Morning Workout

Finally! D4 got disgusted with her extra flab that she decided to enroll in a fitness center. She decided to grab the promo offer and I think she got the classes for a bargain. Inclusive in her package is one-on-one sessions with a trainer. Her work is from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Most of the time she works out after office hours. Sometime though, she is too tired to workout after a day's work. She decided to work out before office hours. She leaves the house with D1 at 5:30 AM then works out from 6:15 to 7:45 AM. I told her to drink milk or any pre workout supplement so she would have the energy to workout. Did she listen? I have to ask.

HK Trip

The HK trip was my son's first trip abroad. He was so excited that the first night, he asked permission if he could walk along the streets of Tsim Sha Tui. "Go ahead! but take my mobile phone in case you get lost", I said. I guess my son had a field trip as he wove in and out of the side streets in between Nathan and Chatham Roads. He said he sampled a lot of street food and found bargain shops. He even thought of buying his dad new pool sticks as he chanced upon a small shop that sell billiard stuff. The highlight of his "walk" was when he went inside a store that he thought sold Cosplay costumes. Oh, how wrong he was!

Birthday Weekend

We spent my birthday weekend in Hong Kong. We were all so excited as this was our first trip abroad together. The happy tourists were D1, D2, D3, D4, my son, Ethan, my mama, Jan and myself. We booked a hotel but did not make any transportation arrangement. We took public transport and it was fine. My birthday was on March 11. Yes, as we were happy gallivanting all over HK, the Japan earthquake and tsunami occurred!

The photo at right was taken in Ocean Park. Some of the attractions were closed, but the dophin show was not. It has been ages since I last saw one. Dolphins should be out in the sea and not performing for humans! So what were we doing in Ocean Park? The kids wanted to try the free-fall ride.

Small Talk

I was talking to my brother over the phone a few days ago. He said that he is quite agitated since his daughter, my niece, will be in college next school year. That would mean he would have to prepare tuition money for two since his son, my nephew, is currently in college too. I've suggested time and again to send over for studies here in Manila but his kids are no keen on the idea.

Anyway, brother said he needs to save up by going "cheap" in all areas, including car insurance. I suggested estatecarinsure.com as I've read somewhere of this cheap insurance company. He has four cars to insure. Good luck bro!

Wheat and Sage

I have two armchairs and a 4-seater sofa that needs to be reupholstered. The sofas and armchairs are pretty old so that the design of the upholstery is, naturally, outdated. It's plaid! You can't blame me though as the sofa and armchairs are more than 10 years old. I was browsing online for some upholstery design and I chanced upon a whole wide range of microfiber upholstery options from KOVI Designer. Great, great choices! I want the wheat and sage microfiber upholstery. I want! I want!

Modern Kitchen

My kitchen sink is old,as in old. It is more than 25 years old and I think it is time to change it. I renovated the kitchen 8 years ago but I did not change the sink back then as it still looked good. Now, though the faucets and other fittings are new, I really one a brand new sink, say one of those Franke sinks. Too bad, there is no local outlet for Franke sink. I kind of like the ORX110. I saw one at a friend's house. Her kitchen was updated and full of modern gadgets. Oh well, she deserved to have one as she is in the food industry. Me? Well, I just cook meals for my family and friends. I do not really need a super uber modern kitchen. A "modern" kitchen will suffice.

Time to Transfer...

Is it just me? I have been so stressed with Ethan's Math topics. The school's syllabus and curriculum in Math is so over the top. My grade 2 grandson has been trying to absorb information such as right, acute and obtuse angles. Shapes such as parallelogram, rhombus, scalene et al. He is also being made to "calculate" for the area and parameter of objects, some of which are irregular shapes. I asked Ethan if his classmates are faring well and he said that one of the top girl students already cried twice as she can't understand the subject. I have written the teacher several times but she has not answered me herself as the principal(?)/directress (?)has been the one answering my queries. Seems like "they" feel good about their torturing err, tutoring. I have been questioning their curriculum as it seems like theirs is a hit or miss thing. The school is a newbie in primary education and I think they lack the effective consultants. The teachers are all new graduates. I know for sure that at least two teachers are not qualified preschool and primary teachers. Heck! I am not even sure if the principal(?)/directress(?) are board passers!

You may ask "So why did you enroll Ethan in that school?" In fairness the school's preschool program is good. The preschool curriculum is progressive and highly nurturing. Ethan's batch is the pioneer batch in grade school and I guess the little school was not ready to handle graders. Time to transfer school...

Of Weddings and Events

There is a group of young adults from church who asked me "tips" on wedding planning. A friend of them is about to get married and they were chosen to the the wedding planner and coordinator. I find it quite funny that they asked for my two cents on their venture. As I churn out one tip after another, I humored them by placing a price tag on each pointer and tip that I gave them.

My daughters and I have been "planning" on being a pro event planner for the longest time. We definitely have the flair, talent and connections. However, what we don't have is time. However, for those who want us to plan their event, we would be more than willing to do so as long as we are given ample time. See the Wedding Chocolate Strawberries picture to your right? We could do that!.... or at least try to do that!

Fringe Benefits

My girls have been paying their monthly contribution to the Social Security System. I have no idea how much their contributions are but I guess the contribution is based on their monthly compensation. Is that right? I really would not know as one of the major boo-boos that I did was to stop my SSS contribution when I became a stay-at-home then a work-from-home mom. I should have continued my contribution! But! I didn't know any better back then. D2 has been telling me that most of her co-teachers are now enjoying their social security benefits by getting loans payable in 1 year. I wonder how much their loans are. I wonder if there is interest on an SSS loan.

Where's Pinaymomlogs?

Wow! My blog is a sponsor! I was graciously asked to blog for this event and the "payment" is inclusion of my site in their event posters and video loop during the actual activity. Okay. I didn't actually know that when they asked for my logo, it would be included in the poster. Had i known, I would have submitted a bigger one. My 125 X 125 ad in the poster is sort of a "Where's Waldo" ?


... So, did you find it?