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MrsWorkingGirl :: May.30.2008 :: Photo Friday :: 7 Comments »

Walang panama si Rod Navarro sa hangin ng mga ito. :)

Ito ay kuha nang minsang nilakbay namin ang kahabaan ng I-5 sa California. Isang mahabang-mahabang kalsada ito at halos iisa lamang ang itsura ng kapaligiran kaya’t di maiwasan na sa biyahe ay mabagot. Ngunit, tulad ng isang malamig na ihip ng hangin ay lumantad sa amin ang tanawing ito. Daan-daang windmills sa tuktok ng naguumbukang mga burol.

Presko sa paningin para sa aming maligayang pagdating.

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.29.2008 :: Litratong Pinoy :: 23 Comments »

Thanks, Abby, for this one. :)

Let all the bloggers around the globe come together in unity by blog linking. All you have to do is add your name to the list. Don’t forget to specify the country where you are from and of course, link your name to your respective blog. If you have two or more blogs, add and link ‘em all. Then invite 8 or more bloggers to do the same. Here we go!

Julia from Philippines, Catherine from Malaysia, Shi from USA, Mitch from Philippines, Hailey from Philippines, Sexymom from USA, Liza from Philippines, Sasha from Philippines, Thess from Netherlands, Marie from Philippines, mind bubbles from USA, Evi from Canada, Christine – Marikit from AU. Christine – Strawberrygurl from AU, Mel’s Untamed World from PH, Mel’s Uncensored Life from PH, vanity kit from USA, something purple from USA, em’s detour from USA, Abby’s misAdventures from USA, Abby’s Chopsuey from USA, Meeya‘s Memes and Finds from USA, (next passenger here).

Tagging: May, Weng, Julie, Haze, and Jo.

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.29.2008 :: MeMeMee :: 1 Comment »

This tag is from Tin. Thanks gurl! :D

Here are the rules:

Post a photo of your baby with her first ever favorite/comfort toy. Write some details of your fondest memory of your baby and her toy (like what I did below). This will make a good memento when your baby grows up!

Lastly, before you pass this on to six (or more) mommies, don’t forget to add the link to your website/s at the end of the page. I’m sure many moms would love to see your sites, too! :)

When Ninna was a baby, she surprisingly didn’t need a toy (or blanket or pillow) to comfort her. Apparently she was, as a baby, quite independent even when it came to comforting herself. I would like to think that, she was just a happy and secure baby overall.

Anyway, as she grew older, she did find a friend in Pooh. This particular pooh bear toy crawled whenever you touched its booty. Ninna loved crawling after it a lot. As in a lot, hehe.

Five-month old Ninna with Poohbear.

From then on, we took poohbear everywhere we went. It was the only thing that made her feel better, especially after harrowing doctors’ appointments and scary vaccinations. Syringes were no match for Poohbear’s comfort.

So even when we had Ninna’s picture taken when she turned one year old, Pooh was still in the picture.

However, Pooh has since retired. When you ask Ninna now what her favorite toy is, she’ll tell you it’s Teddy – a pink teddy bear that she won about two years ago on one of those arcade machines with claws that’ll grab a toy and drop it in the chute, if you are ever so lucky to win one. Until now, Teddy is still her bff. She even took a picture of Teddy with my cellphone so that whenever we’re out, she could always look at Teddy’s picture daw and not be sad (dramatic no?).

Here’s Teddy. I think we should seriously change her name to Gutay-Gutay. Of course, Ninna wouldn’t have that, I’m sure! :D

So anyway, that’s the story of my Ninna’s favorite toys.

I’d like to ask the following mommies: Maver, Mel, Vannie, Gem, Dyes, and Chloe. What’s your kid’s fave toy?

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.29.2008 :: MeMeMee :: 1 Comment »

This soul-searching tag is started my friend, Nell. I’m honored to be one of the first to be tagged with this meme. :) Thanks, Nell!

Intructions: Link to the person that tagged you and then post the rules on your blog. Answer the questions and tag seven (7) random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog. And last, let your tagger know when your entry is up.

A period of time in your life when you felt protected.
It’s not secret that I had a very difficult pregnancy with Ninna. This was the time when I felt most protected by my family and friends. Since I was bedrested at that time, hubby was my constant companion and did everything to keep me and my Ninna safe. In his absence, I had my sisters and sisters-in-law, my parents, my in-laws, my aunts, my cousins, my best friends, even my officemates and bosses caring for me – everyone came to help me feel that I had nothing to worry about. I felt so blessed and so loved that it was no wonder Ninna came into the world happy and stress-less.

A period of time in your life when you felt unprotected.
I skipped over this question and eventually answered it last, just because I couldn’t find any period in my life when I truly felt unprotected. There were some moments like, when I was walking along Avenida at night alone, or when I was assigned for the first time overseas to work all by myself, or when I ate those questionable fishballs and got sick with hepatitis, but overall everything turned out ok. I guess I’m lucky in this sense because I realize now that in every moment of my life, I was loved, sheltered, and cared for by my family, my friends, and by God. I’m really thankful for that.

The first time you discovered power.
That would be, when I became a mom. As I mom, I realize that I have so much power over my family, particularly with how I’m raising my daughter – and we all know what they say about having great power, it does come with great responsibility. I know that I have the power to mold a person into just the kind of human that I want – a pop star, a future president, a neurologist, or a handbag fan (just like me!). But then, although I want all of that and more for my daughter, I think I’d like to rein in this power and just allow Ninna to develop her personality on her own. Power can make you heady and it is so easy to give in to it. However, it’s more important to me that my daughter is happy with her choices instead of being miserable with mine – I could never savor the fruits of my power that way.

A person whose life has affected you the most.
This may sound corny to some but, really, the person whose life affects me the most is my husband. He is a total inspiration to me knowing how he started in life, how he made his way up, how he continually strives to excel in everything that he does – including fatherhood. In all honesty, I was brought up in a sheltered, well-to-do family and I never really felt the need to want for anything while growing up. Hubby is the opposite, he knows the value of hard work, grabbing opportunities by the horns, and enjoying each success you achieve no matter how small it is. Without him, I would probably still be the spoiled, immature, party girl that I was once. Now, though, because my hubby loves me, he keeps me spoiled to bits, but in a good way.

A book that has affected you the most.
There have been a lot of books that affected my way of thinking. I am so hard pressed to pick just one. For example, Paolo Coehlo’s The Alchemist holds a special place in my heart because I read it at a time when I desperately needed to believe that I was meant to become someone or do something extraordinary with my life. I also read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and understood the importance of integrity, in doing things my way, despite what society might dictate. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World also further reinforced my ideas on respecting individuality and one’s emotions, and what the future might hold if we lose our humanity. And a children’s book, The Velveteen Rabbit, taught me how to love unselfishly. Possibly, if there’s one book that I would choose to stand as my basic and most profound guide in dealing with the world, my choice would be Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet.

A piece of music or song that affected you the most.
I wrote about THIS SONG a while back and how its meaning changed for me when I, myself, became a mom.

A movie or film that affected you the most.
Hands down, it’s I Am Sam. (Nell, apir tayo, it’s my top movie, too!) It never fails to bring out the emotional crazy woman in me. I love this movie on so many levels (the Beatles-inspired soundtrack being one of them). It also cements Sean Penn in my heart as the best actor in the whole world.

I am passing on this meme to: Tin, Toni, Dyes, Mamah, Abby, Jen, and Maver.

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.28.2008 :: MeMeMee :: 1 Comment »

(TUESDAY EDITION)

*Don’t tell me you don’t know what this is or that you never had these when you were a kid because I’m pretty sure you have an idea! :D

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.27.2008 :: Wordless Wednesday :: 14 Comments »

The weather is perfect today. These are the days when I wish we had our own home, with a nice wrap-around deck and pretty and comfortable patio furniture that my daughter and I could lounge on while sipping our cool pink lemonades. I can just picture that in my mind! Unfortunately, we don’t have a home of our own (yet), so no deck and no furniture. I guess, we can start with the lemonade first. At least, that, we have!

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.27.2008 :: Nickel and Dime :: No Comments »

I realized that it has been a year since we moved out of North Carolina. Although my family and I have made it a point to visit as many tourist destinations in NC as we could, one of the things I really regret was not being able to visit the Outer Banks. Accommodations would not have been a problem because there are nice and affordable Outer Banks rentals available there. Hopefully, we could come back and finally visit. Soon.

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.27.2008 :: Nickel and Dime :: No Comments »

This tag is from Em. Salamat sis! *muah*

1. What do you want for your birthday?
:: The usual, hahaha!

2. Who will be your next kiss?
:: The usual, hahaha! Later, I will kiss hubby when he comes home, unless I kiss Ninna first.

3. When was the last time you went to the mall?
:: Last Sunday.

4. Are you wearing socks right now?
:: Nope.

5. How did you spend your summer?
:: Spring pa lang, but I’m sure this coming summer my family and I will travel to somewhere cooler, haha!

6. Have you been to the cinema in the last 5 days?
:: Nope! The last time was December pa yata, to see Enchanted. :)

7. What was the last thing you had to drink?
:: OJ

8. What are you wearing right now?
:: Pajamas, haha!

9. What was your last purchase?
:: Wii Play, last Sunday.

10. What was the last food you ate?
:: Cereals.

11. Who would be the person you would call if you were up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep?
:: Mga tao sa Pinas who are guaranteed to be awake, hehe.

12. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
:: Nope. I hardly shop for clothes.

13. Do you have a pet?
:: None, but we’d really like to get one, kahit fish lang.

14. What made you laugh in the last 5 days?
:: My Protected Entry.

15. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
:: Jollibee

16. What is the last thing you purchased online?
:: Domain name and hosting, haha!

17. One thing you hate about yourself?
:: I can be pretty balat sibuyas sometimes.

18. Do you miss anyone?
:: Everybody who is not in my house right this very minute.

19. What are your plans for the day?
:: Do the laundry, haha! And to look up programs for education online, too.

20. Last person you msg’d?
:: Hubby

21. Ever went to a camp?
:: Yes, I was a girl scout so we went quite regularly.

22. Are you a good student in school?
:: Pwede na, haha! I’m tamad, though.

23. What do you know about the (your) future?
:: That it’s going to be bright and happy and full of surprises.

24. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
:: Nope.

25. Where is/are your best friend/s right now?
:: Pilipinas, but she may come over really soon! Yey!!!

If anyone wants to snag this, go right ahead. Pero I am especially tagging Mamah for this. *muah*

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.22.2008 :: MeMeMee :: 2 Comments »

Nowadays, there has been a lot of push towards “do it yourself” investing through the use of online investment tools. However, I, myself, am not so confident to place my money on investment instruments without the advice of someone with years of expertise. Investment advisor George Divel believes so, too. He comes from the belief that a financial professional should take the time to get to know his clients and make recommendations based not just on their immediate needs, but on their long-term financial and life goals. That philosophy, I can trust.

MrsWorkingGirl :: May.22.2008 :: Nickel and Dime :: No Comments »