Today, I learned ...

  • ... that a "hello" and a smile from a stranger ALWAYS brightens up my day.
  • ... that I need a book on parenting 101 [if there is such a book].
  • ... that I seriously need to watch the food that I eat!
  • ... that Patrick will always be Patrick!
  • ... that I will no longer tolerate verbal abuse from crew members/flight attendants/pilots.


Countdown begins... we leave in 5 days... so excited!!!

Snow, snow go away

We don't want you here today!
It's spring and we want to see the flowers bloom!
Snow, snow go away!!!

Smilebox

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. I have tons of them, not only for our family, but also pictures of friends and colleagues. And I honestly don't know what to do with some of them anymore. I can't print them all as it is going to be too expensive for me.

Recently, I started blowing them up and framed it, and then give them as birthday gift. And they loved it. So now, I'm also thinking of making slideshow of all of their pictures and give it to them in CD. That way they will always have memories of all our trips and get-togethers.

Appetite suppressant

I did a self-test BP with the electronic machine they have at the pharmacy. And the last 3 readings I had were as follows: day 1 - 143/85, day 2 -191/107 and day 3 - 188/109.

The doctor already told me to start my diet 3 months ago, and I did. I've lost weight since then, but still not enough.

I am getting desperate and I think I will try Phentermine 37.5. It contains ingredients to suppress one's appetite. Care to comment on this?

Desperately seeking

Diet. I really need to diet and lose weight! My medical result is not comforting anymore. My last 3 BP were too high, as high as 191/107! And that is no good.

Doctor also said that I am anaemic, which I have known since I was a kid. And am also possibly a diabetic. I will know soon, tomorrow is my 3rd blood work for this year.

So how do you lose weight really fast? How do you find the best weight loss pills available in the market? What's your guarantee that it will work with no long term side effects? Please help.

Pac-Man celebrates 30th year!

On google homepage last week, my kids were hooked up on playing pacman! And there's an option for 2 players too. I played a few games too and it brought back childhood memories. We used to own one of this machine, inherited from a business gone bad, and I was really hooked up on it during my teen years.



Redecorating

My daughter got our old queen size bed. Her room is a little bigger than her brother and her room is likewise our guest room. She's willing to give up her room to accommodate guests. That's why we gave her our old bed.

Now, I'm thinking of buying a bigger bed frame for my son. Just need to organized his room now since he's officially a teenager already. And I need to look for mattresses that would last for years than the one he got right now. I promised him that his room will look like a teenager room before his next birthday. I still have 7 more months to plan and save up.

Barcode Scanner

When I was still working with a credit card company, I was in charge of gathering information and quotation to secure a barcode scanner that we can use for credit card applications. Each application will be coded to track which marketing source is more effective.

I had to secure samples that we can try and see which one will suit our needs. Some of the scanners that we tried were the ls2208, Datalogic quickscan, and Honeywell. To me, they are all the same! Tracking down the marketing source is the most important thing.

Body Tattoo?

click to enlarge
How do you feel about body tattoo? I personally don't like them. Besides, even though I have high tolerance for pain, I don't think I can handle the pain of this one. [Click on the picture to enlarge]

This guy just stood in front of me and my camera, so I decided to take a snapshot. It's a good thing he had his back on me.

There was also a girl with a gun tattooed on her legs. Too bad I didn't get the chance to take any snapshot of her.

Wordless and Watery Wednesday: Lake Minnewanka



| Wordless Wednesday | Outdoor Wednesday | Watery Wednesday |


This is one of our favorite place to visit. A stop over when we are on our way to Banff National Park. See other pictures from Lake Minnewanka -- click here... and a heart in the middle of the lake during winter time.

It's a perfect place to just sit in one of the benches and reminisce or even engage in a good conversation with family and friends. A perfect place to have picnic and have outdoor fun! And there's a trail for hikers too.

Domain Name

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nexx Online. All opinions are 100% mine.


My husband is obsessed with owning a number of domain names. I mean its two names but different extensions like .COM, .ORG, and even .NET. He just wanted to protect our last name and make sure that it won't be use in pornography or gambling or other illegal sites. Unfortunately he wasn't able to secure one of the names that he wanted and that really frustrates him. I think he owns about 6-7 domain names right now.

As for me, I have 3 domain names ending in .COM that I use for blogging and business. And we paid more than $10 per domain name per year.

Nexxbannernoflash


Are you planning on getting your own domain name? You might want to check this out -- you will get Unlimited Web Hosting for one year and an extra free .COM domain name for only $10! How cool is that? I paid more than that with my domain name.

Together with your $ 10, you will get unlimited email, unlimited diskspace and unlimited bandwidth! You will also be able to get a one-click wordpress or blog installations. And if you have any other questions, they have 24/7 customer support available at your service.

Promo ends June 30, 2010. So hurry and sign up for your domain name.

Visit my sponsor: Unlimited Web Hosting + Domain Name for $10 @ Nexx

Thank you St. Lorenzo Ruiz

My son is a bit of an accident prone and at the same time he seems to be losing a lot of his stuff. It is frustrating for me to help him organize his stuff and keep everything in place. But I guess boys will be boys. His room is always a mess too.

At the start of school year, I bought him a school shirt for his PE class. He lost that shirt in a month. After that, he keeps on asking me to buy him another PE shirt, but I can only do that online. And ordering online means paying for shipping and it's in US$. I ordered him 2 shirts from that and it's not cheap! He manage to lost one a few weeks later.

Then, there's the lost wallet and misplaced cellphone... click here to read about it.

And here he is asking for an ipod.

Recipe: Stuffed mushrooms


My family just love the stuffed mushrooms at Red Lobsters. And I decided to make my own version at home. My husband and son loves it very much! Now, I just discovered another appetizer that I could serve when I have friends over.

These mushrooms were stuffed with shrimp and topped with cheese, melted butter and crushed garlic.

Home time...

I am so excited! We leave for the Philippines in less than 2 weeks. I'm already thinking of all the food that I'm going to eat. My schedule is filled with lunch and dinner with family and friends. The last time we were back home [2008], I have gained a lot of unnecessary weight.

Somebody told me to check out the carb blockers. It is so much harder for me to lose weight.

He wants to have muscles

My son is growing up too fast. He is now as tall as me, with all his baby fats. While watching a movie the other day, he suddenly said "Mommy, how do I get all those muscles? I really want huge muscles to make me strong."

Jokingly, I told him that he need to lose his baby fats first and he may need to take protein powder to help him build up muscles.

And he said "Ok, I will do more exercise and try to lose weight. You don't have to pick me up from the bus stop anymore. I will start walking home everyday."

HGH

Yes, human growth hormone are out there. You just need to find the one that will truly help you and not fall into scams.

HGH is actually a hormone produced naturally in the brain and is responsible for growth, and cell production. This will slow down aging process.

But before you decide on a particular product, make sure you are fully informed! Read and read and read... and do your own research rather than relying on other people's experience.

Document Management Software

Every business, small or large, and especially corporations, has document management/records to safekeep. Records may be paper based or electronic files. Dokmee.net can help you organize, secure and manage these documents. Their software supports all file types like TIFF, JPEG, PDF, word, excel, emails and so much more. Even those who are not computer expert can easily import and export data to and from Dokmee. One can never go wrong with their software.

Sky Watch: Hoodoos





Hoodoos @ Drumheller, Alberta

Wordless and Watery Wednesday: Reflections







Banff National Park, May 15, 2010


This is my entry for Wordless Wednesday and Watery Wednesday !!!


Ontario vs. Alberta

A friend of mine from Ontario recently moved in with us to try her luck here. And in 13 days, she got a job offer in a company that is related to oil and gas. She has been looking for a job in Ontario for 2 months and only a couple called her back. Here, she had interviews almost everyday... She loves her new job but then she asks me if this is the place where I wanted to be or do I have plans to move elsewhere.

Another fellow blogger got in touch with me 'coz she and her family are moving here too. She hasn't mentioned this in her blog, so I won't reveal her identity for now.

Well, there are pros and cons to our living in Alberta.

  • We have to live on a single income while in Ontario, and it wasn't easy since hubby's pay is just enough for our monthly expenses. I tried to look for a job, any kind of job, but I just couldn't get one. There's too much competitiveness. And besides, daycare center just costs way too much.

    Here in Alberta, I easily got hired, no question on qualifications were asked and the company were quite flexible on my working hours. It was just too good to be true! And yet, it worked for me.

  • Dream come true! Hubby was able to fulfill my dreams in Alberta. We each have our own car, unlike in Ontario where we were just leasing one car. And of course, being a homeowner completes it all!

  • I started doing taxes in Ontario, for my first 2 tax season. I only get limited hours since the company doesn't want to pay overtime. And I couldn't get enough hours to qualify for EI [Unemployment insurance], and as I mentioned, I couldn't get any other job after tax season.

    Here in Alberta, since I have proven my capabilities during the first year that I worked with another tax company, I basically can work as many hours per week as I wanted. They really gave me a lot of flexibility. I get paid more because I also get commissions on top of the basic salary. These commissions paid for our trip to Manila in 2007, paid for my first Nikon D40 DLSR in 2008, and in 2009 I decided to upgrade to Nikon D90 and a trip to LA and Vegas. This year, it's another trip back to Manila.

  • On a single income, we can't even afford to eat at McDonald's or Burger King. I remember one Christmas time, I was taking the kids to see Santa at the mall so that they could have their picture taken and get some gift. On the bus, the lady in front of my son started to talk to him and ask him what he wanted for Christmas. He answered "hmmm, anything as long as it's from the dollar store." Honestly, I was do embarrassed but what can I do? I always take them to the dollar store to buy toys to keep them happy.

  • I missed the green colors in the summer in Ontario... and the combination of yellow, orange and red colors in autumn. You can see a lot of places in 1-2 hours drive, either going North, South, East or West of the city. There's always places to see and discover.

    In Alberta, you'll see brown all over most of the time... fall colors are just yellow. I don't believe I've seen any red or orange here. We are surrounded by mountains and you need to do long driving to see beautiful places!

  • School. I love the school of my kids here in Alberta than in Ontario.

  • Alberta got cheap insurance compared to Ontario... we pay less here and it's for 2 cars!

  • Even though we don't have PST [Provincial sales tax] here in Alberta, the prices of grocery items are higher than in Ontario. My grocery bills per month has doubled since we moved to Alberta.

  • Even though the cost of living in Alberta is higher than in Ontario, we are able to save more here. Dual income helps a lot! Salary based is higher here to compensate for the higher cost of living. But overall, one can save more here.

  • Employers. It is easier and cheaper for them to hire new ones than give salary increases to its employees. Everybody is dispensable. Hubby worked for 1 company in Ontario for 3 years, not a single cent of increase during those 3 years and yet his workload keeps on increasing.

    In Alberta, most companies have union to make sure that even though the economy is
    down, the employees will get salary increases once a year.

  • I missed all my friends in Ontario. But I have made new friends here too.

Pros and cons. You be the judge as to what is more important to you.

Best Buy

Finally, my hubby was lucky enough to get the best buy ever! He got me a new gadget for Mother's day. It's a gift from him and the kids. And it's what I've been wanting to buy since I got my Nikon D90. A Nikon 18-200mm VR lens!

Thank you Hubby! You spoil me too much. I love your gift. It's perfect for our upcoming trip.

AR 16

Sad to see that Jed and Cord didn't win the Amazing Race season 16! They are my favorite team!

For Brandy: if you are really as educated as you said you are, shut up! You are just embarrassing yourself... and it's time to face the truth that Caite is better than you. Don't be such a sore loser.

For Caite: we all get into stupid things... but you should be proud of what you had accomplished! A lot of it has to do with luck... but you made it!

Congratulations to Dan and Jordan! You didn't have to cut in line at the ticket counter... that move took you out of my top 3 teams... your strategy to move into the first class did the trick!

Gift Idea

Whenever I have a friend/colleague celebrating their birthday, I was always in charge of buying the birthday gift. It was hard to think of gift sometimes. But not to my two closest friend here. I got them this --

 

and they both loved it!

156 lbs!

We just went to renew our Canadian passport last Thursday, and while filling out the application form, I had to get the weight of my kids. I was shocked when I realized that my son weighs 156 lbs already! That got me in a panicky mode and I told him that he needs to start dieting ASAP! I made him read some weight loss success stories so that he will realize how important it is to stay in shape. And not to have to worry about obesity later on in his life.

Reviews

My concern for my son's increasing weight got me into reading about diet solutions. I know that he is too young to take diet pills. But I can't seem to stop him from eating non-stop. It's crazy trying to control the appetite of my growing teenager!

Anyway, for those of you who are into diet pills, you might want to read about apidexin reviews and other diet pills available in the market today.

Growing teenager

I told my son that he needs to watch what he eats so that he can get rid of stomach fat.

He has been gaining so much in the past 6 months! I had to buy him new clothes every 3 months and he even wear his dad's old clothes already. I know he is a growing teenager, but whenever he sees food, he just have to eat them. And whenever I sees him, I stopped him. But he thinks I'm starving him to death. Help! Is this normal for 13-year old?

Back to a more relaxing day

Now that my tax season is over, I am back to my normal routine, with no stress and lots of free time. May 1st, I took the kids out for lunch at their favorite Burger King... then we proceeded to play bowling and dinner at the Chinese restaurant. It was my first day off and I am not really in the mood to cook that day.

I still have my normal 2 days work at the airport, but other than that, I have 5 days off! This week has been chore day for me and getting things in order around the house.

TheEquestrianCorner.com

When I hear the word "equestrian", I think of Mikee Cojuangco. I guess she's the first person I know who loved this sport and is actually very good at it. And she got tons of photos in magazines then with her cute outfit and riding boots.

If you are into this sport, TheEquestrianCorner.com should be your one-stop shop for all your horse riding apparel and horse tack needs.

Pulse Oximeter

Here is an affordable way to check your blood-oxygen level and heart rate. It is FDA approved for medical use, it's the Choice Medical Fingertip pulse oximeter and is manufactured according to the latest ISO processes.

This tiny, yet powerful gadget will display real-time blood-oxygen level and pulse rate. It is lightweight that you can bring it with you every day and anytime.

ATV Magazine Online

While watching a movie with my son a couple of weeks back, he got interested in the idea of riding those dirt bikes as seen in the movie. He went straight to research and found this online ATV riding site. And as a protective mom, I told him that he can never ride those because it is very dangerous! And he said, "yes mom, I know. You don't want me to get hurt." :-)

Ending the tax season

The flowers came from a client of mine... and the fruit basket came from our office manager...



I am finally FREE!!! No more working long hours... and more time with the hubby and the kiddos...

Natural beauty

Clients and my colleagues can't believe that I have a 13-year old son already! They say that I don't look my age. That of course is very flattering. But a friend of mine is quite offended when she is being asked for her ID when she buys alcohol. Yes, Asian people look young for their age.

Some even accuse me of using prototype 37c or similar anit-aging cream. No, I don't use any cream on my face! I believe in natural beauty.