Chaos in Thailand

I haven't been following the national news for awhile but just now I've just read that the protesters in Bangkok and other provinces went all out with their demonstration starting Tuesday. They've been on the streets for many months now. These anti-government protestors want the Thai Prime Minister Samak to step down. The Thai political situation has really been unstable here since Thaksin was charged with corruption, forced to resign through people power. And now, some Thais are still discontented with Samak saying he's an ally of Thaksin and asking him to step down too. On Tuesday, they regained control of the Government House compund. And today they've shut down the 3 major airports in Thailand, Hatyai, Krabi and Phuket and caused the rail services to be suspended. Here in Hatyai, thousands for protesters prevented the passengers from reaching the airport thus causing a major jam and halted air traffic.

Oh, it's so messy out here.. I don't know how everything will end. Whether Samak will really be forced to step down (just as how Thaksin) did or not. If he does, then I wonder who would replace him? Then, I wonder if majority of the people will like that person..then if not, they have a demonstration and again and the cycle will just go on and on... I just hope and pray that everything will be resolved peaceful and no one will get hurt.

Movie Nights

Today is a Friday night here.. Here I am blogging and putting our lil boy to sleep while my Hubby is preparing our Li'l girl to sleep too. I could just remember that before our second baby, Friday Nights used to be movie nights. Hubby and I would wait for our Li'l girl to sleep and then prepare the movie we want to watch with all the snacks and etc. We don't have a home theater or satellite in wall home theater speakers but we were just satisfied with our 21 inch tv and dvd player. But it's fun!

Anyways, what happened to our movie nights then you might ask? Then when our 2nd baby was born, of course our whole routine has changed since our baby wakes up very often at night. We tried a few times to have our friday movie night again, but never succeeded to finish a whole movie without interruptions. But think his sleeping pattern is better and more predictable now. That reminds me to maybe get back to movie nights once again.

How to Raise A Prayerful Child

image from answeredprayerministry.com

I'm not an expert here but one of the things that I'm so blessed about our Li'l 4 year old girl is that she knows how to pray and believes in the power of God when we pray. She prays publicly for other people like for example healing and immediately asks, "Are you Okay, now?" That's the faith of a little child. We don't have to remind her to pray before her meals but immediately bows down her head and thanks God for her food. There were times that I overheard her even pray and thank God for the candy she was about to eat.. so cute! Just today my Hubby and I were talking and my Hubby said he's not feeling so well.. and immediately, she prayed for God to heal her Appa..and not only that she thanked God for having a handsome Appa! LOL!! Now that she's older, she just kneels down and pray by herself before going to sleep.. her prayer would usually be.." forgive me Lord for doing bad things.. help me do good things.."

How to raise a prayerful child then? This is just based on our experience and you may add your own steps.

1) Prayer starts even before the baby is born. When I was still pregnant, my Hubby never fails to "talk" to our baby and pray with her. Children are God's gifts and so everyday we must entrust them unto Him.

2) When they become toddlers, pray with them during meals and give them the 'task' to say AMEN. We did that with Tricia and she'll be so excited to say "Amen".. That was one of her first few words that she learned.. I think she was only 1 year and two months old that time.

3) Set an example for them by praying before meals, before going out of the house, before going to sleep and etc and at the same time teach them.

4) Read Bible Stories before they go to sleep. This will show them examples of people who prayed and showing them that God indeed answers when we pray.

5) As they grow older and when they are ready, ask them to lead the prayer before meals or before they sleep.

6) When God answers your prayers or their prayers, share this to them as a testimony that God indeed answers our prayers. And in our experience God has indeed answered our Li'l girls' prayer countless of times.. even when she prayed to have a wonderwoman doll or a van for our center.

That's all that I could think of now and I would just like to give Glory to God for His special gift to us and that is our daughter. DALAYGON ANG DIOS SA WALAY KATAPUSAN!

Are there any other things that you wish to share and add? Please do so..

HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND!!

Great Food and Recipes

Food, food, food.. I just love to eat different kinds of food. Just last weekend, we were invited for our friend's Birthday ( Belated Happy Birthday Shamani!) in Ipoh and my Hubby and I really enjoyed the dishes cooked by her Aunt. They had Mutton curry, Shrimp Curry, Chicken with Soy Sauce, Stir Fried vegetables and other dishes. How I wish I could get hold of all the recipes for those yummy foodie and I'd be able to cook them myself too.

Speaking of recipes, I've also seen some seafood recipes over the net. Actually, they are the top 5 recipes for the Great American Seafood cook off 2008. I'm sure all the top 5 recipes would be so delicious but I have one particular recipe that I like most. It's called the Shrimp and Andouille Cassoulet created by Chef Brian Landry from Louisiana. The beauty of this recipe is that domestic seafood is being used. Using domestic seafood is really great since it's fresher and therefore a lot tastier too.

Do you want to see how my favorite recipe from the top 5 looks like?

It looks yum right? It's made of Shrimps with all the herbs, spices and other ingredients. I would want to try cooking this one but I guess it's a little bit complicated for me. But anyways, you might want to take a look at all the top 5 recipes at www.GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com , vote for your favorites and get a chance to win a "Trip to New Orleans".

Sky Watch Friday 9

Sunset as seen from the mountain overlooking Hatyai City, Thailand. This photo was taken by my cousin.

A Free Shopping Spree

As I've mentioned in our Thankful Thursday's post, we were just blessed last week as a friend of ours brought us to one of the shopping centers in Ipoh and asked us to choose any clothes we like for the whole family and they will pay for it.

We were very surprised by their request and were very shy at first. ;) So, we started out with our Li'l girl who was happily choosing her own clothes, then we chose for Lyle, me and my Hubby. It was indeed a blessed night and at the end I was also very satisfied with the clothes we bought and touched with our friend's generosity. It also made me reflect more on how to seek out creative ways in being a blessing to others just like how they did with us.

Anyways, we really enjoyed looking around the mall because they had an on going sale. Malaysia was having their nationwide sale. It means you could avail of huge discounts in every shop you go. Yes, you read it right! So, whatever things you want to buy may it be from Levi's Jeans to Harley boots , this is the best time of the year to shop in Malaysia!

Thankful Thursday 8

It's has been a great and busy week for our family and here's our list of thanksgiving to God.

1) I'm thankful for God's constant protection in our lives especially when we traveled by car going to Malaysia. On the way to Malaysia, we passsed by two major accidents on the road with some casualties and on the way back home, we saw another 2 accidents on the road. :(

2) I'm thankful for wonderful friends we met in Ipoh. We have truly been blessed and encouraged through their lives with their love and prayers for us.

3) I'm thankful for God's little surprises for us through the lives of our friends. Last week, our friends brought us to the mall, told us that they want to bless us and asked us to shop for new clothes for our family. :) It was like "Christmas in August". :) Bless their generous hearts, LOrd.

4) I'm thankful to God for blessing our effort to save up for our family's BIG trip next year. I'm receiving quite a lot of assignments to do paid posts and being accepted in 2 more sites.

Have a blessed week to all!

Short Trip and Big Trip

We're back home now. We just came from my Ipoh and then dropped by Taiping, Malaysia to visit our family members. We were not on a holiday so, that explains a very short trip which also means less clothes and things to pack for our family. Writing about this now, reminds me of our first trip as a family to Malaysia. Tricia was just 3 weeks old when we traveled her from the Philippines to Malaysia. We were 'newborn' parents traveling with our first baby. So, we totally forgot to set aside ample diapers and milk in our carry-on bag for the flight instead we checked-in Tricia's diapers and milk! Whew!! That was indeed the longest flight we ever had in our entire lives.

We are planning and praying for a big trip next year and hopefully, we won't have the same experience anymore. Instead, we have to be fully prepared in ever aspect and maybe even start reading some online travel guides. My dream holiday would be going on New York tours. This captivating city seems to have a lot of interesting sights and places to see. I would love to go on a see Manhattan, explore Central Park, step into the Metropolitan Museum of Art and do a lot more things! I've just checked out Trusted Tours & Attractions and indeed there are a lot of things to do in New York.

What about you? What's your dream holiday or next vacation tour? Is it going to Cypress Gardens Florida ? Or seeing the Niagara falls? Then you better sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter to be aware of all their discounts and offers. You can also enter to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate - Offer ends August 31st, 2008.

Sky Watch Friday 8

One Sunny Afternoon At the Beach

Weekend In Ipoh

We're going to Ipoh, Malaysia again this weekend. Earlier, we planned for my Hubby to travel alone because of my single entry Thai visa but then, plans changed since it'll then be 3 nights that I'll be left alone with the kids. It could have been my first time alone in our house with the kids without HUbby for a longer period of time. (I've tried being alone for a night.) It's quite different when you're in your homecountry and your Hubby is away because family is always there.

Actually, I'm a bit tired of traveling already you know the packing, preparing and disrupted routine for the kids but at the same time I'm quite excited too, since it's always a break from my everyday routine. I'm starting to like long distance travel by car nowadays too since it gives extra time for me and Hubby to have long talks esp. when kids are sound asleep.

So, my task now is to find an interesting place for us to go for our kids to enjoy. By the way, we're not going there for a holiday but as always we want to slot in some time for our kids to have fun time to make their trip memorable. We went to Lost World of Tambun last month, and now I'm not sure where else to go in Ipoh.. Any ideas?

Under Renovation

This blog is under renovation.. sorry if it's still a bit messy and you'll see some Spanish labels..

Unfortunately I had to change my blog's template since the old one was not working well anymore. Some images were missing, my navigation bar and all the other boxes were misplaced. I really loved that template but I had no choice..huhhuh!

So far this is the template I like better from the other one's I've browsed. I know that this is not really be best choice but I don't have much time to browse through countless of sites. So for now, this template will do... ;)

Techno Christmas 2008

Want your Technorati to increase? Grab this Tag now!

*Start Copy Here*

You do not have to be tagged to play along. This game is simple and so here are the rules.

1. Copy from "START COPY HERE" to "STOP COPY HERE".

2. Add your site(s) to the list. Just be sure to post the "Techno Christmas 2008" at each site you add.

3. You have a choice to tag or not to tag, however, the more tags you create the longer the list will grow.

4. Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving a comment HERE, so I can add you to the master list.

5. Come back and copy the master list back to your site, often as you can. This will allow the new comers to achieve equal benefit as the late comers do.

6. Watch your Authority Rise

7. You may want to grab the Techno Christmas Badge

Please follow the rules. Blogs in the list will be subject to removal if their lists are not updated. I will check all of the blogs once a week.

Masterlist:

1. Aeirin Collections 2. Biz-N-Honey 3. Life In Pictures 4. Pinay Mommy Online 5. Blessings and Beyond 6. Mommy Earns Money 7. OnlineBiz and Resources 8. Lourdes' Mia 9. Digital Life Scraps 10. Pexlinks Triple Love 11. Pinay Mommies Community 12. Deranged Insanity 13. Traipsey Turvey 14. PierrEzarh 15. Dancing in Midlife Tune 16. Life is What we Make it 17. Picture Clusters 18. My Wanderings 19. Maiylah’s Snippets 20. Moments of Colours 21. MBA On Line 22. Mom of 2 Dancers 23. Wonderful Things In Life 24. The Fountain Of Happiness 25. A message From My Heart 26. My Life's Adventure 27. Photographic Memories 28. Love Is... 29. The Joy Of Life Forever 29.In My Dreams 30. I love nice 31. My Resting Place 32.You In My Heart 33. Life's All About 34 Design By Pieces 35. Gala Tayo! 36. Buhay Pinoy~Making Money 37. Hesitant Wife's Blog 38. PTC100 39. My Little Home 41. All Because Two People Fell in LOVE 42. Come, Let's Talk 43. Three P's in a Pod 44. 3P's In a Pod 45. Ivory Task 46. I Play Mom 47. Lalaine's World 48. Day to Day Miracles 49. YOUR BLOG HERE...

* END COPY HERE *

I am tagging everyone from my blogroll, grab it now!!

Sky Watch Friday 7

The Tallest Building in Malaysia (and I think the 2rd tallest building in the world) as taken from inside our car with the windows rolled up (sorry about that) ... so that explains the poor quality of the photo.. Anyhow, this is just to show you the sky with Petronas Building at the foreground.

HAve a Blessed Weekend folks!

Discount Caravan

I've just read the news about one of the projects from the Philippine Government called the 'Diskwento Caravan' or literally translated as Discount Caravan in English. This Discount Caravan is a government-sponsored flea market where manufacturers sell basic consumer and pharmaceutical products at prices lower than those sold in commercial establishments. It goes around Metro Manila at certain dates and places. The aim of this project is said to ease the financial burden of low-income earning Filipinos.

I find the project good but I think it will be too big a task to say that this project will ease the financial burden of the the people. Why? Because as what I read and understand, there is only 1 of this Caravan and it doesn't go out and sell to the people everyday. For sure this project won't reach the 80 Million population of the country and it's effect will only be very miniscule . Well, anyway at least the Government is doing something, but I hope it'll try harder to reach the masses and not just the selected few.

The people in the Philippines are really financially challenged with the increase of prices of all the commodities and I'm not sure if the monthly minimum wage has already increased or not. Sure enough, many people would opt for cash advances, loans, credits, fast payday loans , and other methods to make ends meet. I just hope that there will indeed be a change in the future.

God bless the Philippines!!

Busy Blogging..

If you might have noticed, I've been writing a lot of posts for the past few days. One, is there are really a lot of things to write about and second, it's because I've been blessed to receive a lot of assignments to write paid posts.

Writing paid posts is indeed fun and not to mention I can earn extra money for our ' Big Trip Savings' but sometimes it's a bit difficult. Why? Because it's a bit challenging to write a post that can meet up with the advertisers requirements and at the same time put in your principles and personality in that post. Oh, I'm not sure if I'm making sense , I hope my point is understood...

It's really good that I just love to write..write and write...so I'm more busy blogging and don't even have the time to visit my friends blogs anymore.. so sorry about that. What to say, I'm a busy mom and blogger.. :)

Bye Bye Sunny

We have decided to leave our car behind here in Thailand, when we go for a 1 year break. There is always this option to bring it to Malaysia so we have a car to use when we are there, but then again, we won't be staying there the whole year. Another reason is that our car has a Thai registration so, extending its Malaysian permit and etc will be a hassle.

Our car is a Green Nissan Sunny. Even if it's already quite old but it's still in a great working condition. This car is truly a great blessing for us as we didn't spend a single cent to get it. It was just given to us by our friend.

I could still remember the time 4 years ago, when we were praying to have a car. We found one for sale , we liked it and wanted to get car loan credit for it but things didn't push through. We were not really sad but knew in our hearts that it's not the car for us. But then only a week after that, we received an email from our friend that he wants to give us his car! Wow! God is truly amazing! We are very grateful for our friend's generous heart too.. Amazing huh? If you have two cars can you just simply give the other one just like that?

Sad News

We received a very sad news the other day. One of my Hubby's friends from his hometown passed away. He was already engaged and soon to be married.. but he committed suicide. Not because he doesn't want to get married but because he had debts amounting up to 30 thousand ringgit. We're not sure if it's a foul play or not. Since in Malaysia there are these people whom they call as the ' Ah Longs' where they can lend you any amount of money at an instant but the the interest rates will be so high and when the borrower can't pay, they will threaten to hurt the family or the borrower himself until he will be forced to pay. I've heard of some cases, where the Ah Long themselves take the life of the borrower if they refused to pay. So sad...

Back to my Hubby's friend. He could have held on for it could not have been the end of everything. There are various ways and options to pay debts with the help of family, friends and even other companies that do credit report repair . He could have been in a lot of pressures that he thought he couldn't take it.

But you know what, when we are in challenges, pressures and too much of strains, we always have God whom we could ask for help. There is nothing impossible for HIM if we call unto HIM, He will surely answer us.

Thankful Thursday 7

I've missed last week's TT but now I'm back!

Here is my list of thanksgiving this week.

• I'm thankful for a team from US who came here in our city for a trip. We were blessed and encouraged by their fellowship and passion for God.

• I'm thankful for good health especially for the kids. There has been a warning from the government that Dengue fever is common in the South and a lot of people have already been affected. We're continually praying for God's covering and protection.

• I'm thankful for all God's amazing ways in ordering our steps in preparation for next year's break. It's exciting, how He will lead us through...

• I'm thankful for friends (who is like our family) who are going to visit us this coming Friday and staying for the weekend.

• I'm thankful for God's protection in our family as 7 bombs exploded in the city last August 2 and God kept us far away from danger. Read here for more details.
  

Moving House

Since we will be away for a break for a year, we decided to move out of the current house we're renting now and look for a new house to rent when we come back here next year.

Writing about this now, makes me a bit sad since we like this house and our neighbors. We've been here for almost 3 years and we're quite comfortable already. Just last year we painted Tricia's room since she has started to sleep on her own there. She was even sad when we told her about the scenario that she won't have that room anymore when we come back since we'll be moving house. She said that, she'll miss her room and asked if her toys will be moving with her too. :)

Moving is one thing you can't avoid when you're not in your own country. We also couldn't buy a house here since it's in the THai 'law' that foreigners are not allowed to buy a property in Thailand. But even if it was allowed, I don't think we could afford to buy a house at this stage too. As of now, I'm contented with renting a nice house instead of thinking of mortgages and when thinks get tough, think of mortgage refinancing, additional loans and etc. If you are in this stage now, then maybe you can check out some sites to best suit your mortgage needs.

God's Provision

Have you ever experienced God's very timely provision in your life? Our family has experienced this countless of times; during my 2 cesarean operations, every trip going back to the Philippines, and even during the normal days when we've got extra expenses for car repairs and etc. We have found out that no matter what happens , there may be some extra or emergency expenses that is not on the budget but the end of the day we have enough and even more than enough for us.

We have found out that no matter how, God indeed provides for us but there are also times when we worry and fret and instead of trusting God's provision we tend to go ahead of Him. With all the options available from cash advances to online payday loans, it's sometimes easy to just immediately settle for all these instead of waiting upon God. Sometimes, we are just too afraid to be on 'lack' even for a very short period of time, and with this we miss out God's opportunity of showing himself to us.

It's indeed a great blessing to pray, trust and wait upon God from our simplest needs to our most fervent prayers. He will surely show us and provide for us from the most common to the most amazing way. HAve a blessed Night!

My Kids in Action

Tricia and Lyle together .... wow, so sweet...

..but then Ate Tricia seemed to have squeezed his cheeks too much!...

Psstt... Lyle, what are you trying to do to your Ate Tricia?

Malaysian Vehicles Crossing Thailand

It's easier for a Malaysian car to cross Thailand and be used internally here. The requirements are not that many as opposed to Thai cars crossing to Malaysia. So, if you're thinking of traveling to Thailand with your family, there's nothing more convenient than traveling with your own car. Because once you're in Thailand, you can go anywhere you want without worrying how to tell the Tuk Tuk ( thai public transport) driver where to go as he will have great difficulty understanding English.

So, here are the requirements :

1) Your car registration - You must bring the original document.

2) If you're not using your own car, then you need an authorization letter from the owner of the car that he/she is allowing you to use and bring the car outside Malaysia.

3) Thai car insurance. This can be bought at the shops right immediately after the Thai immigration for only 260 Baht or 26 RM. This is really quite cheap considering that you're covered for a month. I've heard that there is also a site that provides good car insurance cover but unfortunately their area of coverage is only limited to US.

4) So, after you've done #s 1-3 and then you submit this to the officer in the last cubicle before exiting the Thai border.

Thai Vehicles Crossing to Malaysia

We have been asked by many of our expatriate friends on what are the requirements for a Thai vehicle to cross Malaysia and being used their internally.

So, here is a list of the requirements and this list might be helpful to a few of you who might have some friends residing in Thailand and would want to drive a Thai vehicle to Malaysia.

1) Thai Car Registration translated in English. This must be done by a translator recognized and authourized by the Thai Government. A few of them are found in the city area.

2) If you're not driving your own car or the car's registration is NOT under your name, then you need an authorazation letter from the owner of the car. This must also be in English.

3) Car Insurance . This insurance can be purchased at the Duty Free shop or the small insurance offices on the right hand side, once you cross the Malaysian border. It's a 3rd party insurance and it's the price and benefits for every type of vehicle so there's no need to get auto insurance quote unlike when you're in other countries like in the US .

4) Translated License Plate Sticker. Since Thai license plates are written in Thai scripts, so it's a must to have this translated into the roman alphabets to be understood in the Malaysian side. You can have the stickers made at the same place where you buy the insurance. Cost : 10 RM or 100 Baht

5) Go to the Land and Transport Department of Malaysia or JPJ Jabatan Pernakutan Malaysia (still located at the right hand side, immediately after you cross the Malaysian Immigration and customs), fill up a form and submit the requirements #1-4. They will then give you a temporary Malaysian registration called ICP ( International Circulation P... something, forgot what P stands for). You must stick this small square piece of document on your windshield.

Then off you go and Happy Driving in Malaysia!

...coming up next...Requirements for Malaysian Vehicles crossing Thailand

Cha Yen

It's so late at night already..or should I say, so early in the morning... I could already hear the roosters crowing.. and everyone is sleeping. Why I couldn't sleep? I just drank Cha Yen this evening when we went out for Roti with our friends. Everytime I drink the Cha Yen from this particular shop, I really have difficulty in sleeping. I think the tea that they're using is just so strong. Even when I'm in bed, my mind will be so active. So, better spend these sleepless night doing my paid tasks huh.. :)

By the way, Cha Yen is Thai Milk tea. I never liked tea before, since generally Filipinos are not tea drinkers.. but when I first took a sip of this drink.. I instantly loved it because it's so sweet. It is THai tea mixed with a lot of condensed milk, evaporated milk and sugar. How sweet could that get?

Free Water!

Wow! I can't believe it.. the Thai government is really doing their service to the people. Aside from the 30 Baht Hospital Bill scheme they are giving to their people, they've got a new benefit now. It's Free Water!

From this month onwards, if anyone's water bill is less than 500 Baht, then the government will be the one to pay for it. But if it reaches more that 500 Baht then the house owner will have to pay for everything. I think this is also a move from the government to make people more aware to 'conserve water'.

We didn't know this earlier and we received our water bill which was 380 Baht, my HUbby went to pay at 7-11 Store ( yes, we can pay our bills there too). But the cashier told him that it has already been paid. Hahah! My Hubby got shocked and only then he realized that there was a thai writing that says " Already Paid by the Government".

That's great news huh? Once again we were impressed with the Thai government which is really making a lot of programs to help their people. I wonder when can my beloved country Philippines have this kind of 'real' programs to lift the financial burdens of the people. I'm sure a lot of our countrymen are in financial distress now and would regularly need fast cash loan or payday loans to make ends meet at the middle of the month.

Lost in KL

We usually travel by car from Thailand to Malaysia. We don't have problems with directions from Hatyai all the way to Klang, since we just follow the North South Hi way and there are signs all over to guide us. But, when it's time to do some 'business' in Kuala Lumpur, we usually get lost inside the big city, since many roads are "one way". So once you miss one turning, then you'll end up in another corner of the city.

But there was this particular day that we called it the LOST Day. We reached the Thai embassy uneventfully and were supposed to meet a friend at a mall , visit another friends place before my Hubby goes to a meeting in a different place. But since it was already late, we canceled the meeting at the mall and proceeded to our friends house.

So from the Thai embassy we went off...we followed some signs that we believed would lead us to the familiar highway we know. But somehow, we got lost with the signs and directions and ended up to a part the state which was so isolated and was already near the mountains. We made a lot of wrong turns and u-turns and finally after more than one hour of looking for that hi-way we found it! Whew!! It was surely not fun to get lost! So after almost two hours in the road, we finally made it to our friends place. If we didnt get lost, that trip could have been made for only 30 mins.

When it was time for my Hubby to go to the meeting, he got lost again, got stuck in the jam for almost 3 hourse and was never able to make it to the meeting.

That's our 'lost' story. So much of time, gas and money wasted when you get lost in a new place. It would be great to have a GPS Insight vehicle tracking system to avoid all these hassles. Another friend even wanted to get one as they also get lost very often and as she jokingly said, "it's not good for the marraige ". Actually, she has a point, since everyone will mostly end up to be cranky and frustrated when you can't find the right road to your destination and then arguments will most likely arise, such as which direction to turn and etc...

Anyway, I've found this site where they have such product and offers a lot of other additional features plus GPS Insight support wiki for customers and even a Blog for GPS vehicle tracking. This product will also be great for trucking companies and those doing delivery services. Cool! huh! I'm sure, a lot of things could be saved by GPS : time, money, fuel and ... marriages?? ;)

Six Layers Tag

I've been tagged by Ruby.. THanks RUbs!

::START::

RULES:

1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It’s okey if you only post this questions in one blog as long as you answer them.

2. Get back to Me {YEN} and I’ll add your blogs to the master’s list HERE! Note that you are not ALLOWED to change the link of the here.

3. Copy from Start to End.

4. Tag as many friends online you know. But you don’t need to be tag in order to join.

Copy this Participants List: Me and Mine | Creative in Me | For the LOVE of Food | Little Peanut | Pea in a Pod | It’s Where the HEART Is | Around the World | SugarMagnolias | I Am Mommy | All About The Memories | Enchanted Play | Just My Scrap | Whats Up | Simply Me | Kitchen Deelite | A Mothers Horizon | In Depth | A Life in Bloom | Because Life is a Blessing | Digiscraptology | Joys iN life | Life is What we Make it | Photo Blog | Dancing in Midlife Tune | Pinay Mommy Online | Mommy Earns Money Online | Blessings and Beyond | Day to Day Miracles / Your Blogs

LAYER ONE:

– Name: Lalaine
– Birth date: Aug . 2
– Birthplace: Cagayan de Oro
– Current Location: Thailand
– Eye Color:Black
– Hair Color: Black
– Righty or Lefty: Righty

LAYER TWO:

– Your heritage: Filipino
– The shoes you wore today: Sandals
– Your weakness: Yummy, Fatty FOOD!
– Your fears: losing loved ones
– Your perfect pizza: Super Supreme Pizza
– Goal you’d like to achieve in life: To be the person God wants me to be.

LAYER THREE:

– Your most overused phrase on AIM: AIM? I don't know
– Your first waking thoughts: What time is it?
– Your best physical feature: Eyes?
– Your most missed memory: Hunting days with my father

LAYER FOUR:

– Pepsi or Coke: COKE!
– McDonald’s or Burger King: Burger King ..because of the bottomless drinks!
– Single or group dates: Single
– Adidas or Nike: Nike
– Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Nestea
– Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate.
– Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino

LAYER FIVE

– A famous person, dead or alive, would you interview: Moses
– Movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors: Barbie as Princess and the Pauper
– Name two of your passions in life : God and family
– Least favorite time of day: evenings when my kids are already cranky

LAYER SIX

– Use hairspray or gel: None.
– Your favorite meal: Jo's Inato meals..heeheh
– Color is the inside of your head when you close your eyes: Black?
– Listen to classical music: yes...to put my baby to sleep
– Ever said LOL in real life without thinking about it: NEVER! Does someone really say that in real life?

::END::

I'm tagging Not A Shopaholic and From Asia and Beyond

1 Year Break

We are going on a 1 year break starting at the end of the year! Yippee! We are so excited! It is our prayer that this one year break will truly be a refreshing one. We are already doing some kind of preparation for this break as we will be in different places, 1st stop will be the Philippines, and then God willing, to the BIG country, and then Malaysia. Here are some of the things we need to accomplish before all those travels.

• Sort all our things: things to be thrown away, to be sold, to be given away and be brought to the Philippines, Malaysia and ???. For friends living here in HY, just an announcement, we will be having some kind of a small garage sale party on September 21, 2008 at our house. Everyone is invited!
  
• Apply for an international driver's license.
• Apply for a credit card. So far we only have AMEX and we can't use this to book tickets online. Currently, we're using my MOm or Sis' credit card when we book tickets online.
• Try to save some money
• Last but the most important of all...pray..pray pray... that God will lead us the the right places at the right time, God's provision and all HIs purposes will be accomplished through this 1 year break.
  

It's Snack Time

Been tagged by Tere . Thanks for the tag Tere.

Our daughter is 4 years old. She can eat practically anything but she doesn't eat a LOT! So, here is a list of her favorite snacks.

1) Chocolate covered pretzels
2) French Fries swimming in catsup
3) Rice Crisps...or Ampao sa binisaya
4) Apple
5) Banana
6) Rice Crackers ( corn flavor)
7) corn with butter and sugar
8) Roti with condensed milk and sugar

Now, I'm tagging Janet, Bernadeth and Mariz.

This is for all mommies out there to share their kid’s favorite snacks. When you are done with the tag link me up here so I can add your blog(s) to the master list.

1. I Am Mommy 2. All About The Memories 3. Enchanted Play 4. Just My Scrap 5. My Happy Place 6. Iam Dzoi 7. 8. Suburban Sass 9. To the Moon and Back 10. Raising Sandy 11. Mommy Talks 12. Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps 13. All Kinds of Me Stuff 14. The Salad Caper 15. Winding Creek Circle 16. InkBabyStudios 17 Belly, Baby and Beyond 18. Celebrating LIfe 19. My Life is Peachy 20. My Precious Niche 21. Just Me.. Eds 22.. Eds Mommy Life23. Me and Mine 24. Little Peanut 25. Pea in a Pod 26. Creative in Me 27. Notable Bistro 28. Sugarmagnolias 29. Around the World 30. Blessings in Life 31. Tere’s World 32. Journey in Life 33. Thoughts & Beyond 34. Food Trips in Davao City | Davao Food Trip Dot Com 35. Nierva Dot Com 36. Davao Life 37. Day to Day Miracles 38. From Asia and Beyond 39. Not A Shopaholic 40. YourBlog

Not Again!

Our 10 month old baby is very strong. He has a very strong grip that when he grabs something, it'll be very difficult for us to let him go of that thing. Then, he is also on that stage that whatever he grabs on, he throws it away.

And for the second time, he did this to my Hubby's glasses. Good thing that his time his glasses did not break ( but it got chipped a bit). It was still quite new after he broke the first one. BUT the screws came of from the frame.. So, we sent to the optical shop for repair but they said, they can't repair it because if they put the screw and tightened it, the frame will break.He also showed us a cut in the frame. We thought that if we buy a new one, we could only buy next month. And my HUbby really like the lens of that glasses.

So, when we went home...we tried to repair the glasses...and guessed what we did, we put in the screw, but didn't it too tight and applied the Elephant Glue ( the most powerful glue in Thailand! LOL!) on it. Waited for a few seconds and his glasses are done! It's been many weeks now and his glasses are still ok. :)

Good thing we thought about that, or else we could have bought a new pair. We did save a lot.. :) And speaking of savings, I've heard about Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses . They've got cheap glasses which are Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni . I think this product must really be good and quite famous as Zenni Optical was on FOX news!

Stolen Wallet

This is a story several years back during the 1st year of my Hubby here in Thailand, single and alone. He was going inside the mall to buy some stationary supplies when suddenly two teenagers bumped him at the entrance. He thought that the they teenagers were in a hurry to get inside and the mall was crowded so that must have explained the incident and continued his way to the stationary shop. So he went inside and and bought some supplies and lo and behold when he was about to pay for it, ... you guessed it right, his wallet was missing!! Only then he realized that, it must have been pick pocketed by the teenagers.

All his money, ATM card(Malaysian Bank) , Malaysian IC and etc were in his wallet. So, he just put back all the supplies he was supposed to buy and went back home. The question was, where to get money when his bank is Malaysian based and no branches in Thailand. He was also quite new to the place, alone and not much friends around. Thank God that he still had packets of noodles in his kitchen and ate that for days...until, he was able to contact some friends and family and helped him solved his problem.

That was many years ago, this time I think it's already quite different, as there is such things as cash advance or no fax payday loan online. With all these, there's no need to wait for several days or weeks to get money in case of emergencies.

Sky Watch Friday 6

A View from the top of our Language Center as taken by my cousin.

Jay's Wednesday - Orange Lamp

Hello this is Jesu and welcome to Jay's Wednesday!

Today, I will teach you how to make a scented orange lamp without using candles.

1) You just need an orange, 1/4 cup cooking oil and a small piece of tissue paper to make an orange scented mini lamp.




2) Cut the orange into half and take out the contents, just leaving the orange skin cutting a small hole on top.




3) Pour the cooking oil on the other half of the orange skin.



4) Roll our a small tissue, about 2-3 inches in length , place it at the middle of the orange with the oil and light it up.




5) Cover it with the other half of the orange and you've got a beautiful orange scented lamp.



Make several of these and you've got a romantic ambiance for a candle light dinner or just a cozy night with your spouse.

Enjoy!

Birthday Celebration

I've just celebrated my birthday last Saturday. It was quite a birthday, different from the other years that I had because we planned some things, but things didn't go as planned and finally at the end of the day , we realized why.

Since my birthday fell on a weekend, we planned to stay overnight in Rajamangala Beach Resort hotels in Songkhla. It was a nice hotel with swimming pool and just nearby the beach. So, we checked their rates online and called them. But sad to say, the hotel was fully booked for the weekend. We really wanted to stay there but had to give it up and we tried to call all the other hotels in Songkhla. Surprinsingly, all the other hotels were booked as well. We were a bit desperate that we even thought of just booking a hotel in the city, but it won't be so fun anymore without the beach and the swimming pool since we also wanted the kids to enjoy too.

So, finally we gave up the idea of going and staying in Songkhla for a night. And opted to stay home and go visit our friends' daughter who's celebrating her birthday too but was sick and got admitted in the hospital.

So Saturday came and at exactly 12 midnight, my Hubby greeted me a happy birthday with a bouquet of roses and a gift. :) The whole of Saturday was like my rest day. I didn't do anything at all, my Hubby ordered pizza for lunch and took care of the kids while I took a long afternoon nap. :) Then we visited our friends' daughter and supposed to go on a date after that. But then, when we came back home, our Thai friends came and so we had dinner together. Good thing I already cooked spaghetti, baked chicken and cake the night before. So, I didn't panic when visitors came. We had a great time of fellowship with friends and I'm so glad they came.

When dinner was over, it was already too late to go out on a date so we just cancelled it and called it a night.

Then it was only in Sunday that we found out, that 7 bombs exploded all over Songkhla and Hatyai City. 4 Bombs in Songkhla and 3 bombs in Hatyai. The bombs exploded near the hotel where we were supposed to stay. Then in Hatyai, the bombs exploded near 7-11 store, a restaurant and tea shop.

Now, we know why God didn't allow us to push through with our plans.... He wanted us to be far from danger as much as possible.. That's the best birthday gift ever.. God's hands of protection upon our lives.

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Sky Watch Friday 5

We were riding the car on the way to Malaysia when I captured this beautiful sunset.
Do you want to see more beautiful skies? Click HERE for more Sky watch Photos.