Swept Away.

As the Scouts’ motto implies “Laging Handa” (Always Ready), it won’t hurt if we are always cautious and prepared.  Anything may happen any time so it’s just important that we are armed with the necessary know-how, first aid tools and back up plans should an accident or sudden illness arise.  As a Mom, I always make sure that my son’s supplies are well stocked: formula milk, diapers, bath supplies, and snack items.  His feeding box (where I put all his feeding bottles) is always equipped with a stock of his vitamins and other supplements.  I also have other OTC and first aid medications ready like paracetamol, Ventolin syrup,  Salinase nasal drops and even a fever cooling gel.  These are just the basic stuffs and others may be easily bought from a nearby drugstore.  In the US, there’s JazzMedical.com, the leading online retailer of medical supplies, medical equipment, home health care supplies and lifestyle products from which they can readily order their needs by just placing their orders online.

Four days have passed and yet I still can’t get over the romantic reunion I’ve witnessed last Friday.  My dear friend, Kathy, celebrated her 29th birthday and I bet it was one, if not the most, memorable birthday she ever had.  Without a hint, her OFW husband surprised her with the biggest gift of all.  Himself..fresh from the airport.

To begin with, I feel honored and pleased to have been part of this big surprise initiated by her mischievous husband who was still at KSA when he sought our help.  Albeit tough, the brainstorming session with my fellow connivers and with the OFW husband was fun.  It involved a very long email thread and endless (and careful) yahoo chat messages.  Even when we were still planning, I was already teary-eyed and so excited.  I knew that it will be an emotional reunion.  Truly, it really was.  And I’m just glad that I was able to capture the precious moments via my camphone.  The emotions and reactions were truly priceless.  Our adlib and acting efforts were effective (as effective as the best acne pill there is).  We’re just so glad that the big birthday surprise was a success.  And no doubt, Kathy and Amiel were the happiest at that moment.

Thanks for sharing this review. True to Simply.com’s name, they seem to make online advertising really easy. My UK-based friend who’s an entrepreneur will definitely find their services really beneficial. She’s not that well adept with how do these online advertising goes so Simply.com is the perfect and easy solution to her web advertising requirements.

A former colleague recently uploaded this photo of mine in Facebook and tagged me. I didn’t almost recognize myself because I looked so different here. Apart from the hair, the main difference is that I definitely look plumpish here. See the chubby cheeks and a bit enlarged nose? This is one of my post-pregnancy pics and if I remember correctly, I was in my 110-ish lbs weight in here. If I’m to upload my current pic side by side to this photo, I bet you would ask the weight loss supplements that I gulp or which fitness program worked on me to achieve such tremendous change. The answer..nothing really. I’m one proof that breastfeeding really does eradicate pregnancy fats..in my case, very fast.

This photo is a memorable one for me. It was taken during the last few hours of my last reporting day at Convergys two years ago. The whole finance team sent me off with a surprise mini-gathering in the conference room, a cake and a number of gifts/tokens. This also marks the last day of my being a corporate slave and the first night that I slept with a (work-related) stress-free heart and lovingly embraced the wonderful world of being a SAHM. Looking at the picture now, I surely miss my work station..the relaxing ergonomic chair, the hanging cabinet that housed my stuffs, the messy desk, Asher’s pictures posted on the wall that kept me inspired everyday, the stuffed toys, my desktop etc. How I wish I have exactly the same workstation now here at home so I can work on my online gigs more comfortably.

The whole family (my side) had a truly memorable and marvelous summer getaway at Acuatico Beach Resort in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas last April 5-6. It was actually several months in the making as my abroad-based sister planned this as early as December last year in time for their Summer 2010 homecoming vacation here in the Philippines. My other sister and I were tasked to do the rest of the planning and the logistics. We couldn’t be more excited as early as then because it’ll gonna be Acuatico and our balikbayan sister volunteered to foot half of the bill. Woot!

We contacted Acuatico as early as February and was surprised to know that their April weekends were already fully booked. Our parents were set to leave for KSA on the 9th of April and since my sister and her family wouldn’t be here until April 1st, Easter Monday was the perfect day.

To start with, I have high expectations of the resort as I’ve been hearing great raves and reviews about the place. And so just upon entering the gate, my brother, who’s a fellow first timer, and I chorused in saying “wowww!” upon view of the resort’s nicely landscaped garden, parking grounds and the resort’s inviting front view structure.

We checked in and were guided to our rooms immediately by their courteous staff members. We booked two rooms, a Terraza room and an Infiniti room, enough to accommodate our group of 9. The Terraza room, as the name suggests, is a two floored structure having a terrace…”a room with a view deck”. We were welcomed into the room by attractive door mats, clean bathroom (but not so spacious shower area though) on the first floor, nicely designed zen interiors, breathtaking view of the whole resort from the deck, comfortable table and outdoor chairs, a spacious and uniquely roofed bedroom on the second floor. The zen-type airconditioned room is equipped with neatly arranged bed linens, comfy mattresses (both on the queen size bed and day bed) and abounding soft pillows, a 32 inch LCD TV, the usual hotel room knick-knacks and attractive window blinds. Just my ideal comfy and homey hotel room.

My sister and her family stayed in the adjacent Infiniti room. It’s the resort’s standard room, equally well maintained and clean but a bit cramped though.

As for the exteriors and the pool area, well, just let the pictures do the talking. I’m actually lost for words on how to describe the scenic and breathtaking view of the infinity pool, the floating bar, the overall ambiance…it’s totally pure heaven, I must admit.

View from the deck of Terraza A

Terraza A

My Monday was not a productive day at all, work wise. The plans in my 6 pm post last night also didn’t materialize because of an emergency.

1. I had to rush my sister to the hospital’s ER because the hives she had yesterday morning recurred in heaps as soon as I finished publishing my 6 pm post. She had angioedema (similar to the one I experienced last year) suspected due to an insect sting she got last weekend.

2. I didn’t get to work anymore because we got home from the hospital at 10 pm. I still had ample online time but the lazy mood still lingers so I just chatted with an online pal, immersed myself into reading google reader feeds, Facebook and tried to catch some more online opps until I fell sleepy.

3. The husband went home immediately after work to look after and “distract” the little one from looking for his Mommy dear. At least he got his Daddy to entertain and keep him occupied during the time that I’m out. Because we got home late, he also wasn’t able to play their scheduled basketball game anymore.

Here’s hoping that my Tuesday’s will be a lot more productive and get teeming online tasks done.

It’s almost 6 pm and I haven’t officially started my Monday yet.

We started our early morning hours driving towards south. We’re here in Makati again because the husband will have a basketball game after office hours. (See, I told you, he’s really been actively playing these days.) Since he has a game, he has to bring a gym bag. Since he’s too lazy to commute when carrying a huge baggage, he has to bring his auto. And since he has a car and will be passing by alternate routes leading to the Mandaluyong/Makati border where his office is, it’s the perfect opportunity to tag along and be dropped over at my parent’s house.

So here I am, I haven’t done anything yet except took a dip with Asher in his mini-pool, ate, just slept and read about quick weight loss tips. Must be my hormones acting up once again.

Anyway, I’ll see to it that I’ll start moving in a few minutes. Monday’s not over yet pa naman.

Time to do some random updates. I know this is my main blog yet I fail to update and make personal posts as often as I should. Anyhow, here are some of the recent happenings:

1. Work
- My blogging career is continuously flourishing, to my online wallet’s (and the husband’s) delight. Aside from the bountiful streaming of blog tasks, I’m also doing well with my Odesk career. Two projects have just ended but two new jobs are currently brewing. My work tray has never been vacant and with that there’s no need for me to find online jobs in Philadelphia, well until I have accomplished everything.

2. No Water
- As I’ve previously blogged, we’ve been staying here in my folks’ place in Makati because of water shortage in Frisco. We’re also avoiding the hour long annoying and discomforting rotational brownouts in the afternoons. What’s happening to the City of Stars? I’ve heard several districts are running out of water supply as well. Tsk tsk. It’s so challenging to go on with your daily routines without water. I can tolerate an hour long brownout (as long as it’s not frequent) but I certainly can not toil water shortage.

3. Asherito
- He’s growing more and more makulit and malikot each day. Sometimes, his moods and tantrums are getting so tough to deal with but his charm, wit and sweetness never fails to amuse us and he certainly captivates our hearts so well. And yes, he has learned to count from 1 - 10 already…hmm make that up to 11. His favorite numbers are “eben, eyt, nay, ten!”. My heart just melts every time he sweetly says “yuuu Mommmyy!” (translation: I love you, Mommy!).

4. The Husband
- He’s been more involved in playing basketball lately. After failing to get into the semis of the neighborhood tournament in Frisco, he has joined a tourney with his colleagues at work. Current record is 1 - 1. Don’t mind asking about his playing time..to give you a clue, he easily gets exhausted and pants heavily after a few minutes in the court. LOL

We’re totally clueless what’s with the water pipes and connection within the neighborhood. We’ve got no water, even a single drop, dripping from our Grohe faucets since yesterday. We did notice that our supply diminished a few weeks back but today was the worst. We’re just a little bit lucky because we have stocked up a few filled containers but the dilemma might still persist until the next coming days. So for the mean time, my boys and I will evacuate to Makati (my folks’ place) where Yayie can do 2 going 3 days volume of laundry tomorrow.  Hope the problem gets fixed upon our return on weekend.

Thank you for a comprehensive review on Moms’ Bunk Beds. Reading your blog is very timely because I’m looking for a twin bunk bed that will be placed in the second bedroom of our new house. We’re set to move in in a few weeks time. We only have one kid at the moment but I fancy the Stairway Bunk Bed because of its storage solutions apart from its comfort and security as you’ve testified. It’ll also be an advanced provision for a family addition in a couple of years perhaps.