera, and… action! Oh BTW, here’s how you can to the backdoor for the discount: Go to the homepage halfway down on the right and click on the brown comma in the line that reads “Our Store now has over 8,000 masquerade items for you to choose from!”

To Mommy Alleh and Joy, thanks for this awards. I really appreciate it.

Sweet Blogger Award

Sweet Bloggers:

1.) Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey
2.) My Precious
3.) Just ME.. Eds
4.) Eds Mommy Life
5.)FunFierceFabulous
6.)Me,Myself+2
7.)Supermodel Wannabe
8.) My Life in this Wonderful World!
9.) My Online World!
10.) In Depth
11.) ISL Family
12.) Charmdestiny
13.) Mommyallehs 
14.) A Mother’s Journal
15.) Collect and Connect
16.) Reflexes
17.)Your Blog!!!

And the…

Strong Cup og Coffee Award

Now I would like to share these sweet awards to Gracey, Christine and Imelda

***********

A unique award from my friend Teys of Little Kite Studios. Thanks a lot dear!

Kadamo Award

Dahil ikaw ay isang sertipikadong blogger, itinuturing kitang matalik kong “KADAMO”
Maraming salamat… 

Mga Kadamo;

1.)Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey
2.) My Precious Niche
3.) Just Me.. Eds
4.) Eds Mommy Life
5.) ISL Family
6.) Me and Mine
7.) Creative in Me
8.) Little Peanut
9.) For the LOVE of Food
10.) Pea in a Pod
11.) a matter of tEys.T
12.) The Bottomline
13.) Little Kite Studios
14.) Collect and Connect
15.) Reflexes
16.) YOU

Passing this on to my online friends who are also certified bloggistas Christine, Gracey, Joy, Pinky and Mommyalleh

Even though I just attended one night service in this year’s Hillsong Conference, one thing I found quite eye catching was how great the lights were. So on top of the great music and preaching were several lights setup all over the Acer Arena. I’m sure everyone will agree that lighting contributes a lot to build a worshipful environment. And just counting how many sets of lights were there, I’m sure it wasn’t an easy task of setting them up and more so, running them. Praise the Lord for these talents that were used during the conference.