lola and lolo went home to Philippines

Yesterday, my parents in law went back home to Philippines after their six months stay here in the US. We are back to ourselves, taking good care of two kids, the house and doing errands. Kapagod, having to carry and drag the kids while doing errands. Whew! this is life in the US!

But it's nice having only us :-) I am not sure if they wanted to go back here in the future, now that they experienced the boring life here hehehe. I hope they enjoyed their stay despite Dad's being hospitalized and all.

Now, their other children are happy to see them back home!

Be Romantic and win a trip to Italy

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dr Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.

Romance is very important in every relationship. Either boyfriend/girlfriend or marriage relationship, romance will always be there, otherwise that relationship will not have any future at all. People wants to love and be loved in return. Keeping romance alive especially when you are married takes a lot of effort and creativity.

Last month it was our 5th year wedding anniversary. Since we got married and have two kids, we could not go out on a date on our own. Every couple knows that! But since my parents in law was here, someone could watch the kids for us. My husband who is a very romantic person, surprise me with a fancy dinner in a very nice restaurant! On the day of our anniversary, he told me in the morning that we will go out in the evening, just the two of us. I said ok, thinking that it was just an ordinary movie and dinner. Evening came, I was surprised when he pulled out in front of a restaurant along the bay. I have been dying to eat in this restaurant for a long time because I heard so much about the food and the ambiance. I was smiling from ear to ear when we arrived and found out that he made prior arrangements too! We were seated on a corner overlooking the city of Seattle. I was overwhelmed and touched. It has been so long since we had a real date. Romantic restaurant, good food, great wine and with the person you love! I could not asked for more. That was the best gift ever!

If you are a romantic person and wants to give something special to the person you love most, grab this chance to win the Grand Prize of an eleven-day Italian wine tour for two from Dr. Oetker. This tour includes romantic meals, sightseeing and more. This contest is for Canadians only and it ends on February 15, 2010. Register now to become a Savoury Moments member, and get a bonus PIN to enter right away.

There are one hundred thousand and eight (100,008) Instant Win Prizes (100,008 instant win pins out of a maximum of 2,152,000 PINS available) available to be won as follows:

• 100,000 - Ristorante Pizza Coupon (good for any variety where Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizzas are available) with an expiry date of December 31, 2011 - (APV $4.75) - Approximate odd 1:21
  

• 5 - "Ristorante for a Year" prize pack - which includes 52 free Dr. Oetker prize packs and 24 bottled of custom labeled wine. Winner must be of legal drinking age in jurisdiction of residence or winner will be substituted with a prize of equal value. (APV $700) - Approximate odd 1:430,400.
  

• 3 - Tour for two at a local winery / vineyard near the winners residence. No transportation is included. (APV $300) - Approximate odds 1:717,333.
  

I don't have to tell you anything more. Just visit http://bit.ly/5MdKNi to know more about the contest.

Dr Oetker Adventure Romantica Contest might be your ticket to your longtime dream, to visit Italy!

Italy is my number one dream destination. I have been planning with my husband to visit this place either next year or the year after. Gosh, I can't wait for that day to come :-)

she is 4!

We celebrated Gabz birthday last Saturday night. We prepared a small party for her. She has Tinker Bell cake, a balloon and Pinata princess. She wears a crown too, because she wants to be a Princess on that day.

I just can't imagine that my baby is now four years old! Whew! time flies so fast indeed.

Look at the board, on how she wrote down the Happy Birthday Gabby and Mommy. Actually, we both celebrated our birthday because it is only a few days interval.

Below is the classic Pinata game. She enjoyed it a lot and love the princess Pinata that I bought.

Time to blow that Tinker Bell cake! She really wanted a princess cake but then the design is not so nice, so I changed it to Tinker Bell, she doesn't mind at all because it was so pretty.
When she got tired, she told me that she wants to go to bed even though most of her friends are still around. Poor little girl! I asked her though if she had fun and she said " Mommy, thank you, I love my birthday party. Can you tell Daddy that I am going to sleep now?" It means her Dad needs to say goodnight.

And off she went to slumber happily.

Lolo was hospitalized

We rushed my father in law in the emergency room the other day because he feels numbness in the right side of his body. At first we though that it was just his every day numbness. He felt numbness in his feet most of the time because of his diabetes. But when I saw him walking he limp and he was dragging his right leg, first thing that came into my mind was, he was having symptoms of stroke. I told him that we need to go to the doctor, but he told me he is ok. My instinct tells me differently. We brought him to the doctor at 2:00pm and found out that his sugar level is extremely high, 390. Most people go comatose when they reached 400. We immediately brought him to the ER. Later on, we found out that his blood pressure and cholesterol are over the edge and he is experiencing symptoms of mild stroke. They ran series of test and has to spent overnight at the hospital. Good thing all the test results came back negative, but was asked to stop smoking, drinking and has to watched his diet.

We went home after 24 hours of stay at the hospital. He still felt numbness but not too much anymore. He was given meds for his diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol.

Good thing we brought him at the hospital earlier, otherwise Gods knows what will happen to him if we did not.

Manic Two weeks - Part III

After Christmas the whole family went to Las Vegas. First thing we did upon arrival? We had lunch at Jollibee and Chowking!! I missed this little guy for two years and I will not wait a single day to taste those chicken joy anymore. Gabz was able to finished two burger steak while I gobble two pcs of chicken joy and sundae. It was already two o'clock, so everyone was famished.

The guys headed to Chowking for some noodle soup. Look at my mother in law, I think fatigue and hunger makes her look like this. Peace mom :-)

Guess what? the next day we had our lunch there again! Chicken joy and burger steak AGAIN. That's how much we missed Jollibee.

Before we went back to Seattle, I bought Mamon nd Enseymada at Red Ribbon. Yummy, Filipino food is still the best. Missed them a lot :-)

More pictures on our Las Vegas trip on the next post.

Contemporary Furniture

Contemporary furniture offers a strong and simple look for your home. More and more people are choosing this type of furniture because of its chic and modern designs. It is simple yet sophisticated and elegant. A lot of furniture store carry this kind of product. Chicago Furniture Store has a variety of selection to choose from. Check out their Ghost chairs and stools, it is unique! Not only that, they also offer discounts on floor models and overstocked items. Don't forget they offer free shipping for all orders.

3D PUZZLE

This is our finish 3d puzzle. We did this after a long day in three consecutive days. This serve as our relaxation and bonding time as a family. 3D puzzle is quite tricky compared to the ordinary ones because of the color combination. But it is fun!

Now, we are looking for a picture frame that would fit in here so we could hung this somewhere in the house.

Do you play Golf?

Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area. This sport is becoming famous and more people are trying to learn and play the game. More golf courses are being developed and restored. One of them is Georgia Golf Resort in St. Simons Island in Georgia. This newly restored golf course and resort offers golf packages to its guests. If you love to play golf at the same time wants to relax and have fun with your family, Georgia Golf Resort may be the answer to your needs.

Manic two weeks - Part II

A tour at Microsoft office from the first building built at Redmond to The Commons building.
A pose at Windows 7 . Here is the coolest thing below. At the lobby of one of the buildings, the center table has an interactive map. Here is kuya Bong trying to find their house in Melbourne Australia by simply scanning the map with his fingers. You can find any place in the world through this. Very Cool!

He is pointing at the street where he live and their house!

The gang looking back at me for a snapshot! This is the Commons building that serve as canteen, restaurant for all employees and guests of Microsoft. Looks like a mall, two story building full of restaurants, post office, bank, and shops! Microsoft compound looks like a city within the city. The next coolest thing, drinks are free everywhere!

From Redmond compound we headed to Microsoft in Bellevue. At the dining area, you have the breathtaking view of Seattle and Washington lake. Hmmm I think that is one reason why Bill Gates lease that building. What do you think?

Going for a vacation?

Holidays is almost over but not too late for your family to go to a vacation. Most hotels and vacation destinations offers good vacation packages after the holidays. For some people, this is the best time to go backpacking, heading to the beach or going to the country's best destination.

If you want to find cheap hostels and hostel reviews or simply does not know where to stay, you can check out Hostelio.com. They have the list of hostels is different country with corresponding rates and reviews. I tried to check out cities in different countries and they showed a good selection of hostels. Check them out!

Manic two weeks - Part 1

Before the year ends, we had an extremely busy days for two weeks in a row. Aside from my parents in law who were here, my brother in law came from Australia to celebrate Christmas and New Year with us. During his two weeks with us, every single day is full. Here are some of the few places we visited:

A visit at Boeing Visitor Center in Everett. We planned to visit the factory, but upon arrival we found out that we need to ride another bus going to the factory and kids are not allowed in there. Due to time constraint, we opted to explore the visitor center instead and took a few pictures here and there.

Gabz taking a pose with Tito Bong and Lola at Boeing visitor center lobby.

A family picture with the founder Bill Boeing at the tarmac. Just kidding :-) The background is just a picture with Bill Boeing's cardboard statue in the middle.

After Boeing, time to go shopping at the nearest outlet! That is the best itinerary ever, Tulalip Seattle Premium Outlet!

Are you moving again?

Have you ever tried moving from one place to another twice or three times a year? That would be crazy right? Not to mention all the hassle, fatigue, stress and bone breaking hurling those big boxes. I cannot imagine how I was able to do that!

A few years back when my husband was still doing consulting job, we moved from one state to another twice or sometimes four times a year. There came a time when we stayed at one state for only a month or two. Our hotel room or apartment was always full of those big boxes. Thank goodness, we are so done with all of that when we decided to settle down here in Seattle. Moving into a new place is not a joke. So, if you are planning to move for example in Los Angeles, try to consider hiring a moving company who specializes in moving household stuff and who has professional and trained people to handle all your stuff. Moving Company Los Angeles could help you. Avoid all the hassle and headache and instead focus your energy making your family feels at home into the new place. Moving companies Los Angeles can make your life easier. Are you moving on a last minute notice? I think they can accommodate you, you can always check from them.

You can get a free estimate prior to your move by simply calling their toll free number 1-800-431-3920.

Looking forward to 2010

Happy New Year everyone! Hope every body had a blast celebrating their New Year. I was so busy these past few days or rather week, with all the holiday preparations and celebrations. My parents in law are here and one brother in law came to celebrate Christmas and New Year with us. With all the guests, our days are always full. Not a single day that we don't go out to tour them around or simply went shopping.

We went to Last Vegas for four days and we had a great time at the same time so exhausting that I got sick when we came back. First day of 2010 and I am not feeling so well due to fatigue, stress, cold weather, etc. My body just gave up on me :-( But still I am here blogging :-)

I will be posting some pictures in a couple of days :-) Have fun welcoming 2010!

Happy New Year !

Custom Twitter Backgrounds