=(

I really really want to watch Drop Dead Diva. And I'm so disappointed 'cause we don't have the show in here. I've heard Vanessa left Grayson at the altar on Episode 4.

I'm so stressed I could eat a whole elephant.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole elephant." -Rolly, that fat puppy in 101 Dalmatians

I am having a tremendous headache as of this writing. And my eyes are so strained that my glasses aren't working anymore. I am so tired.... =(

I am so tired down to the tips of my hair! Hahaha! Really, honestly, my fingertips are a little numb and my fingers are actually trembling right now. I wish we could go home soon. I badly need my bed for some dozing...

Batang Bayani

please click the image for details

Donate a Notebook, a bag, or a pencil.

I'm a coordinator for Batang Bayani here in Davao City. Please drop your donations in kind here in our office at DSB Law. Door No. 4, Babao Building, San Pedro St. Davao City.

Thank you!

Best Wishes to Martin and Luna!

...and I can't believe that I'm your girl, and I get to kiss you baby just because I can...

June 23, 2011

Martin and Luna

After the wedding, with flower girl, Chikay

off they go..........

my sister Mary Grace and cousin Nino

mom and dad

The echuserang host at the wedding reception, yours truly. =)

I love the guests who were so game! =)

posing with siblings

the noisy Balansag sisters =p

posing with cousins

I celebrated our (beau and mine's) monthsary by attending my cousin Martin's wedding with her lovely bride, Luna, at Redemptorist Church. Reception followed at the Ladislawa Garden Village Clubhouse.

I was the impromptu host for the day and I honestly did not know what to do! I only attended a wedding ONCE. And I mean attending a wedding as a guest and not a flower girl. I honestly had no idea what to do and I'm just thankful that I had *a lot* of coaches, some are even giving unsolicited advices. Lol! But the party went well and I have the bride, herself, to tell me that she enjoyed it. =)

Bloopers. So I prepared a little song for the newlyweds and I am NOTORIOUS in forgetting song lyrics. And my Alzheimer tendencies did not let me down 'coz I literally forgot the song lyrics: the part I like best! I am such a failure!

I enjoyed the party. The food by Kubiyertos was really great! And the people from the venue were very nice to look for and lend me a cable for my laptop. But I sure do hope that Ladislawa would fix their wifi problems. I would've perfected my song if only I was able to search the lyrics for Michael Buble's Everything. Hehehe!

I'm a girl and with that, I have the right....

I have the right to change my mind, that is.

I enabled right-clicking in this blog after dis-abling it . I wasn't comfortable not being able to right click because I always want to open links in a new tab. I still don't want my photos to be copied, though, and I'm still very lazy in not placing watermarks. Duh! Let it be. Maybe I'll just practice copyright infringement suit in the future if somebody steals my photos without credit. Hehehe!

I am so bored today. I went home early on a Friday because of stomachache. I slept for about 30 minutes upon arriving home and then hit on the internet until no and it's almost 6pm... I just hope that beau will be online after he takes his lunch so that we could chat. =)

I've been blog hopping and I recently discovered Divine Lee's blog and she's such a CRAZY girl! The Becky Queen, Divine Lee! Her posts are very quirky and funny!!! Oh well, there's this post about his surprise Valentine's treat for her bf which made me cry. It was really sweet and it just made me cry 'coz I miss somebody looking at that video. That video was an advertisement for Philips but I just felt that her surprise for V was genuine.. Awwww......

Anyway, I'm really getting hungry right now. So, babooh!

Where to Buy Complete and Affordable Baking Supplies

This was originally posted as a Note by Charmaine Carino's Facebook Account.

I've known Charmaine, whom I fondly call Chum, way back in 1997 in Davao City Special School. She was a transferee then, enrolling on first year high school with her twin sister, Charisse. These twin sisters were known to be really good in baking. During high school, they bake and sell chocolate crinkles and I am one of their avid customers. These twin sisters have also outshone everybody in our Home Economics classes because they are really like professionals in baking even at their teens.

Charmaine studied HRM, which, I think, really fits her. Now, she's kind enough to share this FB Note to us all:

Hi everyone!

I am very excited to share this with you. n_n
I made a research and a few list of Baking and Cooking suppliers in Manila. =)
I was an HRM student back in college and was very addicted to baking and cake decorating. Actually required talaga kmi na mahalin ang pagluluto coz its part of our course (walang choice). That time it was very difficult for me to buy and find these ingredients and equiptments. Lalo na sa DLSU-D Cavite pa talaga ako nag aral na Walter Mart Dasmarinas lang ang makikita mong nearest store at ang palengke ng Kadiwa.. =(   wahhhh!!!  Naalala ko ang Kadiwa na ang daming langaw.. yuckness! hehehe pero infairness, they have the best food coloring. n_n
 Now that I am a mother and doing this baking stuff as a part time job, I am very delighted that I have known these suppliers. Az in! Sobrang nakakatulong sila. n_n Mas makakatipid ka pa ng bonggang bongga!

So I hope this list would help you too.


1. Best Way baking storeOutside Divisoria mall.. along Sto. Kristo St.
You will find everything! Az in everything! from ingredients to packaging.
For HRM students who need Styrophor dummy cakes. Best way is the best place where you can find it. =) All shapes and sizes!



2. Bake Masters Food Ingredients Corp ( My favorite place =) )
 Located along Sucat Road Paranaque City.
A supplier for bakery , confectionery, snack and also meat processing ingredients.
I heard that Bake Masters also offer baking classes and cake decoration for a limited slot only.
o Contact No.:887-0150



3. Sweetcraft Baking and Confectionery Supplies
They have baking and cooking ingredients and equipment items, available in retail and wholesale quantities.
    Address: 373 Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong
    Tel no.: 532-1595
(In front of Rizal Technological University, a minute's ride from Boni MRT Station and EDSA!)
    

4. The Cocoa Pantry -
Is a specialty baking supplies retail shop. They offer essential baking ingredients and hard-to-find packaging materials.
    Address: 130 Katipunan Road, Saint Ignatius Village QC
    Tel: 4976957
    Website: http://thecocoapantry.multiply.com

    Opening Hours
     Mondays to Fridays - 10:00am to 4:30pm
     Saturdays - 10:00am to 6:00pm


5. Baker's Depot     Branches:
     - San Juan: 188B N. Domingo cor Manzano st. Tel: 723-8810
     - Waltermart North EDSA - Tel: 332-1281
     - Waltermart Makati
     - Victory Mall, Caloocan City


6. Gourdos* The FortMedyo expensive, but bery good quality products.
o Address :Unit G, The Fort Entertainment Complex, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig Metro Manila


7. Killion Merchandising and MOSTWELL.The cheapest place to find packaging materials.
Near Quiapo church
40 Orosco Street, Quiapo Manila
tel No. 733-8221, 733-2093
Fax 733-7036



8. Chocolate Lovers     *The big castle in p.tuazon.
     Main Branch: 45 P. Tuazon Blvd. corner C. Benitez St.Cubao Quezon, City 1109 (use
     Benitez St, main entrance) Tel. nos. 411-7474 / 724-5752 / 724-4964


     2nd Branch: Kitanlad St. cor. Quezon Avenue, Quezon City
     Tel nos. 732-8576 / 741-7487



9. Carla's Bakery Supply. It's along Sucat Road in Paranaque, Right across Santana Grove and Shopwise.

Thanks, Chum, for being so kind in sharing this information. I know that you are very passionate about baking and cake decorating. Best of luck! =)

I'm raving about SM City Davao these past few days/posts

Ok, so I've decided to make a little effort in making this world a better place. But wait, if you think that I am biased about SM City Davao, I'm not.

SM's Trash to Cash is scheduled this coming August 5 and 6, 2011. I've already started collecting recyclable materials for this event. And guess what??? Most of these recyclable materials are from my beauty kit (or cabinet???). I've cleaned up my closet of those beauty products sitting on my closet for so long. I've cleaned my "death table". Do you  know what death table is? It's just a table - one where you put some things to "die". I've noticed that I've hoarded different types of beauty products which were not used for quite some time (some have already been past their expiration dates) and I was just shocked why in the world am I still keeping these trash??? Let me give you an example: I still have a small bottle of Suave (about 85% full) which expired last year.

So, off I went around the house and checked every plastic bottle of moisturizer, shampoo, and what-have-you's and I was able to collect several "throwable" items. I emptied those bottles and set it aside and I'm gonna bring those to SM Parking C this coming August 6.

SM is not the only mall that's taking its part in caring for our environment. NCCC Davao has also established their Buy Back Fair and in fact, their scope is wider than that of SM because NCCC has a lot of branches Davao wide. They have branches in Panacan and Matina (Centerpoint) and these branches have also been very active in helping with waste segregation. You can read the story here.

For more information on these, please visit:
SM City Davao Blog
NCCC Cares FB Page

6/22/11 Update
I passed by NCCC Mall today and I saw their Buy Back Fair announcement which is scheduled on July 30, 2011. It's earlier than SM's schedule so I might as well check it if I'm not busy on the 30th.

SM City Davao

I was SHOCKED to see SM have so many improvements in such a short time. I have not been malling these past few days and I think the last time I went to SM was on April 30 during their 3-day sale. I was a little stressed to find a parking slot that time and I actually ended up parking illegally because part of their old parking space has been closed and now actually houses an extension building on-going construction.

Last night, we went to SM City Davao to buy some stuff and to watch the last of the Harry Potter series. SM has greatly improved. I first noticed the shaded pathwalk in their parking area. And, their free shuttle! Plus points for SM City Davao! By the way, I think SM has the biggest parking space compared to all of the malls in Davao City. But the main disadvantage is that it's open-parking so you have to endure either the hot sun or get risk being wet when it's raining. It's good that SM has finally provided their shoppers with a shaded pathwalk.

the free shuttle service and parts of the shaded pathwalk

In SM Department Store, sections have been rearranged but the most noticeable of all is the new Beauty Section. I was informed about it weeks ago by a blogger, Julz, but it was only yesterday that I've actually checked it out. And I was very impressed. The beauty products were arranged by brand in a very modern and chic way.

Kudos SM! Surely, you wouldn't want to get left behind now that Abreeza has opened, do you? NCCC Mall has also started its renovations, by the way. Hmmm, healthy competition among the malls?

My 160th Post

Miss Cory Potts: Tell me what you love about the Philippines or being Filipino, and what you do to show it.


It's been two weeks since I first read about Miss Cory Potts' blog giveaway but I haven't sent an entry yet. I have made several drafts already but I can't seem to finish everyone of them. So, I deleted all those drafts and as of this writing, I promised myself that I will finish this post, no matter what!

The question above seems very easy to answer. But I am wrong. I thought the answer to that question would be just like a statement that would go like this: I love the Philippines' hospitality! (Which seems to be a generic and gasgas answer). But Philippines' hospitality is really different compared to other countries, there's no doubt about it, and I can attest to it even though I haven't been to any other country other than my Philippines.

There's also our being family-oriented. One thing that I am very proud of being in this country is that your family is really FAMILY, they won't deny us of anything. We take good care of our lolos and lolas, unlike other countries who put their grannies to homes for the aged. That's very rare here in our country because we value our family so much that we personally take care of everybody.

We have our very own Bayanihan. What you read in your elementary books about Filipino values would not have been written there had it not been true. Personally, I've encountered several experiences where the Filipino Bayanihan  is proved to be still true and existing in the hearts of Filipinos. When I worked as a bookkeeper in one of the NGO's, I noticed a very large framed photo of men carrying a nipa hut. Yes, the standard bayanihan photo we see in our elementary books. I thought that it was just put there as a decoration and as a means to inspire their staff but the caption of the photo says that it was taken during one of the NGO's projects a few years back. That was around 2007 or 2008. So it just proves that bayanihan is still alive.

here's a photo taken from MinLand.ph website.
Photo was taken in one of their projects' Community Action Planning.
They are seen transferring a sitio purok.

SHARING. Filipino sharing is a usual and common sight. In tight communities such as in the barrio, neighbors would sometimes ask fellow neighbors for bigas, asin, toyo, suka. I know this is no longer common to our modern subdivisions and the availability of the competing sari-sari stores have lessened the "pahiram muna" attitude of Filipinos.

Our Philippines is such a treasure. Let's forget about talks of corruption, differences in religion and political affiliations, let's set aside the news that the current Mayor of my city has just punched a Sheriff. When differences are set aside, one can truly say what a beautiful country we have. And I'm not just talking about our natural resources, I'm also talking about our people.

I've had much opportunities to go and work abroad but I still remain in my humble country. Many people have told me that our country is poor. Yes, it is. I'm not a hypocrite. I know what I earn here is too measly compared to my friends outside the country, but I choose to work here. This country is so poor, that's why I want to use my skills in this country. If some people think that my efforts are not properly compensated here, I don't care. After all, what's more fulfilling than to work for my country? Fulfillment is not just about salary. I have nothing against Filipinos who labor abroad in search for greener pastures. After all, they are still our modern heroes. What I don't like is when people say, Pagbutihan mo ang pag-aaral para makapag-abraod ka. Is there no hope at all in our country? I certainly hope that Filipinos would use their talents and skills here in the Philippines where they were born.

The spirit of patriotism, honestly, is much diminished. The modern Filipinos of my age bracket (i'm just 20-something) and below have not personally gone through the colonization and war periods and somehow, they never appreciate what our history tells us. Too bad, but I hope, that in own my little way, I could inspire little children not to get disappointed why we are not one of the states of America.

There's still so much more that I want to share of what I love about the Philippines. I love it that we have so many beautiful places and tourist spots all over our country. To name a few, I've been to Bohol, Baguio, Camiguin, and my very own place in Davao (that's including Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental). I promised myself that I should first explore my country before going abroad. And my boyfriend is supportive about it, he even suggested that we should start with Mindanao. How about boarding a flight to the newest Cebu Pacific destination? Tawi-tawi, anyone? My boyfriend is a seaman and he's been to different countries. I asked him which country is his favorite, and he answered, Philippines!!! He said, there's no place like home. (Yeah, right!, I said, "love your own"). But on a serious note, my boyfriend said that the Philippines' culture and values really sets it apart from the others.

Just in case I'm already boring you out of your wits, here's one last thing that I'm proud of: I support Filipino products. Have you heard of OTOP? Well, it stands for One Town, One Product. It features products all over the Philippines. I'm a very big fan of their exhibits here in Davao and Tagum City. Unfortunately, I think that their website is so longer updated. But anyway, even without OTOP, our town fiestas and festivals (think: Kadayawan, Ati-atihan, Dinagyang, etc.) would definitely bring out the local products which would then be sold in tiangge. And I really really love tiangge! Only in the Philippines!

(--,)

I miss my boyfie!!!

It's a month now since boyfie went to work. He's due to come home on August. I know ten weeks without him is actually a breeze compared to other couples who would have to endure longer months, sometimes years, to see each other.

I really don't want to post this but.. I just miss him! I hope their wifi connection will be re-installed soon....

Transformers 3 is now showing in theaters. But I don't want to watch it alone. I wonder if the last Harry Potter movie would be extended until August when boyfie's home? I want to watch it with him.... But what if HP won't get extended that long? Hmmm, maybe I'll just watch it alone, hehehe!

The very first movie I've ever watched with boyfie is The Land Before Time. Ahahaha! I'm just joking, although it's actually true. It was a school activity and my first time to actually enter a movie house. I didn't personally know him that time but I know that we were in the same movie house during that day. =) I actually cried because of that movie. I'm sure he did, too. Hahaha!

Kidding aside, the first movie I watched with boyfie is......... Twilight! Ahahaha! That was December 8, 2008 and it was actually the second time that he invited me to watch a movie (I declined his first invitation, not because I was playing hard to get, but because I did not want to watch a movie that time. Anyway, that was two months before our first movie date). I went straight to GMall after work. When I arrived in GMall, I saw him and I just smiled. He already has tickets for the movie. I skipped classes that night. OMG, I am smiling right now and I'm thinking that I should end this post. I still miss him but I'll sleep with a smile tonight. Hahahahahaha!


Good night!

~kilig!

New Modem

Yey! Our office internet connection is back (and kicking!)!!!

We've been bogged down for several days already because of our intermittent internet connection. Until this morning, there was ZERO internet access. I thought that it was just all because of the dreadful weather these past few days but I have a feeling it's really something else so I  dialed PLDT's 171 for technical assistance.

A CSR named Rowena got my call and she patiently gave the instructions to reset the modem, etc. When all of her troubleshooting proved futile, she said that she will make a report to have our modem remote tested. I don't know how remote testing works but Rowena told me to just turn on the computer and the modem, which I did. When it's already 2:00 P. M. and there was still no internet access, I again called 171 to follow up. A male CSR received my call and informed me that there is indeed an ongoing remote test for our connection. He said that he will make a report to rush it.

Around 2:30 P. M., I received a call from PLDT Davao technical team. He said he was Arnold and he's asking for directions to our office. I gladly gave him our address and he said that he'll be coming in around 45 minutes.

And so he did! Arnold did a few troubleshooting and then finally replaced the modem. Now, our internet connection is back! Yey!

Thank you, PLDT!

Davao's First Fish Foot Spa

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Before anything else, say FISH FOOT SPA ten times. Let's see if your tongue won't get tied and twisted. =)

Path Massage at Petron Ulas offers the first Fish Foot Spa in Davao City! And I am one of first ones who tried it.

at the reception area

fish foot spa area

it's killing TICKLING me!!!

my dead skin cells being eaten out

my sister's cute feet

I am very ticklish and I was really laughing hard the first few minutes. It's like there were some little vibrating monsters tickling my feet! Hahaha! I just couldn't stop laughing. It was a good thing that we came early and there were still no other clients at that time. The INSTRUCTIONS above say, MIND OVER MATTER. But I just couldn't resist laughing, giggling, and smiling. And because of that, I am determined to bring one very special person at Path Massage very very soon (or as soon as he comes home).... I just miss his laughter and this Fish Foot Spa is a sure way to make him laugh. Lol!

Fish Foot Spa at Path Massage, Petron Ulas, Davao City. P100 per person.