MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

-- from the Villanuevas

Happy 4th!

I just realized that today marks my 4th year in the blogosphere :)

And Then It Was Sean's Turn

First off, thank you to everyone who sent well wishes for Caitlin. She's doing fine now.

She was discharged from the hospital last October 28th (a day after I blogged about her confinement). But before she can be discharged, we had to wait for her pediatrician for a final checkup. Everything was clear and we just have to continue her nebulization twice a day for the next 2 weeks.

We also took advantage of the pedia's time to have Sean checked. He had fever the past 3 days and threw up 4x the previous day. We were really worried since throwing up in babies is not a very good sign. And before we could even leave the hospital and take our little girl home, our baby boy was admitted!

I immediately went to the admitting section to reserve (another) room for Sean. Then my brother and I took him down to the ER for some tests and to have his IV inserted.

He was really fussy and crying when his chest x-ray was taken that he fell asleep after. He didn't make a fuss when his IV was inserted. He just slept through it! The nurses, and even the ER doctors on duty, were amazed that he didn't cry at all! But I wasn't really surprised since he doesn't cry during his vaccine shots. Hehehe...

He still threw up during the first couple of days in the hospital but his fever had started to go down. He was just given some vitamins and paracetamol since his pedia suspected that it was just something viral. But after that first 2 days, he started coughing and phlegm was detected in his lungs. He has bronco pneumonia. The pedia then started him on some antibiotics.

Thankfully, he responded well to the medication and was discharged on November 1st.

Whew! The hospital was our home for that entire week! I don't think I'd like that to happen again anytime soon.

Here's a picture of Sean in the hospital. He didn't look sick at all!



And in case you're wondering what's that big white thing wrapped around his arm, that's a disposable diaper. They use it to prevent the patient (specially babies and toddlers) from playing with and eventually taking off the IV.

Anyway, both kids are now back at home and doing well. It even seems as if they were never sick at all.

Again, thanks for all your prayers and well wishes! We really appreciate them! :)

i wish...

i could disappear...
even for just a day...

*sigh*

My Little Girl Is Sick... Again!

The little girl is confined in the hospital… again :(

She was still fine after her UN program in school last Thursday. But she started to become a little feverish come late afternoon. I just gave her some paracetamol to lower her temperature.


Then on Friday, while I was at work, I got frequent calls from my Mom who updated me of Caitlin’s condition. She said the little girl was REALLY not feeling well, a clear indication of which is that my little girl has been sleeping the whole day and didn’t want to eat anything. Her fever even registered 38.9 degrees Celsius at one point during the day. I also reported these to hubby every time I get updates from my Mom. We agreed that we’d take Caitlin to her pediatrician the following day.

When I got home from work, I checked on my little girl and asked if she wants me to take her to the hospital. She said she just wanted to sleep and rest. But I noticed that she’s having a hard time breathing. You see, she has asthma (which she unfortunately got from my side of the family). I just waited for hubby to get home from work and we rushed her to the hospital’s ER.


When we arrived at the ER, the nurse on duty immediately approached us. He asked what the problem was and then he called the resident pedia on duty. We waited.

When the pedia arrived, she asked us some more questions. Caitlin is having an asthma attack! The pedia instructed the nurses to hookup Caitlin with an oxygen tank and to nebulize her 3x -- once every 30 minutes. Little girl was also hooked up with a machine that monitored her heart rate and was also taken to the Radiology Section for some x-rays. I was then asked to go to the Admitting Section and have Caitlin admitted.



The oxygen was taken off on Saturday afternoon and Caitlin has been responding well to the medicines and nebulization. Her IV was removed last night. Thank God!

Good thing we all have health plans. Otherwise, we may have just waited the next day to bring her to her pedia instead of rushing her to the ER. You know how much emergency services cost!

I hope she can be discharged by tomorrow.

Tagged: Caitlin's Books

Tagged by Em.



:::START COPY:::
Do you read books to your child?
Does your child like to read books?
Do you like to buy new books or is second-hand ok?
Post a picture of your child’s bookshelf if you have one.
Drop a line in this blog if you receive this tag and do it.
:::END COPY:::



Caitlin is very fond of books. Although she can't read yet, she has shown interest in them as early as 2 years old. She doesn't really mind if they were new books or 2nd hand books. And reading books before bedtime has become a nightly routine for us.



Here are some of her favorites lately...

As I've said, these are just some of her favorites. She has lots more (and I mean A LOT!).

She has also shown interest in workbooks the past weeks. So we bought her some and she already started working on them.

At the rate we're accumulating these books (not to mention Sean's books in the future), we'll be needing more bookshelves to keep them organized.

Feel free to snag! :)

5 Years... and counting

I can't believe it has been 5 years already. How time flies!



Five years ago, today, we made a promise to love each other forever. I hope and pray that promise remains.

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you!

Earlier Than Expected

Looks like the shipping boxes we are expecting to arrive in time for the Christmas holidays will arrive sooner than expected. My dad's eldest brother, Tito R, will be arriving next month and he'll be bringing with him our loot!

Everytime I speak with my aunts/uncles on the phone, they would ask me what I want for myself, for hubby, and for the kids. I always tell them to just surprise us.

I wonder what would be in the boxes. I can't wait!

If Only...

I think I deserve an award. An acting award, that is.

These past months, I've been trying to streth my patience as much as I can and trying to keep myself from doing something I know I'd regret later on. But I can only take so much. After sometime, I'm sure I'll explode.

If only I can get moving boxes, put all M's things in them, and order M move out.

But I can't. I don't think I can be that mean.

Just ranting...

Sleep, Where Are You?

I am sleep deprived. I have been for the past nights. Or has it been weeks already? I can't remember. And it's not because I can't sleep. It's because I've been bringing home work from the office lately. You see, we have a delivery deadline on Monday and we can't miss it. I'm starting to have breakouts due to my lack of sleep. I just hope they don't develop into acne *cross fingers*.

Fortunately, my team pulled through. We'll meet the deadline on Monday. Woohoo!

Now, if I could just catch up on my sleep...

Snagged Tag: This Meme Is Brought To You By The Letter "L"

Snagged this from Meeya.

She says, "make a list of your 10 favorite things using the third letter of your name".

I debated between using the 3rd letter from my nickname or the 3rd letter from my real name. I finally decided on using that from my real name. I figured, I'd have a hard time thinking of my favorite things using my nickname's 3rd letter -- "Z"! Haha!

So here are the 10 things I love that start with the letter "L".

1. LASAGNA. Or any pasta dish. I love Italian food!
2. LIGHTS. More specifically, Christmas lights. For some reason, during Christmas time, I love sitting in the living room with the lights turned off. And the only source of light is the lights on the Christmas tree.
3. LILAC. One of my two favorite colors. The other is pink. We had these as our color motiff during our wedding 5 years ago.
4. LAS VEGAS NV. Not for the casinos, though. I just had fun during my short stint (i.e., project assignment) there.
5. LOVE NOTES. From my family.
6. LAPTOP. My new toy. An anniversary gift from hubby.
7. LAUGHTER. Especially those by my kids :)
8. LIFE. Just love it!

And of course...

9. LITTLE ANGELS. My two little angels, Caitlin and Sean.
10. LOVE OF MY LIFE. My dearest hubby. No need to explain :P

Feel free to snag. But if you do, please list down your 10 favorite things that begin with the second letter of you family name :)

Thanks Meeya! This was challenging but I had fun!

Pregnancy Massage

I've been told that massages should be avoided during pregnancy and if you really need one, a person who is knowledgeable in pregnancy massage techniques should be consulted.

I remember enduring back pains during my pregnancies. How I wish I availed of a pregnancy massage at that time. But I didn't know where I could have the service. If only I found out about this Pregnancy Massage DVD sooner. I wouldn't have endured the pregnancy-related pains that I had.


Below is a video excerpt from the DVD.

Pregnancy Massage Video

Massage Videos | Pregnancy Massage
I would definitely share this to all my preggy friends!

LP: Luma Na

Ito ang aking lahok sa linggong ito... mga lumang larawan naming mag-anak.

Ito ang mga litrato naming mag-asawa noong kami ay mga sanggol pa lamang. Ang mga litrato naman ng aming 2 anak ay maituturing ding luma na dahil ang mga ito ay kuha noong sila'y iilang buwan pa lamang.

Mahuhulaan nyo ba kung sino-sino kami dyan? Di ba't magkakamukha kaming lahat? :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Here's my entry for this week's LP... pictures of our family.

These are baby pictures of hubby and myself. Our kids' pictures may already be considered old since these were taken when they were still a few months old.

Can you guess who is who? Don't we all look alike?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Visit other entries here.

Happy LP, everyone!

Tagged: One Word

Tagged by Maver

Here’s the game:

You have to answer the question with ONE WORD only and then you have to tag 4 people.

1. Where is your cell phone? DESK
2. Your significant other? HONEY
3. Your hair? BLACK
4. Your mother? MAMA
5. Your father? DAD
6. Your favorite thing? CHEESECAKE
7. Your dream last night? "EWAN"
8. Your favorite drink? WATER
9. Your dream/goal? SAHM
10. The room you’re in? CUBICLE
11. Your hobby? READING
12. Your fear? DEATH
3. Where do you want to be in 6 years? PINAS
14. What you’re not? SLIM :D
15. Muffins? CHOCO
16. One of your wish list items? IPHONE
17. Where you grew up? MANILA
18. The last thing you did? PLURK!
19. What are you wearing? USUAL
20. Favorite gadget? LAPTOP
21. Your pets? NONE
22. Your computer? COMPAQ
23. Your mood? DEPRESSED
24. Missing someone? KIDS
25. Your car? LANCER
26. Something you’re not wearing? NECKLACE
27. Favorite store? NONE
28. Like someone? NO
29. Your favorite color? PINK
30. When is the last time you laughed? "KANINA"
31. Last time you cried? "KAGABI"

Thanks, Maver! Now, I'm tagging Dyes, Toni, Jeanny, and Eds.

LP: Ang Aking Kompyuter (My Computer)

Huli man daw at magaling, naihahabol din :P

Ito ang aking lahok para sa linggong ito...


Ang aking computer sa trabaho na in-issue ng aming opisina. Tampok ang mga larawan ng aking mga chikiting na nagsisilbing inspirasyon ko. Tuwing ako'y nakararamdam ng stress o pagod sa aking trabaho, tumitigil ako sandali para tingnan ang kanilang mga larawan :)

Bisitahin ang iba pang lahok dito.

PS - ihahabol ko na lang ang litrato ng aking bagong laptop na regalo ng aking mahal na asawa :)

LP: Puti at Itim

Ito ang aking lahok sa LP ngayong linggong ito...

Kuha ito sa Miniature Museum sa Marikina. Isang miniature na silid na puno ng puti at itim na larwan ng iba't ibang personalidad. Sinamahanpa ng mga puti't itim na pusa.

Tingnan ang iba pang lahok dito.

And They Are Off

to Singapore for this...

I'm sure they're going to have lots of fun!

Learning to Cook

I’ve always envied my dad when it comes to cooking. He can easily whip up and cook anything using whatever ingredient he finds in our pantry or fridge. No, he didn’t go to any culinary school. He says, he just learned it from grandma. But I think, it’s just pure talent.

How I wish I got his cooking genes! I know how to cook, but only simple dishes. I’d love to be able to “really” cook for my loved ones!

So should I already look at culinary schools and enroll myself in a chef school? I think I'll just ask my dad to teach me, in the meantime :)

A Gift For Hubby?

Hubby needs a new protective case for his Ipod Touch. You see, Caitlin has been playing with hubby’s ipod almost everyday since we bought it in January. And his Ipod’s original case has cracked due to her “daily” use.

Hubby’s bringing his ipod with him when he goes to Singapore on Thursday so we really need to get a replacement case ASAP. And since our wedding anniversary is nearing, I’m thinking of giving him a gift that he could use with his ipod. And so, I’m also looking at several accessories for ipods.

I hope he’s not reading this. Otherwise, I’ll have to think of something else to give him. Haha!

LP: Ginintuan

Ito ang aking unang paglahok sa Litratong Pinoy...

"Wear this ring

As a sign of my love and loyalty

In the name of the Father

And of the Son

And of the Holy Spirit"

Mga singsing na gawa sa puting ginto. Iyan ang simbulo ng aming sumpaang mamahalin ang isa't isa habang buhay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This is my first LP entry.

Rings made of white gold, symbols of our commitment and promise to love each other forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Visit other entries here.

It's Party Planning Time Again!

Since Sean turned 6 months old, we (actually I) have (seriously) started thinking about and planning his first birthday party. The theme would definitely be F1 – that’s non-negotiable according to hubby.

We already have a couple of venues in mind. I’ve already inquired about party items and services from a number of suppliers. I’ve also started looking at some promotional products for ideas on possible souvenirs/lootbag items.

What I’m having a hard time on is thinking of souvenirs/lootbag items for the girls since F1 is more of a boy’s theme. Any ideas/suggestions? Let me know if you think of something, okay?! :)

Another Update On My Grandma

My cousin K just came back from a week long vacation in the US. She went to visit her dad who celebrated his birthday last September 8th. While there, she also visited our grandmother who, as I previously blogged, had a stroke.

She had lots of stories to tell about her vacation, especially since it has been some time since she last saw her parents and her sister. She also had an update about our grandma.

K says that grandma is okay and is doing fine, although, sometimes, she tends to forget things. There are times when she would wear her sweater inside out, or wear her sweater such that the back is at her front. And she would not realize what she has done until someone points it out to her. K says that this has become quite a concern for our aunts/uncles taking care of grandma. Grandma might hurt herself eventually if she keeps on forgetting things. And since she’s already showing signs of being absentminded, she might just wander off by herself and forget where she lives.

Times like these, it would be good if a medical alert were sent to her caretakers so that they can immediately know if something bad has happened to her. I know there are devices available in the market that can send such medical alerts. Maybe I should suggest this to my aunts/uncles.

Look Alike?

Sean and Me :)

I made a similar post here on Caitlin and Hubby :)

Sean is 6 months old!

How time flies! It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I gave birth to Sean. Then he turned 6 months old yesterday!

To celebrate the occasion, we bought him a tiramisu cheesecake (he’s not eating yet anyway… hihihi…) from Banapple.



We also officially started feeding him with solids… we gave him cereals (banana with milk flavor) and he really liked it. He even grabbed the spoon from me!



Now that he’s 6 months old, he’s started to become really active. I wonder if I’ll need to take energy pills soon to keep up with him. Teehee!

On Bridal Gowns

As I previously blogged, cousin P is getting married this month – on September 10^th to be exact, just a couple of days away. Caitlin is one of the flower girls and we’re really excited! This is her second time to be a flower girl.

She fitted her gown a couple of weeks ago. And just this past weekend, we dropped by cousin P’s house to pick up the finished gown.

Here she is trying the dress on a few weeks ago.

We let her try on the dress again last night and tried to figure out how we will fix her hair for the occasion. Hehehe…

Here she is trying the dress on (again), with matching curlers in her hair

She's really excited! And she's been practicing walking down the aisle :)

Anyway, I remember when hubby and I were planning our own wedding 5 years ago. It took as more than a year to prepare. I had lists and lists of things to do. I was very particular with my wedding dress. I am on the heavy side so I really wanted to make sure that I look good in my gown.

I searched for the perfect dress. I looked at catalogs for bridal dresses that would suit my taste. I went to bridal boutiques and tried on some wedding dresses. I even took pictures of myself so I can decide later on what my dress’s final design would be. I also looked at bridesmaid dresses because I want my female entourage to look beautiful in their gowns.

When I finally met with my designer, I had a fairly good idea of what I want. So, here's my wedding dress.

I really loved it! :)

Fieldtrip to the Fire Station

Last August 21, Caitlin (along with her classmates and teachers from KIDS Academy) went on a mini-fieldtrip to the Marikina Fire Station. Neither Hubby nor I could take the day off work so Mama Sit (my mom) was the one who accompanied her during the trip.

My mom took pictures so she could show us how the fieldtrip went.

I was surprised to see that the fire station had a mascot!



A fire-"woman" welcomed them and toured them around the station. They were also given an opportunity to wear a fireman's helmet and hold the water hose.



My mom says Caitlin had fun! :)

When I think about it, being a fireman, or a firewoman for that matter, is not an easy job. It's even a hazardous one. I wonder if all of them have insurance, like those from Key Man Insurance. I'm not sure how insurance companies cover people with perilous jobs such as theirs.

Anyway, more pictures here.

Tagged: Seven Facts

Munchkin Mommy tagged me with this meme. Thanks Weng!

The rules:
a. List these rules on your blog.
b. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
c. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. You'll have to read on for my 7 facts and see who I tagged.

My 7 facts:

1. I auditioned for a part in a movie (for Regal Films) when I was around 6-7 years old. My Aunt N really wanted to have at least a niece or a nephew (if she can't have any of her children) in show business. when she found out about the audition, she took all of us (read: her children, nieces, and nephews) with her and made us audition for the part. Unfortunately, not one of us passed. Haha!

2. I am the eldest and the only girl in a brood of three.

3. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration but have been in the IT industry since I graduated. Go figure! Haha!

4. I married my first and only boyfriend :)

5. I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in 1998. We knew we'd have a difficult time conceiving. But God is good. We now have a beautiful daughter and a cute baby boy.

6. I had complications with my 2 pregnancies. I had placenta previa with my first, which left me no choice but to deliver via C-Section. Then, on my second, I had pregnancy-induced Hypertension (PIH) which required me to carry a portable blood pressure monitor with me all the time to monitor my blood pressure levels. Thankfully, I didn't have additional complications when I gave birth.

7. I really, really, REALLY want to be a stay-at-home mom or a work-at-home mom. I'm getting tired of the corporate world. Hehehe...

Seven friends I'm tagging: Che, Jeanny, Dyes, Haze, Arlene, Toni, Cynch.

Caitlin's Fear/Food Factor

Tagged by Em and Maver

~~~Start Copy~~~

1.) Name something strange that your kids love to eat. Doesn't matter how many.

2.) Post an image of him or her enjoying 'the' strange food liking. If none, just a photo of him having a feast.

3.) Add your kids name in the linky love with the blog where you posted this meme.

4.) Get back to Living the Healthy Life Blog by leaving a comment so your kids' name be added to the master list.

5.) Tag as many of your friends with kids.

Kids who joined the fear food factor: ETHAN / MARTHA / JJ / Ozzy / GABBY and NICCO / ESTONG / Kuya and Kowi/ Big Brother AL-kiddo of Mommy Yen / LIZZIE / HALIGILET / DIMPLE / Ethan - kiddo of Mommy Butchay / EU-LEH "Kulit" - Little One of C.A. "tque" / Margaux and Bianca / Mikee / Munchkin Mommy’s ABBY / Alex / Cheska / Joaquin / Bela / CAITLIN / YOUR KID's NAME with your Blog's URL

~~~End Copy ~~~

Whenever we tell Caitlin to eat (whether at breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner time), she always says "mamaya na lang (I'll eat later)" or "busog pa ako (I'm still full)". If she does eat, she eats rice. That it... just rice. No ulam (viand).

But she loves french fries! So that's what she always gets when we dine out.

Now I'm tagging Che-Che, Kitts, Marie, Apple, Toni.

Relief from the Heat

My Dad picked me up from work the other day, as he would normally do when my brother and I do not bring the car. As we were driving home, our car’s air conditioning died down on us. We had no choice but to pull down the windows. But it was really hot outside! I still had to fan myself. Good thing, Caitlin didn't come along, or else she would have felt dizzy with the heat.

So the next day, Dad took the car to the autoshop to have it checked. Apparently, the ac compressor would have to be changed. As luck would have it, the shop has a Mitsubishi ac compressor in stock (our car is a Mitsubishi Lancer). Otherwise, we would have to look for air conditioning compressors online.

A site that would really be good to go to for auto ac parts needs would be http://www.discountacparts.com/. The site offers a wide range of a/c compressors for any car model/make. They also offer the items at discounted prices. Do check out the site for your auto air conditioning needs.

Planning for our Future

I was going through our monthly bills and other expenses while doing our family’s monthly budget the other day. I couldn’t help but feel weighed down by the figures glaring at me. No, we’re not filing for bankruptcy just yet. And we’re not even in the negative. I can say we’re still doing fine. I just wish we were debt-free so we can really save up and fulfill our dream of having a house that we can truly call our own. We would also love to travel the world, see new places and experience different cultures. We’d like to be able to send our children to good schools/universities. Most of all, we’d like to retire and enjoy the fruits of our hard work.

Then, I came across this site where one can take a test to find out what his/her bills IQ is. I took the test to see if we are still on the right track and are still financially fit.

How did I fare? I think I did fine. I knew the basic concepts of credit, debt, budget, wealth and life plan. At the same time, I learned new things that will help us become more financially fit. Hubby and I can use this new knowledge to better manage our financial status and plan for our future.

So if you’re wondering what your bills IQ is or how financially fit you are and if you would like to learn more, visit Bills IQ now and take the test.

Update: April 2008

April marked some of Sean's firsts.

~ His first "real" bath.

~ His first "pasyal" at SM Block, Bonifacio High Street and Baywalk.

At Bonifacio High Street:

At Baywalk, Roxas Blvd.

And of course, we celebrated his 1st month birthday.

Bloggerwave

I have been doing a lot of blog advertising lately, trying to make money from blogging. The earnings are not much but I still welcome the extra income.

I came across Bloggerwave, another site that allows bloggers to earn from their blogs. I figured, I may as well sign up and try them. I’ve nothing to lose anyway. Let’s see how it goes.

I Have A New Laptop!

Our desktop computer died down on us several months ago. Instead of sending it to the authorized service center for repair, I bugged convinced hubby to just replace it with something more portable and compact. Besides, I've been itching to have my own laptop for sometime now. So we looked at laptop computers as a replacement.

We looked at different brands and models of laptops. They were all so confusing to me. Though I work in the IT industry, I'm not that well-versed when it comes to computer hardware specifications. I'm more of the "just-give-me-the-ready-to-use-machine-and-i'll-use-it" type of person. Hubby (who also works in the IT industry) was not much of a help either. He just left me to read/understand all the specifications of the different models and decide on which one I like.

The first decision I had to make was to choose between buying a sub-notebook like the HP mini-note or a standard laptop. I liked the handiness of the mini-note yet I wanted the features of a standard laptop. I finally decided on a standard laptop. The a small price difference between the mini-note and a standard laptop (at least, versus the models I included in my shortlist) became my deciding factor.

The next decision was to choose which brand/model to buy. I really had a hard time with this. I also had to consider our budget aside from the laptop specifications. So that means, Apple laptops are out of the list (I'm wishing for a Macbook Air... heehee!). Since I'm now more confused than ever, there's nothing left for me to do but to inquire and ask the store clerks of the store from which we were to buy "my" laptop :)

So yesterday, to make me feel better and brighten up my mood after having a crappy and frustrating Friday at work (which is a different story altogether), hubby and I went to the computer store to look at the brands/models of laptops I have in my shortlist. As usual, hubby left me to do the "asking/inquiring". The store clerk who assisted us was really helpful. He explained to me the pros/cons of each model. He told us which would be our "best buy".

I finally decided on a HP Compaq Presario V3901TU. Hubby bought it for me as an advanced anniversary gift.

Now, should I already be thinking about Lexmark printers (with a few extra stocks of printer toners) and scanner? Just kidding!

Thanks, Honey! I just love my new "toy"!

Brillante Weblog Award

Thanks Toni for this!

The below recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers.Here are the rules for passing on the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I'm passing this on to my fellow WifeSpeakers.

A Funny Thing Happened in Florida

As most of you know, my line of work has required me to travel and be assigned overseas for months at a time for project assignments. My travels have brought me to several countries in Asia, to Australia, and to several states in the US.

Though the main purpose of my travels is business or training, I made sure that I get to visit at least some of the tourist attractions of the places I have been to. I would often schedule my sight seeing on weekends. Somehow, it sort of felt like I was on vacation even if I am there for work.

I remember, during my first foreign assignment, our team decided to go on a trip to Orlando, Florida during the Holy Week break. We visited the Universal Studios, MGM Studios, and Disneyland. But since most of us are Catholics, we still tried to observe Holy Week as much as we could.

The last day of our trip coincided with Easter and before we headed for the airport to go back home, we all decided to hear Easter mass. So we drove around the city to find a church. As soon as we saw one, we parked our rented van and ushered ourselves inside.

We noticed something odd during entire the mass celebration – the priest had his back turned towards the whole community. We thought maybe it was because it was Easter. Then communion came. We wondered why we were given actual bread and not the host that we were used to.

It was only when we got out of the church after the mass that we noticed it wasn’t a Catholic church! Haha! We had the laugh of our lives but we figured it’s our good intention that counts.

Before we actually went on the trip, we refered to online travel guides for available Orlando tours. We found http://www.trustedtours.com/. A travel site that offers discounted tours of several key cities, such as Las Vegas tours (that included a visit to Madame Tussauds wax museum), etc. You can even subscribe to their site’s newsletter, which by the way gives you a chance to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate just by signing up. It's that easy!

Next time you’re planning to go on a vacation, you may want to check out this site :)

My Newest Inaanak (Godchild)

Welcome to the Christian World, my dear Angelyn! Sorry, I can't be there to witness your christening. But I'll see you next year, okay? Be good. God bless.

Love,
Ninang Cez