Day 1 (12/23/2010) of our Ilocos Adventure

We left the house at around 3 in the morning. I didn't have any sleep that time because I was busy buying things for our vacation. It took me hours to pack my things that's why I just decided to sleep in the car. I am very meticulous when it comes to preparing my things for a vacation. I should bring all the necessary things needed for the trip. So I ended up bringing a lot of things. I am the type of person who is always ready. I am a girl scout indeed. Hehe...

Before going straight to Ilocos, we stopped at Manaoag first to thank the Our Lady of Manaoag for all of the blessings that we've been receiving. My sister and I are both devotee of Manaoag so every year, we always try our best to visit Her.

 

Ilocos here we come! I felt the excitement the moment I saw this bridge because I knew we were very near to our destination which is Vigan.  

 

Finally, we arrived at Vigan. We ate lunch there with Ilocos' famous bagnet. It was sinfully yummy. LOL... We walked around the Brick Road to take pictures and look for some souvenirs. This was actually my second time to visit Vigan. After that, we headed to Pagudpud to find a place to stay in for at least 3 days.

When we arrived at Pagudpud it was raining. It took us long hours to find a place. Luckily, we found Hannah's Beach Resort. According to them they were already fully booked but they allowed us to stay until the next day at 12 noon. The room we got was already reserved. We ate our dinner there at around 8 in the evening. We were so tired from the travel so we slept very early.

Spending Christmas Away from Home

     This is my first time to celebrate Christmas in Ilocos with the family. We had a very simple celebration but it was fun. I love swimming on the beach and observing the beautiful sceneries in Pagudpud. The beaches are very clean and now I saw what they call the Boracay of the North. We stayed in Ilocos for 3 days and I think it's still not enough for us. How I wished we stayed there longer. 

     We ate fresh fish that we just bought from the fishermen in Saud. We just grilled the fish and it was really delicious! This is my first time to eat a very fresh fish. Eating fresh fish has never been this good for me. 

    We were able to visit other places in Ilocos aside from Pagudpud like the Windmills in Bangui, Cape Bojeador and Kapurpurawan. 

    The vacation was really worth it eventhough it took us more or less 10 hours travelling. We only used a Toyota Avanza and there were 8 passengers (6 adults, 2 children). If you could only imagine how we looked inside that car. We were like sardines. LOL... Well, we planned on renting a car but the owner charged us for P4,000/day ($94/day) and the gasoline is not yet included. That's very pricey!

     It was really sulit. I hope I could come back to Ilocos again. 

Namamasko Po!

My sister invited me to attend her husband's Christmas Party in the office last December 21. Though I'm not that familiar with most of the people there, I still enjoyed their party. I enjoyed the food, their parlor games for the kids and employees and of course meeting new people. Afterwards, we went to Mall of Asia to watch Narnia and enjoy the night there.

Pink Cones for our Christmas Tree

 

Remember the acorns I picked from the beach before? I thought it would be good to turn them as decorations for our Christmas tree. And I loved how it turned out. I painted the acorns with pink since this is my favorite color and I thought it would be good to put a contrasting color for our Christmas tree.

The cones are too small for our Christmas tree so I just glued three acorns in a set. I just used a  pink poster paint and a small brush so I can brush the tiny holes and corners of the cones. I also used a pink glitter glue so it will give the pink cones a sparkling effect. I just used paper clips because it's easier to attach compared to a thread.

From brown to pink!

I just inserted the paper clips on the center of the three cones I've glued. This is very easy to hang on the Christmas tree that's why I preferred the paper clips more than the thread. Another reason is that it's harder to tie the thread on the cones and it would take a lot of time compared to the paper clips.

 

Tadaaaan! Here's the final output of my pink cones project. I hope you liked it as much as i did. =)

Christmas Shopping at Divisoria

I've been very busy last week because almost everyday me and my sister go out to do some errands. It was really a great treat for ourselves to go shopping to Divisoria last Saturday. It's like a treat for ourselves after being so tired the whole week. These are the things I bough from Divisoria:I didn't include on this picture the stuffs I bought for our house.

I bought a leash for our dogs. I found a black collar for Azimo but
unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a red collar for Butchie.

This shorts is actually a buy 1 take 1 but we bought 3 pcs.
since we'll be using this for our out of town.
1 for me, 1 for my sister and 1 for our sister in law.
We might be spending our Christmas at Pangasinan.
A pair of yellow flipflops that I'm also going to use for our swimming vacation.
Found these two blouses at a very cheap price.

Shoe organizer. This would be very useful for my shoes inside my room since
I don't have much space on my old shoe organizer anymore.

We also bought some stuff for our house like hangers, stuff for the bathroom, rugs, mugs as a giveaway, etc. We were all very tired that day and Divisoria was very crowded since most people are doing their shopping for Christmas. I still wanted to buy more but I guess I'll just come back after Christmas season.

Shopping for Christmas

My sister and I just went shopping. When it comes to jewelries, my sister is really addicted and I get speechless about it. Honestly, I think I'm also getting addicted to it. I'm very thankful that I didn't buy one 'coz I'm really on a tight budget. But my sister did buy one 'coz there were jewelries that were on sale so she grabbed that chance since it's Christmas season and she told me that it would be her gift to herself. The sales lady told us that the price of gold is getting higher nowadays in our country so it's really a good investment to buy jewelries because in the future, it will cost higher than its present price. But what about those people who are not fond of buying or collecting jewelries? I suggest that you just buy gold coins instead of jewelries. They have the same advantages. Gold coins could also be used as an investment and you could use them in the future just in case you will be needing money or anything. While they're cheap, try to get them so in the future, you'll benefit from your gold coins.

Akihiro Sato: Wins The First Survivor Philippines Celebrity Edition

I really wanted Aki to win the title and my prayer was answered. I'm so happy for him. He deserves it. I was very nervous while Richard Guttierez was reading the votes. It was really a tight competition and I know that everybody deserves to win. Congratulations to you Akihiro Sato!

Photo Credits: Kapuso Online

What's For Merienda?

I'm just wondering what's on the seller's mind on why he/she wrote the menu this way. Anyway, I miss these foods. I used to eat them during my college days. My course is very demanding when it comes to time that's why those foods on the list is perfect for students who are always on the go. By the way, I got the picture from Facebook. It brings back memories. How I wish I could go back to Morayta and eat street foods again.

Fuji Finepix JV 100

My sister gave me this brand new digital camera as her 'pasalubong' for me. She bought it from Dubai during her stop over. This is a good buy for those who are in a tight budget. It is very cheap. It only costs more or less $100. That is really worth the price. I'm going to use this camera for my blogging so in the next few days, you'll be able to see some sample shots. I really loved the camera. The features are great and I'm very satisfied with it. Too bad it wasn't pink. At least I was able to save my money because I'm about to buy my own digicam this Christmas season. =)

Here's the features of Fuji Finepix JV 100:

Style: Ultra Compact
Megapixels: 12

Zoom: 3x

LCD Screen: 2.7

MemoryCards: SD / SDHC

Resolution: 4:3 16:9 3:2

File Formats: JPEG

Focal Length Equivalent: 37 - 111mm

Shutter Speed: 8 - 1/2000 seconds

Aperture: F3.2 (Wide) 5.9 (Telephoto)

Sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, (3200 at 3 megapixels)

White Balance Settings: Auto, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light

ExposureCompensation: -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)

Viewfinder: No

Flash Modes: Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro

Flash Range: 3.5m

Shooting Modes: Portrait, Baby, Smile, Landscape, Panorama, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, Party, Flower, Text

Maximum Movie Resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels

Maximum Movie Frames Per Second: 30 fps

Maximum Movie Duration: Not Supplied

Macro Focus: 10cms

Metering: Unknown

ManualControls: None

Image Stabilisation: No

Lens Converters: No

Self Timer: 10 seconds or 2 seconds

Video Out (TV Playback): Yes

Computer Connection: Yes

Batteries:Lithium-ion Rechargeable

Dimensions: 93 x 55 x 20.6mm

Weight: 123g

Happy 31st Birthday to My Sister

Just got home 'coz we just celebrated my sister's 31st birthday in their house. We had so much fun and bonding with our cousins and her husband's relatives. We watched my sister's wedding video while we were eating. We were laughing and reminiscing about the wedding day. My sis must have been very tired because she just arrived from Ivory Coast just today. But I know she enjoyed a lot on her special day. I couldn't resist eating the lechon skin so tomorrow, I have to detoxify for eating a lot of fatty foods.

Who Will be the First Celebrity Sole Survivor?

Who's your bet? Who do you want to win the First Celebrity Sole Survivor title? Me? I'm hoping for Aki or Solenn to win. Well, we have our own views and perspectives on how the Top 4 castaways played in order to reach that far. Who will be voted by the juries to win? Can't really wait for the result.

Expensive Jewelries

I remember the time when my sister and mom were choosing which gold jewelries they're going to buy for the wedding. I envy them because I can't buy my own since I can't still afford and they don't have the budget for me. How I wish I could also get a set for me. How I wish I could wear expensive jewelries for such occasions. So I promised myself that when I saved enough money, I will buy gold so I can choose whatever jewelry design I want. Nowadays, it's quite hard to find unique designs so I think it's a great idea to create my own design.

I'm Gonna Be Rich!

I'm gonna be rich! I will be a successful woman someday. I will have my own business. I will buy all the things that I can't afford to buy right now. I'm gonna work really hard in order to achieve my goal. I will have my own business. It’s really my biggest dream to have my own business. And if I ever succeed with my dreams, I’m going to protect my wealth by investing. I will buy a farm, cars, houses, etc. I will also buy gold bullion. I know I will need it for the future. We’ll never know what’s going to happen in the future. So it’s better to be ready. I am really hoping that my dreams will come into reality someday (fingers crossed).

My New EON Card

Just got my new eon card today. Woohoo! I can now withdraw my earnings!!!

But sad to say, I am bit disappointed with the teller's service. My Union Bank account is located at Ever Gotesco branch. The tellers keep on chit chatting while they keep their customers waiting. On my case, I thought there would still be some papers to sign that's why the teller is not telling me anything but she just keeps on talking to her co-worker and she keeps on doing some papers so I thought those were mine. When I gave her a look that's the only time she told me that my card is already okay and I can already leave.

I asked the teller regarding the 4-digit on how many days before I can get it. She said she doesn't know anything about it. How stupid! When I first had my EON card, the former teller knows when will I get the 4-digit numbers. She even gave me instructions about so how come that this teller I had encountered with today doesn't know anything about it?

So I just decided to call their hot line and maybe address this matter to them.

Turning an Old Clothing into a New and Fashionable One

When I was in college, I used to think about turning my old and ugly clothes into new and fashionable ones so I can save a lot and later on try my luck on selling them. But due to my busy schedule, this idea of mine never came into reality.

That's why I was really amazed with this girl who turned an old clothing into a new one. And take note she only spends $1 on each dress she makes. She's a very artistic and creative woman. She's trying to create 365 new clothing in 365 days with only $365. It sounds really cool.

Here are some of her creations:

Try to visit here site: New Dress a Day, I'm sure you'll gonna enjoy it too like I do.

Congratulations, Manny Pacquiao!

I am really amazed with this man. I was filled with excitement and thrill while watching his fight with Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao is really full of energy and power. You can see it on how he smashed Margarito's face.

Congratulations to you.

I just hate that person on his background (on his left side). Hahaha!!!

Maids: Pain in the Ass

Nowadays, it isn't easy to find the right maid for our house or kids. I've noticed that most maids are very abusive, liars, hard-headed, and other negative attitudes that we may hardly think that they could be. I am not looking for a perfect maid but I am looking for someone who is sincere with her work and knows how to respect her employers. I don't really get it why most of them have to be like those attitudes that I've mentioned above. If they don't want that kind of work then don't! They're just giving their employers headache.

If you are nice and kind to them, they would abuse it and later on they would just do want they want to do. They would even manipulate us. Ask for a day off aside from Sunday and go back not on the agreed date and time. But they are expecting to get their whole monthly salary which I find if unfair. If you scold at them because they broke or did something, they would say that they have a bad employer and would curse you or worse say bad words to you. They are fond of saying "hindi ko alam" (I don't know) when they are asked something especially when they did something wrong inside house. They are good liars.

They don't do their tasks in the house properly but they would give you dramas like we are very poor and so on, I am raising my (many) kids, my mother/father is sick, and other excuses just to get their salary in advance. But the quality of their work, it's very bad!

I am not saying that all of the maids have this type of character but most of we get are. I am very sick and tired of their stupid attitude. So, I think I have to practice myself living without a maid. I have to cook our meal, clean the house, do the laundry and chores. I think it's better that way than to pay someone who is not doing a good job and will just waste everything in the house (like dishwashing liquid, detergent, etc.).

I think I can save a lot living without a maid. Besides, there will be a peace of mind and our things is guaranteed safe inside the house. So I think we should all try our best not to depend on them so in the future, we won't be needing them and that's the consequence of their bad attitude because I think they are taking it for advantage that most household are in need of a maid/house helper.

My Own Version of Potato Salad

I went to Banchetto in Ortigas with my friends last time to check the place out. Actually, there were many people in that area because they said that most people eating there are call center agents. The crowd was thick that time and while we were looking for food to eat, we had to walk very slow. It was around 12 midnight when we went there. While we were choosing what to eat, I saw a potato salad and it caught my attention. I ordered it and it only costs 60 pesos (about $1.50). It was delicious and my friend liked it, too. So, I decided to make my own version of it.

Here are the ingredients:

1. Small potatoes about 1 kilo.

2. Miracle Whip
3. Mayonnaise
4. Mustard (optional)
5. Parsley for garnishing

What I did is that I washed the potatoes very well. I also brushed it because I included its peel. I just boiled the potatoes until they're soft.

I cut them into halves. Put them into a bowl and do the mixing. I just put about 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbs. miracle whip, and salt and pepper to taste. I chopped some parsley for garnish and voila! It's really. I think it's more delicious while it's hot.

I love to prepare delicious and simple dishes. This is my first time to post about cooking on my blog and I hope you liked it. I'm trying to learn how to cook some of my favorite dishes so I can prepare it myself.

Investment is a Necessity

Nowadays, more and people are losing their job and some companies are closing down due to world crisis. I can't believe that this is really happening all over the world. So we should save and invest with our money while we have our work because we'll never know if it will be affected by the crisis in the future. That's why I'm planning to buy gold coins as my investment. I know some of you might think that it's weird but I think buying gold coins has a good advantage. In the future, it's value will increase and who knows that the price I paid for will be doubled.

Bye Bye Eon Card

Today, I have surrendered my old Unionbank Eon Card. My debit card has already expired so I had it renewed in order to withdraw my earnings from my Paypal. I was a little surprised because I was expecting it to be claimed within 3 days but unfortunately, I have to wait for a week. So it's means, I'm not gonna be able to get my salary for almost 3 weeks (I haven't withdrawn my earnings last week). Hayz, patience is virtue.

Lee Da Hae Insulted the Filipino Teachers???

Lee Da Hae is one of my favorite Korean actress. I find her pretty and cute. I love her character in "My Girl" and I felt happy to see her in "East of Eden" because I'll get to see my favorite actress again. I really appreciate her beauty 'coz she looks so adorable and charming. But the way I look to her changed when I watched this video.

I am not really sure if she's really pertaining to the Filipino teachers as what the translation indicated on the video but I'm sure that it's the Filipinos. I know that sometimes we do make fun of the accent of other nationalities and sometimes we even make fun of our own accent. I have to admit that because I also do the same thing.

Even if I try to ignore this video, it still hurts me because I used to be an English teacher for Korean students. I never posted on my blog or other social networking sites about how they talk in English. I only posted good things about my students. I know that it's okay to make fun of other accents for sometime but it would be better if she just did it privately. Ms. Lee Da Hae you are a public figure and everything you do and say would reflect on your character.

Though she posted an apology on her twitter account: cherry4eva84, I just can't still get over it. You said in your apology that you are not aware that it's the Filipinos that they are pertaining to and it's the Southeast Asia. I don't think that you are not aware of it. I can't understand Hangul but the male host clearly mentioned the word "Philippine."

This degrades the Filipino English teachers when in fact we all know that your fellow Koreans learn English from Filipinos.

My First Eye Brush Make Up Set

I just bought this eye eye brush set from eBay.ph because it's very cheap and affordable compared to the branded ones. I only bought it for 550 pesos (about $12) so I made my bid right away after reading its product description and other details.

This is my first eye brush set and I'm very excited to buy more make up and accessories. I really love putting on my make up. I feel confident and sexy when I have it on my face. It's actually one of my hobbies, when I feel bored and just wanted to rest inside my room, I play with my make up. I try to experiment on different shades of eyeshadows then take a picture of me to see if it looks good on me.

What I also liked with this brand is that it is earth friendly. The handle is made of bamboo and I can smell it everytime I use the brushes. I love the smell of nature.

I am really starting to collect make up. For me, it's my investment. LOL... So feel free to comment on my blog for any tips and suggestions on what are the good make up brands or anything about make up.

Gold as an Investment

My mom loves to buy jewelries and she loves to wear the expensive ones. I guess she wants to make it as her investment because someday those precious jewelries will have an undeniable value.

So I suggested that she might as well try to purchase silver, gold or other kind of metals and coins since she can put it in storage if ever she’s afraid that it might get robbed. There are a lot of banks or depository to keep your treasured investments into.

If you want to design your own jewelry, you can also buy it in bullion. Owning gold or silver is really a preservation of wealth and this has been practiced since the ancient times that sometimes it’s a status symbol.

I think this is the best time to buy silver or gold since there is a big demand for silver and more people are fascinated with it that’s why the annual production exceeds every year.

Women love accessories such as jewelries made of gold or silver. You can also get benefits from it as an investment so when you buy silver ingots or gold, it would be worth your money.

Freebie from Smartbro

I went to Smart Center today to pay my Smartbro bill. The cashier advised me to renew my subscription since it was more than 2 years already. The reason for the renewal is that they're giving freebies to Smartbro subscribers when they reach their 2 years contract. That means I will get another freebie by 2012.

I chose portable hard drive because it will be useful for my work. I'll be able to back up my files from my desktop just in case it will need a reboot. I can also use it if I'm going to work on my laptop.

A Day Off From Virtual World

I took a day off yesterday to get rid of my busy schedule with work and review. I went to Subic yesterday with a friend to enjoy the heat of the sun. While on my way to Subic, I was enjoying the beauty of the sky and clouds. Everytime I see these clouds, I imagine cotton candies. LOL

I went to the beach but unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures since I can't leave my valuable things on the cottage. The water was so clean that I saw many fishes swimming with me. Good thing I brought my goggles.

Before leaving the beach, I decided to pick up some sort of acorns (It's not really acorns but they look almost like acorns). Yes! I saw small acorns on the sand. They're so cute that I can't help but get some of them. I'm thinking of using them as a decoration for Christmas.
Before going home, we decided to go to Clark to eat dinner on our favorite Mexican resto - Zapata's. They have the best margarita. I love drinking their frozen margarita. It's my favorite margarita. Of course, I love their Burritos and Quesadillas with salsa and jalapeños on the side. You'll gonna enjoy eating at Zapata's. They have the best authentic Mexican food.

Taking a vacation on my busy schedule is really a good escape from stress in a little while. It relaxes my mind and body. I hope I could go back to the beach to relax and chase fishes again.

Congratulations to FEU Cheering Squad 2010

I would like to congratulate FEU Cheering Squad for winning the First Runner-up in the Cheer Dance Competition. They had a wonderful and great routine. They are very flexible. I love their costume. It's cute and very oriental.

Congratulations to the Champion - UP! And of course, UST on the 2nd Runner-up position.

The Cricket Blog

You know sometimes I get bored with my work and get stressed with it. It's really hard working with different clients and you are pressured with time. They have a lot of expectations from you. That's why I always get stressed with it.

In order to escape my stressful online job in a while, I do internet browsing with different types of sports. I usually do blog hopping and I came across with this new blog, thecricket blog. Since its launch just last January 2010, this blog has always new posts.

I am a sports lover and once I get impressed with a sports blog, I will surely keep on visiting it. The cricket blog will keep me updated about this sport and I hope this blog will also be a big help for you.

Maybe It's Not Yet My Time

My cousin wanted to help me apply for a Nurse Position in Ireland but unfortunately, when I was updating my CV, I realized that I only had a 6 month experience as a volunteer nurse and I only attended to few trainings and seminars. I was really disappointed with myself when I realized this matter.

Being a nurse is really difficult here in the Philippines. I've been submitting applications to different hospitals, clinics and companies but until now, I get no call from them. I've been hoping and praying to be hired from any hospital may be government or private. I don't care about the salary at all. If you're really desperate you will really work even in the most inconvenient workplace just to obtain a nursing experience and to be a competent nurse.

But there are regrets on my part. I shoud've just applied as a volunteer again or trainee. Maybe now, I can present more than 6 months of my work experience on my resume. Or I should've attended to different seminars and trainings while waiting for work. At least somehow, I can prove that I am somehow competent.

Looking at the brighter side, maybe it's not yet my time to go abroad. I should enjoy my years here in the Philippines because when it's my time, I know I will shine.=)

Butchie Loves the Water

He really loves to take a bath.

What I've Learned

I really love this video. As a nurse, I can relate to what the narrator says. Being a nurse is more than just a profession.

Happy Birthday to me... Much love!!!

What's Next?

My Comprehensive Review and Final Coaching is already finished. Though I'm quite scared to take the NCLEX exam, I still must. The longer it will take, the harder for me to recall the things I have reviewed and studied. What makes me scared is the pressure. That I should take the exam only once.

Firstly, NCLEX is expensive and if I fail the exam, I have to spend again for my retake exam. Secondly, the BON of California has just released a new rule (I don't know how to call it) that they would not allow applicants who don't have SS No. and I'm lucky enough that i have already got my eligibility, but if I fail that means I can not apply to California anymore; but at least there are a lot of States left. Thirdly, the pressure from my family especially when they have big expectations from me.

It really makes me scared. But if I don't give it a try, how will I know if I pass and how will I move to the next step of my career? Getting a USRN license is really a pretty tough thing to do.

My Latest Typing Record

68 words
Typing Test

DIY Closet

Papa built this closet for me. I love it because it is customized and sturdier than the ones you buy in the mall. Supposedly, its color is pink but I preferred yellow so it could suit my room's color.

I Want a Pink Beetle!

PENDONG, KALAS! I know some of you are familiar with these words. When I was in grade school, everytime we see an old beetle my friends and I would make fun of saying those words sabay 'batok' with each other...LOL)

But if you would ask me if I want to have my own hobby car, I would definitely choose an old school beetle. Wanna know why? I was really attracted with it's body, it's very cute and it never ran out of trend. Beetles are certified stunner, if you drive one around, people would really look at your car especially if it's modified.

I also find it 'astig' if it's driven by a lady. If I have my own beetle, I will really PIMP it and paint it pink. I guess it will not be just a hobby car for me, it will be a daily car as well... Hehehe....

I So Lurve Hwarang Al Cheon!

I love watching Queen Seon Deok. The story is really great. I'm sure all of Queen Seon Deok's fan have noticed how handsome the Hwarangs are. The first Hwarang who stiked my attention is Hwarang Al Cheon. I find him cute. I like his very "chinito" eyes.

That fierce look...
Cute Smile...
He's really a beautiful man...
Lurv him in this outfit...
He's so handsome in this picture...

Happy Valentines' Day!

My New Shoes

I wasn't really expecting that I was going to buy a new pair of shoes. But I did! And I really love these two new pairs.

White sandals with a gold metal on the front. I just love to wear flats whenever I'm on the go. I love to match it with shorts.

I love stilettos! I am only 5' that's why I need more inches. LOL... I love its color which is tan. I also love its garter so it won't slip on my feet. When I tried to fit it, I really felt comfortable wearing it. I only bought it for P 699.00 (about $ 15.00).