Prayer for Everyday Marriage

About a year ago, I walked inside Papemelroti store to buy nice looking boxes to organize our DVDs and VCDs. I chanced upon a scroll type wall decor with a marriage prayer scribbled on it. Having realized then that in daily occasions, marriage is not a bed of roses, I silently did my own prayer while reading the marriage prayer. I felt a sudden warmth inside me after reading the wonderful prayer. I tried to memorize it but having been in 2 consecutive anesthesia during childbirth, I had to make do with what I remembered from the prayer. I would like to share this prayer to those who are married. May they have a blessed union and fruitful years ahead in their marriage

Almighty Father, we would like to thank You for letting us experience this marriage.
In trying times, we would like to seek for Your assisting hands to help us remember when we first met.
Help us to remember the strong love that grew between us and work that love today into practical things

Strengthen our partnership so as nothing can divide us
We ask for caring words and for kind and forgiving hearts.
All of these we ask through jesus Christ Our Lord and through the Power of the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

SOM'S : A Sumptous Thai Experience

We had lunch earlier in SOM's after hearing mass in St. Andrew's Parish. Tucked near Rockwell Makati ( I would fondly call this area Rockwell gilid), every Thai cuisine lovers should visit this spot as it never fails to draw in crowds of people even during Sundays.

Since we have our young daughter with us, we decided to stay in their aircon area (despite additional charge of 10%) as people normally dine in SOM's al fresco. We also decided to order non-spicy version meals such as Tom Ka Gai, Chicken Pandan, Chicken Fried Rice and Garlic Pepper Shrimp. I wanted to order their must try Spring Rolls but hubby said we've ordered enough food for 3 1/2 (my daughter being the half count) =) I was thinking maybe I'll order Spring Rolls next time when I'm with my officemates as we sometimes pay SOM's a visit during lunchtime.

For the drinks I ordered their Milk Tea while yaya and hubby ordered Coke Zero. It was my daughter and yaya's first time to dine in SOM's and they loved the Chicken Pandan and Fried Rice as much as we did. We ordered their must try dessert as well- Sticky Rice with sweet mangoes.

We highly recommend SOM's to everyone. A sumptous and authentic Thai cuisine is expected at reasonable prices. I see regular customers ranging from locals, foreigners, young and senior professionals. I've heard they even get orders from celebrities and politicians alike. What most of their customers do would be to call up beforehand and have their orders picked up at SOM's to be consumed at home. If you want to dine at SOM's be early as it is hard to find an empty table during peak hours.

Reliable Products I grew up with

I was recently amazed by the fact that I have a few products that I grew up with now being used regularly in my own household. There are times that we try out new products in the market but we always keep coming back to these reliable, efficient and effective items in the list:

1. Safeguard - Skin Germ Family Protection proven in its performance. We use this as our hand soap and body soap. We've tried many soap and bath gel products but my husband always request that we use Safeguard Pure White instead.

2. Colgate -I've patronized Colgate ever since I was a kid. We've tried their other variants and we like them all. When we need to buy a new toothpaste, what we do is we purchase one Colgate variant at a time.

3. Silver Swan Soy Sauce - We love how it contributes in making our dishes flavorful. A seasoning and sauce all rolled into one! I've tried Datu Puti but since Silver Swan is relatively cheaper and has equal performance with its major competitor, I go for the more cost efficient option.

4. Maggi Savor - My favorite is their Garlic Variant. Although they've undergone some packaging changes, I still can't let go of my teenage habit of putting a few drops of Maggi Savor on my sunny side up served during breakfast. Sometimes when pork chop is the main dish, I put 2 drops of Maggi Savor both on it and on my rice as well!

5. Zonrox - for super dirty whites, we put Zonrox. Our household help still practice this today.

6. Tide - Whether its the bar or the powder it still does laundry magic for us! I like the clean smell of Tide whenever I put my newly washed (and pressed) clothes on. The price is right for me with Tide as we don't need to purchase Downy anymore whenever we use this ever reliable laundry soap!

7. Perla - Tide for regular clothes, Perla for the delicate ones. It's great to use Perla in washing newborn clothes as well as stained underwear.

8. Toilet Duck - Toilet Duck has proven its efficiency in cleaning our toilet bowl for many years

9. Johnson's Baby Products - the cologne, lotion, oil, powder, bath soap, baby wash. You name it. We've used it! I sometimes apply my kids' Johnson's Baby Lotion to this very day!

10. Del Monte Products - similar strategy with Johnson's, we use quite a number of Del Monte's products: the ketchup, tomato sauce, fruit cocktail in special occasions, and their pineapple juice every day!

Standard Souvenirs

My dad is about to go back to the province tomorrow after two weeks of stay here in Makati for a business seminar. We picked him up at his hotel to have dinner and buy some pasalubong(souvenirs) for his officemates and for our family. First in his list: the Double Dozen deal of Krispy Kreme.

Our standard pasalubong procedure would be to request to have these doughnuts in boxes of 6's for it to be manageable to bring back home. He was tempted to buy UAAP doughnuts as well but since Ateneo won and Season 71 is finally over, he managed to order our family's favorites instead: Hershey's Cookies and Creme, Dark Chocolate and Honey Glazed Doughnut. I used to get gaga over these doughnuts until one of my former classmate in high school thought I was pregnant when she saw me few months ago. That ended my weekend craving for Krispy Kreme and their doughnut became a once in a while tasty treat for me.

Next in my dad's list would be a box or two of French Baker brownies. He bought about 3 boxes for his officemates. French Baker brownies along with Brownies Unlimited used to be one of the top pasalubong we give to our family, relatives and officemates. It was overruled when Go Nuts Donuts came into the picture and now replaced by Krispy Kreme given the minimal price difference between the two.

My dad's officemate asked us if we know where to buy Eng Bee Tin (EBT) Hopia. EBT also ranks high before as the top pasalubong list during my aunt's era. I told his officemate that I used to see Eng Bee Tin stall in Waltermart Makati. I used to think that Landmark Makati and SM Makati are complete in terms of key pasalubong in their supermarket area. Unfortunately, EBT is in their out of stock list when we checked these supermarkets recently. I hope his officemate was able to buy a few EBT hopia as pasalubong.

Working Mom on Working Mom

I would like to encourage working moms to get a copy of the Working Mom Magazine. If they can afford to subscribe to get hold of a copy annually the better. They've got relevant articles related to fashion, motherhood, childcare, health, career, food and household tips all condensed in one great and affordable magazine.

Most of the time, I share my copy to moms out here in the condo neighborhood. Once they return my copy (which is already a back issue by then), I leave it to my nearby suki salon once I get my next foot spa/pedicure so that their customers can read this lovely magazine as well.

Thanks to ABS CBN Publishing as they never fail to send me a free copy every month (part of current job perks). ABS CBN is the only magazine publication who send me free copies of their Working Mom Magazine under my name! As I got hold of my latest copy, I would like to pay tribute to their publication by sharing to everyone how fabulous their Working Mom magazine is!

Care to Share in Saving the Environment?

Many of us are living in condominiums and working in well-equipped buildings. Given the environmental issues we face today, would like to request that each of us do our own part in minimizing the impact of global warming.

A few little shares I can randomly think of:

- If we need to go to a floor or two from the point of origin, please try using the stairs rather than the elevator (I hope all the people I've been with in the elevator today who went from the second to the third floor would be able to realize what a big help this "little sacrifice" can do).
- Given the weather is pretty much cooler these days, try to have fresh air at night or at the very least use the electric fan rather than using the aircon.
- If its just a few meters away, walk some more rather than driving the car. This enables you to save gas and improve physical fitness
- Pile up the laundry. This will enable you to use water (as well as laundry powder) efficiently
- Allot a certain day to iron clothes altogether to save electricity
- Unplug appliances when not in use (especially the TV sets, Electric fan, cell phone chargers and laptop chargers) This will not only save the environment but also lessen your electricity costs.
- Recycle. Recycle. Recycle!

Little as they seem these simple shares will definitely go a long way in saving our environment!

Pineapple Juice Magic!

I used to be a regular milk drinker. I drink about 2 glasses of milk per day but I discovered a tastier milk alternative: Del Monte's Pineapple Juice! I love the unsweetened variant. I mix half glass full pineapple juice with water during breakfast. I always put on a teaspoon or 2 of Psyllium husk to increase my fiber requirement.

Our gym instructor learned about my latest drink discovery and advised me that it is better to take the pineapple juice at night rather than in the morning. A lot of people say that the pineapple is a great calorie (or was it fat?) burner. Taking it at night allows one to burn more calories.

I try go to the gym regularly at night. This habit allows me to burn a few extra calories while sleeping. I believe drinking pineapple juice complements my fitness efforts and even has an added bonus for me: in the morning, it makes me have a better bowel movement (even if I don't add Psyllium husk into my night drink).

I shared my latest habit with a colleague. She was quite hesitant to try it at first since she originally thought that drinking pineapple juice at night perks her up rather than calms her. Upon receiving lots of encouragement from her fitness instructor to try this habit, she noticed a no frills poop time from her end as well!

I did not entirely drop my dairy intake with this drink alternative as I am still a firm believer on the wonders dairy products can do for you. I drink Nesvita yoghurt drink or take a cup of Nesvita yoghurt as my morning snack to catch up on my daily dairy requirement.

UAAP Game Experience

I've always been proud to be an Iskolar ng Bayan. Imagine the indescribable feeling I've had during my first experience to witness Game 1 of UAAP Finals between Ateneo and La Salle live in Araneta Coliseum!

I did not quite understand my husband's excitement (he is a true-blue blooded Atenean) to watch Game 1 as well as him being proud of getting us tickets for 2 to watch the finals. I previously thought it was just some trend rather than a long history of rivalry between the 2 schools. With the various newspaper articles on Ateneo/La Salle UAAP game finals recently, I essentially got curious, willingly tagged along and decided not to argue with my husband this time on buying game tickets from a scalper that were almost worth a week of our palengke expense.

We left the house around 2 p.m. to make it to the 4 o'clock game in Araneta Coliseum. We decided to park our car in SM Makati and took the MRT instead. I was relatively surprised to see quite a number of people clad in blue and green outfit going towards the MRT station! Apparently, it has been a regular practice to park your car somewhere and take the MRT going to Araneta Coliseum! I secretly smiled watching some of them wearing their green school jacket unmindful of the heat while waiting in the MRT station. The ride was pretty quick and hassle free. From the MRT station, I was pretty amazed that we already arrived in Araneta Coliseum in just a few steps. (Pardon my ignorance as the last time I rode the MRT was about 8 years ago!)

As we walked our way inside Araneta, one could feel the intense school spirit looming in. I was relatively amazed to see a lot of people watching the game! I think I haven't seen Araneta Coliseum that full in my entire life! What I've relatively observed though is that even if the Blue Eagles outnumbered the Green Archers in attendance, La Salle's voice seem to be louder wanting to make their presence felt. It was relatively a great game to watch indeed. I think home viewers enjoyed the game as much as we did!

Ateneo rightfully won Game 1. After the game, I felt a sense of pride witnessing a great event in UAAP game history!

First Belly Dancing Experience

I attended our belly dancing class in the office for the first time! I thought it was relatively easy but I was so wrong! My abdominal area truly felt those I've originally thought as simple shake and bump moves (I totally forgot what the steps were called)

I would personally classify belly dancing as a pretty intense workout for my sagging tummy! While paying attention to the different moves, I can’t help but admire my teacher’s belly wishing and hoping that it was mine.

This might be quite a long shot but I should never give up until I achieve my fitness dream of having a flat tummy. Regular attendance to our belly dancing class, familiarizing myself with the great moves and complementing it with a good cardio exercise would truly help me in accomplishing my fitness goal!

Water-Related Skin Tips

Simple yet relatively helpful tips below were shared to me by my cousin who is a trusted dermatologist:
1. It is best to drink water the moment you wake up. It would replenish the moisture and liquids lost during sleep. The skin being the largest body organ in the body benefits from this good morning practice. No wonder I always feel good after drinking a glass or two upon waking up!
2. If one experiences dry skin, try to put a glass of water at the bedside table. Added moisture will help ease the dryness of the skin while sleeping. I have yet to try this one and I hope it works!

Max's Experience

After picking up my dad at the airport, we had a quick lunch at Max's with my daughter and her yaya. Max's is one of my dad's favorite restaurant and I have grown to love the restaurant ever since I was a teenager. We used to have Max's back in our hometown and we were one of their regular Sunday lunch customers. My favorite is their fried chicken (of course! they became a household name because of it!) and when I'm in the mood for it (especially my stomach as it can become a quite heavy meal), I order their kare kare as well.

Since it has become a restaurant full of nostalgia, I never fail to visit a Max's restaurant at least every quarter for more than 10 years now. For quick lunch or snack with my family, I normally order their Platter meal as I go crazy with their pancit canton! My son who is a picky eater loves their Pancit Canton as much as I do that sometimes I let his yaya order the Platter Meal so that yaya gets the chicken while my little boy gets his serving of Pancit Canton. My husband and even my parents love their Lumpia whether taken fresh (hubby's favorite) or fried (mom and dad's favorite).

What I eagerly anticipate when I'm done with their main meal is the dessert! I love their tiny caramel bars! I can take the entire bar in an instant! I still remember the first time I tasted it about 5 years ago in their Intramuros branch. I ordered a box of it after not being satisfied with just one bite and eating the caramel bar meal allocation of my friends!

Nowadays I try to control my sweet intake thus taking one or 2 caramel bars as my dessert ( I still get somebody's share)! I'm now looking forward to my next Max's Experience!

One Bread Experience

On my way to the South parking lot, I came across a bread store in Mall of Asia. Having been into lots of anesthesia lately, I cannot seem to recall if the store was named Bread One or One Bread?! The ambience of the store is descriptive of a local feel of the famous Bread Talk chain. I was feeling a pang of hunger then thus I've decided to grab something from the store and eat it in the car on my way home while beating the city traffic.

Relatively prices of their bread are very reasonable and I cannot believe that I would still be able to buy a delicious bread with that price - more than half the amount of Bread Talk's equivalent! I was happily enjoying the piece of bread bought that I managed to eat everything while I was still in the parking lot!

Book Fair Experience

Late this afternoon, I decided to check out the 29th Manila International Book Fair held at the SMX Convention Center. I've started attending this activity yearly since 1998. Back then it was held at the Megamall. Then when the World Trade Center was built, it had its run in the center and now in the newly built SMX Convention Center.

I used to be fascinated by the numerous discounted books surrounding me during this activity. It is my frustration since as a kid to have my own big library someday. Until now it is still a dream since I've only got a few shelves of various book titles. In every book sale, I try to buy as many books that my money can afford! I've always loved to buy books that I haven't read yet (and of course something that I can afford). Fortunately and unfortunately, I love to read books and magazines and anything that I can get hold of may it be at the library or borrowing from somebody else that's why I only end up buying a few titles for myself. For those books that I cannot afford, I try to read through them page by page in the bookstore as libraries nowadays are hard to find in the metro.

This time around, I was relatively surprised that I was only able to buy a few books. I've scoured the area for great titles! Unfortunately I got discouraged by a lot of attendees at the book fair that I have a hard time checking out the shelves for great buys. I was about to buy a recipe books but I got discouraged by the long line to the cashier. What I managed to buy were a few prayer books, a CD containing prayers of the rosary and Eckhart Tole's The Power of Now.

Baby Showers

I recently organized a baby shower for one of our pregnant colleague. It was a simple one - short and sweet surrounded with gifts that she truly liked.. I've attended at least one baby shower every year for the past 3 years and witnessed simple ones as well as grand ones. My best friend who is also in the family way will have her first baby shower sometime end October.

I will try to share what I partly knew of baby showers. I am not an expert so feel free to fill me in. The ultimate objective of the baby shower is to help mom-to-be prepare for the coming of the baby and showing her how important she is to you! Baby showers are normally hosted by friends or relatives to the mom-to-be. In short, a mom-to-be should not organize her own baby shower. I haven't seen a dad-to-be either organizing his wife's baby shower. A mom-to-be should at least have 1 baby shower prior to giving birth.

As to when to conduct baby showers normally depends on the party host. Rule of thumb would be to hold it at least a month before the estimated due date of pregancy. Not too early in the pregnancy (as something unfortunate might happen to the baby - knock on wood) and not too late (as the baby might come out already!)

How to do the baby shower depends on many factors as well. If someone likes it grand - then so be it! It can be a planned one with mom-to-be informed in advance or a surprise one. Gather as many people as you want who is close to or knows the mom-to-be. If there are lots of meaningful friends and relatives willing to donate some food and other stuff, it will be greatly appreciated. There can be programs in between or simple gathering of friends where they can talk baby stuff or updates from each other especially to the parents-to-be or anything under the sun!

On where to conduct the baby shower is highly dependent on the budget, time, number of attendees and resources. A simple lunch together, late merienda or dinner will do. Baby showers can be done in the couple's own home with permission from the husband first (though food and the like should be brought by the party organizers), in a common friend's house, village clubhouse, at a nearby restaurant, in the office canteen or even in a videoke room if parents-to-be are still up to it.

What to bring: Food and gifts and some baby paraphernalia to decorate the place if budget and other resources allows for it! Souvenirs can be made upon the discretion of the party host/organzier. Attendance to the baby shower is a must and equally expected would be bringing in gifts for the baby or for the mom-to-be. For experienced moms, they will tend to come up with their baby registry earlier than when their baby shower comes. For first time moms, mommy friends should remind them to come up with their wishlist for gifts and apply for baby registry in every available baby store in the metro! For guests who don't know yet what gift to bring, they can choose from a wide array of gift choices provided by mommy-to-be.

If you are a first time mom and still don't know what to put in your baby registry, suggest you bring a mommy friend along to help you out complete your list. For guests who don't know what to give or who might not be able to get a hold of the baby registry, a few of my tried and tested gifts that won't fail to please supermom would be diapers, diapers and lots of diapers! Gifts related to feeding essentials (such as breast pump, milk bottles, breastmilk storage bags, sterilizers), bath essentials (towels, bath items, baby bath tub) and clothing essentials (onesies, burp cloths, tshirts, socks, bibs ) are a few of the practical choices.

Thank You

There are a lot of things to be thankful for! Today, marks the end of the tunnel journey and the beginning of a new light of hope, love and happiness.

First and foremost, I would like to thank for the Ultimate Power of God Almighty, for His healing power where my son is one of the beneficiary. My son recently had his fistulectomy this morning. This afternoon, I've seen his normal disposition once again - Reciting his alphabets and humming a few of his favorite songs. He is now tinkering with the computer recognizing various letters and determining where it was positioned in the keyboard.

I thank for wonderful benefits being offered by the company I've been with. Part of our health benefits covers our dependents such as our husband and children. Hospitalization included. To ease us of the financial burden brought about by hospitalization, we have a partnership with an insurance company where we just present our Generali E-card during admission by any of us/our dependents. This enables us not to pay a single cent after being released from the hospital. Instead, employee's contribution which consist of about 25% of total expenses is on a "pay when able" mode which our compensation team normally schedules to the month where we receive "bonuses" - making the deduction barely noticeable.

I thank for meaningful friends and relatives who continuously pray for us and our family. For the unconditional love and support that they always give us.

These make living worthwhile.. giving us enough strength to move on and continue to be inspired. There are a lot of things to be thankful for. Big or small let us always find a way to thank God Almighty for entrusting these gifts to us.

Health Challenge No.3

Two days ago, I got sick with flu. Yesterday, I received news that my son is about to be operated for his peri-anal abscess/fistula. Today, it is my little daughter's turn.

Health is wealth indeed! No matter how wealthy you feel financially, when physical illness strikes in especially with your children, everything goes berserk and one feels poorer than a beggar when sickness strikes.

We went to the doctor earlier this morning to have my daughter checked as I think she got the flu from me. I observed a teary-eyed princess instead of her usual jovial disposition. When her temperature rose a bit, we decided to take a lunch appointment with her pediatrician. Unfortunately, our third health challenge was combined with a weather challenge!

As I was about to leave the office for our doctor's appointment, rain poured heavily. I patiently waited for a cab going to the hospital. I was about to meet my husband, my daughter and her yaya in the hospital.

Given the weather condition, traffic went bad in the Metro. The road going to the hospital's ramp entrance was relatively flooded almost surpassing the bumper level of any sedan type of cars. My taxi driver was quite in a hurry so I've decided to drop myself off near the emergency section of the hospital. I carefully sneaked into the ER area as it has a passage way going to the main hospital. I met yaya and my daughter at the hospital entrance and off we went to the doctor's clinic.

We were doctor's last patient for the day. As I had her checked, the doctor told me that my daughter caught a viral bug. One sign of detecting viral infection especially in colds is when you have a runny nose. Our doctor prescribed quality medicines and even suggested an older medicine counterpart for me.

Off we went and bought the entire medicine lot. I loved the nasal spray that he recommended that I instantly felt better after spraying it in my nostrils! Its great that there are lots of medicines out there to do wonders in your body to help you regain physical fitness and eventually achieve happiness!

Health Challenge No.2: Anal Fistula

Yesterday I used to write about how sick I am with the bad flu that I've got! Surprisingly, my four other colleagues whom I've last met in a meeting last Friday got the same monstrous bug! Today, another health challenge awaits me as I was informed that my son who is currently staying at the province needs to undergo fistulectomy - a surgical method to take out anal fistula and stop his recurring peri-anal abscess. He had peri-anal abscess when he was only about 2 months old then recurred when he was about a year and 2 months old then recently in the past few weeks. We've tried giving him antibiotics for the first week but unfortunately it wasn't enough to alleviate the abscess away as hardening in some part of his butt was already felt by the doctor initially but we agreed to have it under observation until he finishes his antibiotics within the next week.

My son is barely 3 years old! Barely a tenth of my age and he will have his first operation! I still remember my first operation when I was about to give birth to him via caesarean method at 25 years old. I was quite hesitant at first with having my little toddler undergo the knife but I guess I have no other choice but to willingly oblige to do so and pray hard for a safe and successful operation.

What worries me a bit is that my son has a communication disorder wherein he has a delay in using language as a form of communication compared to kids his age. He can't even say to us if he is sick or if he is hurt.. We just increase our sensitivity to his feelings and carefully observe if he feels any pain or hurt.

Our son was initially diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I've sought other opinions from other developmental pediatricians and majority of them gave an initial evaluation of my son as someone with communication disorder. One of them wants to rule out Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) when my son turns 3. PDD-NOS is the fourth type within the autism spectrum.

We are all doing various intervention methods necessary to help our son overcome his situation and increase his level of individualism and independent living knowing common misperception of other people when someone labels your child "autistic rather than someone with autism and the lack of understanding many have on how people with autism are like normal people but sees things in a different perspective.

My son has been through a lot! He has lots of allergies encountered when still a baby, overcame his Kawasaki Disease when he was a year and a half, diagnosed with a developmental delay when he was 2 and now will undergo a minor operation barely 3 years old.

I pray for strength for myself and better physical health for my son. I pray hard for a safe and successful operation for my little boy as well as a speedy recovery post op and i pray for shield of protection from any illnesses that might come his way.

Health Challenge

I filed for a sick leave today as I had a bad case of flu plus dysmenorrhea and a severe headache! What a day to start the week.. Since Friday, I have been in search for a good cough medicine to no avail. I've also stayed in the house for the weekend to get some well needed rest but I guess I need to rest some more..I tried to sleep to my delight but my head tends to hurt more when I sleep rather than when I'm awake. I used water therapy to flush out toxins and hopefully release the phlegm. I've also loaded myself with vitamin C drinking lots of pineapple juice. I've loaded myself with bananas as well to make me feel strong. I've tried a colleague's tried and tested cough suppressant: a half glass of 7 Up filled with 5 slices of calamansi! I've also tried applying some Vicks Vaporub at my feet.. Unfortunately, the virus I've got is quite strong that previously tried and tested methods seem not to work.

I start to psyche myself that I am feeling as I don't want to spend an entire day in bed again!

TV Commercial Experience 2: Stand Up to Cancer

I've always admired advocacy campaigns being aired on TV. It makes me think how serious the organization is by investing (spending) so much on TV to create a greater awareness to the mass public on their campaign. I was amazed by what I saw recently of celebrities, models, ordinary people gathering as one for a bigger cause: To Stand Up to Cancer. I still don't know what lies ahead and I'm looking forward in my own little way on how I could be of help to support this cause.

The Picture Company: Experience of being a Member

I've just recently signed up for a picture company membership few weeks ago. We had our portrait session and still awaiting for the sheets. Annual membership fee is required. On certain periods, they offer promos such as buy 1, take 1 membership. Nevertheless if you missed their B1T1 promo, you can always avail of their discounted membership fee if you pay in cash.

What I love about their membership is that it can extend up to 4 other family members thus should sister, hubby, son or daughter wants to have a portrait session on their own or with their other friends, they are always welcome to do so. One also has an option to avail of the portrait session in any of the Picture Company branches.

I was relatively pleased with the following perks I've availed as a member: Portrait session is already for free all year round. If not a member, normally, photo session would cost about 1250 for 4 pax (and cost increases as number of person in the shoot increases). Also got 2 free wallet sized prints for every 8"x10" portrait ordered. We've ordered 3 8"x10" sheets and on the third sheet, 3-5 images were combined. I've also received an SMS from their Rockwell branch since it is my son's soon to be birthday, we got an advise that we get a free 5"x7"portrait. I need to follow up on the branch yet as to how I can avail of this fantastic freebie!

As a member one can avail of other perks: Free 5"x7" portrait on Anniversary and birthday month of members, A storybook for free after 15 sheets has been ordered and a Free 2 wallet sized prints for every 8"x10" portrait ordered. One can also get free MMS, picture mail CD or VCD slideshow of their shots!

Big discounts also awaits each members as The Picture Company also allows members to earn points with every purchase through their Loyalty Points program.

Layouts and design templates are being offered for free for a more personalized touch. Special Privileges such as glamorous pregnancy shots (for soon-to-be-moms), discounts to other establishments awaits members.

I'm glad I joined The Picture Company.. Let's hope and see that their offering could sustain our interest after a year!

TV Commercial Values

Just saw a TV commercial - a somewhat advocacy plug from a noodle company. I admire their initial crack of creating awareness of Filipino values but can't help on commenting a minor detail in the said TV material- I've always thought that when one burps at the dining table, he'd rather say "excuse me" rather than "sorry".

There could have been other instances where saying sorry applies that can be learned at home as well - When Dad unintentionally drops something perhaps? I would still be looking forward to their future materials where they will promote other positive Filipino values in (better) correlated situations.

Avon Experience: Anew

I've always been in search for a great moisturizing cream.. I just finished my Elizabeth Arden's moisturizer. Good thing my sister who is working with Avon gave me a jar of Anew Clinical Therma Firm Face Lifting cream for me to try on. They say this is Avon's at-home answer to the latest thermal face life procedure. It surprisingly feels light on the face. I normally apply it at night and though it feels a little oily on my face in the morning, it could be easily washed off with water after waking up.

Anew Clinical ThermaFirm consist of an innovative "TriSonic Technology" that is formulated to help tighten the connection between skin layers. You will instantly feel good in less than a week of trying the product. Skin feels tighter after a few days of using the product.

I never thought a great beauty product is just around the corner!

Lessons at Work

My colleague mentioned to me that there are 4 important matters at work:

1. What you do
2. How you look
3. What you say
4. How you say it

Keeping this in mind, one needs to work on at least one, at most all of these to succeed at work and in life in general. I need to work hard on improving the last one. I would still like to improve further the second one. I think most of the current leaders would exhibit an excellent part on at least one of these matters. Hope to reach in a position were I am excellent in all four.

Cafe Juanita: A Gastronomic Experience

Dined out with friends recently at Cafe Juanita! Food in this neighborhood resto never fails me! I love their Tofu Sisig that we try to replicate it at home. Apart from Tofu Sisig, I also frequently try their Chicharon Bulaklak, pinakbet, gambas and since I forgot the particular name of the last two, I would just describe it - the fish with crabfat sauce as well as their version of lechon kawali with bagoong. I love their bagoong sauce so much that I always ask for extra serving of it! For dessert my favorite is their sticky toffee pudding with ice cream!

Cafe Juanita never fails to fulfill my satisfaction! Apart from their food, I also love how they've set up the place. If you check out their decorations one by one, you might think that it is tacky but upon seeing it in its entire view you will appreciate such a wondrous work of art!

I urge everyone to visit the place and dine with friends, family and their loved ones as often as they can!

Public Market Experience

I rarely go to the public market and do all my shopping at our nearby Grocery. Yesterday, I wanted to clean up most of our stuff - empty bottles and newspapers.. Yaya informed me that there is a nearby junk shop at Pasong Tirad's vicinity thus we cleaned up these recyclables to exchange for a little moolah. We also decided to try out the public market especially their vegetables and fish as we were craving to have fish for dinner together with a monggo dish.

Unfortunately the junk shop was closed for the afternoon so we proceeded with buying our goodies. I noticed that goods are really way cheaper and fresher in the market than at the grocery! You can even bargain for a few stuff and some nice ladies would even add a little something for free to your vegetable goodies.

I was so happy as we finished fast with our shopping, spent only about 500 bucks for a week's worth of menu compared to spending about 800-1000 when we buy stuff from the grocery of the same kind.

I therefore wanted to make it a resolution to do weekly marketing at the public market for fresh meat, vegetables,rice and fruits whilst maintaining to do the grocery at Shopwise for personal items such as bathroom items, cleaning materials, diapers and canned goods.