the well applauded Norwegian performance

I've written too soon. I thought my previous post would be my last post for March but hey, there's still a day more before we enter the month of April. Well, anyway, I promised I'll write about my sister-in-law (hubby's youngest sister) and her hubby's coming home from Norway. It is actually my SIL's first return to the Philippines after she got married with Geir, a sweet Norwegian guy who is also more or less like her age.

The most common thing between my side of the family and hubby's side of the family is that we all love to sing especially when we get together, whether or not there is a special occasion to celebrate. So, when we got together with Ruth and Geir, we all had a great time videoke singing; although most of us were quite reluctant to sing already because we couldn't sing at par with Geir's performance. He always tells his wife he doesn't need alcohol in order to have a great time. And he's right.

 Well, here's the video that I took from his wonderful performance. Enjoy!

 

Norwegians Got Talent!

ending this month with a happy post

For some reason, I'd like to end this month with a happy post, although, this could rightfully make for a good April Fool's post.

Have any of you ever drank or tasted beer? To be honest with you, I have and I did. I remembered I was in fourth year high school then when I had my first taste of beer - it was a glass of pale pilsen and it was with my mom's permission. It tasted bitter at first but then I got used to the taste. :-) She believed that beer, if drank in moderation, has a health benefit - something to do with good blood circulation.

When I was already working, and for some reason, I learned to occasionally go out with friends on a weeknight and engage in long talks with them. We could chat all night with beer and some chips to go with it. Don't get me wrong, though, I wasn't and I am not alcoholic, although there was a point in my life that I overly drank and vomited because I thought I could handle it (it was a stronger kind of beer) but when it was time to leave and go home, I felt dizzy, that I had to go back to where I was seated. My friends then brought me to a restaurant which serves hot soup and they let me have a sip (it was called batchoy) so that I would feel better. In the morning, I had to deal with a hangover and swore that if I would ever drink beer again, I should not go beyond the one bottle limit. Also, it's hard to be putting on additional beer belly when you've already had a bulging stomach. :-)

When I think about it, I realized how foolish I was for not being able to say no when it's okay to refuse. Have any of you ever had the same experience as mine? I thought mine was a crazy experience but wait - I think it's crazier to drink from a german beer boot. I can only smile and think about what I could have turned out if this one existed back then. :-) My dear readers, if you should drink from a german beer boot, I'd like to remind you about 'moderation'. It's best to share the boot with your friends if you can't help it. As Thomas Jefferson puts it, "Beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes good health."

dipdip's first birthday celebration

I promised to write about Dipdip's first birthday celebration, so here it goes..

Dipdip's first birthday celebration was a "simple celebration" like we wanted it to be. It was in fact a belated birthday celebration because it had to be celebrated the day after her birthday. Her birthday fell on a Friday and so we thought it would be convenient for the attendees to celebrate it on a Saturday. The nanny and I took Dipdip to church on her birthday, though, to thank God for giving Dipdip good health. On the other hand, her father was sick for 3 days. He had fever which was secondary to tonsilitis - thanks to her sister's chocolates hehe (I'll write about my sister-in-law and her hubby who arrived from Norway in my future posts). Thankfully, hubby was out of bed on Saturday.

The birthday celebration turned out well. This may well be just a first first birthday celebration since my in-laws will also be celebrating Dipdip's first birthday with them along with other special occasions within the family to celebrate. So, for the record, there's a second first birthday celebration in the works - this time, it will be courtesy of my in-laws.

Yes, technically, my in-laws weren't there during the birthday celebration but they really helped us out with the celebration because they had to lend us some utensils that we could use for that occasion. Also, it was Stephen's uncle, who is now starting to do a little food catering business as his sideline job, who cooked the food for us. My side of the family really loved the foods that uncle prepared for them. Hubby's sister also sponsored for the drinks.

Sadly, I didn't have quite a few good pictures to show because they weren't the best of quality. Hubby borrowed the Sony handycam from his father which was a present Papa got from his son-in-law from Norway. Unfortunately, Stephen didn't quite know yet how to handle the little gadget.So, anyway here are the pictures. If you notice any clear shots, they're not from the handycam. It's from my injured Canon camera. :-). Thank you, Canon.

Dipdip was lucky two have two birthday cakes - one from her Tita Freda (my first cousin) and one from Tita Cat, Tito J, and Rome!

Both cakes tasted great. The first one was baked from the heart; the other one was bought from Goldilocks but it was given from the heart as well. :-)

Here's a picture of Dipdip's birthday dress that her Tita Jenn gave her.

In this picture, she was held by my sister's bf. He made Dipdip a birthday poster drawn from his heart.

Nice piece of artwork, right? :-)

Here's another picture with the red dress; this time, she's with her Tita Helen.

She gave Dipdip a nice two-piece swimwear. I think it won't fit her just yet. Sorry if I have to crop the picture right there. You would not like to see a beautifully contoured body of her own mom, right? LOL

Overall, it was a wonderful celebration with dad and a few of our relatives and friends. We are also looking forward to celebrate with my in-laws in Talisay as well.

southern style smocked dress, anyone?

Here's a little something for everyone, especially the moms out there, who are looking for dresses or clothing for their own kids or to give away as gifts.

Our friends at Little English have a great line of clothing for our children of different ages and sizes. I've looked around at their site and I really fell in love with their Smocked Dress collection! Yes, I do wish to have one of those hand smocked dresses for my little girl, Pauline.

Haven't you checked out their site just yet? I would love for you guys to come check the site out. They do have nice colors and great designs for children's wear, very distinct southern style -- cool and definitely comfortable to wear because of their smart choice of fabrics!

A Year In The Life of Dip-Dip

It's been a year ago since I've written about coming home with Baby Pauline (Dip-Dip) from the hospital. This time, I'd like to do a little recap with DipDip's one year milestone.

Newborn
It was March 26, 2009 when I delivered Dip-Dip via Caesarian, it wasn't a planned Caesarian. It was a decision we both had to make at the eleventh hour to ensure that she will be safely delivered into this world. I guess Dipdip pretty much liked it inside my womb that she didn't want to come out. And of course, it also had something to do with my safety as well. It's funny because some friends would blame it on my age (referring to me as "old") because I had Pauline at the age of 32 years old. But what can I do - I only got married just a few days before I would turn 31, ya know. Well, anyway, we were so happy that the Lord has answered our prayers to bless us with a child.

She was 6.8 lbs (3.1 kgs) when I delivered her. Not bad!

First Month

This was a picture taken on her first month. I didn't get to breastfeed her like I wanted to because I had postpartum hypertension. I was advised to rest during nighttime so it was my hubby who would usually wake up during the night to bottle feed her. At daytime, I would try to breastfeed her but oftentimes my milk production can't also keep up with her appetite. She got used to the bottle all the more when I had to go back to my office work.


Second Month

I was lucky to have a very supportive husband. Hahaha.. I just have to post this photo of him trying to look tired from looking after the baby. I guess he held Dipdip more during the first two months of her life because he wanted me to get some rest too so I can fully recover from postpartum hypertension. Although we did hire a nanny to attend to Dipdip when we would go to work, we made sure we still have time for her especially on weekends. The baby also sleeps with us at night time, of course.

Third Month

 Little Dipdip, on her third month, would already try to feed on her hand or her wrist.


Fourth Month

One of the highlights when Dipdip entered her fourth month was her baptismal. It was on July 5, 2009 when we had her baptized.

Fifth Month

On her fifth month, she already started "paying for her milk" -- an expression so common among us here when the babies would already connect with their parents to amuse them. At this stage in her life, she would already look and smile at us. In this picture she played peek-a-boo.

Sixth Month

It was during her sixth month when she started to eat cereals as her first solid food. At this time, I decided to become a stay at home mom and find work online.

Seventh Month

I guess it was within her seventh month when she started teething.

Eighth Month

 At eight months, she became my little fashionista. She is also fond of the camera.

 Ninth Month

On her ninth month, she would already walk with the help of a stroller.

I love this picture of her! This is courtesy of Marie Shiela.

Tenth Month

On her tenth month, she would look forward to outdoor walks. Yes, gradually, she's learning to walk by herself.

Would she become a great pianist in the future? :-)

Or will she become a best selling author in the years to come? Who knows?

Eleventh Month

On her eleventh month, she wants MORE attention... And we're giving her that, too. They say, in parenting, love is spelled as T-I-M-E and I rightly believe so.

Twelfth Month

Celebrating one year of birth! Praise be to God! Will post her birthday celebration on a separate blog soon. :-)

hubby's abs training program

Hubby signed up for a new abs training program just this month. Check out how this abs training program goes and see if this is something that could work for you as well. :-)



As for me, I tried it once but I have quitted from this program because my little Dipdip's weight was no joke. Let's just play something else, princess! Hehehe

save on cheap invitations for a great wedding

A friend of ours is getting married to his girlfriend of three years this year. He asked me and hubby if we can recommend our supplier for our wedding invitations that we sent to our family and friends last October 2007. Well, we promptly said 'NO.'

If you've been with us through our wedding preparations, you will understand why I don't want to have anything to do with that supplier anymore. I almost had laryngitis ranting too many times about the quality of their work. Why can't they get the spelling right or miss out on one or two important names from my entourage when we've provided them with an electronic copy via e-mail? Frankly, I don't care how they would do it for as long as they don't disappoint us with the quality of their work. We've complained for errors four or five times already because every time they would correct an error, another new error gets introduced. Can you just imagine my frustration? It's not even a rush work because they had a month to do it. I will no longer mention the name of the supplier here because I have already made a complaint to the proprietor and they assured me that they will make sure that, moving forward, their staff will do their jobs really well.

So, to our friend who is getting married, I suggested to him to tell his girlfriend to go for cheap invitations and to make sure that the supplier can be trusted on the quality of their work if she doesn't want to end up ranting like I did last time.

warning: facebook virus stealing passwords

Hackers.. they're  all over the internet! Facebook users, beware! I have just read from Yahoo about the Facebook virus. Yes, there are major hacking activities going on attempting to hack user information from Facebook users. How they do it? Well, they would send you an e-mail (or what we call a spam) asking you to reset your Facebook password using the new login credentials from a zipped attachment which apparently contains the virus or the software which will then hack your password and other important information. If you are not so aware of it, you would probably think that the mail really came from a Facebook Security staff.

Guys, if you have received this kind of email, please ignore or delete it! Never, in any way open the zipped file. When I got this e-mail, I knew there was something fishy about it. I'm glad my instincts were right.

a message of gratitude

This is a post of gratitude. I know I have said my thank you's to these guys already but I just want to do it here, so that when Didpdip grows up, she will be able to see this.

Come next week, Didpdip will be celebrating her first birthday. There's always something with "first birthdays" that would really make us want to celebrate, especially for the sentimental moms like us. Hubby and I were going over our financial ledger, though, and already agreed to celebrate Dipdip's birthday by ourselves. However, there's a little pressure to have at least a simple celebration especially because they say it's a first. And so, thanks to my father who got my brother to donate something for Dipdip's birthday, we can hopefully have a simple celebration next week. Didn't have anything planned yet, as of.

Well, another surprise came in just this week. A friend of mine "Cat" emailed me to say that she'll be sending a little something to help with Dipdip's birthday. My, oh my, tears came rolling down my eyes. How can the Lord be so kind enough to us? Well, this friend of mine--I haven't even met her personally yet but ever since we've met in this blog universe, I could not explain to you how this friendship happened but it just happened.

So to you, dear Tita Cat (and to your husband J and your lil one Rome), thank you for being so sweet and thoughtful to us and our little Dipdip. I hope I have erased your family name well enough. LOL.

Oh, and here's another one. I should have done this a long time ago but I thought I should wait until Dipdip would be able to wear the red dress that this other friend and ex-officemate of mine had given last December. I had it kept for my little girl to wear on her birthday. So, no pictures yet. However, Dipdip was playing with the toy that she has also given her. So, to you Jenn--thank you so much as well! She really loves to play with the toy already even though it is still not fit for her age.

Thank you guys for spoiling our little one with gifts that we are not even sure we can provide them ourselves yet.

On The Ringside With The Nanny

It was shown on television that hours before Manny Pacquiao fought triumphantly against Joshua Clottey, the famous ring announcer Michael Buffer had walked into Manny's room to have his gloves signed.

Here's what Dipdip's Ate Virgie (the nanny slash relative) had to say about it.
"That Michael Buffer – he is not a boxer, right? I don't think he will have any use for those gloves."

Stephen and I can't help but laugh at her innocent comments before we had the chance to explain that the gloves were autographed for memorabilia's sake. :-)

Music Monday - Two Words

I found this beautiful song I'd like to share with you guys. It's called "Two Words" by Leah Salonga. Trivia: she sang this song at her own wedding.

Check out the song, I'm sure you'll love to hear it over and over. :-) Oh, I'm in love again..

Mommy Moments - Riding With My Girl

This is my first time to join the Mommy Moments! We don't really "own" a car. But my husband has been "driving" Oliver (the car has a name and it's a vintage car, LOL) for more than a year now. It's his sister's car, actually. She bought it second hand. When she went to Norway, the family agreed to let us use it for the meantime so that we can have a comfortable ride whenever we plan to visit his parents.

 

Oliver is rather old, but still he and hubby are still capable of bringing us to safety... With God's  blessings and guidance, of course!

If anyone wants to join us at the Mommy Moments, just click on the Mommy Moments badge for the details.

do i have a future in writing travel blogs?

I'm not sure if I have a future in writing travel blogs. I think I'm not really good at it. But I'll try. I'll have to start by writing about any of our escapades or travels here in Cebu and hopefully in other parts of the country.

I'm naturally a homebody but I would definitely look forward to travel anywhere with my family, that's only if the budget would allow. So, who knows! My camera would be working perfectly by then. :-)

So, for now I will just leave you with pictures from one of our old travels taken last Easter of 2008 while Dipdip was still in the works. :-) This one was in Lingay Beach Resort and Restaurant situated in San Remigio, the northern part of Cebu. Actually I just realized they do have a website (a multiply account), so if you are planning to go there, it will be good to check out their site for inquiries, reservations and stuff. By the way, I am not paid to write about them but trust me, you are not going to pay dollars from this resort and it is definitely worth a visit.

finding humor even in difficult times

Here's another entry from mom's journal of happy moments. I don't know why she found this one funny. Well, back then, she always finds the humor in everything; even in difficult times. Read on below if you want to know the details.

Back To The Original 

My eldest daughter, a high school graduating student wanted a new pair of shoes. Our remaining budget could not afford to buy her one, except when she has to wait for the next payday.

She has caused me confusion when she, on tantrums, demanded immediate replacement when she kicked the worn-out shoe in front of the T.V. set where we were viewing at the time of her need.

I really noticed when she kicked them off the floor that there are holes on the soles.

Music Monday - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

This is my first time to join Music Monday. I thought it would be nice to greet the week with a beautiful song, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, originally from Starship but I think the band did the MYMP version in this video (from our October 2007 wedding). This was played and sang during our wedding dance.




Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now lyrics

Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I found is too good to be true
Standing here beside you, want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you

Let 'em say we're crazy, don't care 'bout that
Put your hand in my hand baby, don't ever look back
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby, we can make it if we're heart to heart

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now
Woh woh oh

I'm so glad I found you, I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes, I will stay here with you
Take it to the good times, see it through the bad times
Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do

Let 'em say we're crazy, what do they know
Put your arms around me baby, don't ever let go
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby, we can make it if we're heart to heart

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us

Ooh, all that I need is you
All that I ever need
And all that I want to do
Is hold you forever, forever and ever

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us
Woh oh oh-oh-oh
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now
Hey baby

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

is it okay for a woman to tell a guy that she likes him?

Is it okay for a woman to tell a guy that she likes him?  This was a question raised by a friend of mine and she posted it on her wall at a social networking site. I find it interesting to write down my thoughts about it and see if my thoughts make any sense to me and people.

Here's what I am thinking at the moment, and by the way, the question applies only to single, free and available people... I believe it's all about culture. If our culture tells us that it is inappropriate for a girl to make the first move or to suggest anything, then a girl is left to suppress her feelings for a guy. This was the culture that I was brought up with; although there were times before that I was left thinking if I would have felt better about myself if I allowed myself to be more open about my feelings. I guess it worked better for me that I didn't because my feelings cannot be trusted at that time yet because they're still unstable. With other countries, though, they say it is even okay to ask the guy for a date. And girls are not even offended if they are rejected.

Well, anyway, our ability to handle ourselves with men around would somehow change as we grow mature.

When we like someone, we can still show the person that we do and can somehow drop a hint that we look forward to getting to know him better.

I am not a relationship guru but here are my ideas on how we can let a person know that we like him and/or how to get a guy to get to know you better:

turning japanese or chinese?

Just found ourselves another hobby - caring for bonsais!

Even though they say that "money does not really grow on trees", we are happy to have received this little plant (from Stephen's uncle) that's been made to grow on a rock - it's called a Money Tree! Hmmm, we're not Chinese and I'm not really into feng shui but they say it's going to bring us luck. As if we're not lucky yet!

Anyway, we're just happy to be proud caretakers of this Money tree bonsai. It doesn't look like a bonsai yet but soon it will become a beautiful bonsai, hopefully.

My thoughts on death and that sad feeling of loss

Photo Source: Internet

What is it about death that we don't really want to talk about it? Death is a reality that can come to us at anytime but why are we sometimes so unwelcoming when we talk about it? In fact, I have been thinking about my previous post about death almost two years ago with a brave title that goes – Are you prepared to die? In all fairness, it was a post for All Soul's Day, so I was thinking maybe everybody had been very busy at that time to ever think about sharing their thoughts or comments or perhaps maybe my post just wasn't interesting enough.

The reality of death can really be a scary thing. We don't know when or how we are going to die. We also cry when someone we love dies. We cry because we associate death to losing someone or missing someone. Never did we think about our dead if they have felt any regrets for leaving this world.

Last week, we were told about a death of hubby's distant relative who once had the chance to come over to the house when hubby's grandmother came by for a short visit. Grandmother told us that a week before this distant relative died, she had been hinting about her death - like wanting to have all her laundry done that week because she wants everything else clean for some reason and wanting to pay the debt that she owed to a fish vendor because she said she does not want her soul to be bothered by any unpaid debts when she leaves this world. Hubby's grandmother said that she wouldn't have died if someone stopped her from hinting about her death. But for me, I believe that when it is time to go, it is time to go. What do you think?

You must be wondering why I am writing about death today. I was just sad to know that a high school friend's dad passed away. I know what it's like to have lost someone we love and it's a very, very sad feeling of loss – like something, that feeling of happiness, has just been emptied out from yourself that you really can't explain. I do not know how to comfort her because I myself felt sad about it. What is it about death that we aren't usually prepared to accept it, especially when it happens to someone we care about and love?

would you care about what others think of you?

Have you ever been in a situation where others perceive a negative image of you - sometimes to the point of being hurt and almost losing your self-esteem in the process? When I was still working in an office setting, I had my share of office politics. Back then, I used to be team leader before I decided to step down  because I wanted to be free from stress to finally have Dipdip in my life. It's not like I was handling a really big team but I can definitely say that it was a team that was quite a challenge to one's leadership skills, especially when you are just starting.