STONECPS

Do you want to visit Bangkok, Thailand during the Thailand Tourism Festival which falls on June 1-30 and the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2010 which falls on June 15-August 15 (and take note that Bangkok really offers good shopping deals)?

Then now is the perfect time to book your tickets as Cebu Pacific is offering a seat sale again until today only for their Manila – Bangkok route and their Clark to Bangkok route for only P1,499. Travel is valid from June 1 to August 31, 2010.

I haven’t been to Bangkok but I already have an itinerary planned if ever we get the chance to visit Bangkok which includes temple visits, shopping, a day at the beach, watch the elephant show and more shopping again. If only I am not pregnant, I would have availed of this promo so we can pack our bags and go on a trip to Bangkok.

So what are you waiting for. You only have until today to book your tickets so don’t miss this chance.

My parents together with my aunts and uncles hit the road early today to drive north of Manila to visit the brother of my grand father in the hospital who has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostrate cancer.

I wanted to tag along since I really wanted to show my support for my grand father especially since he is one of the closest relatives that we have but my parents discourage me since my grand father is confined in a public hospital. With the recent outbreak of measles, they don’t think that it is safe for me to visit hospitals as I might catch the virus and I really have to be really careful as I am already seven months pregnant. If only they provide protective clothing to visitors to protect them against any virus, then I would have gone with them as I really wanted to see my grand father.

He is the second in the family who have been diagnosed with cancer. It has been caught at the later stage already so we don’t know up to when we can have our grand father in our lives. I am just praying that his condition will get better and he won’t suffer any pain caused by this disease. Please pray for my grand father.

I miss my laptop. Hubby has to bring my laptop with him while he is out of the country for three weeks so he has a way of communicating with us. That is why I am really unproductive these past few days since I can’t work while taking care of B during the weekends because our desktop PC is at our room upstairs. So the only time that I can work is when she is already sleeping at night which is like around 11 pm – 12 am.

Because of this, it really made me think if I should buy a new laptop for me. My laptop is really old already and is really asking for a replacement. Plus hubby travels a lot too so he needs his own laptop so he can have my old one if I buy myself one of those hp laptops that I have been drooling for months now.

Laptop is really a necessity for us because we heavily rely on our laptops and PCs for our work that is why I am thinking of investing in a good laptop as I feel that I will work faster and be more productive if I have a much faster and newer laptop. Hmm, maybe I should check theSource.com to see if they have good deals on laptops so I can make a proposal to hubby and hopefully he will agree to get me a new toy.

Are you looking for an Easter event that you and your family can join this coming Easter Sunday? Then here are some of the exciting Easter event that I have discovered:

1. Pan Pacific’s EGGciting Easter Hunt

The event will be on April 4 from 3 PM onwards and it will be held at Conference Suite. Ticket price is P600 net per person which includes all-day access to the swimming pool, kiddie merienda buffet with free-flowing drinks and lots of games, prizes and surprises.

2. Diamond Hotel’s Pirate Easter Event

The event will be on April 4 from morning till afternoon. Ticket price is at P700 where kids will be treated with lots of fun activities like face painting, magic show, bubble show, egg hunting, etc. Kids are also asked to wear their favorite pirate costume as prizes will be given to the kid wearing the best pirate costume.

3. Taal Vista Hotel Easter Treats

On April 4, from 8 Am to 1 PM, kids 2 to 12 years old can enjoy activities such as magic show, Easter egg-hunt, face painting and egg painting contest. Ticket price is at P500 net per person inclusive of snacks.

There is no winter in my part of the world but a friend of mine who lives abroad is very busy as winter is almost over and it is time for their spring cleaning. It is the time of the year where they do most house renovation projects such as gutter replacement, roof repairs, and the like and major house cleaning and organization.

Since their gutter fell off when the water freezes during the winter season, they decided that it is really time to get Gutters Virginia Beach to install the LeafGuard gutter system in their home. They figured that investing in good quality gutter system will really protect their homes.

The LeafGuard gutter is so efficient that only water goes through the gutter and all the dirt and leaves gets shed off. Their product is so good that they offer a lifetime warranty to all their products and it even has the Good House keeping seal. They even have an on-going Spring promo right now where they will give 50% discount to their customers on labor so my friend already contacted Gutters Norfolk as the offer is only valid until April 1, 2010.

My friend can’t wait for their gutter to be finally fixed as she knows that it is a wise investment because it will really help protect their house.

Five years ago, we purchased a house and lot which is owned by a relative. The price was a steal and so hubby and I thought to grab the opportunity and purchase the house.

The house is in very good condition when we bought it. It is also made of durable and high quality materials and so all we need to do is a little renovation and remodeling to incorporate the style that we want for our dream house.

Our housing loan which we used to purchase the lot will soon be finish in just a few months and so hubby is thinking to get another loan for the renovation of the house. We visited the house last weekend to check its condition and hubby was a bit disappointed as he noticed that there has been damages in the furniture and flooring. So hubby made sure that Window tinting Richmond is part of the budget when we do the renovation of our house. It will not only create a nice effect to our windows but at the same time, it will provide good protection too for our furniture and flooring.

I know hubby is really excited to finally put his project for our dream house into reality. But he doesn’t have to wait that long as in just a few months, we can start with the renovation of our soon dream house.

I am a fan of the Amazing Race and so when they first launched the Amazing Race Asia, I was one of the exited fans who watched each episode of the first season. My favorite is the second season where Marc and Rovilson participated. The dynamic duo did not grabbed the championship crown for that season but they made amazing records that I think up to now hasn’t been beaten yet by the other contestants. And of course a lot of opportunities opened for them as they both gained new shows after their stint at the Amazing Race Asia.

Now Amazing Race has opened its audition for the fourth season of the Amazing Race Asia. Those who want to audition can either apply by attending any of the open calls in different locations. Both team members should be present during the open calls. Or they can send their application by mail which should contain the following: Completed application forms, proof of a valid passport, passport-size photo of each applicant and one recent photo of both team members together, and one three-minute videotape of your team.

The deadline has been extended until March 31 so those who are interested to apply still have more than a week to submit their application.

For more information, check out the AXN Asia website.

I just received our bill for our cable TV subscription and I can’t believe at how much it has increased considering that most of their channels are not even in high definition yet. My husband said that he saw on the Internet the different DIRECT TV Offers and he thinks that their offer is more reasonable as compared to our current cable TV subscription.

So I started checking for DIRECTTV Offers in our area and I am glad to find out that it is available in our city. They even have a special online promo where they offer free shipping and 50% off for one whole year.

Their cheapest package starts at only $29.99 with 150 channels already and I will get high definition channels with just an additional $10 a month. They have other DIRECTV Offers in different packages so it is up to the consumer to choose which is the best package for them.

Now that is one irresistible satellite TV offer we really can’t resist.

Hubby left for a three-week temporary duty out of the country. He has been to this assignment many times already so I should be used to it but I don’t know why for some reason, I am having difficulty coping with the situation now. I have lots of things to do and finish but I can’t seem to start working on it because all I think about is my husband. Could it be my pregnancy hormones? Last night I was crying again because I miss him so badly. I know it is just three weeks and before I know it, he is coming back home again so I can’t understand really why I have to go through all this drama.

I have been staring at the monitor of my PC for hours now but my mind is really not working. I have been so unproductive already this past few days and I am really hoping that I will get pass through this stage as I really need to finish a lot of work.

So what do woman do for therapy? What else but go shopping. LOL. Since I don’t know how to drive and I don’t have a nanny to take care of my four-year old daughter, the best place I can shop is online.

I have been checking out the dresses from Republic and I saw a lot of nice pieces that I would like to have as it is really perfect for summer. They are even having a three-day mega sale event so this is really a perfect time to shop, don’t you think.

I guess this shopping therapy is really working as I feel recharged already. LOL. Hopefully when I am done with my online shopping, I will now have the inspiration to work again as I need the money to pay for the purchases that I will be charging to my credit card. LOL.

Last night, we attended the 18th birthday party of the daughter of our good friend Ate Annie and Kuya Emil. The celebrant doesn’t want to have a party but of course, the parents believed that turning 18 is an important milestone in a girls life so they wanted to throw her even just a simple party.

The party was held at Centerstage in Jupiter Place Building in Makati. It is my first time here and the place was big for a resto bar. This is where the former I/O KTV bar is located. The party was at the Sala Room and it can accommodate 100-120 persons. Just look at some of the pictures of the room that I snagged from their website:

The rate is also good. You can book the whole room for only P35,000 good for four hours of us e and it is consumable so as it turns out (if you can consume P35,000 for your event) that the room use is free. There is a charge of Php2,000.00 per hour after 4 hours which is also still consumable. If you want to bring in your own caterer, you can rent the room for only P15,000 inclusive of 4 hours room use. (But I think the consumable package of P35,000 is still the best).

The room is equipped with state of the art videoke machine with a big flat TV in the middle of the room, a billiard table and a Wii game console. This is really a perfect venue for a very informal and fun party.

I was once asked by a friend regarding family planning. She asked me how many kids do we want to have.

When I gave birth to my first born, she was born with a congenital heart disease. As a first time parent, it really broke my heart upon hearing the bad news from the doctor. I was in tears every night thinking about my daughter’s condition and if only I can do all that I can to protect her. Because of this, I told my husband that I would rather have just one child so we can take care of her and give her all our time and attention.

But God is really good because when our daughter turned two, we got a confirmation from her pediatric cardiologist that her congenital heart disease has now been cured. Her condition is a very common congenital heart disease for newborns where there is a hole in the infant’s heart. If the position of the hole is not dangerous, then there is no need for an operation and in time, it might heal and close on its own. And we are truly blessed because this is what happened with my daughter. We are really happy because now she can live and grow to be a normal child.

So this really changes our mind in our plans regarding the size of the family. Our daughter is the greatest gift that we have ever received. She is our source of joy, our inspiration. And that is why we decided to have more. LOL. (Thank goodness that we have arrived at this realization sooner, long before hubby would be needing levitra. LOL).

We know how expensive it is to raise a child. Of course we want to give them the best – best education, best of life. If only budget is not an issue then we would go for 5 kids. But life is difficult now so hubby and I decided to meet halfway and we are going for three kids. I am currently pregnant with our second kid now. But who knows, in the coming years maybe we will have a change of heart again and will opt to have more than three…

Sea level is rising.
Arctic sea ice is melting
Sea-surface temperatures are warming
Heavier rainfall causing great flood and death
El Niño

These are just some of the effects of climate change. Should we just sit down and do nothing until we ran out of time and all we can do is pull our hair until we would need the best hair loss treatment and feel sorry and guilty for not doing anything to save Mother Earth?

Then if you want to do some action to fight climate change, then you might want to participate in this year’s Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a global event organized by World Wide Fund for Nature. The Earth Hour 2010 will be held on Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30 where every home sand businesses are encouraged to turn off their lights and other non-essential electrical appliances for an hour.

So let us all do our share and make a stand to help save our mother earth. Let us all join Earth Hour this coming Saturday.

Picture snagged from Wikipedia

Are you looking for activities for your kids this summer? Then you can check out these summer activities at Filipinas Heritage Library for your kids so that they will have a fun and productive summer:

1. BOOK-MAKING WORKSHOP FOR KIDS
This workshop is open for kids ages 7-12 years old. The workshop will be from April 12 – 16, from 9:00 am to 12 noon. The workshop fee is P3,500.00 and it already includes handouts, materials, and a certificate. If you register in advance and pay in full before March 22, 2010, then you will get a 25% from the workshop fee.

This workshop is facilitated by Jomike Tejido, the author and illustrator of Ang Pambihirang Sombrero. This workshop aims to teach the kids the basics of book development – from writing their own story, to breaking down their story to narrative scenes, and even up to drawing the characters and events on each page.

2. STORYTELLING FOR KIDS
This is open for kids ages 4 to 10 years and it will be held every Saturdays of April (April 10, 17 and 24) from 9:00 AM to 11:0 AM. Admission is free but you have to pre-register as there are only limited slots available. There will be storytelling and arts and crafts that will surely be a fun adventure for the kids.

It is finally set, the MBAPs summer outing will be this coming May 8 at Tagaytay Highlands again. We had our summer outing here last year. Here are some of our pictures from last year:

Have you notice how lovely, pretty and sexy mommies we all are. LOL. (Of course love your own). So I better look for blackhead extractions as I definitely need one because I am having blackhead problems so I will look good too like the other MBAP mommies when I meet up with then on May 8.

Our plan is that we will meet around 8 AM so the kids can enjoy swimming while the daddies can play basketball. There are other amenities there too like the zoo, the cable car and the tram which we might all try also if we still have time or if we manage to take a break from our mommy chikas.

It will just be a day trip but I am thinking of booking a hotel for our overnight stay since I know hubby will be so tired already after that long day so I don’t think he will still have energy left to drive back to Manila. Plus we can have breakfast the next day at Bag of Beans (my favorite).

Thinking about it makes me so excited already. I can’t wait for May 8 to come.

I should be reading the site of eczematreatment.org to look for eczema treatment that I promised my friend to help her with but I just can’t seem to get my mind off this bag:

Picture snagged from bagshop.com

My good friend Jody sent us an email listing the Long Champ bags that her friend is selling. It will be arriving next week and so all we have to do is reserve if we want any of the bags and pay for it in cash upon delivery.

I was never a Long Champ fan before but when Jody asked me to buy her a Le Pliage Limited Edition when we went to Paris a few months ago and get to actually see and try the bags myself, I fell in love with it. I then bought two bags – the medium with short handle Le Pliage Limited edition in navy blue and the large with long handle Le Pliage Limited Edition in cream.

And now after seeing the Planetes, I want to have one of it too. LOL.

I have always been curious and interested about Jakarta. And if only I am not pregnant, I would have availed of Cebu Pacific’s on going promo to Jakarta. For only P2,499, you can book a Go Lite Seat sale to Jakarta, Indonesia where you can enjoy shopping in bargain shops in Tanah Abang and Pasar Rawa or enjoy the beach in Bali. This seat sale is valid from bookings made until March 19, 2010 valid for travel from June 1 to August 31, 2010.

Cebu Pacific is also having a domestic sale with their Cebu-Clark route. Book a ticket for only P499 (which according to Cebu Pacific is 61% less than the lowest-year round fares for this route). Booking should be made until March 19, 2010 and is valid for travel from May 1 to August 31, 2010.

So hurry and book your seats now to avail of this Jakarta and Cebu seat sale from Cebu Pacific.

Even before I had my ultrasound, everybody was saying that I will be having a baby boy. Well for one, I look really haggard and I am really lazy to fix myself. Second is I have acne breakouts and I even had nodular acne (if only I am not pregnant, I would have tried the acne treatments that have been reviewed by experts of acnenodular which provides treatment even for nodular acne). They say that the hormones of a baby boy is really not compatible with my hormones that is why I am having these changes like the acne breakouts, darkening of the skin, etc.

Honestly, I love it every time they notice that I really look ugly. Weird as it may sound but since we are hoping to have a baby boy, I love it every time I get a confirmation from our friends and relatives that I really look different now that I am pregnant compared to when I was not.

And finally after months of waiting, we have finally confirmed that we are having a baby boy. Hubby is the happiest person on earth. Though he doesn’t want to admit it and he kept on saying that he felt the same when we had a baby girl for our first child. LOL.

Now my next project will be to shop for baby stuffs and find a name for our baby boy.

I have a colleague whom is like a father to me in the office and he visits me everyday to check my condition since he knows that I had difficulty with my pregnancy during the first trimester. He said that my tummy is really getting bigger and bigger and he knows how uncomfortable it is already for me.

Actually, I am having a hard time getting a good night sleep already as my tummy is really big. I actually have started reading reviews in sleepingaidreviews.net about the best sleep aid as I am thinking it might help me get a good night sleep. What I like about this site is that they already did the reviews of the hundreds of sleeping aids that are out in the market and have ranked them so at least I only have to review the sleeping aids that are listed on there site.

I have also read that sleeping on my side with one or both knees bent with a pillow between my legs, using another pillow (or wedge) to support my abdomen can also help me get a comfortable sleep.

I am already on my 7th month and in just a few months we will be seeing our cute baby boy. I can’t wait….

I received an email from my good friend Aubrey about the on-going promo from Inter Continental Manila, Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Holiday Inn Galleria Manila, and Holiday Inn Clark.

The “Holy Stays” 3 day Amazing sale form these four hotels is available for booking from March 17-19 only so you only have until tomorrow to book this promo. This three day sale is available for room reservations from March 26 to April 11, 2010 only.

It will be my dad’s birthday this Sunday so I am thinking of booking a room on March 27-28 for his post birthday celebration. I tried calling Hotel Intercontinental Manila and they still have an available room for this promo for my target date and I just need to confirm my booking by paying for the overnight stay using my card. (I still have until tomorrow to think about it).

You can call the numbers indicated in the image to get more information about this promo.

I have a friend who is thinking now of resigning from work because she enjoys her sideline of being makeup artists. He loves his current job and all and he has gain a lot of friends from work already after working here for more than 10 years now. But he feels happier doing his sideline job than his current job. The only thing that is stopping him is that his current job is more stable and during this difficult time of economic crisis, he can’t afford to loose his source of income.

I read about Regency Beauty Institute and I learned that they are really one affordable cosmetology school so I suggested to my friend to enroll in one of Regency’s campuses. By enrolling here, he will get the best training which will guarantee my friend to get a good paying job in the beauty industry after graduating. Regency Beauty institute even set up an online job seeking site where their graduates can search for prospective employers online, coast to coast. Regency also has connections with spa and salon owners so they can really help their students look for jobs after graduating.

My friend got really excited of my news and he already started to check the website of Regency Beauty Institute so he can enroll right away and get the training that he needs to finally get a job in the beauty industry.

I am thinking of going back to school again to take MBA course. And I was already ready to start looking for gmat prep when my laptop crashed and is not booting up in Windows XP.

My friend recommended to me the site of Knewton where I can enroll for their gmat prep online course. What I like about this is that I can review for the exam even if I am working or even at home since all the courses are online. This means I can have unlimited access to GMAT resources online and with a price that is even cheaper than the traditional test prep. And they have the best and experienced online teachers so I will be sure that I will get nothing but the test preparation for my GMAT.

But first things first. I have to have my laptop fixed first so I can do my online course. Luckily I have a very reliable husband and he was able to boot my laptop in safe mode and he backed up all my files already (which took the whole night because I have tons of files on my laptop). Later he will rebuild my laptop and hopefully I can start with my GMAT prep by tomorrow.

It’s been a while since I last posted about promos from Artscow. I have been busy lately and I haven’t been able to check Artscow’s promo. But here are some of my amazing finds from Artscow:

1. 8" x 10" Poster Prints
Do you have a lot of cute pictures of your baby or pictures that you took during your recent trip? Then with this promo, you can avail to have five of your pictures printed in 8x10 at only $2.49 with free shipping already.

To avail of this promo, just use the code below:

Coupon Code: 8X10PRINTS249
Expires on: March 18, 2010

2. Customized Cosmetic Bags
This month is Woman’s month and what a great way to celebrate it than with personalized medium cosmetic bags that you can give to your girl friends. For only $8 for three cosmetic bags, you get to customize the cosmetic bags with the size that fits perfectly in your bag and can hold the essentials including foundation, lipstick, mascara, gloss, eyeliner, eye shadow and bronzer.

To avail of this promo, just use the code below:

Coupon Code: 38COSBAG
Expires on: March 17 2010

3. ArtsCow Offer - Free 8pcs 8"x8" Photo Books (20p)
One of my favorite products from Artscow. Get eight 8”x8” 20 pages photo book.

To avail of this promo, just use the code below:

Coupon Code: 88820BOOKS
Expires on: March 11, 2010
Effective period: 30 days

I can’t believe that it has been almost five years ago when we bought our first investment as husband and wife. In just a few months, we will be finish paying our housing loan and so hubby is thinking to get a new loan for the house construction.

As early as now, he has been busy looking for house plans for the design that he wants for our house. Since this will be our permanent home, he wants to incorporate everything that we want for our final house plan so we can finally call it our dream home.

Good thing we discovered the site of HousePlansandMore.com. We can just purchase readily available blue prints from them which we can use for the construction of our home or we can use the blue prints and customize it depending on the style that we want to add. We can also search at different home plans depending on the style that we want so we can get different ideas by looking at different styles that are available on their website.

Another feature that I like about their site is that they have a cost estimator so we can search for house plans based on our budget. This is really very important since we don’t want to go overboard on the budget. We want to incorporate as much as we can in the plan but of course we still have a budget to consider since we will just loan the amount for the construction again from the bank. They also provide the list of builders in our area so when we’re finally decided on our house plans, we can easily look for a builder to build our dream house.

Just thinking about this project makes me and hubby so excited already as we can’t wait to move in to our new dream home.

Hubby and I both came from poor families. We have witnessed how our parents struggled to send us to good school so we can get good jobs when we graduate. Because of this, hubby and I really know the importance of learning how to work hard and save for the future.

Hubby and I are thankful since God has showered us with good jobs that we can afford the basic needs of our family and sometimes some of our wants too. And so now that we have a little extra, we are really thinking of investing that money to put it to good use instead of it just sitting in the bank and will just earn little interest. We did some research and we learned that investing in gold is one of the best investments nowadays.

Because the dollar is weak, gold is benefitting from this and thus, gold is increasing its value that is why hubby and I are thinking to buy gold coins. We did more research and we discovered the site of US Gold Bureau who has the experience and the expertise to educate us on our first gold investment and to help us get the best gold value available in the market.

Gold is very tangible assets that won’t depreciate in time and since it is widely accepted, it is easily convertible to cash. That is why after doing our research, we are finally convinced that gold investment is the best way to go.

After the long wait, the first Universal Studios in Asia, will have its soft opening this coming March 18, 2010. During the soft opening, same day tickets are not sold so they encouraged guests to purchase their tickets online in advance.

Universal Studios will be open from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays and 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM on weekends. The different rides and attractions that visitors of the park must look forward to include:

Lights, Camera, Action (New York Zone), Accelerator (Sci- Fi City), Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi City), Revenge of the Mummy (Ancient Egypt), Treasure Hunters (Ancient Egypt), Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure (The Lost World), Dino Soarin’ (The Lost World), Amber Rock Climb (The Lost World), Canopy Flyer (The Lost World), Magic Potion Spin (Far Far Away), Enchanted Airways (Far Far Away), King Julien’s Party-Go-Round: (Madagascar), and Madagascar: A Crate Adventure (Madagascar).

Hubby and I really had fun when we went to Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California so we are really looking forward to seeing the Universal Studios at Resorts World in Singapore. I am sure B will have fun here also. We are actually planning to go there early next year when the hype already subsides so it will be not that crowded so hopefully we will find good deals on airfare and hotel by that time.

Everybody is complaining that it is so hot nowadays and we can really say that summer is really here. Gosh, I miss Baguio. Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines since most people flock to Baguio during the hot summer months to get some fresh and cold air.

Last time we we’re there was a couple of years ago. It was already September so it is close to Christmas season so it was really cold. Good thing we stayed at Camp John Hay Manor and we just love their Amish fireplace. If I have a house in Baguio, I will definitely order the same fireplace from Electric Fireplaces Direct as they delivered it completely assembled, it thermostat controlled, it has a child safety cover and it even comes with free shipping and a free remote control.

If only I am not pregnant, I would have packed my bags right away and head to Baguio as the temperature here in Manila is really unbearable.

Last February 20 was B’s field trip. B really had a great time visiting the Manila Ocean Park, the Doll Joy Museum, and the yacht ride with her friends and teachers. I know that it will be a very tiring day but I still decided to go with hubby and B on this field trip because I don’t want to miss seeing how much our daughter will enjoy this trip.

Hubby took more than 1000 pictures and thanks to Picasa, I was able to resize them already and uploaded some of it in my Flickr account. But not all of my friends have Flickr so I am trying to upload it to my Facebook account as well but my laptop is really so slow (probably because I downloaded all the pictures in my laptop from hubby’s camera) that I think it is time to upgrade my laptop memory. I already checked buy.com and they have in stock the memory that I need for my laptop and the price is also affordable that I can order it after my credit card’s cu off date. And the memory will even be shipped free of charge so hopefully I will receive it soon so I can start uploading all of the pictures of B in Facebook.

For the meantime, you can check out some of the pictures that I uploaded in Flickr.