In the MOod for Tags

I'm sorry if my recent posts are mostly tags..I'm just in the mood for tags these days. So, if you want to tag me, better tag me now while I'm in the mood. :)

OKay, it's already quite late..I better sleep now.

HAve a blessed Weekend to All!!

Prayer Tag

Thanks ENday for this tag!


I want you to pray this prayer, "Oh God My Father, I love u and I need u, come into my heart and bless me this week"

People prayed:Welcome To My World, Pheandy's Blog, Thoughts of Mine, The Fountain Of Happiness,Ester's Daily Thoughts,Anneberly's Money Blog, My Paperless Writings, As The World Turns, Janeth Vicy's Life Journey,
Kwento ni Enday, Lalaine's World , Put your link here

Let's make prayer as our daily habit.

Now I want to tag everyone!! Feel free to grab this tag and pray. Remember, when we pray, God hears us and when He hears, he will answer us.

My Top 10 People

This is Fun! Thanks Prily for passing this tag to me..and thanks too for making me your number 5. :)

The Tag: Name 10 people you can think of right off the top of your head. Don't read the questions underneath until you write the names of all 10 people.

This is a lot funnier if you actually randomly list the names first. No cheating. Repost this with the same title and tagged 6 of yours friends.

My TEN people are:

1. Jesu, my husband
2. Nanay, my mother
3. Tricia, my daughter
4. Lyle, my son
5. Tabitha
6. Bogie
7. Janet
8. Ruby
9. Noemi
10. Aisha


DON'T LOOK AHEAD UNLESS U FILLED UP THE TOP!


1. How did you meet number 9?
I met her through a friend in Cagayan de Oro

2. Do you have a crush on anyone up there?
Yeah..my Hubby! # 1

3. What would you do if you hadn't met number 1?
Maybe..I would still single now... (dalagang guwang, hahaha!)

4. What would you do if 6 and 2 were going out?
Yeah..they do go out..because number 6, Bogie is my niece and number is my Mom. Bogie is Nanay's companion sometimes.

5. How did you meet number 8?
I met Ruby many, many years ago through our family friend before and only now we became close - through blogging.

6. Is 2 one of your best friends?
*YEs! she's my Mom

7. Whose number 9's best friend(s)?
I think it would be her Hubby. Sakto ba Noems?

8. Have you ever dated number 1?
YES!! hahaha!! many many times..

9. Do you miss number 10?
Yeah..I miss her laughter and beating us in Canasta and Dutch Blitz. Remember those times Aish?

10.What do u think of number 6?
She's very responsible and mature.

11.What do you think of number 7?
She's a very dedicated MOm and wife, ..Dakilang Ina awardee

12. Who does number 3 like?
hahah! interesting..she likes her best buddy David. heheh!

13. Have you ever been inside number 8's house?
Not yet..but be visiting her soon when we go back to Cagayan de Oro

14. Do you love number 4?
Oh..yeah!! precious!

15. Ever been in the same bed as any of the numbers?
YEs.. 1,2,3,4

16. What about no. 5?
She's a funny girl but mature.

17. Do you trust these people?
YEs!

18. Would you date no. 5?
Yes..we could go out to KFC, Tesco, or maybe Econmart? ahahaha!! what do you think Tabi?

19. Love them all?
YES!

I am passing this tag to number 5 - number 10 Tabitha , Bogie , Janet , Ruby , Noemi, Aisha

Illusions...

I remember last year when we went to Genting Highlands in Malaysia, we got a promotional hotel package that included a performance of a magic and acrobat show. It was a very entertaining show. It has a story line with magic tricks, dances and acrobats in between. Even our 3 year old daughter enjoyed the show. Imagine, they had a white tiger on stage and they made it disappeared! I really tried to keep my eyes open and tried to observe every move they make during each illusion to see some loop holes and maybe to find out how they do their tricks. But, I couldn't. Either my eyes are not that quick enough or they are just good!

In the US, I heard there is this famous illusionist, Criss Angel who made a Lamborghini disappear and survived in an exploding C4 crate. The new Cirque Du Soleil performance will be featuring him called 'CRISS ANGEL Believe' and will be appearing at Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

If you're in the US, you can purchase your tickets now or better yet, join their text message contest to win 2 free tickets. How? Just text 'Believe' to 22122 to win 2 tickets to 'CRISS ANGEL Believe').

Friendship Tag

I got this cute glittery tag from Nisha! Thanks so much for remembering me dearie!





Now, I'd like to pass this tag to someone who's sweet, very friendly and loves cute cute, glittery things, no other than Tabitha.. I know you would love this!

Travel the Continents Tag

I got this tag from Tricia , not my daughter but my blogger friend..she has a beautiful name, right? :) ANyways, The idea of this tag is to know the location of our buddy bloggers.


Begin Copy

Rules :

1. Start Copy from "Begin Copy" until "End Copy".
2. Put your blog's name and url write in which continent you live, add the country you live in. Example : My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands)
3. Leave your url post in here and you'll be added in the Master List.
4. Please help spread this tag by tagging your friends as much as you can.
5. Don't play unfair! If you have more than 1 blog, you can participate all your blogs for this tag. BUT you will have to post this tag to all your blogs as well. So, please. Don't cheat!
6. Please come back again to copy the update of the master list, often. This process will help new participants to get the same gains as the first participants.
7. Don't forget to use the banner at your post, you can save as or you can just copy the code in here.

Master List :

A. Asia : 1. Moms... Check Nyo (Philippines) 2. Hailey's Beats and Bits (Philippines) 3. allinkorea (Korea) 4. kimchiland (Korea) 5. korean food (Korea) 6. idealpinkrose (Korea) 7. Manna from Heaven (Philippines) 8. and Life Goes On for... (Philippines) 9. Proud Mommy (Philippines) 10. Lalaine's World ( Thailand)

B. Australia : 1. your turn

C. Afrika : 1. your turn

D. North Amerika : 1. your turn

E. South Amerika : 1. your turn

F. Europe : 1. My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands) 2. Juliana's Site (Netherlands) 3. Picturing of Life (Netherlands) 4. Portia (UK) 5. your turn

G.Antarctica : 1. your turn

~ End Copy ~

Now, I would like to tag Nisha, Noemi , my other blogs From Asia and Beyond and Day to Day Miracles.

For those who would want to participate , you're free to grab this tag too!

Tricia's Reading LEsson 39

As a certified stage mom, I can't help but document my 4 yr. old's progress in her reading skill (?). We're currently in Day 41 ..and that means we're almost halfway with the book. I thank God for my friend who gave me a copy of this book. If not, I'll still be clueless on how to teach my daughter to read. We'll be sending her to school when we go back to Philippines and I hope that she could catch up even without formal school.




Great job huh? I'm just so proud of her. It wasn't easy for her to seriously sit through 20 mins. each day for reading lessons. There were some fun days and I think twice she cried because she got frustrated that she couldn't get the sounding out of the word right. I think she has already adjusted and everyday she's excited to learn a new sound.

And oh, by the way if you've noticed her 'outfit'... she dressed up by herself and she's 'IN' fashion..she wore a mini skirt and also a 'tights' or leggings underneath..but actually she's using her baby brother's long pajamas!... hahaha! Poor Lyle, he'll end up wearing loose pajamas next time. I think she sees this kind of dressing around and she just followed suit..using her own version and alternative style. :)

New Look (again?)

I changed my template ..again! It's not that I don't like the other one, but I just like this one better especially with the navigation bar and the blue and black combination.

It's already quite late and my side bar buttons are still messy...please bear with the mess. I'll try to work on this tomorrow night. Everything is still intact, my cbox, entrecard and etc.. you'll just have to scroll down and look for it. Meanwhile, I have to sleep first. I'll have another busy day tomorrow with my kids. Good nyt everyone!

2 MB?

Our internet service provider here is very generous.

Actually our internet connection has been upgraded and upgraded. We started with a dial up connection but then realized that our phone bill also increase since it automatically disconnects after 2 hours. Then we applied for a 56 kb (?) adsl connection for a monthly fee. Then TOT ( our internet provided) had a promotion where we only pay 90 baht and we get a 1mb connection. So, we applied and indeed our connection was faster. The once 'cutting off' music from the online christian radio ( www.praise1065.com) is now so clear and continuous. Then, just a few days ago my Hubby excitedly announced that TOT once again has a promotion. We can upgrade our speed to 2mb and the good news is - for FREE!!..Wow, that's really cool!

So, today is the first day for a 2 mb connection..I'm not seeing much difference yet..but I might as well try to watch some news videos later and see if it will play continuously without buffering.

But anyways, I'm just amazed that TOT gave a free upgrade. At least, there are still some things for free these days amidst the petrol and rice increase. :)

TV Day

As I've posted before, my 4 year old girl's TV days has been limited only during the weekends. I could proudly say that she's no longer a TV/Cartoon addict now. Now, she doesn't ask me everyday , " Is today the time to watch TV?" but instead she forgets about her TV days. As disoriented ( with days and dates) as I am, I also forget about it. Last week, she wasn't able to watch any cartoons at all ( the whole week!) ..whew! That was a breakthrough!

Then this afternoon, while I was going around the house doing some chores, she was following me wherever I go. It was like I had a tail. I asked her to read a book, she said, she already finished. I asked her to do her activity book, she said she doesn't like. It's quite disturbing to have someone following you whenever you do your chores. I almost asked her just sit down in the living room ( but that's a tall order, since she just can't keep still) but then I remembered, that today is Cartoons Day!!

So, I excitedly announced to her that it's her TV day so she can just sit down and and watch TV. With her eyes sparkling, she exclaimed, " Oh, Today is the time I can watch TV!"and ran off to the living room. With this, I was able to wash the dishes and wash our clothes in peace and without someone hovering me. ;)

Saturday Chores

Today is a Saturday and we're all at home. Last night, when my HUbby decided to take a break and not go to the village ( as they always do every saturday). I thought to myself that I could spend my whole day (?) cleaning the house and do other household chores while my Hubby take care of the kids. But my Hubby's had a back pain so it's his turn to get a massage while I take care of the kids.

In times like this, I would always wish we could hire someone to help us with housework and especially in cleaning the house. It really saves a lot of energy when someone is there to help you out, right?. Back in the Philippines, it's quite affordable to hire someone. My Mom always had someone to help us in the house from our younger days until we grew older. I think that's why I wasn't that trained to do household work..LOL! excuses, excuses.

It's quite hectic doing all the sweeping, wiping, mopping and all the other things when cleaning the house. All our energy can really get drained. But Dirt Devil has a better way to save energy. The new AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac use 70% less energy – making AccuCharge the first cordless cleaning technology to earn Energy Star approval. Wouldn't it be great to have this kind of vacuum? I'm sure even my Li'l be girl would be excited to help me out with housework when we have this kind of gadget.

Indian BRUNCH

When we woke up this morning, my Hubby invited us to have Malaysian Indian breakfast in town. It's either he's missing home or he just crave for the real Indian food ( curry, roti, tosai and etc). The reason why I wrote real is because I can also cook Indian food but I have my own version. That's why we call it PinDian Food ( Pinoy Indian). I don't know why I can't seem to cook curry like the real Indians. I follow exactly how they cook but maybe the only time I can cook real, authentic Indian curry is after I get a nose lift and can speak fluent Tamil. LOL!!

Anyways, back to my story. .. We got ready to go out, bathe the kids, dressed them up, prepared their things and by the time we left it was almost time for lunch. For brunch, my HUbby and Junjun had yummy mutton curry, Tricia had tosai with sugar and condensed milk (I know this will give a shock to some Indians here but Tricia's another Pindian so that explains the sugar and condensed milk) while I had Nasi Lemak. We had some drinks and enjoyed our meal.

If you're from Malaysia, how much would a meal like that cost? about 20RM? more or less right? BUt when it was time to ask for our bill it as a total of 400 Baht..whoa!! But good that after Jesu talked talked, he only charged us 300 Baht..but even that I still find it quite pricey. Or maybe that's how it is to ' transport' other food to a different country ( no matter how near they may be) . BUt anyways, I'm still happy that for an hour , we were like transported back to Malaysia and my Hubby felt at home. :)

Mommy Life

My Mommy life has indeed been busy the past weeks. I have two very active kids , an 8 month old and a 4 year old girl. Just being with them and taking care of them all day long drains out all my energy. Honestly, I have little energy left in cleaning the house which is actually my least favorite chore. So, how do I avoid spending less energy cleaning? The answer? I seldom thoroughly clean the house and keep my fingers cross that no one would come and drop by. :)

But then, there are times that friends do come by and visit unannounced. So, this is the time I panic and like a whirlwind, takes out the clutter, do a bit of arranging and if I have time sweep the floor in a flash before I go out and open the gate for our guests! :) Since, I only kept things tidy for a few seconds, they living room won't be perfectly clean. But then I have an excuse, " Oh, sorry for the cluttered toys, my daughter has just been playing". :)

So, that's my secret in spending less energy cleaning ..LOL!! Oh, if there's only a better way to save energy in cleaning and really have a thoroughly CLEAN house. But I heard that the Dirt Devil has a better way to save energy. The new AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac use 70% less energy – making AccuCharge the first cordless cleaning technology to earn Energy Star approval.

If only have this type of Hi tech gadget in our house..then I don't need to fear and panic of unannounced visitors but instead I would immediately go out of the door , let them come in and gladly say " Welcome! Welcome to my humble abode!!"..." Come in ! Come in and see my shiny floor!!" LOL!

Xlinks with www.jesulalaine.com

Change links?? anyone??

My not-so-new blog but new domain www.jesulalaine.com ( Day to Day Miracles ) would want to exchange link with anyone who's kind hearted enough to do so..hehehe!!

If you're interested, please drop by my new home and leave me a message. I would really love to go around everyone's home and ask for xlinks but please bear with this Mom who has not learned how to manage her time well and therefore , don't have enough time to do that.. That's why I'm trying to do it the easy way and hoping to get results with this..hehehe!

Anyway, enough of my babbling and I hope you'll go and drop by HERE.

THai Massage

I hurt my back the other day when I carried my 8 month old baby from the crib. I think I heard a sound from my back "tok!". It was really painful. For a second I thought that I couldn't stand straight then. But thank God I did! My back from then on has been painful especially if I suddenly sit or stand.

Then yesterday, my sweet HUbby asked me or rather forced me to have a body massage. I'm not so fond of massages that's why. So, he took an afternoon off, took care of the kids and called our friend who's a masseur ( is that the right word?) to give me a good 2 hour massage.

Our friend did a great job! She asked me where's the pain specifically applied oil and started from there. I dozed off for awhile and then, she kept massaging back the problem area. Towards the end of the it, I heard another 'TOK!".. I'm not sure if it's the air or my bones where put back into place??hehehe!! But what I know, is that after that sound, the pain immediately vanished. When we heard that sound, she exclaimed, " Khop Khun Prajao! ( Thank God!)..and explained to me that, it'll my back will be okay now. And sure it is.

So now, my back is back to normal. I don't feel any pain anymore, at all. THank God that I agreed to have a massage. I don't have to 'suffer' from it anymore, especially my Li'l one always wants to be carried. My HUbby even told our friend that he'll book her at least twice a month for me to get a massage. Hmm..maybe, I'll reserve that only when I have back pains? :)

Girls' Day Out

I've been wondering for quite sometime why my 4 year old girl has been seeking so much attention lately which eventually leads her to do a lot of 'funny' things. This morning, I was browsing through Babycenter.com and it explained a lot of things that 4 years old kids go through especially if they have a new sibling.

This has led me to realized that indeed, the 100% attention that was solely for her in the past has now been divided between her and her sibling. That explains the changes in her attitude and the 'insecurity' that she must have been feeling. Then, I felt guilty. We don't have a lot of " fun days" now since I have to juggle between housechores and 2 children. Even in the house, her play is limited since Lyle is a light sleeper and there's always a tendency to wake him up when she's loud.

So, after that realization, I told my HUbby that we're going to have a girl's day out. He willingly agreed and even asked me to drive to the city center - "No Thank YOu! Tricia loves to ride the tuktuk (THai public transport) so we'll just ride one ( heheh! I had an excuse)". Then I remembered, that the last time that I went out with Tricia alone was when I was still pregnant with Lyle. So, that was really a long time.


Tricia was so excited when she learned that we're going out and riding a tuktuk too. So, we went to Mcdonald's had our lunch and she was able to play in the playpen. During our lunch she even whispered something to me , " Let's buy a surprise for Appa when we go back!".. hehehe! She said this because, whenever my HUbby and I go for a date and she'll be left with friends, we always bring back a surprise for her.

After we had our lunch, we went to the toy section of one of the Central Department Store where they had a small section where kids can freely play with their Lego blocks. She really enjoyed building a house and I think we stayed there for almost an hour. She never even bothered to look at the toys for sale as she was stuck in playing with the Lego.

I had a wonderful time too, as I was able do my window shopping and enjoyed looking at all new clothes design and accessories. This store is one of the upscale stores in the city so, that explains why it's 'for our eyes only'. :) We went around all the floors until Tricia had to complain that her feet hurts from so much of walking.

So, we went back home and I asked if she enjoyed her time with me. She nodded her head and added that she wants to go out with me "everytime".

With this, my HUbby and I decided that I should have a regular day out with my daughter...I think it'll really be good for both of us. It'll be nice that we could keep this a part of our regular schedule until she grows up to be a young lady. You know, the time will come when she needs much bonding time with grey haired Mommy where she could talk about all her crushes, and love life in the future.. hehehe!

My Other Blogs

I didn't realize that I already have quite a number of blogs. It's overwhelming to think of it sometimes especially if I 'pressure' myself to update all of them. I have 2 blogs that I want to prepare for 'monetizing' plus this one ( Lalaine's World) which is also earning a little. The other 2 blogs that I have are for my children, journaling their experiences and development.

If you're interested here are the list of my other blogs:

From Asia and Beyond - Our travel blog. Journaling our travel experiences. I also wrote down some of our favorite places, tips and future destinations.

Day to Day Miracles - In it are the everyday blessings or miracles that we've experienced in our lives. THis is very personal blog.

My Li'l Princess Diary - Here I journaled our Li'l girl's development. Actually, I started this in friendster blog when my now 4 year old daughter was only 10 months old. I still have to import the old post in Blogger

The Li'l One - My 8th old son's baby book.

I also started a fitness blog which I still have to write a post. So, you see..I have so many blogs and yet no time to blog..what to do lah? heheheh!

Back to Blogspot..For Awhile

Sorry..if my URL issue is a bit confusing at this time...I myself is even confused.

About two months ago, I applied in a certain site where I can do paid reviews and it has been doing quite well since I get a number of opportunities. The problem now is that when my custom URL has worked, the pending posts that I made cannot be approved. So, I have to switch back to my old Blogger URL ( Blogspot) for awhile until, my posts gets approved.

It's good I haven't gone around yet and asked everyone to change my URL. If you did, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. I'm not sure now if my custom URL redirects you to my blogspot. I just tried and it didn't redirect in my computer.

I'll keep you all posted on this. THanks !

Wanted: Stroller

My daughter hasn't been used to be inside a stroller since she was still a baby. Meanwhile my 8th month old boy could stay inside his stroller but not for a long time. We realized that his present stroller doesn't fit him anymore, because it's like a bassinet and it makes him lie down. I think he needs a stroller now that makes him sit down. We are actually looking for one. We need it especially during our future travels at the end of the year. A lightweight, easy fold able stroller will be ideal since we'll be traveling around with our big bags.

Then, I found Mutsy . Wouldn't be nice if we could buy a Slider Stroller like that for our baby? It really fits our requirements : compact, lightweight, good quality and it's chic too. If only we could buy a stroller like this. Mutsy also has another offer called the 4 RIDER “NEXT” CARGO. And guess what, Barebabies.com would like to offer you my beloved reader a 10% discount on any Mutsy order by using the discount code mutsy10off.

The Reading Challenge 2

A photocopy of from the original book.

Today is our 29th day of Tricia's reading Lesson. Everyday she's excited to learn a new sound/letter and can't wait to read the story at the end of the lesson.

Just this morning, she read a 'story' from the book,

A few days ago, she would sound out the words so slow and read like this aaaaannnnn aaaannnnnnt caaaannnn .. but now, she can read quite fast.

I really commend the book ( unfortunately, not myself..heheh! as much as I would like to..;) ) because even if it's only a 20 minute lesson each day, but every skill is being built each day.

For those who are interested, this is how a typical lesson would look like.

First will be the sounding of the letters. New sounds are being introduced every other day.

Second is the sounding or reading of words, the slow way ( sounding each letter) first then reading it the fast way.

Third would be a kind of review of the letters but this time they must sound it out the fast way.

Fourth would be the sounding out the words in the story two times. First will be the slow way, then the fast way. To practice comprehenshion of the story, questions are being asked (in relation to the story) after reading the sentences. And with this, the picture must not be shown. Because if the picture is shown, then the child won't be forced to remember the sentence but there is always the tendency to guess (just like what Tricia likes to do when she's tired).

Fifth would be reading a phrase from the story the fast way.

Then last will be finding of some key words.This allows them to develop the skill of reading fast.

All that for a 20 minute lesson. Quite impressive eh?



Above is a snapshot of what she's going to read on day 78. It's looks like an overwhelming task for a 4 year old. But I think it can be done. :)

My Normal Day with Kids

As many of you might know, I'm a stay-at-home Mom with a 4 year old girl and an 8 months old son. Everyday has it's own fun, frustration, joys and challenges. Just now, Tricia has been cranky and so I was. So, I just took some time to relax, sat in front of the computer and read some interesting article from RD.com - Parenting.

The 7 Ways to Create a Happy Household caught my eye and I read it . It's a very helpful article for me especially at this time of crankiness, if there is such word..hehehe! Most of the things written there, we already do as a family but I think I would like to implement more of No. 7 which is " Schedule Parent-Only Time. " Being alone with kids most of the day is no joke and I guess, if I seriously set some time alone before and after the day. It'll be helpful with me as I would be cranky just like now.Anyway, if your a parent, I suggest you read this article as it's very helpful.

They also have some interesting articles and tips from RD.com - Family Life to make traveling more enjoyable for both parents and kids. I just read through the list of games that can be played in the car. Now, I have more ideas of games to play with my preschooler and won't be limited by " I Spy" game in our whole 8 hours journey to Kuala Lumpur. :)

Our Advance Father's Day Celebration

When you're living in a different country that has a different calendar, there's always a tendency to miss certain occasions.

Last Sunday (June 8) was the 2nd Sunday of June so, my Hubby and I assumed that it's Father's Day. We won't have any idea if it's the (western) Father's Day here in Thailand because they celebrated theirs every 5th of December which is the King's birthday.

So, Saturday midnight, I already greeted my HUbby and my brother who was online. Then, my Hubby and I made some plans to go out for a special lunch with family at Sizzler's. On the way to the restaurant, we planned to call all our bro in laws in Malaysia and Philippines. So, we did call one of our brother in law in Malaysia, greeted him, he said thank you and then continued our calls. Then we greeted our Anneh ( from Malaysia) who's like a father to us. Tricia talked to him first, greeted him and even prayed for him. Then, when we talked to him, he was laughinng, said thank you but told us that Father's Day is only on the 15th!! LOL! My brother on the other hand, was wondering on Sunday, why nobody was greeting him for Father's Day.

Amusing...so, we had an advance Father's Day celebration..still had our special lunch at Sizzler's and treated our daughter for Fun Fair in the evening. :) Who knows, this Sunday we'll have a reason to go for another special dinner or lunch? Anyways, it's the REAL Father's Day!

Advance Happy Father's Day to all the great MEN and DADs!

Making A Difference!

Isn't it inspiring to read or hear of stories of people who has made a difference in others people's lives? What's more commendable is when we ourselves, no matter how small it may be can make a difference in other people's lives.

Let's take for example an inspiring story I've read in Reader's Digest Homepage of a 77 year old woman, Helen Little who has a mission to Haiti. She first heard about the poverty-stricken people of Haiti in the church and went to Haiti for a trip. There she realized the people's needs. After 20 years and 42 trips to Haiti later, she has helped build seven schools, four wells, one church, and an orphanage. In addition to that, she has personally provided countless pieces of furniture, clothing, medical supplies, and food to the suffering people. How? By simply going around yard sales and collecting clothings or anything she can gather and send it there. She also writes to different people and companies asking for financial support. As a result, there is indeed a major change in the streets of Haiti, streets are much cleaner and more children and going to school.

Amazing isn't? Helping others is not limited by where we are or how old we are. But we all can make our mark and make a difference in the lives of others. If you want to be inspired and be compelled to move away from your everyday lives and make a difference, then I suggest you read RD.com - Make Your Mark . We always want to live in a better world, isn't? Then, I guess, it's time for us to stop complaining and take our step and reach out for those who are in need. As for me, my little step this week will be to gather my daughter's small clothes and give it to the children in the village this Saturday. What about you?

Finally!

Wohhoo!! After several weeks of waiting and communicating with Google Apps and GoDaddy, my custom domain www.lalainesworld.com finally works!! Yipee!! and big sigh of relief...Whew!!

I almost gave up and just let it go because it seemed nothing was happening to my custom domain..but thanks to Mommy Ruby and Janet who always asked me about it and everytime they ask, that's when I write Google Apps or GoDaddy to follow it up.

Anyways, I'm rejoicing now..even if my blogspot doesn't redirect it yet to my custom domain...but for me the most important thins is that the custom domain works!

So, to all my friends, who has my link..please change my URL to www.lalainesworld.com . THanks!

UNdeR ReNoVation

SOrry..if this blog is still quite messy.. I finally changed my template!! wohooo!!! BUt I think it'll take some time for me to arrange everything and put everything back in place...PLease bear with me for the messy state of this blog...but, what do you think of my new template? :)

"LET'S COMMUNICATE!"

I got this from A Piece of Idea ... It's truly a great piece of idea ..read on.

- - - - - Start Here - - - - -

Tagboard / Shoutbox Campaign

"LET'S COMMUNICATE!"

Objective: To gather all bloggers who use tagboards like cbox or shoutmix. (at the same time, increase technorati ranking)

Rules:
1. Copy from "Start here" to "End here"
2. Add you blog(s) on the list below.
3. Let me know your name and url by leaving a comment here. I will add you in the master list and contact you through your tagboard whenever there is an update to this tag

I USE A TAGBOARD:
1. A Piece of Idea 2. WriteShy 3. CanOfThoughts 4. Jvivance 5. Vhielscorner 6. Catsycarpediem 7. Simplycatsy 8. LifeBlog 9. BrainLoops 10. Lalaine's World 11. Budget Traveler #. Your Next...

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Busy..Busy..

I need to do something to manage my time and energy (?). I've been quite busy in the house lately, taking care of kids, homeschooling ( though not that serious yet) apart from the normal household chores that I don't have much time to blog or do my rounds..hehehe!! So, for all my friends who's dropped their cards, left some comments or left a message at the shout box..I'll get back to you SOON!!

I think I'll have to work out some kind of a schedule for me so that I can do a lot of things in a day...Maybe ..I'll have to start with..........sleeping early...so I can wake up early??..Okay got to go to sleep now.

Good Nightie everyone! Thanks for dropping by and see ya soon!

Check Out The Latest...

As someone who's far away from home, my blogging has been my way of keeping in touch or rather updating my family and friends about our life here in Thailand. So, you could imagine that I have a handful of loyal readers out there (heheheh!) . Everytime I've got a new post I'd have to send them an offline message or send sms to inform them to check out my latest post.

But just this evening, I found out a creative way that would be very helpful for me to inform my 'loyal' readers of my new posts and at the same time open up more opportunities for me to campaign and advertise my blog right into my family and friends' inbox. It'll be a two-fold advantage for me, my readers will get updated of what's my latest posts and at the same time it could create more traffic for my blog as I think of emailing new readers.

Well, the creative tool I've found is Zookoda , an email marketing application designed specifically for bloggers. It'll enable me to manage my email newsletter subscribers, enhance my blog with custom newsletter subscription forms, design eye-catching newletters to match my blog design and access mobile users by emailing blog content in text format. Whoho! Cool! I've already signed up and I can't wait to start using the application. I'm already thinking of emailing some of my non-blogger friends too and get them updated. And oh by the way, have I mentioned that all this is for FREE?

Marriage Mondays - The Wedding

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This is my first post for Marriage Mondays, actually I've joined this meme for quite a long time now, but since it's only every first Monday of the month, I always tend to miss it mostly because I'm disoriented with dates.:)

This month's topic is Our Wedding Day. This is actually a repost from my very personal blog. So, here is the shorter version..(?)
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Our Wedding

I realized that indeed when it's GOd's perfect will for two people to become ONE, all things will truly be possible!

This is very true for me and my Hubby. After that long talk talk we had on the 1st of November , 8 years ago, we knew that we're not just going to be girl friend/boyfriend but soon to be wife and husband.

The 'problem' was, both of us were not financially capable to have a wedding at that time. But God gave us peace. When people asked us about wedding plans, we would bravely answer in faith that the wedding will take place in my Hubby's country and in September 2002. But in reality, we didn't have any money to spend anything at all and we didn't know how to do all the preparations.

It was quite a unique arrangement. A few months before the wedding I was still in the Philippines, my Hubby was in Thailand while the wedding was to take place in Malaysia. I only went to my Hubby's country a month before the wedding and so did he.

But we were indeed blessed and saw how God has provided people to help us. When I arrived in Malaysia, a lot of their church members and family were asking what they could do to help us. What amazed me, was that everything was so organized. There was practically committees from the church for our wedding. Some people were in charge for transport, food, accommodation and etc. whew! We were just blessed by such great love. Then little by little, day by day people will call us, send email or sms and tell us that they want to sponsor for the suit, shoes, wedding cake, dessert, and etc. The biggest surprise for us all was, when a couple took us to a jewelry shop and asked us to choose our wedding rings!

Even on my family's side, since the wedding is to take place in Malaysia, everyone has to have money to buy the plane tickets and travel expenses. But God provided! Even my sister who had a problem with her passport application (due to misspelled name in her birth certificate), got her passport a day before they were going to leave. So, on August 27th of 2000, 21 members of my family and friends left from our country to attend our wedding. Everyone came, my parents, siblings with their spouses, nephew, nieces, aunt, Ninang, Ninongs and church members.

Even if there seemed to be a lot of things that still needed to be done for our wedding day but our most special prayer to God was that HE will just be there, His presence will just overflow on that precious day and HE DID! So, on September 7th of 2002, me and my first love got united in the presence of God, family and friends. There was just peace and order on that very special day. Everything just fell according to place. Even the rain didn't push through. It just drizzled a bit, enough to wet the dry ground and cool the air. The crowd of 500 guests was not overwhelming ( yes, you read it right 500 guests..a typical number of guests for an Indian wedding) And the worship was beautiful..even more beautiful was that I was going to spend the rest of my life with the man I love.

THat was indeed the most memorable experience in my life..when God united me with the Love of my life...in sickness and in health, till death do us part. :)

"Ai" Means Love in Japanese

I love my nickname and that's ' Love' in English, 'Rak' in Thai or "Ai" in Japanese. If I were to chose a manga name, I would still choose my name to be "Ai". Such a powerful name, as Love ( Ai) surpasses all things, right? No, I'm not learning Japanese now as I still have to master my Thai but there's this Japanese manga, Bleach the Movie which is coming in theaters on June 11th and June 12th. So, if you, your friends, kids, nieces or nephews are into Japanese manga, check out their site or find the theaters near you to purchase your tickets in advance as seats are only limited. Hurry!

Pretty Gurl!

This is my niece.. Look at her shiny black hair and well-formed eyebrows...Isn't she a pretty girl? I can't wait to hold her and cuddle her when we go home at the end of the year. I'm sure her Kuya Lyle ( my 8 month old son) would also adore her. Lyle just loves babies and children. Just today he was hugging and kissing his friend ( an 8 year old boy). Poor boy, his face was covered with Lyle's saliva afterwards..hehehe! He loves it though.

So, here is Tricia and Lyle's newest cousin. Cuteee!!