off to dreamland

It is 8PM. The bed is so enticing and the temperature is just right. In between bloghops, my eyes are shutting down and my mind wandering to dreamland. I guess, I am tired. It has been a week of gruelling work - evals, skep, plus I had to coach someone out. Ouch.

I am so looking forward to the weekend. And I shall start by shutting down my laptop and hitting the sack.

Happy weekend gels and boys! Catch you on your respective sites in the morning.

Cheerio

wristed for life

I am very much into men's watches nowadays. I am just so obsessed by them that twice in a week, I borrow Arthuz's KC dress watch to match my everyday get up at work. I only get to wear my own watches during fridays and on weekends. Lately, I have been drooling over Ernst Benz watches. Hollywood celebs like Selma Blair and Keyshia Cole are fans and have strapped these watches onto their wrists.

What more? They have partnered with iconic chef and restaurateur Mario Batali to create a limited edition series of timepieces to benefit Food Bank For New York City. The Ernst Benz Mario Batali Limited Edition series is an enhanced version of the original design, featuring accents in Batali’s standout signature orange color.

Its functional and timeless. Inspired by the aviator watches of the '40s. Super cool designs to choose from. How I wish I have $3000 on hand so I can purchase one. Drool. Drool. Drool.

my weekend companion

Look what I got to keep me company over the weekend???

They say it's a book full of amazing tips and great info.. in a very funny way!! Haven't read it though but the pink, girly cover and the swirly writing made me head straight to my suki cashier in NBS-Cybermall. I can get a little impulsive when it comes to books and magazines. And this is a proof.

I'll tell you all about the book when I finish it. Let's see if this is really a modern woman's bible...

craving for fishballs

What's up with you?

Why can't I last a day without you?

Vinegar with chopped onions and garlics. peppers and salt.

Matched with iced cold coke.

Muy Delicioso.

I have been eating fishballs for the last few months (not everyday though!). But I noticed that the craving gets stronger each day. No, Im not pregnant. I just love eating fishballs lately. I hoarded bags and bags when we had our groceries last week. Arthuz said I have to finish them all before they start to expire so I'd ask the maids to prepare half a kilo each time. Oh my gulay. Di kaya ma food poisoning na ako nito? Help me stop my obsession on fishballs!!!

leap high!

2008 is a leap year, which means that it has 366 days instead of the usual 365 days that an ordinary year has. An extra day is added in a leap year—February 29—which is called an intercalary day or a leap day.

Leap year explained.

The Gregorian calendar, which now serves as the standard calendar for civil use throughout the world, has both common years and leap years. A common year has 365 days and a leap year 366 days, with the extra, or intercalary, day designated as February 29. A leap year occurs every four years to help synchronize the calendar year with the solar year, or the length of time it takes the earth to complete its orbit about the sun, which is about 365¼ days.

The length of the solar year, however, is slightly less than 365¼ days—by about 11 minutes. To compensate for this discrepancy, the leap year is omitted three times every four hundred years.

In other words, a century year cannot be a leap year unless it is divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years.

credits: www.infoplease.com

plain jane

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofcoffeegirlareyouquiz/">What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

screwed!

Was talking to one of my favorite kachika in the office just a few minutes ago. Talked about love. life and relationships. Want to know your stand on this:

What's worse?

A. Feeling like you screwed someone over
B. Feeling like you've been screwed over

the power of color

Your Power Color Is Magenta

At Your Highest: You energize yourself and push others to suceed. At Your Lowest: You feel frustrated and totally overwhelmed. In Love: You are suprised by who you attract. You're a love magnet. How You're Attractive: Open and free spirited, people want to explore the world with you. Your Eternal Question: "What is my next source of inspiration?"

What's" Your Power Color?

pass it on...

Thanks Peachy!

Here are the Rules:
* First copy and paste it.
* Do not remove any content.
* Just add One word related to your blogs.
* If you don’t like the concept Pls! say no?
* Our main goal is we are going to circulate our number of friends.
* The more people join the “pass it to the front” the more links we generate.
* Lastly write only one word “short” for your blogs…
* Keep it simple and short,i know some of you have more than one blogs.
* the color is only black,gray, or white plssss avoid usi~ life is peachy ~ › Create New Post — WordPressng any color okies.

Let me show you:1.-Filipina,2.-Darling allen,3.-Abroad,4.-Halfway,5.-life 6.- culture 7.-interracial 8.-pinaystories/ 9./pinaysinglelooking-10./health-11./my life-12/Nicotine 13/WifeyDiaries 14/ Shopaholic 15/Threenitea 16/RandomThoughts 17/Colorful 18/Bloggerhappy 19/MyScrappySide 20/My Life is Peachy 21/ Me and my two boys22/changinglanes

Sharing this with jan, val, thea and sujee! Pass it on gels!!! =)

under my umbrella

I find it so wierd that it's starting to rain now that we're nearing the summer season. This is the fourth afternoon that it rained and it pisses me off since I always forget my umbrella and because of the new baby *wink*, Arthuz can't pick me up at work. So, I end up getting soaked in the rain most of the time.

This afternoon, my good friend Anton gifted me with a very pretty umbrella. The design is so chica I've never seen one before. It's black on the outside and the handpainted design is on the inside. It's made out of thick material that you are sure of its sturdiness even after years of usage. Thanks Anton! I will always remember you when it rains.

Now, I can't wait to go home and show it to the little girl. She has a thing with Rianna's Umbrella lately. I remember last night before going up to her room, she grabbed the broom and placed it on her shoulder pretending that it was an umbrella, then she sang "ella, ella.. umbrella" with her eyes closed and her body swaying to the beat. Just as girls her age are singing nursery rhymes and ABCs, she is busy with her umbrella..

When the sun shines

We’ll shine together

Told you I'll be here forever

Said I'll always be your friend

Took an oath

I'mma stick it out 'till the end

Now that it's raining more than ever

Know that we still have each other

You can stand under my Umbrella

You can stand under my Umbrella

(Ella ella eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(ella ella eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(ella ella eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

a big hug

I got a big hug from my friend, jan. What a way to end a loooong, stressful day...

Now, let me hug babs aka em, abie, thea, peachy, jody, jane, val and mel.

himala

Tonight, I decide to sleep a little early. Have been missing out on sleep lately that I am starting to feel sick. Can't afford to be one right now. Got too many things to do. Another set of training next week. Appraisal time. Need to finish 12 evals. Endorsements before moving on to another role. Work is killing me. But I love it that way.

Lizzie is bugging me to close the laptop and the lights. Just for once, Ill give in.

Night, friends. Cheerio.

quirkiness!

6 Quirky things about me

Thanks Anna for the tag! Appreciate it.. Got me rediscover a lot about myself.

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog.Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Unimportant things/habits/quirks about my self.

1. i can't take a shower without having my water heated, even in the scorching heat of summer!
2. i can eat a bowl of fishballs every freakin' day
3. i am a certified OC!
4. i can watch the same movie and read the same book over and over again.
5. i don't throw away plastic bags and paper bags from shopping. i have a mountainpile of them
6. whenever i buy something (like a magazine, newspaper, book) or get a testpaper, i get the second one. duuno why.

tagging you: babs aka em, abie, alpha, peachy, jan, jane, jody, thea, mel and val

i feel...

Thanks for the tag, babs! I think I'm running out of stories here.. =)

1. Today I feel very— tired. All I want to do is to relax and have my nails done so I'm out of here...

2. I enjoy — blogging (!!!), reading, watching, bumming at the beach, writing, now cooking, and obviously, sleeping =)

3. I am unhappy when — I am unable to deliver.

4. I feel good when — I am able to help someone.

5. I wish my boss — will change her mind. Period.

6. My officemates think — I am super taray and mega tapang they wouldn't want to be near me but when they get to know who I really am, they would say I am the funniest!

7. My work area is —piled up with stuff I need to finish by friday.

8. I enjoy reading about — everything. lives. stories. zafra's works. gaiman's works. kajologan. everything.

9. I like myself best when — I am at home with my family.

10. If I had a choice I would — want to study again. maybe take up law (my ultimate dream was to be a lawyer) or my masters perhaps

11. I wish — good health, good life and good future for lizzie and santino.

12. Tomorrow I would like to — finish all unaccomplished tasks..

SNAG AWAY IF YOU FEEL LIKE ANSWERING THIS SURVEY =) Cheerio!

tagged by a FAB friend

Amen to your intro, babs. Just like you, I don't just bloghop. I blogread, blogobserve, blogfeel and blogcomment. LOL! I make sure that even in writing I can relate to all of my cyberfriends' lives. It's nice to discover new things about each other through blogs right?

So, I am tagging my suki-friends: jan, abie, jane, thea, val, alpha and mel. You are all fab!

of best friends and dora

Lizzie before dozing off tonight (again, in cute broken sentences):

Lord, thank you for the food.
Thank you for the nuggets.
Thank you for yakult.

Gambes (that's God bless) mama
Gambes dada
Gambes ate mylyn (that's manilyn, the yaya)
Gambes ata jazel (yaya #2)
Gambes bobsy (the dog)
And gambes my bestfriend, Dora.

Memen. (Amen.)

Got me laughing so hard, I just had to blog it.

My daughter is really something else. Goodnight. Cheerio.

hotel reservation made easy

Having worked in hotel reservations for almost 3 years of my life, I know how taxing it is for one to call hotels, resorts or book flights especially during peak periods. I am now out of that industry and have no idea how they go about it now. Until I was tasked to check out sites where we could reserve online for the family’s summer get away. I chanced upon this super complete website that is, in my opinion, an answered prayer for working moms who are always on the go and who barely has time to wait on the queue in reservations. The site is designed to help you in searching for the perfect destinations that is suited to your budget. The hotel discounts are amazing and they have a list of vacation packages to choose from. What is also good about it is before you even starting looking inside; there is an option for you to choose which country you are coming from and the language of your choice. Hotels, motels, and even resorts are all but a click away. You choose your preferred flights from the one of the tabs on the site. Car rentals are also available for those who are not adventurous enough. The rates are very competitive that you would not have second thoughts of booking your flights, reserving your hotel, getting car rental and availing of their vacation packages at this site. What’s best is you save up to 70% off if you book online with them. This is indeed every working mom’s answered prayer. Personally for me, it will save half of my day just calling up different hotels, airlines and what have yous. Good thing I was able to locate this website. Because of this, I am one happy working mom! Now, let me go back to work…

a piece of heaven in los angeles

How would you want to have your tummy tuck and breast augmentation done in posh Los Angeles? This is something I am scared of trying but is seriously considering if I get the chance to visit my folks in California next year. You see I am not really blessed great, large breasts and ever since I gave birth to Lizzie, my tummy has not gone back to normal. I have lost weight big time but my tummy won't cooperate. And the answer to my dilemma is a los angeles tummy tuck. It would definitely be a once in a lifetime experience for me as I was told that the offices are beautifully designed for comfort and convenience, the staff are trained not only to meet the individual needs of the clients but to exceed them as well, and it is run by fully trained plastic surgeon who was educated in prestigious universities like UCLA and University of Chicago.

I plan to have my tummy tuck first before any other procedure. I believe I need it more than anything else and I have been prodding my husband to save a little for my procedure. He must have liked the idea because as early as now, he has been putting some money in the bank for this. The exciting part here is the procedures that they are offering have been highlighted in news, whether local or international. I am excited about the whole thing and at the same time confident that my tummy tuck will turn out well because unlike other plastic surgery clinics, Rodeo Drive delivers the best procedure and at the same time puts clients’ needs and desires first. You go through the whole process together so you will always be kept in the loop of what is happening.

While there, I might as well inquire about breast augmentation in los angeles. This is not a must for me but because of the kind of service that they offer, I will strongly consider in getting one as well. I am happy that this southern california plastic surgery has been born. It is indeed a pleasant innovation especially to us working mothers who always want to look good all the time

Rated F

The Rate My Life Self-Help Quiz will ask you a number of questions and then compute your life rating. In addition, it will break down your score on the following categories: Mind, Body, Spirit, Love, Friends/Family, and Financial. Finally, it will analyze your scores.

Please note that this quiz is intended for entertainment purposes only.Will your bars be shades of orange, or blue? Take the quiz and find out.Please answer all the questions. You may skip some of the questions if you want, but the quiz will function better if all questions are answered. The first two are mandatory.

Privacy Statement: The answers you fill out are not saved on our server, other than in aggregate form for a select few questions (eg. "23% of quiz-takers are married"). We do not retain any user-specific data whatsoever from this quiz, nor do we share your answers with anyone. In other words, your privacy and anonymity are guaranteed. See the Privacy Policy for more information. You can view some statistical analysis on the life score results from this quiz.

Now, let's see:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.5
Mind:	7
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	8.8
Friends/Family:	7.4
Love:	9.1
Finance:	7.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I want to tag jane, abie, val, babs, jan, jody, alpha, peachy, nyree, gracie and elapot.

yamingalore!

How I wish I were as yaming as her. Lol!

photos snagged from chuva's site.

my reason for breathing

I'm gonna watch you shine

Gonna watch you grow

Gonna paint a sign

So you'll always know

As long as one and one is two

There could never be a father

Who loved his daughter more than I love you

[excerpts from paul simon's FATHER and DAUGHTER]

Who ever said that life isn't beautiful must be lying.

Life is beautiful. Life is grand. Life is magical. It definitely is.

let's play online backgammon!

Ever since I learned playing online backgammon at my in laws house a few Sundays ago, I can’t seem to stop talking about I even in the office. Some colleagues have tried to play backgammon after work and everyone seems to be having the grandest times in their lives. There are various games the site is offering, with six languages available and what more; they even have live tournaments every day! This online backgammon craze is surely here to stay.

to dell or not to dell

I am helping my dad get a new laptop for himself. We were very busy chatting last night about possible options that he can consider. He is leaning towards a DELL but of course, I am talking him out of it. I have never been a DELL fan. I have worked with the company for 3 years and I know what kind of desktops and notebooks they sell.

Dad wants a DELL:
DELL Inspiron 1520

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 (1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Home
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 250GB4 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months3
1Yr In-Home Service,5 Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support
PRICE: about $999

Farah is recommending an HP:
HP Pavilion dv2700t Special Edition series

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5450 (1.67 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
14.1" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
HP Imprint Finish (Verve) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Verizon Wireless V740 ExpressCard (Service Activation Required)
120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
FREE Upgrade to LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support!!
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 15 Month Subscription
Computrace LoJack for Laptops, One Year
Roxio Backup MyPC(TM)
System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
PRICE: about $1299

If he was shopping for me (dream on, farah!), I'd go for this, hands down. LOL!

I need to email him my recommendation by midnight or else, daddy will surely get the Dell notebook that he wants. Sayang lang my effort. Hehe!

the odds are always great

I am not really into online poker games but my husband and some of our friends are. Just two days ago, I heard them talking over the phone about a different texas holdem strategy that they have learned while on the site. My husband, being the smart guy that he is, has spent sleepless nights in researching and is now equipped with enough texas holdem tips. He gets so excited going online to grab more online poker tips to up his poker skills several notches higher.

angels in the city

Finally, the much awaited Oscars is over. And though I was only able to see snippets of the program (I was at work and the only TV that we have was located in the pantry!), I was glad to witness the announcement of the category which matters most to me, Best Actress in a Lead Role. Marion Cotillard was an angel in her immaculate white Jean Paul Gaultier gown. She, by the way, brought home the prestigious trophy for her role as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, the legendary French singer who rose to international fame from her beginnings on the streets of Paris. I was captivated with her beauty (I have a thing for European women talaga! Iba yung ganda nila sobra!). Her acceptance speech was quite funny (you can tell that she was not prepared to win lol!) But it gave me goosebumps when she ended her acceptance speech with this: I -- I -- well, I -- thank you life, thank you love, and it is true, there is some angels in this city. Thank you so, so much. Eyelovet.

Here are photos of some of the women who walked in the red carpet:

PHOTO CREDITS: www.oscars.com

For more on the Oscars, log on to www.oscar.com

feasting on food!

Snagged this from Mari. Thanks girl!


Appetizer
Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?
- Guilty as charged! :) I usually play it on my husband or my very close friends. People I know would not take it against me lol!


Soup
What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?
- cow for salt and a farm house for pepper. I am very patricular with things I put in my kitchen. Kikay is a more apt term for it!


Salad
Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?
- I hope to be able to go to Bora this summer. Second time, if ever. First time for Lizzie. =)


Main Course
What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?
- Aveeno. Hands down =)


Dessert
Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.
- Leche flan (my current addiction right now. Tell me you love my leche flan, Ill send one to your doorstep right away! haha!). 10 eggs, separate the yolk from the whites, throw away the whites, beat the yolks, pour in a can of condensed then evap, drop vanilla essence (or banana, if you wish), caramelize sugar in the pan, pour the mixture, steam for 45 minutes and voila -- a leche flan for you!

online backgammon anyone?

During Sundays, we would all troop to my in-laws place to have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon together. Just recently, my sister in law introduced us to backgammon. We all listened to her as she explained how the game is being played. The site was very user-friendly especially to old folks like my parents in law. It is also available in six languages so it is understandable indeed! We started playing backgammon online every time we would visit their house and boy, are we having so much fun! Online backgammon is a real family activity and it is sure to bring lots of fun.

online pool

My husband and his friends would frequent billiard halls back in college to play, bet and have fun. Being young and carefree, they won’t really mind if they are away from home for long periods of time. Now that they are all married and have their own families, they still enjoy the same hobby but through online billiards this time. The new and improved site is just so enticing they don’t notice how long they have been playing online billiard, online pool or other games that the site is offering. Good site for married guys who would rather stay at home than play elsewhere.

market market

As you may notice, I slept really late last night (rather, really early this morning). So I had to literally drag myself out of bed so I can buy our week's provision in the market. Yes folks, you heard it right. I get my fish, vergatables and meat from the wet market, never from the groceries. Well sometimes, I buy from monterey but that's it. I don't know but I find joy in going to market, scouring through fresh finds and being able to make "tawad" with my suki. If that's being domesicated, then I am. To top it all, I was able to rub this love for the market to mu husband. Before he went full time with his business, saturday mornings was market day for the two of us. He drives me to the Pamilihang Bayan ng Marikina, follows me to every section there is, from the beef, chicken and pork section to the fish and seafood section down to the vegetables and mini groceries. He was my bagero. And he didn't complain at all so I was thinking, he was enjoying it just as much.

Prices as of today are listed below:

Chicken 125/kl
Pork Chops, Liempo 160/kl
Ground Pork 160/kl
Adobo cut 160/kl
Beef (pang sigang) 210/kl
Beef strips 220/kl
Bangus 80/kl
Tilapia 80/kl
Onions 60/kl
Garlic 60/kl

The feeling of satisfaction everytime I go to the market. PRICELESS.

the ultimate saturday gimmick

Today is Saturday. People are supposed to go out, relax and have fun. It's a weekend after all.

We went out, yes. We drove to the bakery a few streets away from our house to buy a bag of Mr. Chips, Coke 1.5 and cigs for Arthuz. Then we went home (so worried that Lizzie might wake up without us in the room), munched on the chips and drank coke while we were watching David Blaine: Drowing Alive on AXN in the sala. We headed upstairs to join the little girl again, I continued on with blogging (and chatting on the side) and Arthuz started watching reruns of his favorite series, House. We agreed to be in bed at 3am.

I love it.

bookworm

Arthuz and I are hands down bookworms. Before we got married, perfect sundays would mean lounging around in my quezon city apartment, reading our own books til our eyes feel strained and tired and we feel our hunger. On average, we spend 4-5 hours in bed just reading books. We would normally get up late afternoon to go to mass and have dinner. I have been a voracious reader since high school and my taste for books have evolved through time. Everytime I move houses, I dedicate a separate box (now boxes as I hav acquired more, plus the books that Arthuz has as well) for books. And in my house, aside from the wall planks my dad has put up in the room, a huge cabinet has been put up in the other room not for clothes but for the books that we have acquired all these years.

During my (kind of difficult) pregnancy, my ob advised me to stop reading heavy novels first. Her suggestion was for me to read baby magazines, baby books or light, funny novels. That's when my fascination for Kinsella began. While browsing through good books at Fully Booked in Rockwell's Powerplant Mall, I chanced upon The Shopaholic Series. The bright, solid colors of the book cover plus the youthful appeal made me buy it right there and then. My love affair with Kinsella continued on as she wrote one book after another in a span of 3 years. Her newest is Remember me? I have yet to get this though. Some more good reads that you might try reading:



Jessica Zafra's Twisted 7

Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha


Mireille Guiliano's French Women don't get fat


Philip Pullman's Trilogy

Cecilia Ahern's P.S. I Love You
Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife


The list could go on and on but I want to keep a short list as might bore you already. In a nutshell, reading is a staple at the Dela Rosa household. We can't live without books. And this we are surely going to pass on to Lizzie when she grows up.

Happy Reading!