Golden's Diary

August and September

2010-10-01T12:36:00.001+08:00

August and September weren't very kind to me and my loved ones. It was a Dark Period for my family. With my mother-in-law's passing, our life made a complete 360-degree turnaround.

Dude, I don't give up that easily. I am a strong soul. My life has been difficult, harsh, and almost impossible but I am happily and courageously moving on with it. I am hanging in there, no matter what other people say. August and September were two bumpy crooked dark roads but they led me and my family to new beginnings, new hope, new chapter in this great book which we call Life.

I am a changed woman, a shiny new piece of life's work. You think I would bend and break that easily? Think again. I am tougher, stronger, fierce if not fiercer, and more sensible than before. Thanks to August and September.

I thank Him for giving me the two most wonderful persons in the world: my daughter Jamjam and Hubby. I don't think I could keep my sanity without them.

And to all those people whom I once considered as my family --- same people who have tried to hurt me with painful accusations, same people who don't know where I am coming from, same people who think they know me too well--- I only have these three words for you:

Get. A. Life.

To My Only Mamsi...

2010-09-16T12:51:00.002+08:00

Mamsi and my then 7-month old daughter Jamjam.

Dear Mamsi,

I still remember the first time we met...

Two and a half years ago, I was one month pregnant then when Hubby brought me to your home. My pregnancy shocked the whole family but you welcomed me, not only with open arms, but with a heart so warm and gentle. With no questions asked, I instantly became a part of your beautiful family.

And then Jam's Big Day came, and I was glad that you were there to help me and Hubby welcome her with tons of loving, gentleness, and warmth. I won't forget how you held her with so much love in your eyes and how you wiped the tears from my eyes when the doctor said something about Jam's condition. I felt so blessed that you were there beside me. You helped me see the beauty in my daughter. Someday, I will tell Jamjam how you filled her soul with so much love and goodness. You were the perfect Lola for our daughter, I couldn't ask for more, and I thank you for that.

Mamsi, you were a beautiful person blessed with a very big heart --- a heart that was never selfish. And I thank you for being such a great mother to your children, especially to my husband. I thank you for instilling in us the value of family and friendship, and for loving us unconditionally. And most importantly, I thank you for loving our daughter Jamjam.

Mamsi, I am already missing you. I miss your gentle voice and your warm touch. But I am okay now because I know that somewhere among the sweet clouds above, you are up there singing with His angels.

You lived a great life and I am glad that He gave me the chance to meet you and to be a part of your family. You will always have a special place in my heart forever.

You're my only Mamsi.

I LOVE YOU.

December 2008

Love,
Golden

*My Mother-in-Law was one of the 42 passengers who died from the horrible bus crash in Sablan, Benguet last August 18, 2010.

Freebies Fever

2010-08-17T10:50:00.002+08:00

What's with my crazy pout?
And why is Jamjam so happy?
Why is she smiling with her eyes closed (don't you just love her big grin?)?

Blame it on free cookies! Haha!

Yes, we got free yummy chocolatey cookies. Yum!

I think the goddess (or god, I really don't know) of freebies is in favor of me and my family because just last week, Hubby and I were 2 of the lucky 2500 texters who won free lotions from Avon.

So yeah, you can say I am a sucker for freebies.

Thanks Avon for having such fun promo.

5 days ago, I got invited to a spa party exclusive to bloggers (how cool is that?). Unfortunately, the venue is at SM Mall of Asia, which is, by the way, just an 8-hour drive from my home, tsk-tsk. I wonder what I am missing (they're having the party now as we speak).

Lots of love,

Sugar and Spice

2010-08-15T16:40:00.002+08:00

"What are little girls made of ?
Sugar and spice, and all things nice,
that's what little girls are made of."

Me and my BFF Vill

Last month (major backlog it is), I had the pleasure of catching up with my BFF Vill. Nope, we are neither childhood best friends nor college best friends. I met her at work more than 4 years ago. She was this loud girl who wasn't afraid of giving voice to her thoughts. We were complete opposites yet we became best friends. I wouldn't forget how we used to call ourselves "super twins" (cheesy, I know).

She left for Dubai 2 years ago but now she's back. I really miss this girl. It was nice reminiscing all afternoon with her.

It's an understatement to say that she helped me survive in the real world because she did more than that. She wasn't just my lifesaver --- she added spice to my otherwise too sugary boring life. She taught me how to think outside the box. She taught me a lot of things my mother wouldn't dare teach me. Yes, she made my life much more exciting and colorful. She helped me open my eyes and peel my naivety. I started living on my own when I was 20 years old. It was dangerous for a simple-minded 20-year old girl like me to live alone, but I was glad that she was there to protect and guide me. She showed me that the outside world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

I find it amazing that my daughter Jam immediately connected to my best friend Vill. You see, it's just normal for toddlers to experience what they call "stranger anxiety" and Jamjam isn't an exception to that. She gets upset when a stranger approaches her, but not my best friend Vill. They met for the first time last month and look how they instantly connected. It looked like they had known each other for a long time.

Don't their pictures spell L.O.V.E.?

Vill and I circa 2007

Vill, I know that we don't get to spend more time with each other anymore but deep down in my heart I know that we are eternally bound by friendship and love. You are the big sister I never had. You are my soul sister.

Lots of love,

Laid-Back Weekends are Love

2010-08-10T12:48:00.000+08:00

I just love lazy weekends...
Weekends that allow me to drench myself with Jamjam and Hubby...
Weekends that fill my heart with pure bliss, pure love, and pure warmth...

Funny how the three of us share that same sweet I-don't-wanna-show-my-teeth smile.

Last weekend, I cuddled for hours with the two most beautiful persons in the world. Not willing to leave our warm bed, and with our faces deliciously swollen by long sweet sleep, the three of us hid under our thick warm blanket and shared a hearty laughter together over silly made-up jokes. We all pretended that some green slimy aliens were going to capture us and that our only protection was our thick blanket, okay I was just exaggerating but we did a lot of silly things just to amuse our little daughter and just because we love doing silly things on a weekend.

I love that weekends allow us to take things slow, to stop and appreciate the beauty of life, to take a deep breath and relax, to smile and plan for an exciting fun-filled day, and to block all work-related thoughts.

I love watching her grow and I love that I get to spend more time with her during weekends. I love hearing her say new words like "tee-hyoo" for thank you, "lavoo" for I love you, "Oh-buh!" for Over! (with matching hands-on-her-hips, mind you). I love how she says "yummy" and "sa'ap" after we pepper her with yummy kisses. I love how she smiles, how her eyes twinkle with pride, and the proud I'm-a-big-girl-now look she gives us every time she sees how proud we are of her.

I love how she and her cousin-slash-partner-in-crime Tastas "decorate" our walls and floors with their unique art. They literally make our house more colorful. You see, these two girls are oozing with creativity that I consider it as a sin to limit their artwork on a sheet of paper. These two little girls best define "deviant art", if I may say so. I hate though that the "washable" markers I bought for them weren't really washable. So goodbye cheap "washable markers".

Boo!

I haven't been touching my tube of mineral clay mask for quite some time now. So last weekend, I decided to apply a thin layer of minty clay mask on my newly washed face. I love how the mask lifted the dirt off my face. And I admit, I'm getting tired of seeing red nails and black nails. So for a change, I painted my nails in sea green. I just thought it looked fresher, younger, and livelier than my usual nail paints. And by the way, I also had fun painting hubby's nails in sea green and pink.

And you know what else I like about weekend? It allows me to practice my "culinary skills". So for last weekend, I made cheese sticks (quickmelt cheese, strips of bell pepper and ham wrapped in lumpia wrapper). Dipped the yummy creamy fried snack in pink sauce which my niece Tastas specially made for us.

Hubby's drawing of our family. He said I'm the one with the biggest rear end.

Weekends rejuvenate and inspire me. Laid-back weekends are LOVE indeed. So please, don't wonder anymore why I'm all smiles every Monday.

Lots of love,

My Little Happy Feet

2010-08-04T11:43:00.002+08:00

My Little Happy Feet started dancing when she was just 6 months old. It always amused me how she would jiggle her small body every time she hears an upbeat music. Every time I clap my hands, or tap my foot, she would jiggle her body and flash that gummy grin I always loved. I didn't know my baby came with this instruction: "Play some cool music and watch this baby dance".

I wasn't surprised anymore when Nickelodeon and Disney aren't her favorite TV channels. Unlike most toddlers, my daughter doesn't have the patience to watch cartoons like Dora the Explorer and other kiddie programs like Barney & Friends. She just doesn't like them. Her favorite channel? It's MYX (the #1 music channel in the Philippines). She loves Korean pop songs, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga.

She still loves dancing until now.

My 1 year and 10-month old Jamjam is no graceful ballerina (like how her Momma used to be)...

It's because she's a rock star who definitely knows how to rock the dance floor! Watch how my baby danced her heart out on the following video.

Apparently, Jamjam loves Gloc-9 too.

My Little Happy Feet dancing with her Daddy. They just woke up here.

Now you know where Jamjam got her cool dance moves.

Lots of love,

"Be Right Back"

2010-07-26T05:55:00.004+08:00

Promise...

I'll be posting more on my blog. Globe said they'll be activating our internet line sometime this afternoon. I hope it will be a fast connection too.

To our previous ISP, please make your Terms and Regulations clearer next time. I swear, it felt like you're ripping off our hard-earned money. We're just simple consumers.

I want to thank my Hubby's big sister, Ate Maria, for arranging our subscription papers with Globe. Love you!

EDIT (August 2, 2010): Our internet connection has been active for a week now. Connection is extremely slow though. I can't even upload my pics to my blog. Globe said they'll be dispatching one of their call-out teams to our house this afternoon. Sigh. Someone's definitely not a happy camper.

Lots of love,

Big Shoes for the Little Lady

2010-07-16T13:35:00.002+08:00

I am not supposed to post this now because I'm up to the elbows with work, but I couldn't help it. I need a break, not to mention that I owe you all a new post.

Who could ever resist this adorable picture? Tell me!

Don't you just love it when little girls pretend they're all grownup? When they try to wear their mom's heels, pearls, lipsticks, and sunnies? I tell you, I never told her to put my shoes on. She just went ahead and grabbed 'em. My daughter Jamjam simply loves my shoes and next to my shoes are my bags. I'm afraid she's no longer that little baby I used to hold and cuddle up in my arms. I'm afraid she'll be a shoeaholic and a bag hag someday like how her Momma used to be. I'm afraid girls will always be girls :)

And I can't get enough of this strong love bond between Hubby and Jamjam. The bond is becoming stronger, tighter, and more beautiful each day. It just takes my breath away.

On a different note...

The mall was actually my favorite place when I was still single, careless, and materialistic. Those beautiful dainty shoes, big faux leather handbags, expensive clothes that wouldn't last me a year, would make my eyes glisten like little stars. But several years before that, when I was still too young to wear heels and makeup, did you know that our neighbor's shabby sari-sari store was my mecca? Those cheap junk foods displayed in their large barred window, colorful candies stored in big glass jars, and cheap little toys would make my eyes glisten like little stars.

To my surprise, it was Hubby who introduced Jamjam to her first sari-sari store experience.

The main reason why I no longer wear heels

We bought cheap junk foods and yes, Jamjam ate some cheap junk food too. Hey, eating junk food ONCE IN A WHILE is not bad at all.

And by the way, I have no qualms about painting my nails fiery red, bright red, or bloody red.

*******

I mentioned here before that Hubby and I watched the "the glistening vampires and the hot werewolves" on the big screen. Yes, the movie was Eclipse (what else could it be?). My blogger friend witsandnuts asked me this question: "How did you find Eclipse?"

I am just glad that I was able to read the book before watching the movie because honestly, I don't think I would understand what Eclipse was all about just by watching the movie. The movie was too fast paced for me. Can I just also say that Robert Pattinson didn't do justice to his character, Edward Cullen? The way he delivered the cheesy lines weren't romantic at all. It just sounded flat to me. I did enjoy the brief fight scenes though. I love love Ashley Greene! She's so pretty, so is Kristen. Nikki Reed is a beautiful lady herself but I don't think Rosalie Hale's character is for her. Did you see her blond hair and her brunette eyebrows? For me, the first movie was still the best movie of all three Twilight films. And yes, werewolves are hotter than glistening vampires.

I just hope Twifans won't stone me to death.

******

Do you see that disco banner (yeah, dance with me!) on top of my blog? Click it if you want to join my GIVEAWAY. This giveaway is open to the US and Canada only.

'Nuff with the blabbering.

Lots of love,

I Celebrate Friday

2010-07-10T17:54:00.000+08:00

Finally, I can now say that I love Fridays...

I LOVE FRIDAYS!

After working my fingers to the bone for 4 years and 2 months, I was finally given a Saturday and Sunday off from work. Whoot whoot!

And I celebrate Friday by dressing up... a little bit. And when I say dressing up, it means ditching my chucks and switching to my silver bejeweled flat sandals. No sexy heels, no fancy dress, just my plain boring work clothes sans my much loved sneakers.

It's time to show off those painted piggies baby.

This week's Friday was even better because Hubby got two free movie passes. That gave us an excuse to watch the glistening vampires and the hot werewolves. We could have watched it last week but Hubby and I were trying to avoid the giddy young crowds.

Dined on some unhealthy fast food because... you get it, we love us some unhealthy greasy fast food.

Saturday morning was spent in pure bliss. I spent it basking in my personal sunshine --- my daughter Jamjam. After working for five straight days, I owe her a lot of playtime. It's not just about the quality time I spend with my kid, but quantity matters too. I didn't care if the house was a mess or if my hair and face were both greasy or if my glasses were sticky and dirty from Jamjam's milk. All I care about was to see Jamjam happy and contented with me.

I am just glad that my work for the week is over.

******

I was asked by one of my readers, Anna, about the nail polish I used on the following photo as seen on my previous post:

This isn't the actual photo of my nails. This is just the tweaked version. I played with the photos' saturation and temperature hence it came out lighter.

Here's the actual photo of my nails. And to answer her question, I used two coats of Bobbie Premium Nail Creme in Cinnabar.

Please watch out for my upcoming giveaway. Mechanics and contest details will be published on my next post.

Lots of love,

Glowing and Blooming

2010-07-08T12:53:00.004+08:00

Glowing.
Blooming.

Don't you just love it when people around you compliment you? When they tell you how glowing and blooming you are. And you believe them because deep down in your heart you know that those are sincere words spoken by your real friends.

As shallow sounding as I may be, I tell you, those beautiful words just warm my heart. Those words are like the bright sun rays piercing through the clouds on a morning so cold and gray. It just makes my day at work more bearable.

No amount of makeup, expensive creams, or even pills which claim to give you that much coveted glow can give me that fresh healthy glowing look.

My secret? It's all about my heart and my soul. It's all about my beautiful family which gives me that natural inner glow.

My daughter Jamjam is simply beautiful and is growing more beautiful each day. I wonder sometimes if this beautiful creature is mine to hold and love forever. I can't believe I deserve a child as beautiful as she is. Her beauty never fails to awe me. God is indeed beautiful and wonderful!

Thanks to her Igorot lineage. I love how her cheeks get rosy after waking up from her sweet slumber. Truly beautiful!

And she's a funny child who hates her thick-curly-at-the-bottom hair.

Simple things do make me glow with happiness...

Simple things such as...

-Weekends spent at the playground with Jamjam.

-The love and hate relationship that Jamjam shares with her cousin-slash-girlfriend Tastas. Their petty fights are so cute and terrifying at the same time.

-Delicious nails which I painted myself. Finally, I now know how to paint my nails (thanks YouTube!). This would save me a lot of money. Goodbye Manang Nita.

-Sitting on the floor with Hubby, drinking iced green tea and binging on potato chips while catching up with our movie list every Sunday.

-Freshly baked cheap chewy breads

-And my first creamy, spicy, fattening Bicol Express which I just cooked last night for dinner. I'm sure my Bicolano Dad would be proud of me.

Simple things do make me glow with delight...

*******

One of my dear readers asked me about the type of camera I used to cover Hubby's birthday. I just used my camera phone: Sony Ericsson C905. I don't own a decent digital camera and my camera phone is the best camera that I have access to as of now. I just played with the saturation and temperature of the photos to make it more dramatic and fun. And no, I still don't know how to use Adobe Photoshop. I just use Picnik to tweak my photos.

By the way, watch out for my upcoming giveaway. A very gracious person asked me to host a giveaway which her company will be sponsoring. I have yet to gather more details from her *winks*

Lots of love,

Celebrating Hubby

2010-07-04T10:45:00.000+08:00

June 27, 2010. Hubby's birthday was a celebration full of fun, love, laughter, and.... water. Hubby decided to spend his birthday at a swimming resort in Asin. I tell you, it was a beautiful spontaneous decision.

I could feel the excitement in the air. Everybody couldn't wait to escape Baguio's cold weather and dip themselves in Asin's popular sulfur hot spring water.

It was my first time to go to Asin, not to mention Jam's first time to go swimming in a pool. I ridiculously spent the day before Hubby's birthday searching for a decent swimsuit which wouldn't expose my butt cheeks and shiny stretchmarks. Yes, I'm that conservative much to my Hubby's delight. LOL.

I had a lot of beautiful things to thank God for and one of them was my Mom's presence. My Mom is one busy businesswoman and I was so glad she came all the way from Manila in spite of her busy schedule. I love you Mom!

We rented a jeepney for our big family. We had so much fun on our way to Asin. There were lots of funny stories told by my Father-in-Law that we were already dizzy with laughter by the time we got there.

This is one of the two tunnels we had to pass through before we could get to the swimming resort. Locals call it "3 days and 2 nights". Can you figure out why?

Palm Grove Mountain Resort

The weather was neither too cold nor too warm. The weather was just right --- a nice blending of Baguio's cold weather and La Union's hot weather.

The place was so beautiful that I thought I wanted to renew my wedding vows with Hubby right then and there.

Time to have fun baby!

Her name is Ann and I adore her so much! She's the daughter of my cousin Louie whom I once thought was my coolest cousin ever. I remember how my younger sister and I would fight for Louie's attention. LOL. I hope Jamjam and Ann would become best buddies someday.

I can't get enough of these two people. Their love bond is so strong and magical that I sincerely believe they were made for each other.

I don't know why Jamjam loves crumpling her Dad's face. This isn't the first time I caught it on camera.

A beautiful delicious birthday cake given by my Mom.

Here's an interesting fact: Hubby doesn't want other people know his real age. I don't know why but I hate how people think that I'm much older than him. I guess it's time for me to ditch my glasses (and slather myself in some expensive anti-aging products, LOL). But for the record, Hubby's older than me. And oh, if you want to know how old he is, just count the candles on the cake *winks*

The moment was so magical. With our dripping hair and swimsuits, we all gathered around Hubby just to celebrate him. I know, the kids weren't really willing to leave the warm pool but I could see how happy they were as we sang "Happy Birthday to You".

It's time to blow the candles Baby. I wish you all the happiness and love in the world.

Truly a mountain resort.

Celebrating Hubby --- it was a celebration of love, family, and strong love bonds. Cheers to another beautiful year!

Lots of love,

Pink Dresses, Pink Shoes, Pink Dolls, Plus Red Nails

2010-06-30T10:11:00.002+08:00

I know...
I haven't been blogging that much.
Life is too sweet and too beautiful that I have to take a short rest from blogging and drink in all the satisfying simple pleasures life has to offer.

I wasn't able to update my blog because I was too busy painting my daughter's nails...

I wasn't able to update my blog because I was too busy dressing up my daughter in pinks and purples...

I wasn't able to update my blog because I was too busy introducing the goodness of doll play to my daughter.

These two dolls are both given by my Mom when she came to visit us during Hubby's birthday.
They're Jamjam's first baby dolls. They don't have a proper name yet but Jamjam already calls them "baby". The smaller doll talks, giggles, cries, moves her feet and makes a sucking sound while drinking from a bottle.
Jamjam loves poking their blue plastic eyes.

This is how Jamjam puts her babies to sleep.
For some odd reason, this photo makes me weak in the knees.

I wasn't able to update my blog because I was too busy teaching my daughter how to scribble...
but obviously, the sheets of papers I gave her, not to mention our pink walls, are not enough for her oozing creativity.

I'm still here...
I'm just too busy drinking in my beautiful sweet life.

Lots of love,

Birthday Greetings To My Beloved

2010-06-29T06:50:00.000+08:00

You're my thick, rich, delicious icing on this cake I call Life. I love you for as long as we both shall live. Belated Happy Birthday!

Greetings came in late because I was too busy partying with my beloved Hubby and Jamjam...
Birthday celebration pictures coming up on my next post...

Lots of love,

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T11:24:00.000+08:00

"I'll play basketball with you when I'm strong enough to dribble and run. When Mommy is not looking around, you'll teach me how to catch dragonflies in our backyard and how to dig for some wriggly earthworms. You'll teach me how to play poker when I'm intelligent enough to understand Logic. I know someday you'll show me the proper way of punching boys in the face when they end up breaking my heart. I'm so excited to grow up Daddy. I can't wait to do all these cool things with you. Happy Father's Day." --- Jamjam

Lots of love,

Safe Nontoxic Edible Finger Paints for Babies and Toddlers

2010-06-19T13:11:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone!

As promised, here is the recipe of my safe, nontoxic, edible finger paints we used on our finger painting activity last Monday (for story click here). By the way, the recipe is not mine --- I just got it from the internet *winks*

Ingredients:

3 cups of water
1 cup of cornstarch
some cool food coloring of your choice

Directions:

Dissolve 1 cup of cornstarch with 2 cups of water.
Boil a cup of water in a saucepan.
Remove boiling water from heat and add it to the cornstarch mixture.
Return the mixture to the heat while stirring it constantly.
Boil until the mixture turns clear and thick (about 1 minute).
Remove from heat.
Divide the cornstarch paste into separate bowls.
Add the food coloring and mix it in.

Tip: You can mix your red paint with your blue paint to create a pretty purple paint. You can also mix yellow with red to make a cool orange paint. Getting the drift?

By the way, don't forget to add some LOVIN' on your finger paints. It's the ultimate secret to a successful finger painting activity.

Enjoy!

Lots of love,

PS,

Pardon my blurry photos. I took them with my busted camera phone.

Getting My Little Picasso Messy With Finger Painting

2010-06-16T11:46:00.001+08:00

Toddlers love and enjoy getting messy. Period.

Toddlers are curious by nature and engaging themselves in messy activities is a learning yet fun experience for them. Not only that, messy play also helps stimulate their senses eventually developing their eye hand coordination and fine motor skills. One messy activity that we can let our toddlers try is finger painting.

Crayons are not the only tools that we can use to teach art to our children, there are also finger paints. Letting our children apply and spread the paints using their fingers and hands is a great way of allowing them to express themselves in a very creative manner. Finger painting not only encourages their creativity but also helps strengthen their hand and finger muscles.

June 14, 2010. Jamjam, Hubby, and I did our first finger painting activity together.

I made these finger paints myself. They're safe, nontoxic, and edible. I'll publish the recipe of these homemade finger paints on my next post.

The Proud Momma enjoys finger painting

Hubby joined in the fun too.

Jamjam is clearly "testing the waters".

I'm not sure if you can tell it here but Jamjam is starting to feel annoyed with the sticky paints.

She loves stacking all sorts of stuff.

Me loves those piggies so much!

Yay! We're done!

The next Picasso?

Finger painting was a fun activity for us. I am glad that Jamjam wasn't the only one who enjoyed spreading those sticky paints --- Hubby and I enjoyed it too.

Lots of love,

Surviving Eclipse

2010-06-13T12:00:00.006+08:00

Hello everyone! Sweet kisses to all of you.

I just finished reading Eclipse --- the third installment to Stephenie Meyer's popular Twilight series. Did you know that I started reading this not-so-long novel 14 months ago? I finally finished it! Crazy, right?

I remember how much I enjoyed reading Twilight --- the first novel of the series. I even prematurely thought it was way cooler than this certain popular wizard fantasy series. I didn't expect my vampire mania to be cut short. Unlike Twilight, the second novel New Moon, bored me to death. All it talked about was Bella's depression. I hate reading sad gloomy books. Despite the book's depressing tone, I was able to finish it and naturally, I started moving on to the third novel, Eclipse. Unfortunately, I was only able to read a few pages of the third novel. The whole vampire craze was starting to wear off on me. I realized that it was just some cheesy overrated set of novels based on vampires and werewolves fantasy. A beautiful glistening vampire falling in love with a human? Oh, come on! I am so not digging this anymore.

But for some unknown reason, I started falling in love with Edward, err with the Twilight series again. I then found myself flipping over the pages of Eclipse (okay, so this part is a lie because I was reading the e-book version), sighing over the beautiful romantic quotes and the next thing I knew I already finished reading it. Wow! My reaction to this third novel? I love, love Bella. I love how gutsy she is. But I can't help but say this to her: Napakalandi mo Bella at ang haba ng hair mo ha. LOL.

I am just glad that I have this Twilight craze going on with me again. It feels so good to believe in fantasy not to mention cheesy love stories. It really is a good saga after all. A beautiful glistening vampire falling in love with a human? Out of this world but a product of a genius imaginative mind. Not silly at all.

Can't wait to read Breaking Dawn.

Lots of love,

[Photo Source: http://angelathaohuynh.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/eclipse-by-stephenie-meyer/]

Colorful Crayons Are Little Children's Magical Wands

2010-06-10T19:20:00.002+08:00

"The action of clutching a crayon in the fist requires hand strength and dexterity, and the act of actually drawing with it involves motor planning and vision. Toddlers generally can hold a crayon or pen and scribble sometime between 14 and 20 months, but the range of what's normal is wide." --- Andrew Adesman, pediatric development expert

Colorful crayons are little children's magical wands. They can create anything they fancy with just a few magical strokes.

March 10, 2010. I was so excited when I bought Jamjam her first crayons and drawing book. She was just 18 months old then. I couldn't wait to see what masterpiece she would create using her big fat crayons. She did scribble with her crayons --- colorful jagged vertical lines extending from her drawing book up to our cream-colored walls --- but she was more interested in breaking her big fat crayons. She was my curious Little Picasso who couldn't resist the urge to smash her crayons against the floor until they break into pieces. She would even step on them. That, according to her, was fun art. Poor crayons! Crazy Jamjam! :)

"Ooh, what is this Momma?"

"This looks fun!"

Hand of a budding artist.

First doodle on a drawing book (she didn't draw the brown circle)

"Ooops! Sorry, Momma. I can't help it. It's so much fun!"

For the past couple of months, Jamjam had been 'decapitating' countless crayons. I almost gave up and I almost resorted to nontoxic water-soluble washable ~~edible~~ markers. I almost gave up... until I saw these unbreakable crayons last week.

Unbreakable crayons?

Crayola Twistables Crayons. Hi-tech! LOL!

Thanks to Crayola for coming up with these genius crayons. Now, Jamjam won't be able to break them *evil laugh*

Can you guess the missing crayon?

Looking forward to a fun-filled Fingerpainting this weekend. Can't wait to make some 'serious' artwork with Hubby and Little Pancake (don't worry, we'll be using hypo-allergenic paints).

Lots of love,

Getting Nostalgic Over Benguet's Strawberry Season

2010-06-06T12:32:00.004+08:00

No more fresh and luscious strawberries.

No more sweet strawberry smoothies

No more haggling with friendly strawberry vendors.

Strawberry season is over here in Benguet.

No worries though.
Six more months and Benguet soil will be peppered again with these delightful bright red fruits.

Praying for a kinder weather this year. No more strong typhoons please.

Here are some old photos I took last February 8, 2010. It was one of those days when Hubby and I bought strawberries which were almost overripe. I personally prefer strawberries that are almost overripe as they taste much sweeter than the firm ripe ones.

Enjoy the photos!

Have you been to La Trinidad's Strawberry Farm?

Lots of love,

Wear Your Loved Ones' Fingerprints

2010-06-03T10:34:00.000+08:00

Ever heard of fingerprint jewelry?

[Photo Source: http://www.camillecesari.com/]

Freaky or Fashionable?

I find it different, beautiful, and overwhelming at the same time. Fingerprint jewelry is priced for at least USD100. I can ask my Dad though if he can make one for me at a much much cheaper price. I'm planning to wear a gold impression of my daughter's and Hubby's fingerprints. Cool, eh?

Have a great day everyone!

Lots of love,

The Proud Momma Dines at Sizzling Plate

2010-05-31T19:00:00.002+08:00

Sizzling Plate is a popular restaurant here in Baguio. This restaurant has been here in Baguio for quite a long time now but I wasn't that familiar with this restaurant simply because I wasn't a foodie yet by then. All I know is that this restaurant is famous not for their main dish, but for their yummy Sans Rival, which I haven't tried yet by the way. They have three branches here in Baguio: Sizzling Plate Session Road (oldest branch), Sizzling Plate SM Baguio, Sizzling Plate Abanao Street.

February 15, 2010. It was one of those days when we had to bring Jamjam to the doctor for her well-baby visits. After the doctor's visit, Hubby and I decided to grab a lunch at Sizzling Plate located in SM Baguio. So why did we choose Sizzling Plate on that day? It was because we hadn't really tried dining there before and we wanted to find out if Sizzling Plate was one of the restaurants worth including on our when-you're-feeling-lazy-to-cook-eat-at-this-restaurant-instead list.

As soon as we entered the saloon, err, the restaurant, we immediately felt the Old West ambiance. Both the tables and the chairs were made of wood, I think I even saw some batwing doors and a bunch of drunk cowboys sitting in a corner (you all know that I am just playfully exaggerating on the last part, right?).

There's something wrong with this beautiful mantelpiece. I can't seem to put my finger on it.
There's also this beautiful mantelpiece behind our table.

The chairs look stiff and rigid and I think they're the most uncomfortable chair I've seen inside a restaurant!
While we were waiting for our orders to arrive, Jamjam conveniently played hide-and-seek with her Dad.

Their most beautiful furniture (not necessarily the comfiest highchair though)? Definitely their highchair! I was so glad that they didn't let my Jamjam sit on some dirty plastic highchair. I wish I could take their highchair home with us.

I don't know what this soup is called. We didn't eat it though because it was way too salty. I forgive them for the soggy noodles, but not for the über salty taste of the soup. This soup is free by the way. Our free pass to the edema land?

Sizzling Sisig

Not the best sisig Hubby and I have tasted. We didn't really like it but we still ate it because we were starving on that day. The Sizzling Sisig was too greasy that I was afraid I would get a heart attack just by eating a spoonful of it. I regretted ordering three plates of Sizzling Sisig for the three of us: Me, Hubby, and Nanny Coney. I wish we tried their other dish instead.

Java Rice

Paired their Sizzling Sisig with their plain-looking Java Rice.

I don't think my family and I are going back to this restaurant. Their food failed to sizzle me and my family's appetite (Nanny Coney even had a hard time finishing her food that I told her not to finish her food anymore). The taste and look of their food gave me the impression that the cook was in a hurry to prepare our food. Their food was affordable though. Sorry, I can't remember the exact price anymore but the Sizzling Sisig was just less than PHP200.00 (USD4.30) per plate. We were all in a hurry to go back home that we even forgot to try their certified must-try dessert --- Sans Rival, tsk-tsk.

Since I'm a self-confessed Kikay Mom, I want to show you my FOTD on that day:

Face:
Olay White Radiance Intensive Whitening Lotion (used as a makeup base)
Ellana Intensive Coverage Mineral Foundation in Almon d Latte
Ellana Oil-Absorbing Mineral Finishing Powder
Eyes:
Ever Bilena Stargazer Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Quianyu eyeshadow
Maybelline VolumExpress Cat Eyes Mascara
Cheeks:
Ever Bilena Single Blush-On in Amethyst
Lips:
NYX Diamond Sparkle Lipgloss in Ginger Sparkle

My makeup on that day didn't matter because here's how I ended up looking after the "hearty" lunch:

That's yours truly with her labandera hair. Do you see my unfinished food?

Bought a yellow balloon for my little Love Machine before heading back home.

I hope you're all having a great evening! Mwah!

More of Jamjam

2010-05-26T12:22:00.000+08:00

I want to show you my latest addiction...

Digital scrapbooking! I tell you, this thing is super fun!

Sorry for drowning my blog with Jamjam Goodness. I can't help it as I'm smitten with love for this little girl, who never fails to bring me love and happiness in my life.

Lots of love,

The Proud Momma's Sunday Thoughts (May 23, 2010)

2010-05-23T12:06:00.003+08:00

She still takes beautiful photos despite her nearsightedness...

I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about my camera-slash-phone (Sony Ericsson C905). Her "eyes" are broken, hence the blurry photos. I've been a bad Momma. I had dropped my camera phone on the floor too many times before, but I guess this time I didn't get lucky. Her autofocus motor is already broken and is too broken to be fixed. The camera lens needs to be replaced.

Another blurry photo. This is one of my daughter's funniest photo. She always does this teeth clenching thing whenever she's excited. Crazy baby! This photo doesn't fail to crack me and Hubby up. Love love love my baby so much! What can I say, I'm her #1 fan!

My camera phone takes clear pictures only when the photo is taken at close range. The photo above is overexposed though. Nevertheless, I still love my daughter's funny toothy smile.

I hope the camera doctor finds a replacement soon. Promise, I'll be treating her like a newborn baby.

Lots of love,

The Proud Momma Is Back!

2010-05-19T07:30:00.000+08:00

Hi dearies!
I'm back!
The Proud Momma is still alive and kicking! Whoot! Whoot!
Did you miss me? 'Coz I missed you a lot!
How are you all doing?

We actually came back from our Manila trip on the 10th of May. I was planning to update my blog on that same day but I had so much things to do. Sorry about that.

We had such a great time with my Mom and Dad together with my younger siblings: Gem, Joshua, and Archie. Surprisingly, my little daughter Jamjam was loving the heat! I think the hot and humid weather of Manila suited her well because she didn't have any of her usual asthma flare-ups. As for Hubby, I think he just had culture shock. LOL. It was his first time to stay in Manila anyway so the culture shock was expected. What can I say? Manila is a big city compared to Baguio! Poor him! He's so used to Baguio's laid-back lifestyle.

One of the things I was looking forward to was my Mom's cooking. My Mom's the best cook in the whole wide world! She served us with hearty meals such as beef pinapaitan (beef soup with vile extract), chicken tinola (chicken soup), my Mom's meatballs-ala-Vigan-longaniza, prawns, big crabs, lasagna and many more. :D

Top photo: My Mom's first ever lasagna. It was her first time to bake one. Her lasagna was a huge success! Better than Pizza Hut's and Greenwich's in my opinion.
Middle photo: Meatballs which taste like Vigan longaniza. Winner!
Bottom photo: We were eating huge crabs almost everyday that I think I had enough uric acid to last me a lifetime, LOL.

My lovely Mom and her única nieta. I found our room too hot despite the air conditioning system, that I had Jamjam wear one of her swimsuits.

Jamjam and my little brother Archie. My two little brothers adore Jamjam so much!

My younger sister Gem, Jamjam, and yours truly. We just woke up in these photos by the way. Ang ganda ng gising ni Jam!

That's Me and Jamjam together with my hardworking Dad.
I just love how my daughter stared lovingly at her Lolo's face.
Can you tell that my Dad is wearing a torn shirt in these photos?
According to him, it's the comfiest clothing he got. LOL!

We went mall hopping on our second day. First stop was SM Fairview. This mall is the nearest mall to our house. I took my two little brothers and Hubby with me. We didn't bring Jamjam with us though as we were just commuting by public transportation.

We all felt like genuine tourists while having our photos taken in front of the "Noah's Arc".

Our first taste of Taho Boy.
After an hour of window shopping, we took a break and snacked on taho (bean curd pudding). My verdict? Nothing beats Manong Magtataho's taho!

Then we had another first taste --- Krispy Kreme.

I had been wanting to try their doughnuts. I heard too many people raving on their products, specifically their doughnuts. I just wish we have a store of Krispy Kreme here in Baguio :(

Top: White Choco
Bottom: Vanilla Kreme Cake
Such a delight! My sweet tooth was in festive mode!

Top photo: Joshua and Archie and their hard-to-miss spiky hair.
Middle photo: Unfortunately, Hubby isn't blessed with a sweet tooth. He eventually placed half of his doughnut on my plate :)
Bottom photo: Please don't get my sour expression wrong.

Second stop was Robinsons Novaliches. No photos were taken as the place didn't look interesting to us. I was shocked at how this mall look degraded already. I had seen it before during its better days.

Third stop was Trinoma. Can I just say how confusing the structure of Trinoma was? We were literally going in circles, yet we felt like we missed a lot of stores.

"We won't leave Trinoma without Chewy Junior!"
Cheese Lover for me, and Almond Chocolate Crunch for my two brothers. No puff for Hubby as he had had enough of sweets for the day. Blame it on Krispy Kreme and Taho Boy.

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the Cheese Lover. It was too creamy and bland at the same time. I love how chewy the puff was though.

We were so tired at the end of the day. Hubby couldn't believe we had to take all those jeep and taxi rides to get to the three malls. Haha!

Here's what we bought from our mall hopping:

Darlington socks and a pair of Fisher-Price shoes for Jamjam. I tell you, we don't have too many options here in Baguio when it comes to buying baby shoes.

Plastic alphabet blocks for my little one.

A pair of Tribal jeans for yours truly.
We have Tribal stores here in Baguio but I couldn't pass up this jeans --- they were on sale.

Two pairs of cheap earrings and a pair of cheap Korean shoes for yours truly.
I couldn't believe how cheap they were! The earrings were just PHP50.00 (~USD1.10) each pair and the shoes were just PHP250.00 (~USD5.60). Awesome deal, right? I bet I wouldn't find such a great deal here in Baguio.

A Tribal cap for Hubby.
He had been scouting around for a perfect cap and unfortunately, he couldn't find one here in Baguio. He was so glad to find this handsome cap in SM Fairview.

We stayed in Manila for six days. We didn't go out anymore after the mall hopping we did on our second day. We just stayed at home and caught up with my parents and younger siblings. We had so much things to talk about. My parents and siblings missed Jamjam a lot that they couldn't get enough of her. They couldn't believe at how big ~~and naughty~~ she was already.

I'm afraid it will take another year before we can visit them again. Sigh...

I am missing them already.

Lots of love,

The Proud Momma's Sunday Thoughts (May 2, 2010)

2010-05-02T14:00:00.003+08:00

The Proud Momma was feeling blue these past few days...
Never had the heart to update my blog...
Sorry dearies...
It was just one of those days when I wanted to shut myself from the outside world, including the cyberworld...
I didn't even turn on the TV, for crying out loud...
I think I also forgot to take a shower...
Skipped meals...
Turned off my phone...
Skipped work for four days...
I just wanted to curl up in my bed, stare at my sleeping daughter, smell her milky scent, give her countless kisses, play with her, and soothe her when she's in pain...

So why was the Proud Momma down and blue?

Jamjam was running a temperature just four days after she recovered from a nasty flu. I thought her fever was forever gone but I was wrong. This time, it wasn't because of the flu virus. Jamjam was cutting teeth for the third time --- her four canine teeth were all erupting at the same time, poor baby! She was crying the whole day and wouldn't want to let go of her Momma that she would scream and cry whenever she saw her nanny in the room. She was refusing her milk and food because of her swollen gums, not to mention that the teething discomfort caused us sleepless nights. This was the most difficult teething stage she had been through. The pediatrician advised us to give her Paracetamol every four hours to ease the teething pain and to reduce her fever. We were told though to have her urine tested if her fever would last for more than three days. Good thing that her fever lasted for only three days, and thank God, yesterday was the first day --- since Tuesday --- she wasn't running a high fever.

Why is this rite of passage such a painful experience for our babies? Can't they just cut their teeth without experiencing any pain? I hate to see my daughter cry every time she is in pain.

My fever-free Love Machine playing with her Momma's old newspaper.

Of course, the Proud Momma was naturally absent from work again. I have been absent from work for the past four days. That will be a total of six-days absence if you will count my two-days absence last week, tsk-tsk (someone will be broke for sure this coming payday, LOL!). Good thing that my boss understands my situation. I am just scared that my boss will finally be in his right mind and realize that I'm a liability to the business. I hope he doesn't fire me. You see, the Proud Momma is notorious for skipping work every time her baby is sick. This is the nth time I've been absent from work this year alone. Nope, I'm not abusing my boss's goodness. I just can't bring myself to leave my sick daughter at home even though there is a nanny to look after her. I strongly believe that no amount of medicine can replace a mother's loving touch.

Love eating on the floor!

Yesterday, we decided to load our blood vessels with bad fatty acids. You can call it a "mini celebration" of Jam's recovery. We decided against eating out as bringing Jamjam outside seemed not to be a good idea at all. Call us a bunch of über protective paranoids.

By the way, Malacañang declared May 3, 2010 a regular holiday nationwide, in observance of Labor Day. I am thinking of rendering rest day overtime tomorrow evening to compensate my six-day absence. What do you think?

Lots of love,

PS,

I want to say thank you to all those people who unfailingly read my blog despite me boring them to death. A lot of you have commented on my previous posts and I want to say sorry for not being able to comment back. 24 hours is just not enough for the busy Proud Momma. Don't worry, I have kept and treasured all of your comments in my inbox and will reply to each one of them once I have time on my hands. I love you all!