Sunday, December 18, 2011

Time4Learning

Here's to finding ways to make learning with Thea fun.

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for a month in exchange for a candid review. Their online program can be used for homeschool, as an after school tutorial and for summer learning. My opinion will be my own, so come back and read about my experience. You can write your own curriculum review, too!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Let Em Drive

With Em I mean Me!

This year my driving got a huge leap. I did get my license in 2010 and I did drive at Seria and KB ( oh man I miss those places) but only in 2011 was I able to drive in the streets of Calumpit and other nearby towns even city :D

The adventure started last August 31 2011. Weeks after I received Alta (yes she has a name too, the one we had in Brunei was named Britney), I was able to drive Thea to school, then I tried going further to Malolos, Tabang came next.

Last December 6 we were running late, hubby's got a flight 7am and we woke up 4:30. The best choice we have is to drive till Manila and I would tag along to bring back the car. Going to Manila all I did was pray whenever me and hubby pause in our conversation. Yep i was nervous, scared even but excited too. I knew I couldnt blow this opportunity because I might restrain myself from going to Manila if ever something went wrong ( i am more scared of myself - if i busted my courage to drive no amount of encouragement can make me go to Manila again), so pray I did until he hailed a taxi once we reached SM west. I then took the wheel and drive back to Calumpit.

I thought I would be nervous but all throughout the ride back home my smile was so big my cheeks hurt ;p Trying out something new has never fail to make me happy.

I am a SAHM and this is my call. Let Em Drive. With Em I mean Me!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Dolphin Again


Thea pointing to a picture
Ate Yos: Shark
Thea points to picture again
Ate Yos: Shark
Thea: DOLPHIN
(ang kulit ni ate yos and teacher, dolphin nga yun eh!)

Friday, December 09, 2011

OCEAN PARK HK

Good thing I had my printed map on me, it says if you want to go to Ocean Park go to Admiralty MTR Station.Exit signs abound at the MTR and they are very tourist friendly. There's this exit going to Ocean Park buses all we had to do was follow the sign!

I got loads of jump pics but nothing is bloggable enough! ;p So if jumping shots fail I do plan B pose - let's call it The X pose haha.
Lined up for like 30 or 45 minutes at the oceanarium, i think Manila is better! Next stop the Pandas. No looong line - Yahoo.
Panda was sleeping, kaya pala walang pila nyaha! After that we pledged not to do the kiddie stuff but try the scary rides instead.
We tried
Ocean Tower - super fail haba pa pila,
Turbo Drop - the best ride for adults not suitable for very young audience :D A+++
dont ride if you have heart disease or hypertension super yes for those who want to terrify oneself!
The Eagle - so so but I still shout sooo loud the earth shook :) have you noticed how silent hongkies - they dont scream at these craaazy rides
The Dragon - their rollercoaster, it got 4 or 5 loops, I enjoyed this ride but only second to Turbo Drop in terms of level of thrill.
After the self imposed torture I declare that it was time to rest. My feet are swollen from all the walking. We werent able to take the cable car we took the ocean express to and from the rides, the line was extremely long at the cable car.

Glad to have a few decent shots together :)

We took the same bus route to the MTR station a two decked bus :) Got to take a pic wala nyan sa Pinas.

This lil girl made me miss mine. Isnt she cute?

Ticket H$280 each
Bus HK$21 roundtrip

Travelling To HongKong

I wanted to name this post Travelling to Hongkong Alone to Meet the Handsome Husband but its waaaay too long so I cut it short to 3 words.

Prequel:
I have never been scared to travel alone, it was something I never was afraid to do. I was alone when I first went to an international airport! Yep I did felt a lil nervous especially at the immigration but going through all of those alone was an experience I proudly took. I did my research ofcourse, I am a planner remember?

So two weeks ago I was bound to HK via PAL. There was a loooong line at the check in counter, what's new? Finished checking in 30 min before boarding and I was starting to feel hungry. No decent meal at Terminal 2 just sandwich and coffee, that would make do should there be no line at the counter, haaaay.

I boarded the plane and it was a relief that I was at the big plane with this touchscreen tv for every seat - I played chess while I was waiting for the meal. I was that hungry that I had to take Advil for headache. When the stewardess served the food, it was gone in seconds! MAGIC!!!

I arrived in HK with printed maps and my "to do list" care of hubby
1. after immig, go to currency exchange for hkd and buy airport express ticket to hongkong station. round-trip

2. it costs around 180hkd

3. go to airport express terminal. its just inside the airport, no need to go out. may hagdan na aakyatan. wait for the train going to hongkong station

4. inside the train, there is luggage area where you can put your bag before going to your seat. no seat number assigned - travel time is 25minutes

5. at hongkong station, a handsome guy is waiting for you. around 5,7", dark hair, singkit eyes, smiling at you



HK immig was a blur, he didnt asked me any question other than my name. I dont have itinerary nor do I have a hotel booking with me. Maybe curling my hair helps and dressing up too!
At the airport, I found this sign. Since almost all arrows says forward I followed the arrow and stopped when I saw the Trains to the City sign!

Hopped inside the train that says -> HongKong. Once inside the train, look at the line chart - the red arrow will tell you the destination of the train. The blue line indicates where you are. Airport express experience - Pretty Smooth and there were plenty of seats.

Upon arrival I head to the apple store where I'll meet the gwapong singkit guy!
Peso Power:8k plus 1600 airport tax
Airport Express: Hk$180
HK$1:PhP5.5

Next entry Ocean Park

Friday, December 02, 2011

2011 Travel presents HongKong ;)

I am born during Jackie Chan's era so when I saw the wax figure doing kungfu I said uuuy si "Jackie Chan" with that my husband said in a lower voice "Si Bruce Lee yan" hahaha eh malay ko di ko nga kilala si Bruce Lee Jet Li pwede pa ;p

Just one of the things I enjoyed during my 4 days 3 nights stay in Hongkong.

Jackie Chan este Bruce Lee's figure is located at "the entrance" of Madame Tussauds wax Museum at The Peak Tower. I said the entrance because we didnt go in (yep we just took pictures hehe), instead we went to Sky Terrace 428 it offers the highest 360degrees viewing terrace in HK!


It was 20 degrees (how do u put the degree symbol?)cold and it was freaking windy, makes it really hard to take a decent picture with my long (should have been wavy because I curled it) hair.

Clockwise: The view from sky Terrace, Me and alvin pose at I dont know how you call it hehe, few decent solo pics the wind was crazey, my silhouette, alvin with the sky terrace background, us papicture sa kapwa pinoy!

I grade this tourist spot a A-, it has - because there's nothing else to do than to take pictures and grasp at how great they made Hongkong as it is right now. It is still and very much an A because I really wanted to get out of the Philippine heat and go somewhere cold, SkyTerrace is perfect not freezing cold but definitely not hot :p

first night:
Destination - Peak Tram
Money Power - HK$65 each

Oooh but I have to tell you my travel details because I went there alone to meet the handsome guy with chinky eyes :) Will write at my next entry.

Pasko ng Pilipino kasama ang COKE

BOW



I saw this video at Facebook and tears fell down. I have to say thank you to Coke for touching Filipino lives with commercials like these.

Here's another one.



Kudos Coca Cola. Til the next one.

Love,
Nyem

Iphone Explodes!

just when I am thinking of buying one has here comes the news:

photo from au.news.yahoo
yahoo report

It says that an Iphone4 recently explodes and emit smoke alerting passengers of an airline which landed at Sydney Australia.

Report says that the phone started to emit a "significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow" after landing

Trip to Hongkong na lang ulit Daddy :P

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I don't like Videoke

WARNING: This is a rant so if you dont like to hear it skip this.

My sudden dislike of Videoke came up when I realized it induces alcohol intake to men. Have you notice yet? Singing of songs at the videoke is correlated to the number of beer they consume. They think they sing better when they're drunk. Which is for me the most lame excuse to drink.

Videoke - the one you rent for 500 pesos or more during peak season got super loud decibel, you can sing and let the whole village hear your altonado voice - creeps. Sometimes people think that because there's an occasion you can just sing your heart out not minding if your neighbors are dying from heart attack because they couldnt stomach the way you sing. And even if you sing nice, your neighbor might just want to spend their weekend silently - peacefully. It would have been okay if you have a soundproof room that way you wouldnt have to bother other peeps from their slumber. But behold, here in the province - people can rent a Videoke and let their neigbors suffer.

I need to clarify that I think Videoke can be cool, it could if used privately. I dont think a person has the right to ruin ones soundwaves just as no one has the right to pollute ones air. Its okay to have a great time just dont torture others with your My My My Delilah song. Ayayay

And because Christmastime is soooo very near I bet Videoke will abound more. Got to keep my cool because I do live in the province where people arent sensitive enough to other people's privacy.

Before I end my post, not very related but here it goes, please answer why do people drink on Christmas? Dont tell me they are celebrating the savior's birth because I will have to slap their face. Come on, wake up man, if it's your birthday drink for all I care but Christmas is not your day. Cant they do something meaningful rather than poisoning oneself? Is celebrating for you the same as drinking? Crap.

I need to be loving and patient and kind but I also need to let this out. So bear with me.

Breathe in, breathe out. Ciao.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Countries that dont need a Visa from Pinoys

I happen to line up at the check in counter beside a group of yuppies going to Singapore. Suddenly the counter girl asked the guy este gay assisting me if SG requires a Visa for Pinoys, I almost laugh for how can she not know? Then this guy naman added some more info that made me want to raise my eyebrows , he said you would only need visa for Japan, Korea, China ok na until he said Macau. He's still reviewing my docs so I just smiled and said "uhuh".
So here's the list of countries/territories that dont require visa:
thank you yahoo answers
- Africa Countries and Territories
Burkina Faso - 3-month visa issued upon arrival for XOF10,000
Burundi - visa issued upon arrival
Cape Verde - visa issued upon arrival
Comoros - visa issued upon arrival
Djibouti - 10-day visa issued upon arrival for DJF3,000; 1-month visa issued upon arrival for DJF5,000
Egypt (South Sinai only) - 14-day visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Kenya - 3-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Madagascar - 90-day visa issued upon arrival for MGA28,000
Morocco - 3 months
Mozambique - 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$25
Niger - 1-month visa issued upon arrival for XOF25,000
Saint Helena - visa issued upon arrival
Seychelles - 1 month
Tanzania - visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Togo - 7-day visa issued upon arrival
Uganda - 6-month visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Zambia - visa issued upon arrival for US$25 (single), US$40 (double), and US$80 (multiple)

Asia Countries and Territories
ASEAN
Brunei Darussalam - 14 days
Cambodia - 21 days
Indonesia - 30 days
Laos - 30 days
Malaysia - 1 month
Singapore - 30 days
Thailand - 30 days
Vietnam - 21 days
Non-ASEAN
Bangladesh - 90-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Hong Kong - 14 days
Iran - 17-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Israel - 3 months
South Korea (Jeju Island only) - 30 days
Macau - 30 days
Maldives - 30-day visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Mongolia - 21 days
Nepal - 60-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30
Sri Lanka - 30 days
Timor-Leste - 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30

Europe
Countries and Territories
Armenia - 21-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30
Azerbaijan - 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$100
Georgia - 3 month visa issued on arrival for US$10 ~ US$200

Oceania Countries and Territories
Cook Islands - 31 days
Fiji - 6-month Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Marshall Islands - 30-day visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Federated States of Micronesia - 30 days
Niue - 30 days
Palau - 30-day visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Samoa - 60-day Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Tuvalu - 1-month visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Vanuatu - 30 days

North America Countries and Territories
Bermuda - 6 months
Costa Rica - 30 days
Dominica - 21 days
Haiti - 3 months
Saint Kitts and Nevis - 14 days
Saint Lucia - 6-week visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 1 month
Turks and Caicos Islands - 30 days

South America Countries and Territories
Bolivia - 59 days
Brazil - 90 days
Colombia - 90 days
Ecuador - 90 days
Peru - 90 days
Suriname - 120 days

Ang dami di ba, actually I'm quite surprised to see a lot of countries that dont require a visa - we're still blessed.
They might require Visa for France - elusive Paris, for US - New York New York, for Japan - Arigato :) but hey we can still go to Machu Picchu or Rio de Janeiro or to Azerbaijan hahaha I happen to read this country only today or if I've read it before I cant remember super walang recall ang name nya haha!
So dont fret people of the Philippines there's still quite a number of countries we could go without having to line up, or worse pay, for a visa.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Holiday Decorations

For Filipino homes Christmas decorations usually start after All Saints Day!

Hubby setup the tree last Saturday I put up the flowers but it looks boring without Christmas balls so come Tuesday I bought some more decors, swag of "plastic" leaves P75 each and some christmas balls. Since its market day i bought a box of 30 balls with shiny strings for the tree and a star for only 250 pesos - a bargain because it has a Rustan's tag price worth P750 :)

I put the swag at the stairs added some ribbons and balls. VOILA

The tree is a cheap at P1500, bought at Red Camia Apalit! Need not put Christmas lights because the leaves light up on its own when u plug it. The same tree at SM costs around 5k - 7k.
I wanted to buy a wreath but it is P110 so I just bought the swag and made a wreath out of it,bigger pa for only 75! The "Merry Christmas" sign is P50!

Total cost for the decorations is P2,300. With that I am absolutely happy.

Merry Christmas everyone and happy decorating :D

Cheers,
Nyem

Saturday, November 19, 2011

House Construction - Permits

Yay! I did find the "Permits" post I wrote before hubby reformatted my laptop. Virus virus go away. I find it hard to find my files every time "rouge" (laptop's name) gets reformatted. I dont know where did the bug came from maybe when someone shared her usb, nahiya ako magdecline - lesson learned the hard way.

So here it is :)

House Construction Part4 – Permits

You will need a building permit before you can start the construction. Assuming all the revisions have been polished, you can now get the necessary permits to build your dreamhouse! But one cannot just go to the municipal or city hall to get one, you need to prepare the requirements - mind you our dear Philippines has loads of requirements :)

1. Barangay Permit to Construct – (note for Abby – for La Res you need to know where your lot is located ours is in baranggay Balite, others are from baranggay Pio Cruzcoza and baranggay San Marcos)

2. 7 copies of your Blueprint – 2 for zoning permit, 1 for fire department and 4 for the Engineer’s office, Again you’ll need 10 copies usually they will give you 7 only but you’ll need more if you are going to get a loan, 1 will be used by your foreman and you’ll need to save copy too. I suggest you buy the long paper container engineer’s use, I don’t know the name, it is cylindrical made of plastic and usually comes in black color – you’ll put your copy here so that it won’t fade easily.

3. 3 copies each of vicinity and location map

4. 5 green long expandable folders – at least that’s for Calumpit municipal hall year 2011, next year it will change again.

5. 7 copies of Bill of Materials and Bill of Specifications

6. FALAR – I forgot what it stands for but its Fire eclavu

7. Photocopies of PRC ID’s of your Civil, Electrical, Sanitary and Structural Engineers

8. Title of the lot - on your name

Before you ask someone to draw the plan, ask him if he will process the permits if not ask for his help - he should be willing to take you to the office because he’s more familiar with those things. Also ask if the corresponding fees are included in the contract.

Took me 2 weeks before the permits were released I made sure to bring all the requirements before I went there.

So that's it, I hope this will help you prepare for your dreamhouse goverment permits.

For those in the subdivisions:
After you get the govt permits you need to go to your subdivision admin to deposit a bond for the construction permit. Ours is 25k, refundable thats if you did not wreck anything during the construction.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

My Althea Keys

She took my phone again and asked mommy to go to music then she chose "NO ONE" by Alicia Keys, her new flavor of the month after her monthlong romance with "PRICETAG" - yes she did love that song. Thea will play them over and over until we all memorize the line, thank God for the repeat mode otherwise we'll have to hold the phone and put it back to the favorite song.

Back to "No One" song: Last October 30, she sang "No one, No One, No Onehahahah" but never did she repeat it even with much prodding. Last night though was different, she was reading a book when suddenly she started singing

"No One, No Two, No Twi, No Fo, No Fay, No Sic, No Semen (hehe), No Ayt, No Nine, No Ten"


Dear Althea Keys,

No one not even Ten can take us away from what we feel for you.

Love Mommy and Daddy

She got bitten by an ant but that wouldnt stop her and mommy from a photoshoot! Thanks Tita Mai for the pretty terno she soooo love!





additional pic: "BEFORE"
as requested, yan lang ang nakascan dont know kung nasan yung iba

Friday, November 04, 2011

What Blessed Means

Blessed means celebrating Thea's 3rd birthday with family and friends! I meant for all of us to just dine together and just decorate the house to turn it to a happy mood but it felt like I threw a party! I put up a Backyardigans tarpaulin not the usual Happy Birthday banner just because I knew Thea would prefer to have Pablo, Uniqua, Tyron, Tasha and Austin's picture over hers. I also setup the tunnel and tent set I bought for her months ago so other kids can play there too, it was a hit!


Blessed means seeing the smile on the little girl's face when she rides the swing - our gift for her this year. It brought smiles even laughter to other kids too, the only contingency is the bermuda that went bald after the whole day activity, hehe. Grass lang yun we can buy sacks of it but we cannot buy the laughter that gift brought to many of the birthday girl's guest aka cousins.


Blessed means having to sleep at your own home. Super thanky Papa God for this blessing. This is a major thing for Alvin and I! He worked hard for this and I prayed hard for it hehe, nice combination huh! Seriously, it really feels great to have a place of your own and though the moving in phase is not yet over we already feel that this house is our HOME!

Blessed means spending the holidays with the bestest people! Hubby has been busy with all the work and has been spending a lot of time in the office. He's been coming home late because he needs to finish some urgent project. Thank you Lord for the holidays. How long was it? 4 straight days right? Awesome awesome looong weekend. Next week ulit!!!

Blessed means having your family around you! It was my eldest sister's birthday the day after Thea's, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATE MAI! We had a great time bonding, so fun that when they have to leave our house the little girl cried 'WIYAW" meaning 'ayaw' aaaaw she didnt want them to leave our house, sweeet :D

Blessed means reading good news about the stocks exchange when you've been reading low dow jones for some time err months :D

Blessed means receiving a big news from the abode of peace! We have been praying about it for quite a while and finally a development comes and we are happy and thankful and awed by the God's provision.

Blessed means talking to the Speech Therapist and hearing great news!

Blessed means seeing circles and squares and triangles in Thea's coloring book. Hearing her sing Alicia Keys "No One, No One, No Onehahahan" and High Five's version of Happy Happy Birthday!

Blessed means celebrating your fourth year with the person you most love! Having breakfast date at the lobby of his office building hehe! Plus receiving a bunch of roses, "Best of Me" and "The Last Olympian" (with american cover this time coz my first copy has England cover and it doesnt match with others - nagexplain?) books :)


Have another blessed loong weekend everyone!

Blessed and Loved,
Nyem

Monday, October 24, 2011

House Construction - SAMPLE CONTRACT

I know I already wrote Part 3 when we were still at my parents house but when we moved I forgot all about it besides moving in pala is not EASY. We still have loads of stuff left there and we couldnt yet figure out where to put it here, just when I thought the closets are enough haaaay. OPLAN GARAGE SALE na ito!!!

Anyway, since we havent hired a contractor for the whole house we need assurance in case something happened during or after the construction and a contract is valuable tool for that.

here's one of our contracts, dates and amount is the same but no we dont live in blah blah subdivision :D

ROOFING, STEEL TRUSS & SPANDREL WORKS CONTRACT


SCOPE OF WORK:
Contractor, name and address, shall furnish all materials and perform all work shown on the drawing or described in the specificiation on the attached quotation to work performed on property located at: Lot x block xx R street blah blah blah blah


TIME OF COMPETION:
Commence on June 22, 2011 and shall substantially completed by July 14, 2011.


CONTRACT PRICE:
Steel Truss
materials Php 53,885
Labor 21,000
Sub-total 74,885
Roof – Rib type 79,600
Spandrel 35,200
Total 189,685

PROGRESS PAYMENT:
Payment of the Contract price shall be paid in the following manner:
• Cash on delivery for the materials
• Labor cost will be paid after completion of
1. steel truss
2. Rib type roof
3. Spandrel


WARRANTY PERIOD:
Contractor warrants all work for a period of 12 months following completion.
Materials have warranty of 10 years.


PROVISIONS:
All work shall be completed in a workmanship like manner.
All change orders shall be in writing and signed by both Owner and Contractor.
Contractor warrants it is adequately insured for injury to its employees.
Contractor shall not be liable for any delay due to circumstances beyond its control.



Agreement made this June 23, 2011 between the undersigned:

CONTRACTOR ____________________________
asdfghjkl;

OWNER : ____________________________
qwertyuiop

I got to tell you that this thing works, they work best when they sign something. And if you want scary stories since halloween is fast approaching I'll give you one.
One of our neighbors started contruction I think January when we started building ours theirs isn't finished yet. WHY? Because the contractor left them after they gave them the substantial amount to complete. Now they are finishing their house at an additional cost. It pays to have your contracts written, natatakot kasi sila pag may pinipirmahan feeling nila makukulong sila :D

Sunday, October 23, 2011

House Construction 101 - Part2 -Revisions

We commissioned someone to draw early January, 12th to be exact. The final draft came out February 18. That's not the blue print yet ha, only the last draft. By final draft I mean both us and the draftsman have agreed on the drawing finally. It took us more than a month to finalize the plan and it didnt help that the one we commissioned and us doesnt agree with everything.

Do not hesitate to ask for revisions even if it takes you 20 revisions or even a hundred if you dont like what he's showing you dont buy it, it is your house and if you wont be happy with the drawing you wouldnt be happy with the outcome too. Thing is, some charges for revisions so be sure to write every detail that you want to change in the first draft. If he gives the revised draft and he didnt changed everything you have listed it is his fault. Otherwise, you'll be spending money on drawings.

Tip: Make sure you hire a good one. Ours tried to draw the first drafts by hand, oh gulay, "she said she'd revised it naman so kamay na lang, and samin naman eh magbabayad naman kami bakit di mo pa gawin na autocadd." But wait there's more, I wont elaborate but after a month we are stressed out.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Pedring - Sept 2011

It was Tuesday, when Typhoon Pedring struck Luzon with its 140KPH wind - it brought havoc to Manila including The Bay area, The Sofitel, US Embassy, Mall of Asia and merely all establishment near Manila Bay. I wonder what happened to the Ocean Park. The storm had super strong wind and the high tide last Tuesday afternoon made the water overflow the seawall and made Taft Avenue and Pedro Gil huge swimming pools.

Pedring also swept us here in our house. 3am I woke up and asked Alvin if that sound was a carabao! Yep, I typed it right I really thought it was a carabao as I heard "Ngaaaaa Ngaaaa" not "Mooo" for cow. Pinoy si Pedring eh :p He said it was the wind, I wasnt bothered even though I kept a mental note to look at our sliding windows later that day. Husband went to the office via commute, car is banned to go to Manila as it ends with number 2. While me and Thea are set to NOT go to school because the wind is quite heavy and it would be very difficult to drive. 8am husband called to tell me work was cancelled, I panicked because we got no food so when the wind tamed down a little I went to the market to get food. Going there was smooth, going back to the house was intense. I got a text that water was leaking from the sliding windows of the blue and pink rooms. A mess really and a lot of stress too because we need to vacuum the water out of our laminated flooring - oh yes the floor upstairs are laminated and they should be supposedly dry at all times.
Note to all who plan to build their house, dont put sliding window na. There are new french windows that are beautiful unlike the 80's window there are modern ones, this will prevent water from going in because they got no gap. Or if you really as in lily lily like to have a sliding window opt for te UPVC window that got super protection for strong winds and heavy rains, these upvc however is 300% more expensive than the usual ones.

Thursday came, rain is not quite heavy nor the wind were, when my little town flood-prone Calumpit Bulacan became popular in the news as it is flooded in an unusual way. Calumpit is the catch basin of the water coming from higher municipalities so when nearby town got flood the people of our little town prepares for our 2-day late floodwater. The water was not what they expect it, its waaaay beyond the normal flood that come and goes Calumpit. The usual "bukong-bukong" high (ankle deep) flood now reached chest deep (Filipino standard) high. What made the Calumpitenos worry was there are still 2 more typhoon coming our way, ouchy. People from the lowest areas started to evacuate, a day later people from not so low area are scrambling because water has reached their place. Friday afternoon water reached our house in Poblacion it's height is same with the Calumpit bridge, river overOVERflowed.
We got 11 evacuees in our house here in La Res 7 nephews and nieces and the other four are family members of Thea's yaya. Now I know why our house has to be built this year,should had it been postponed I dont know where we'll go. I can imagine myself stressed out during those days and nights when we have no water and electricity in Nanay E's house.

The kids and Ate Yos' family stayed here September 27 until October 7, I am a chef all day. Before going to bed I have to plan the next day's meal! I tried champorado, lugaw, sopas those I can cook in bulk because we are like at most 15 in the house. At first we all had hotdogs and eggs and sinigang for dinner after a few days stocks get low and we were eating tilapia, luncheon meat and longganisa. I baked on their first day but when I realized our LPG might not make it, I didnt try baking again until we could pass the road to get a reserve LPG.
Saturday October 1, me, ate lalah and alvin went to Calumpit to bring drinking water to Nanay and Tatay and to 7 more evacuees - relatives and friends. Here are the pics from our quest to the waterworld:

We walked from UPPC up to Calumpit Market where the water was up to my waist, rode a banca from the market (4ft high) to crossing (cost us 30pesos each) and walked again till we reached our house. It took us an hour to wade the water but we were happy to see everyone including those who evacuated were safe! thank you Lord. Going home Alvin saw a huge truck passed our house and we run for it as it will cross the market and will take people to Caltex station. At the station another truck is waiting to take people to bagbag bridge.

This is the first truck - Philippine Navy's, covered and we got seats!

The second truck going to Bagbag is a dump truck, that you have to climb from a ladder on the side to get on top and then jump where the rest of the people are. Can you see the lady on the left side, the boys were helping her to go down. Alvin was at the front I dont know how he got there. We were joking that they will dump us when we get to Bagbag, they did not hooray! Bad news is we had to go down the steep stairs and it is not EASY.
By the way, here's my in-laws house in San Marcos. Usually flood is like a ruler deep inside the house now there's barely a ruler left on the front door.

We here in Calumpit are very grateful for the overflowing help you guys gave! Thank you sooo sooo much for the prayers and the relief goods that you sent. May God bless you hundredfold.
Hugs,
Em

Friday, September 30, 2011

Pray For Calumpit

Certified Calumpitena asking for prayer from the blog world.

UPDATE:
It rained heavy last Tuesday September 27 but we got NO as in 0 flood.
Come Thursday the dam started releasing water and it went chest deep. Today September 30, it is reported that the river has overflowed from the Calumpit bridge meaning Mac Arthur Hi Way is now flooded too, that's the road in between Apalit and Malolos.


Water has reached our house this afternoon. Never in my entire life did our house been flooded, imagine now how deep this can be to other areas. We have evacuees already at my parent's house in Poblacion but since the water is getting deeper they will have to evacuate too. We want them to go here but they couldnt because there is water everywhere, I just hope they have water and food for everybody.

I am asking for prayers.

I will end with this verse.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble..." -- Psalm 91:14-15

Remain strong and calm amidst the storm. God bless you.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Project Dreamhouse at Wordpress :D

I know right? It's been a while since my last post and I even promised to make a blog about revisions.
Reason 1: Running errands for last minute preparation for the house blessing
Reason 2: I was having fun driving! I told yah, automatic cars are stress free. Clutches, Primera, Segunda, Tertiera, Quatra and Quinta drive me nuts.
Reason 3: The reason above all these is WE MOVED! Yey! well we havent finished moving everything yet to our new address, it might take months haha!

But this post is about my other blog at wordpress :D I called it project dreamhouse, because really it is! I started it last January 2010 but never came back until recently.

Good thing Wordpress now got new features for bloggers like me. I found it difficult to maneuver before but now it's as easy a ABC! It has a new jquery slideshow plugin!

The new SlideDeck is more convenient too. Since coding is not really easy for everyone it's nice that a simple click can make blogging easy for us :D

Here's the link of my wordpress blog click here. In case you want to to make your own wordpress account just click wordpress. Happy blogging everyone! Mwaaah.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

House Construction 101 - Part1

April 4, 2011 Start of construction of our dreamhouse project. But all of it didnt really began there, it began with the conceptualization of the design.

First you need someone to draw your house, I suggest you find your trusted architect to do the job or the known draftsman who drew almost all the houses in your area someone who they will vouch for, because everything will start on this crucial task.

The architect will ask you the lot plan and vicinity map, you'll get it from your subdivision engineer. Then they will have to visit the site, they need to look where the sun will strike best in the morning or set in the afternoon.

If you have a peg for your dreamhouse show it to the architect right away. But if you want him to surprise you and show you his design just tell him everything that you want your house to have. Do you want a gym, a bar, a 2-car garage, a closed kitchen, a wooden staircase, library, shoe closet, walk in closet, lanai? Just tell him and let him do the job.

This is our sala and dining peg. This is a mansion hehe so its quite huge ours is only 4x7ft.
source http://www.filbuild.com/philippines/real_estate/house_and_lot/laguna/filinvest_land/brentville_international/alexandria_05.htm
For our bedroom we wanted something like this, it's from a hotel we stayed in Miri. Far right there's a hall that leads to a walk-in-closet sort-of then to the bathroom.

If budget is an issue, as it is always, I suggest you do your homework. Cut-out pegs from magazine, look here, here and here and a lot more - you just need to befriend google. Put them on a drawing board and "imagine", seriously! I draw ours in excel. The engineer I once asked to comment understood it naman since it has scale and labels. Imagineering at its finest!

Part 2 - Drawing revisions and more revisions

Saturday, September 03, 2011

The Gift

Last 2009 I celebrated my birthday in Brunei, that was my first birthday as mommy nyem, I baked and had my two wonderful gifts with me - my daughter and my husband.
2010 we went to Miri, not exactly on my day itself but we went there just because I asked hubby and even though it took us 2 hours on the border to had our passports chopped it didnt matter because we all have each other and we got food hehe!
This year is different than the two previous years because we are here in Pinas, Calumpit to be exact and nyemnyem is very happy! I blogged here that I wanted baking pans for my birhtday and pans galore I had!
Baker Secret Muffin Pan from Ate Mai
Saturday before my birthday i got a call from Ate Mai and asked me what pan do I like, I said muffin pan, black. After a few minutes she called again, no black pans available just the gray ones, I said it is okay because actually I didnt know the difference hahaha! Then she said black pala is for professional churvaloo ;p Anyhoo, the pan is exactly what I need for my cupcake tower, a project for a friend's wedding. Reminds me to start practicing and googling the finest frosting :)
Pans from Ate Vi!
August 28, Sunday I met Ate Vi she wants to talk about our house project so I met her and told her about our dreamhouse project and the nightmares that go with it hehehe. Bits of what we talked about: contractor can get 1/3 of the whole contract price, doing it yourself naman will get most of your time, finishing is expensive :) Before she went home she gave me a bag with presents in it, at once I knew what those are. Got home and I opened them to see 3 pans for me, yey yey yey!!!
Got brownie pan too from Ate Lalah then I bought some more muffin pans for myself. The cupcake tower rack I bought is for 46 ( i think) cupcakes so I needed more pans.
Night of 28th we went to Gerry's to have a family dinner for my birthday. WHen was the last time we went our for dinner for my birthday, I cant remember either. So this is super special for me, a dinner for myself.
Here is the only picture I took before the camera's battery died :P

So we got no choice but to use our celphones camera
the kids having fun time with the iced tea dispenser
dinner with family care of husband
August 31 Wednesday at 12 noon Hubby's gift came. It got 4 wheels, is black and is automatic :D Thank you thank you! Today I drove it and I got bloopers like all first timers had. No worries sweetheart wala pa namang gasgas :p

Another year has ended another year to start. Dear God, please make me the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend that I could be. Help me be a blessing to others. Thank you sooo much Lord for my family, my parents, my siblings, nephews and nieces. But most especially Lord thank you for the most special gifts: my husband and thea, most precious presents in the world!

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Birthday Blog 2011

Foremost, my thank you's to all who texted, called and FB'd me during and even after my day.
Text greetings came from Nanay A, Ate Lalah and kids, Roseline, Nanay E and Tatay,Udette, Chie,Noreen, Lea, Ate Melda, Tita Cely, Ninin, Ate Vi, Ate Leng, Ate Mai and Tita Myr.
FB friends greets too, thank you Edward, Rodney, Ellen, Ate Levs, Victor, Angel, Udette, Bim, Rhea, Ate Liezl, Gaye, Inets, Leah, Nic, Third, Ghet, Lai, Aran, Apple, Kap, Bunz, Jenny, Ate Liria, Jean, Jenny B., Tina, Moppet, maan, Rose and Rodilyn for remembering.
The little girl did her classic way of greeting mommy on her special day, she woke up before 1am and slept at 4! Husband gave me a big hug and a kiss too but the little girl gets jealous hehe and daddy needs to go to office so he slept around 1:30.
Me and thea got to rest up to 9 and 9:30 I think. Got chores to do so I need to wake up before her because the day is a big day! I dont have special dish on the table just the petit mocha cheesecake I prepared the day before (ooops have I shared that I've been baking again lately?).
12 noon my Aunt came to deliver Alvin's gift (ill reveal it on the next blog), and we went out to fix it up to 1pm. Then Ate lah came and greets me with K.Glen, Kiel, Ate be and the preggy Joy!
Nothing much happened during the rest of the afternoon as I just waited for Daddy to come home excited for our date. So night came and Alvin knocked at our room with flowers on his hand saying "Pwede pong manligaw?" Ayiy!

Minutes later, me, alvin and thea were on the road. Hubby's tummy is acting already - he's hungry na. So I decided to just grab food at Cabanas but when we got there Thea doesnt want to go out. We went back on the road and decided to eat at McDo instead. I said McDonalds and Thea said DO DO DO! It was like our Brunei excapade last year dont you think? We were dressed and all but Thea doesnt want to go inside the resto so we just ate at the table near the parking lot! That doesnt mean we didnt have a grand time on my night, we did. Hubby ate his mcdo meal and I ordered fries for the princess and cafe latte for me. Happy birthday to me!

Having spent my day with my two special loves made my day wonderful!

Love Love Love

Friday, August 26, 2011

Every Girl needs Girl Friends

Need as in required or necessary, something you cant live without.
Every girl needs a girl friend, and a set of girl friend is definitely a blast! Meet my fabulous girl friends:
UDETTE >>> We got closer when we sent each other emails about love and life and ministry. When we were younger as in I am 17 I think and she is 14, we were inseparable in one of our youth camps. It was in Baguio and we talked a lot during our 4 hour trip back home. A very strong lady with a loving heart, set to marry her 5yr bf A on December 23, her ___th birthday.

MINETTE>>> She's my cousin, alvin's accomplice during his proposal, my kalaro during younger years I am 6 years her senior but we still played hehe. She's makulit, mabait na anak and loving fiance of Bim who is her first boyfriend.

APPLE>>> She calls me Mommy i call her anak, it started when I was the youth president. This beautiful lady is secretly I think engaged to her Ad. Di na namin pinipilit magkwento baka mapressure.

GAYE>>> meet Juleen Gaye. She's straight. Every time she's asked are you gay? She says yes and then she'll say I'm straight. Confucious ang kausap nya. Kasi naman si Mommy Eden Gaye pinangalan sa kanya ano ba? But really Gaye is our funny girl sa group next to IVY.

IVY>>> aka Ninin is the ultra funny girl. She's the one to call when we were having dull moments. Nin always have a joke ready for everyone but she also has great advice to give.

AUNEE >>> The chica girl of the group and the absentee. Her life in sales made her life more busy. She can change her hair color in one heartbeat, one day blond next brunette, then she will try curls and then she'll ask for a rebond. So chica.

GET>>> She and Aunee are the absentees forever ng group. As she is now residing in SG.

ELIZA>>> aka Neng. She and Boy didnt have a child until their 4th year or 5th then Hobie was born, after barely 6 or 7 months she got pregnant again! Testament that you just have to wait for the blessings to come, sometimes they come in bundles once it is time!

ELSA>>> Mother to kulit kid Ella and baby number 2 I dont know the name haha, what kind of girl friend am I? We miss you girl paramdam ka haha.

ELLEN>>> She became youth president after me. Almost all of us became youth leaders nga pala. She is now mommy to Eram and my godson Xyler who's mmilk is Enfagrow hehehe (you better know why I put the milk here Len)

I took their facebook profile pictures, grabbed is more appropriate. Some I have to look for other albums since their profile pic is just their name written in the sand or she and her bf holding hands :P
On one of our pics in FB Juleen's mom commented
if CHRIST is the center of friendship,,, it will last forever,,, God bless mga anak
and AMEN to that.


Thank you dear Lord for beautiful and awesome friends.

verse of the day