Fun-Filled Day at Star City

Our family enjoyed Star City theme park a week before December starts. Kids had much fun at the Kiddie Rides and we enjoyed the Family Attractions and Family Rides.

The kids enjoyed riding at the Rodeo and Kiddie Bumper Cars lots of times. Other kiddie rides includes the Quack-Quack, Kiddie Wheel, Magic Tea Cup and Telecombat.

We also had a great time at the family rides - the Magic Forest (train ride), Balloon Wheel (giant ferris wheel), Wacky Dragon, Wacky Worm an the famous Grand Carousel.

Grand Carousel

Balloon Wheel

Aside from the rides, the attractions inside Star City made our visit a wonderful one. Its great to take a boat ride at the Pirate Adventure. It's like sailing the world of the seafarers and seeing true-to-life villainous buccaneers scavenging the seas.

Pirate Adventure

Pirate Adventure

A walk-through at the spell binding fantasy attraction, Peter Pan, is experiencing the he tale and adventures of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and the rest of the kids.

Peter Pan

Time Tunnel is another walk-through attraction where you'll get to experience traveling through time from the from Dinosaur era to the computer ages.

My brother and his family entered Winter Funland, one of the most popular attractions, where you'll get to meet snowman and experience winter. There are official photographers inside if you want to have souvenirs since cameras and cellphones will be placed inside a plastic to avoid being damaged.

Other attractions includes the popular 4D Super Maxrider , the Lazer Blaster, Dungeon, Gabi ng Lagim, and Land of Giants.

Gabi ng Lagim

Adults must try all these thrilling rides - the Zyklon Loop (a 360-degree loop coaster), the Star Flyer (an inverted roller coaster), the Surf Dance (a ride that swings upwards, downwards, and sideways), the Viking (a pirate ship-inspired ride) and the Blizzard.

Star City usually gets crowded every Holiday Season, especially during Christmas Day and New Year's Day itself. Lines are much longer and you have to wait for hours before you can enjoy the ride or experience the attractions.

The good thing is, many of the rides and attractions are housed indoors, so you can still enjoy your visit even if it rains or if its too hot outside.

Here are some information if you're planning to visit Star City.

Rates:

Entrance Only - Php 60.00
3 Cheers Ticket - Php 300.00*
Ride-All-You-Can (RAYC)- Php 350.00*
*Entrance fee included
Lazer Blaster - Php 100.00
Winter Funland - Php 120.00
4D Theater Max Rider - Php 120.00
Animal Wonderland Php - 90.00

Packages:
RAYC + Winter Funland (WF) - Php 430.00
RAYC + Lazer Blaster (1 game) - Php 410.00
RAYC + 4D Max Rider - Php 410.00
RAYC + Animal Wonderland (AW) - Php 410.00
RAYC + Lazer Blaster (1 game)+ 4D + WF + AW - Php 610.00

Star City Schedules:

December 26-31, 2010 (1:00 pm-onwards)
January 1, 2011 (10:00 am-onwards)
January 2-3, 2011 (1:00 pm-onwards)
starting January 4, 2011 - 4pm onwards (Monday-Thursday), 2pm onwards (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Mommy Blogger's Cowboy Party

Last December 11, after my daughter's ballet class, I've attended a mommy blogger's party at Legend Villas.

It's so great to see cool moms go wild west in their rugged rodeo-style look - checkered tops, cowboy hats and boots - and partied like cowboys!

Thanks for the generous prizes and giveaways from the sponsors. These items are included in our lootbags, some are raffled off and some are given as prizes: 

Ainon baby products, Johnson and Johnson's baby powder, Unilab shirts and goody bag, Walter Double Fiber Wheat Bread, Maya Fluffy n' Tasty, Soyami Soya Chips, Playtex QuickStraw tumbler, bra extender and kiddie shoe bags from Proud Mama, and Massage Package from Leirs. 

Johnson's baby powder and Unilab shirt

Walter bread

Ainon baby product (thanks for the photos mom Tetcha)

I got an active health bag from Unilab from the raffle! 

The first 10 early moms got a Body Shop lotion and a token from mommy Tetcha. Gift certificates from Ipanema, Rider Sandal and Grendha from ELRO were also raffled off. Their so lucky, how I wish I got these items! :)

The top prize is a gift from Ms. TinTin Bersola-Babao of Parentin.TV. Ms. Agnes of Ainon drew the grand winner and picked mommy Bedalyn's name. 

grand prize!

It's such a fun-filled party! Mommies enjoyed the pass the cowboy hat and pinoy henyo games, laughters, karaoke singing and exchange gifts. I got beauty products from Jingkee!

Thanks to the mommies who organized this party and gathered sponsors, especially to Joy and Pehpot for informing me about this party and including me in their list.

I have to grab all these pics from mommy Tetcha as my camera failed me again. I just took these pictures by the time I arrived home. Again, thanks for all these :)

Of course, my kids loved the polvoron given by mommy blogger, Fedhz.

I should have posted this before Christmas, but anyway, have a Happy New Year everyone!

mommy bloggers with lil' cowgirl and cowboy :)

'Till next event! :)

Surprise Performance

I had a great 3-day Christmas celebration with my family. I'll be sharing some photos soon. I hope you also had a wonderful and blessed Christmas holiday!



I just want to share a great surprise that I received from my 4-year old son, a day before their Christmas program at school. It happened on the school's Speech Competition program for higher level students. Before the program started, the preschoolers performed a mini recital.

I accompanied my son to school and he keeps on telling me to watch the program and wait for him afterwards. When it was the Kinder 1 students turn, 3 girls recited a poem. I was amazed when my son walked towards the microphone, lead the group in reciting this nursery rhyme poem (complete with action):

One, two, Buckle my shoe;
Three, four, Shut the door;
Five, six, Pick up sticks;
Seven, eight, Lay them straight;
Nine, ten, A big fat hen!





I did not expect that he'll be having a solo-part. The microphone went off on the last line, but it didn't stop him from delivering his lines. He walked back on his place proudly, leaving everyone with smiles on their faces.

Yes, he did not intend to surprise me, but he did! He did not even practice at home nor inform us what he'll be doing on stage. It might be just a simple nursery rhyme, but he made it to be one great performance!



I'm a proud mom even more!

Happy Holidays!

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From My Family to Yours, I wish you all a Joyous Christmas! May the gifts of the season... Peace, Hope, Love, Health and Happiness be yours throughout the New Year!

Better Bathrooms Dream

I love taking a bath and I can manage to stay in the bathroom for hours. The bathrooms of hotels and resort rooms are something I always admire. I'm impressed with drama of the lighting, the mirrors, the sleek shower and shower doors, and elegant fixtures. I love its style and elegance, complete with a bathtub and even an LCD TV set! We enjoyed taking a bath in these bathrooms whenever we got the chance.

A better bathroom is something that every home must has. The bathroom is one essential part of everyone's home and it is important that its cleanliness should be given importance. My mom can't stand the sight of a smelly and unmaintained bathroom. She can't stay in a house with an awful bathroom.

Remodeling a bathroom can be stressful but the benefit and comfort that it would bring is priceless. If you're thinking of renovating or remodeling your bathroom, consider checking out betterbathrooms.com. They have a vast range of bathroom suites, bathroom furniture and fixtures to suit to fit your needs. BetterBathrooms have the best and quality accessories for your bathroom at an affordable price.

If I'll have a bathroom makeover, I want a modern and sophisticated bathroom. I want ours to be a haven of peace and tranquility.

What do you want your bathroom to be?

School Christmas Party Gifts and Clothes

I took these pictures before my kids entered the school gate.



My daughter wore her ruffled Gummy top, a pettiskirt made by a family-friend, shoes and headpiece from her two ninangs. My son wore his shirt and pants from Elle and shoes from Oshkosh.

I didn't get to see how their classroom Christmas party was. I just let our yaya took some pictures inside their classroom. But from their stories, I knew that they had so much fun with the party games and the little gifts they received from their classmates and teachers.

My kids also gave their teachers personalized Christmas gifts from Artscow.

Before November, I already knew what to give their teachers. Since I'm fond of creating personalized items at Artscow, memo pads and ornaments be the perfect gift for them. Deliveries during the Holidays usually takes a longer time and I have to wait for more than three weeks. Good thing, I received my orders on the second week of December, just in time for my the Christmas party of my kids. Artscow didn't fail me. 

I'm impressed with the quality of their memo pads and the ornaments. I'll thinking of ordering more items next year.

Create a Statement, Wear a Fashionable Hat

Theme-based Christmas parties are very popular these days - from retro, high school, Japanese anime, medieval, western to rockstar theme. Celebrating a Holiday party with a different approach is a great way to break away from the old, traditional parties. It's wonderful to see everyone dressed up in their costumes and see their fashionable styles.

My husband's office Christmas party is similar to the Mommy Blogger's Party that I've attended a week ago (which I haven't posted yet). It's going Wild West wearing a Cowboy-inspired outfit! It's an exciting party theme where cowboy hats and cowboy boots are one of the main attraction. And yes, my husband did wear a cowboy hat too!

There's something special about wearing a hat. Indeed, a great hat speaks for itself.

Most people want a hat that's far from being ordinary - just like Stetson hat. It's one of the most well known hats in the world with an amazing selection of quality hats. Their Fashion Collection, Classic Collection and the Vintage Collection remains to be popular. Aside from hats, Stetson also provides high quality boots, apparel, eyeware and fragrances. Where to get a great Stetson hat?

Hats are not just a fashion accessory. It can pull together an outfit, create a statement and improve your overall look. From casual to formal evenings, costume and holiday parties, wearing a hat can express your fashion sense and style.

Celebrate the Magical Sounds of Christmas at Shangrila

Shangrila Plaza Mall offers endless pleasures this Holiday season. Shopping is made more enjoyable as they share the joy and spirit of the Christmas with sound and holiday cheers.

Several events, which started last November 20 until January 9, 2011, will surely make everyone's visit to Shangrila Mall a joyous one.

If you'll be at Shangrila Mall on December 19, you can get to see the ballet performances from Effie Nanas Ballet, entitled "A Bouquet of Dances."

I'm proud that my daughter will be part of this ballet performance. After eight months of ballet lessons, this would be her first recital at the Effie Nanas Dance Centre. The whole family is really excited to see her dance on stage again.

Celebrating the Holiday Season in Style Wave 2

The Flower Collection can help me celebrate in style this Holiday season and fill my December month with much love and glam.

My Holiday Season won't end after all the gifts are opened. Checking out the fantastic clothes that The Flower Collection can offer had inspired me even more to dress in comfort and style as I celebrate my wedding anniversary and welcome the New Year!

I'll add spice to my clothes collection with pieces that comes with interesting details.

Well, it's been seven years of blissful marriage. I'll choose and outfit that would make my husband see the shine in my eyes, feel the warmth of my smile and hear the love in heart. These are the things that he fell for and me made me beautiful to him. Clothes from The Flower Collection will witness our overflowing love and happy moments.

Wearing a printed wrap-around top (Ashlyn) would bring out the best in me. The top's dominant red color breathes passion and romance. Wearing it with black pants (Jake) will make me look effortlessly sexy, chic and elegant.

Afterwards, I'll don a yellow sleeveless, round-ruffled neckline, knitted top with hemband (Cordy) as I celebrate New Year's Eve with my family. It's good that I can easily mix and match items from The Flower Collection. You can see my Holiday Collection Inspired Lookbook here. Then, I'll put on a lovely purple shawl (Tiara) that would add style into my attire. The bright colors are perfect for welcoming the New Year with cheerfulness and full of bright thoughts.

After the Holiday celebrations have toned down, I'll remain delighted knowing that my closet is filled with clothes from The Flower Collection. It marks the start of another year of style.

With it comes thousands of reasons to start my year filled with love and happiness, as I look forward to more amazing experiences and good times in the year that follows!

Don't forget to check out clothes from The Flower Collection.

Have a stylish holiday everyone!

Soyami Soya Chips: Healthy Chips Alternative

My kids enjoy eating a variety of foods, from meat, dairy products, bread, pasta and a lot more. As I'm passionate about eating chocolates, candies, sodas and even junk foods, I also allow my kids to enjoy these foods from time to time. Yes, these might be unhealthy indulgences, but I see to it that we take everything in moderation.

I'm quite surpised that there's a chip that is made from 100% soya - Soyami Soya Chips! This is a healthy alternative to the classic salty, msg-filled chips. It’s made from 100% real soya, no MSG, no trans-fat and non-GMO. That's wonderful news for everyone who loves to eat chips!

Soy is a good source of protein without contributing excess calories. It helpd decrease fat and cholesterol. Here are some interesting facts about soy (Source: Soy Foods Association of North America):

Soy blends well with other ingredients, even extreme flavors.
Soy can provide added fiber to kid’s diets
Soy is a cost-effective ingredient

Soyami Soya Chips is a junk food that's not junk. It's deliciously low in fat, sodium and calories.

It also comes in three exciting flavors: Original, Pizza and White Cheddar. I've just tasted the Original flavor. I bet the two other flavors are as flavorful and tasteful as well. I know that both my kids would enjoy munching it too.

Health is wealth. Next time that my family craves for a salty and crunchy chips, I'll go get a bag of Soyami. This is already available at selected leading supermarkets.

Soyami... so healthy, so yummy!

Celebrating the Holiday Season in Style

Every year, I look forward to celebrating my love affair with December. Amidst the busyness of the month, the congested traffic and burning wallets; I remain to be delighted for with it comes every meaningful celebrations parties, get-together and merry-making.

My December month started with the warmest birthday greetings from everyone who remembered my 31st birthday. The month will end with bliss as I celebrate our wedding anniversary, followed by a big 'bang' as I celebrate with everyone with fireworks and merriment to welcome a New Year!

In the next days, I am looking forward to these activities and events - my sister's 30th birthday celebration at SIS Macapagal, my 4-year-old son's mini recital at school, my 6-year-old daughter's first ballet recital at Shangrila Plaza Mall, and my kids's Christmas Adventure presentation at school. Not to mention the Christmas Eve dinner with my family, Christmas day with the in-laws and our day-after-Christmas event with other relatives.

In all these events and celebrations, I simply want to look my best. I can't just go out wearing my favorite comfy shirts, jeans and fit flops. I need to wear different clothes yet sport an equally glamourous look.

By nature, I am not a true-blue stylish fashionista... but by heart, I am!

This season, my closet needs to be a updated and I can give myself my very own fashion makeover for the holidays.

My Style and Fashion Wants:

+ clothes that fits my budget and perfect for my style and personality.
+ to look simple yet stylish, casual yet glam, at the same time.
+ clothes that I can mix and match with other pieces of clothing in my closet.
+ versatile pieces of wardrobe staples that can go a long way, not just for the holidays but the whole year 'round.

I've decided to take a look at the clothes from The Flower Collection and create my own 'Holiday Look Book.' It's a fashion style that doesn't scream.

Flower Collection Inspired Holiday Look Book

Fresh and Festive

A pair of white pants is an essential basic for any wardrobe. I would love to wear a White Pants and Halter Tops for my daughter's recital and Christmas Eve dinner. Wearing white pants gives me a feeling of freshness and sexiness. Pairing it with a halter top with a cowl neckline (2_Debbie) gives it an elegant appeal. Wearing it with a bright orange knit top (Desy) would be perfect for a wonderful family Christmas dinner.

Stylish Comfort

Jeans are timeless fashion staples. I can manage to look chic as I wear one in dark blue color. The dark fabric wash and semi-bootleg cut balances my body shape and draw attention away from my hips while making my legs look leaner.

I'll be pairing it with a sleeveless yellow top (Cordy), a color that matches my sister's bright personality - perfect as she celebrates her birthday. I'll put on a pink short-sleeved blouse with a fluttery design (Reena) as I attend my son's mini recital at school. his pants is also good for casual get-together with my other relatives and I'll wear it with a green halter top with shirring details (Shanta).

Sweet and Sexy

Black pants are a basic necessity for any woman's closet. I love the amazing allure that black pants can bring as it goes well with anything. It flatters my figure in an incredible way. I'll pair it with a white sleeveless top with ruffles and embroidery (Giana) perfect for great moments with the in-laws. I love the almost sparkling design of the short layered sleeveless top (Renes) which I can wear on our day-after Christmas celebration with other relatives. 

In between working and taking care of my family's needs, buying gifts and gift wrapping, sleepness nights and restless days; I know I can manage to look fresh and fab as I put on pieces of clothing from The Flower Collection.

I'll continue this post as I check more fantastic items from the Flower Collection and celebrate in style.

Stay tuned, as I'm thinking of posting a Second Part.

Meralco My Appliance Calculator

Electricity bills can make anyone cringe. Not just during summer where air conditioner is used for more hours a day, but also during the holiday season when Christmas lights are lit for more days and electric cookwares are used for extensive period.

How much is your monthly electric bill? Do you want to manage your electric bills better and know how much a particular appliance will consume electricity?

Now you can do this using the Meralco Appliance Calculator (MAC).

This is our Electricity Budget Buddy!

My Appliance Calculator is designed to be an electricity bill management tool of Meralco residential customers to help them: a) better manage their electric consumption and their electric bill; b) make wiser decisions in buying home appliances, and; c) get home energy efficiency tips that are customized to their home electricity consumption.

The “My Appliance Calculator” allows you to know the estimated consumption of your home appliances. 

The “My Bill Manager” allows you to get an estimate of the household’s total electric consumption cost, know which appliances consume most electricity and get energy efficiency tips.

Also, if you need to target a certain monthly bill amount, use the "Target bill Estimator" to know how many kilowatt hours you can consume. 

M.A.C. is a good way of checking what appliances contribute to our electricity bills. It is easy-to-use and a valuable tool for all consumers.

Anyone can access the M.A.C. from Meralco’s website: www.meralco.com.ph.

Try this and see for yourself!


[An Afternoon of Pampering]

It's good that I got invited to try this application. I honestly didn't know that M.A.C. existed way back 2003 and was just reintroduced.

I enjoyed the food from Bo's Coffee and the nail reflexology treatment at Beauty and Butter, located at the 5th level of SM Megamall.





Bloggers were provided with iPads so we can test the MAC. Everyone enjoyed the game while being pampered at the same time! 

Own a Louis Vitton or Gucci Bag

Designer bags are up for grabs!

From December 12 to March 12, 2011, the top 5 Chic Moms with the most number of referrals get to own a Louis Vitton or Gucci Bag.

Register now at Bounty Fresh Chic Moms Club.

Christmas Stockings at Shangrila Mall

I'm always impressed at the decors around Shangrila Plaza not just during the Holidays. The first thing I've noticed this season are the giant colorful boots at the entrance.



My youngest sister and I took part in the Christmas Stocking Making Activity at Shangrila Mall last December 4. Our time had been well spent while waiting for my daughter's ballet class to finish. It's good that the venue was held just beside the Dance Centre.



We've decorated our own Christmas stockings using  different art materials provided. There were lots of cute Christmas ornaments, ribbons, glitters and things to choose from.

After an hour, this is the finish product.



Photo With Ms.Rona, a freelance arts & crafts teacher, who gladly assisted each one of the participants.

I know my sister enjoyed this activity as much as I do! She's an art lover and really passionate about arts and crafts.

This Christmas stockings making activity was held to help decorate Shangrila Mall. These will be hung at the giant trees near the fountain at the Grand Atrium. Wow! I'll have to take pictures when I saw our Christmas stockings hanging at the Christmas tree!

If you'll drop by Shangrila Plaza Mall, don't forget to take your picture at the lovely Christmas tree!

Showing Real Love

I'm a proud owner of a Real Love Shirt.

Got this shirt from Fjordz's mini-contest for a cause. Thanks also to Ms. Janette Toral for the inspiring Real Love campaign and making the contest possible.

The Real Love Campaign is Unilever Foodsolutions' initiative in partnership with Team Manila for the benefit of Kythe Foundation. This limited edition shirt is available in Team Manila outlets for only PhP 550 (hope it is still available) wherein part of the proceeds of the shirt will go directly to Kythe Foundation.

This is a late post. But it's not too late to show your love and support to those in need. You can choose to become a volunteer, support a child or make a donation to Kythe Foundation. Make every children with cancer happy and let them enjoy life.  

You can Help Save a Child’s Life Today!

Gastro Chef Christmas Calendar 2010

Gastro Chef Knife Magnet

This is my first Gastro Chef product. A Knife Magnet made of Philippine Rosewood and Oak Inlay. I won this from Herword's previous contest. I can't believe that it cost Php 1795.00 ($42).

My sister also won in that same contest and got herself Sandwich Boards (in 4 sets) made of rosewood.

Gastro Chef has wonderful cutting boards, cooking tools, kitchen knives and accessories, serving trays, wine accessories and lifestyle products for your kitchen. Their products showcase the best of Danish design platform and Filipino craftsmanship.
I agree, it's more than just a kitchen brand... it's a lifestyle!

If you want to own a Gastro Chef product, you can join Gastro Chef Christmas Calendar 2010 contest and you might be lucky to win. They are giving away prizes every weekdays starting December 1-December 24.

The prizes from December 1 to 6 are:

December 1: Steak Board (with hole and groove)
December 2: Set of 10 Coasters
December 3: Bread Knife
December 6: Paring Knife

Congratulations to my husband!
He won last December 3 and he'll get to receive a Bread Knife (cost Php 1125.00)! That complements the Knife Magnet that I've previously won.

To join:

1. Register and log-in at the Gastro Chef Christmas Calendar.
2. Click on the current date and answer the question for the day. Questions are simple, it's just like answering a survey.

Goodluck and I hope you'll win too!

Exciting Online Shopping-Bidding in the Philippines

I've heard about Winila months ago, but it is only after receiving an email that I've decided to check what this online shopping site is all about.

Winila is an online shopping site where you can bid for items, buy products and save up to 95%. It's an amazing breakthrough for everyone's shopping experience. Winila makes online shopping-bidding exciting and hassle-free!

How Does Winila work?

1. It makes use of an online bidding where you will be going against other bidders. Each 'bid' that a buyer places increases the price of an item and add time to the clock. The final bidder when the timer hits zero is declared the winner.

2. Like other online shopping site, buy the product directly and pay the standard retail price.

How to Win an Auction?

You must be the last bidder of the item when the auction timer hits zero. But if you lose, you can still buy the product through the "Buy It Now" functionality, with a discount equal to the value of the bids you placed.

I've checked out some past winning auctions -
iPod Shuffle 2GB for bought for $2.78 (savings 94.98%)
Nokia X3 for $1.19 (savings 99.18%)
Victoria's Secret:Vanilla for $0.71 (savings 96.26%)
P500 Pancake House GC for $0.09 (99.25%)
Playstation 3 320 GB for $22.2

See, that's really huge savings!

How To Join:

1. Register at Winila Homepage.

2. Select a bid package to participate in the auction. Choose bid packages in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 bids. Each product bid cost costs Php 10, $0.50, or €0.50.

3. Shop around for open auctions and start bidding for the item you want.

You can also check out these interesting and useful videos to know more about Winila -

Winila VIP interview with Papa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5szISJRL9o

Trailer Mike Ferrer Winila interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiKUDVd9_oY

Winila VIP interview with Mike Ferrer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jekmgYDwJlo

Experience the fun of bidding and getting the item you want... Spend small, win big!

Beyond Happy @ 31

La Vita è Bella
La Vita è Amore!

Another year of my life has passed and it had been an eventful year.

Thank you for the greetings -family, relatives, online friends, blogger friends, mommy friends and acquaintances, Facebook friends, former officemates, schoolmates - from across the seas to the farthest continent.

You filled my mail box with emails, my cellphone with messages and my Facebook wall with your greetings. Each simple messages and wonderful wishes made the day special.

Thank you also to those who silently wished me a "Happy Birthday!," to those who I didn't expect would greet me, and to those who remains anonymous.

Thanks everyone for taking time out of your otherwise busy day
To stop for a minute, left me a message and say
... I wish you a very “Happy Birthday”!

Thank you to everyone who remembered...
you are all appreciated, forever treasured 
and cherished as priceless. :)

I am not just a year older, but a year better! I am grateful for all of the experiences that have taught me to be a better and stronger person.

My life is wonderful and I know I am blessed. Days won't always be good, but I won't complain. It's not without troubles - I have obstacles too - but I can still see the beauty of it. 

I look forward to the promise of many more amazing experiences and good times in the year that follows!

I am beyond happy!

"This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24

Survivor Philippines Celebrity Edition Winner

Akihiro Sato wins Survivor Philippines Celebrity Edition. This Brazilian-Japanese model-actor, tagged as "Mr.Nice Guy," took home 3 million pesos and the title as the Philippines First Celebrity Sole Survivor. He won the heart of the jury with 3 votes, against Ervic Vijandre and Solenn Heussaff, who got 2 votes each.

We've tuned in on TV to watch the finale of Survivor Celebrity Showdown and rooted for both Akihiro and Solenn. Solenn, who's always the last woman standing in the game, shows what a modern woman should be. She played the game well. She showed her strength, her braveness and her smartness all throughout.

Congratulations Akihiro for a well deserved win! Yes, it's a game, but true, you can play the game fairly. He gave his best in all the challenges, won immunity, beat his tribemates, yet never forgot to show concern and compassion. He might not be a pure Pinoy, but he showed everyone how to play fairly and with dignity. He's not a pure Pinoy, but has a heart of a Filipino, with the attitude of a true victor. He is humble but a real fighter.

Winning 'Survivor' needs the right combination of mental, physical and social skills. Survivor is a game of learning how to outwit,outplay and outlast your competitors. You have to be smart, just like how you would bet on sports where you need to understand the tips and trick of sports betting. Getting informed about Sports Betting Tips and Tricks can give you a head start.

Cartoon Character Facebook Profile Pictures Invasion

There's a new trend that's going viral on Facebook. Facebook users are replacing their profile pictures with photos of their favorite cartoon characters from their childhood.

The message says that this is a campaign to promote awareness of an increase in violence against children.

Change your facebook profile picture to a cartoon until Monday (Dec.6) there should be no human faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories. This is for violence against children.

Is this a goal to see how far Facebook can go and make people do this change; or one way to promote social awareness to take further actions against violence?

Yesterday, I've seen Facebook friends joined the campaign and put pictures of characters from the 70s, 80s, 90s and even recent cartoon characters. But it seems that the full force began today! In a span of hours, more than a hundred of my friends had changed their profile pictures!

Facebook Cartoon Profile Pictures

It's quite enjoyable to seen all those characters now. I've seen Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon, The Little Twin Stars, Smurfs and Smurfette, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, Astroboy, Batibot (local cartoon), Pooh and Piglet, Tinkerbell, Disney Princesses, Peter Pan, Voltes V, Daimos, GI Joe, X-Men, Rugrats, Olive, Candy Candy, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Garfield, Betty Boop, Pocoyo and a lot more!

Chilhood memories and the feelings it brought can never be replaced,. It seems like cartoon life is simple yet almost perfect, where everything comes with what you wished for.

Maybe I'll join trend and support this campaign... I'm torn amongst The Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, Hello Kitty and KeroKeroPi. Oh, maybe I'll go for Rainbow Brite! Her real name is Wisp and her talking horse is named Starlite. She was that little girl who wore a rainbow painted dress.

How about you, who's your favorite childhood cartoon character?
Have you changed yours?

Loving December, Turning 31

I love December month!

It has always been and will always be my favorite month. This mornings, I started reading My December Love Affair, and I fall in love over and over again.

[turning 31]

On December 2, I'm turning 31! I somehow wished to freeze myself into being 30 forever. But now, I don't cringe at the thought of saying goodbye to the age of 20-ish... I simply look forward to the life of being 30-ish!

I am stronger and wiser because of the past. I appreciate all the people who walked with me and played a huge part in my life.

Oh, and I'm saying thank you for this wonderful post Birthdays Galore! written by a good friend.

As I turn 31, I look forward to more wonderful lessons and experiences, more smiles and happiness, more years to cherish and treasure... seeing more sunsets and amazing sunrises!

[looking forward to]

+ the birthdays of my sister and my nephew
+ cousins' birthday
+ Christmas day and celebrations
+ family-reunions
+ gifts and gift-giving
+ my daughter's ballet presentation
+ my kids's Christmas program
+ New Year celebrations
+ ... and a whole lot more!

Woman Want 50x More

For 50 days, L'Oreal Paris Philippines had chosen the best “50x More” statement that completes the phrase “With fairer skin...” Daily winners get to win a L’Oreal Paris White Perfect Day Cream SPF17/PA++.

I won and I was chosen as the winner for Day 11.

DAY 11. With fairer skin, I can savor the goodness of life 50x more! -Czaroma Roman POSTED ON October 11, 2010

Thanks L'Oreal Paris for the prize and the special gift (White Perfect Fairness Revealing Soothing Cream Night, Whitening Toner, Double Eye Zone brightener, eyelash curler and tweezers).

Sabrett Hotdog at 50% Off

I always want a good deal. I guess, everyone wants this too. I've been checking Ensogo's deals since the day it started its first offer. This time, I've availed of its current deal - New York’s No. 1 Sabrett Hotdogs (valued at P200). Sabrett is the original New York-style frankfurters. My first Ensogo voucher! :)

The voucher is valid at Sabrett Hotdogs Eastwood Branch and Sabrett Hotdogs Shangri La Branch. Since we're at Shangrila Plaza Mall every weekends because of my daughter's ballet class, I can use this to buy snacks for my kids who love hotdogs and chicken nuggets. I've just bought 2 vouchers and paid only Php 200 ($4.63 USD) through Paypal.

Ensogo, with their tagline "Let's save together. Let's help together" make sure that people get value for their money. You can have 50%-90% savings on restaurants, hotels, spa, salons and a lot more. Aside from that, 3% of their revenue will be donated to a chosen charity. Payments are made through Bancnet ATM, Paypal and over-the-counter bank payments.

Register at Ensogo to update yourself on their daily promos and greatest deals!

Kids on Parenting Magazines

Seeing my kids' pictures getting published in parenting magazines is wonderful. I can't count how many times they've got included in different magazines. My kids doesn't dream nor wish of becoming celebrities, but all these are worth treasuring. These magazines make a good remembrance of their childhood years.

My daughter Skylah at Baby Magazine October 2010 - Its My Party corner

Baby Magazine October 2010

My kids, Skylah and Brent, at Baby Magazine November 2010 - My Favorite Pet corner

Baby Magazine November 2010

Baby Magazine November 2010

Two photos of my kids with Jollibee got published at Moms and Kids magazine Volume 12 Issue 4 at the Jollyme and Jollibee page. The first was the photo my son celebrating his first birthday at Jollibee, and the second was a photo with their aunt and cousins taken at Jollibee, Baguio City.

Moms and Kids magazine Volume 12 Issue 4