The happiest place on earth

Tomorrow is a big day for my daughter. It's another chance to see her favorite Disney princess in the happiest place on earth..We're off to Disneyland tomorrow morning! I've been there before but it's the first time to experience it with my daughter. We're hoping that the crowd wouldn't be that big so we could enjoy the park without the hassle of falling in line for every ride. I'm planning to pack as light as possible. I learned my lesson not to bring baon anymore. It's useless. When you get there, all you want to eat is a freshly cooked burger with fries on the side, never mind the rocket high prices. A regular burger meal is about five bucks, over there its almost twice the price. What a rip off ... However, it's all for the sake of fun. The prices may be ridiculous but the smile on my daughter's face is priceless.

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Which Disney Princess are you?

Whether the Weather

Weather pixies are just adorable. Mind you. They aren't just cute, their informative as well. I get so amused on how they change their clothes and surroundings to match the weather in a particular country and city. Along with my local pixie I decided to get one for Manila to compare and imagine what my parents, who recently went back for a month-long retreat, are dealing with. Just now I noticed that my weather pixie at Manila was wearing an eye-catching, green, two-piece bathing suit because it was a sizzling 90 degrees! I have forgotten how hot it could get back home. No wonder almost every blog I've visited today were talking about the beach. It's the perfect weather for basking.

Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not.

Oh happy day!

If you want to be somebody
If you want to go somewhere
You better wake up and pay attention

Sister Act 2 is on cable today, and I've been humming this chorus line as I write this post. So inspiring and catchy. Makes you want to get up and do something your heart's been yearning for. To follow your dream with passion as if there's no more tomorrow.

My Saturday morn in a nutshell...
flannel pjs/ oversized tee/ fave bathrobe soft as down/ enjoying sweet & sour belts/ daughter eating fruit loops cereal/ watching sister act2/ will go out with family/ waiting for hubby/ weather's just right/ little hazy but sun starting to shine a bit

When to say when

We had just confirmed that preschool's out until next week. And so I let my daughter play around the jungle gym for a few minutes, to compensate for the missed daily dose of physical activity(sometimes hyperactivity). With nowhere else to go, and with our stomachs calling out for lunch, I suggested eating out at Shakey's, since I have been craving for chicken, most especially mojos. I inordinately wanted to order our lunch for to-go because buffet really isn't my thing. But my hubby, out of the blue, demanded the buffet, which I initially thought would be the best thing to do because it usually takes forever to wait for our order. I then, reluctantly agreed to his obvious desire to once again gorge upon the endless array of food.

And there we were, looking for a comfortable spot to sit on, specifically somewhere without anyone else to bother on either sides, because we seriously need space for our daughter's(and every other 3-year-old) constant fidgets and restlessness after finishing a meal.

Inside the smorgasbord area, I inched my way towards the greasy yet irresistible display of their specialty. This was in no comparison to the one at Mirage Hotel, from our recent trip to Las Vegas. It was the mother of all buffets. Every imaginable kind and variety of food was there. Asian, American, Italian, they had crab legs, lobsters, filet mignon, sushi the list goes on. The cheesecake, cappuccino flan for dessert, is by the way to die for, if not to die from. Shakey's may not be as big as the Mirage but the concept is still relative.

Ok. I had spaghetti, chicken and of course the mojos, which my daughter and I shared. Being the small and short girl that I am, I get stuffed up very quickly, and I refuse to eat more than what my mind is telling me to do in order to maximize the dollars.

This is why I rarely go in all-you-can-eat establishments. In my opinion, this should only be done once in every six months or on very special occasions. It just felt wrong to eat after the gastro intestines has reached its limit, let alone the collective health complications to come 40 years from now. I then remembered one of the original deadly sins, Gluttony. Oh yes, it seems insignificant and not so deadly at all but should not be taken for granted.

“The belly, when it is not restrained, destroys the virtues of the soul,” “It is not food, but the desire for food that is the cause of damnation.”
-Gregory

Don't get me wrong, I'm not this super spiritual buff and I am in no place to judge anyone and their eating habits. Everyone eats for many different reasons along with ranging amounts. To overindulge is what we all must be aware of.

After forkfuls of spaghetti and a few bites of chicken, even a little innocent girl knows when she's had enough. "Mom, I'm full!” She says as she hops down the bench, and unfailingly frolics around the table to entertain us and herself.

Thank you for the nail pierced hands...

Thank you for the cross Lord
Thank you for the price You paid
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love You came
And gave amazing grace

Thank you for this love Lord
Thank you for the nail pierced hands
Washed me in Your cleansing flow
Now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of life. To the things we do to survive. For our personal fulfillment and happiness. Let us not get off track from the real purpose of our existence. Of why we are placed here on this earth. It is easy to be caught up with the daily routine and immerse ourselves to things which may seem significant, but is truly incomparable to what God has done for us. Surrendering our life to the One who bares the scars of self-sacrifice, compassion, grace, forgiveness and most of all...love, must ultimately take precedence.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only son. For whosoever believes in Him will not persih but have everlasting life.

Wanna Get Lucky?

Find a four-leaf clover
~this is a traditional symbol
of st. patrick's day to
represent the holy trinity.


Wear anything green
~the color of spring


Kiss the Blarney Stone
~if you happen to be in Ireland today, that is.


~Better yet, just eat lucky charms!

Something to think about

Coming from a close-knit, structured, christian family, I was brought up to be responsible, to study hard and to not do drugs. I have always perceived illicit drugs as taboo. This morning a very challenging and eye opening discussion came about our psychology class about the use of legal and illegal drugs. Drugs were essentially created for diseases/ailments as a form of treatment, therefore ensuring long and healthy life. But as we all know, people always have the tendency to abuse such things and later regret the consequences. The result however, as imposed by the system is imprisonment. Well, initially I did not see anything wrong with that because as a young child, drugs have been instilled in my mind as bad, harmful, addictive, and could ultimately ruin one's life. According to our professor, and the text we are diligently assigned to read, some illicit drugs have the same content as those drugs available over-the-counter, even the ones precribed by a physician. Makes you really think and analyze things over again.

Who then can tell whether drugs are illegal or not? The answer is right up on our noses. The big, filthy rich, pharmaceutical companies, who by the way funds the congress and who lives of the poor and vulnerable. It all comes together now. They are the ones who tell us that this drug is bad, for the obvious reason that they could not get any profit out of it. This on the other hand is good, because we said so, so empty your pockets and buy the darn thing. Coming back to my point, people,especially those with low socio economic status get busted for the possession and/or use of illicit drugs and are sent to jail, while the upper class roam free. People use drugs as a way to cope with things they are dealing with emotionally and physically. If they are sent to jail for using drugs, it only worsens the problem. The point my professor was trying to make is the freedom of a person to choose whether it is beneficial or harmful to take these drugs and have full control over his/her well-being or self-destruction. Marijuana for example is a forbidden drug but was first used as a form of herbal medicine for relaxation. There has been no statistics to prove of any violent crimes brought about by its usage. There's even no evidence of its toxicity. Alcohol on the other hand, which is very much legal, have been the cause of many deadly crimes and accidents. Point is people choose to drink or not to. And if they do, they will experience the painful consequences it could offer and eventually be willing to be sober and restore their lives, in oppose to just locking them up in jail and giving them no chance at all to start over.

For the Record

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Notice any similarity? Yep. It looks exactly like my blog color scheme and pattern. Long before American Eagle launched this very chic travel bag for its spring 2005 collection, which I am currently eyeing, I had this idea in my mind. I saw it a few times on display but the resemblance apprently hit me just now. I'm happy to say I came up with this on my own; and I'm darn proud of it.

View from the top

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The famous Las Vegas strip. From the Mirage, overlooking Caesar's Palace on the right hand side; Eifell tower on the left.

Sin City

A few weeks ago my family and I went out of state for a much needed three-day weekend. A four hour drive from California to Nevada wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed it so much because it was a relief even therapeutic to get out from the routine and see something new. Since it was everyone's first time to visit the infamous Sin City, we can't wait to finally see the place up close, in oppose to just seeing it on t.v. We were not disappointed at all. The place was beautiful and it truly lived up to the hype. The magnificent structural designs of each establishment filled us with awe. Caesar's Palace had the Roman architecture; Bellagio had the biggest display of fountain show; Paris had the replica of the Eiffel Tower; Treasure Island had a festive pirate show; and Mirage, which was where we stayed, had the lava erupting volcano; Luxor had the pyramid and Sphinx. So everyone had their own unique, bodacious attraction for sightseers like ourselves to admire. There were a few more hotels we were only able to see from afar.

And oh I got to see The Little White Chapel, from where Britney Spears along with every other divorced celebrity couples tied the knot. I now can see why people could do really stupid stuff like marrying someone out of the blue or getting into a rambunctious brawl. The place seemed to be in a new dimension, as if you've stepped into a world where you can just let yourself lose and have FUN. Imagine pedestrians walking in and out of the hotels or casino booths holding a bear bottle or a mug filled with alcohol. People giving out flyers of guess what, not advertisement of a restaurant or clothing to promote their business...but, it was the telephone number of hired girls any testosterone & alcohol-filled men could have right on their hotel doorsteps. The people giving out the flyers had t-shirts saying girls waiting in your hotel room, something like that. Billboards of half-naked women were everywhere by nightfall. I was merely dumbfounded. So that's why they call it Sin City. But of course, my family and I weren't up for that kind of nonsense. We were there to admire the architecture and the shows they offered. If I only knew, I wouldn't have brought my daughter. But then again, the whole experience was a blast. My hubby and I promised ourselves to stay longer the next time we come back, hopefully this spring break for more photos and another batch of entertainment.

No More Drama

The past few weeks has been an emotional whirlwind. It felt like I've been in one of those cheesy soap opera shows, which I by the way loathe. The downs almost but did not completely overpowered the ups. Although it was a struggle to see the bright side in adversities, I tried my best to stay positive and move on. It may not be the easiest thing to do but one has to learn how to roll with the punches because life always seem to have something up in its sleeve and gets you off guard. But thankfully good things traspired inspite of what happened.

First things first, I have got to take this Valentine theme down. I've noticed that doodleboard isn't giving free services anymore. Still in the process of searching for a cute and simple little chatter board fit for the sidebar. I also desperately need to upload a few memorable photos from our trip. And lastly, I am so happy for my daughter's first day in preschool. I intend to put up separate posts for each one of these.