smoking cigar

Have you tried smoking cigars? My colleagues told me that they've tried Dutch Master cigars. So far, they liked the flavor as it good up to the last puff. One of our clients from LA brought packs of Dutch Masters and as per him, these cigars are America's favorite natural wrapped cigar, and have been sold in the U.S. since 1911. They are instantly recognizable for their distinctive packaging featuring Rembrandt's famous painting, and for the characteristically smooth, mild, mellow flavor and aroma. True to its word. My colleagues liked it and asking for more. Hehehe! =)

off to Palawan

Next weekend, my friends and I will be off to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. I am so excited and just can't wait! You see, despite the rainy weather the past few days here in Manila, the Palawan islands promised to be a sun, shiny weather next weekend. Thus, aside from enjoying the beach, island hopping and snorkeling ... I look forward to shrimps and crabs galore. THE ultimate food trip.

Honda Bay - Palawan

One of the Philippine's premiere tourist destinations, Honda Bay, Palawan island is also known as the "The Last Frontier". It is host to several of the most exclusive resorts in the country. With its white sand beaches, magnificent landscape, fishing villages and rainforests, it is a favorable destination of adventurers and nature lovers. The province has several sites that attract divers from various parts of the world. In the city center of Puerto Princesa, hall of fame awardee for the cleanest and greenest city in the country, several tourist spots can be seen in a one day tour. This would include Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, the world's largest prison "without bars", and the Kamarikutan Gallery. The city's best offering is the St. Paul Subterranean National Park that is famed for its 8.2 kilometer log river, said to be the longest of its kind in the world.

happy news

Received a text message from my colleague, one of our preggy friend already gave birth the other night. The baby was born a week ahead of it's scheduled ceasarian operation. But despite the early sched, everything was normal. The new baby named Skye, was born 50cm long, and tipped the scales at 6.11lbs. The proud parents, Beng and Rho ecstatic with the new addition on their family. After nine years, they were blessed with another baby girl. Equally pretty like their first born, Nica. To my good friends, Beng and Rhoand ... congratulations! Looking forward to her baptism party by next year =)

Trick or Treat outfits

And before thinking all those Christmas wish list and holiday brouhaha, one must not forget the Halloween Trick and Treat Activity for kids this coming November. I haven't decided yet if I'll let my kids wear something cutie or scary this year, but so far the little girl already started dropping hints that she wanted to be pretty and sweet this time. She's been eyeing to be like a fairy, Tinkerbell for the Halloween party in school as she wants to be have wings and wand. I haven't given much thought, but as I browse the web for possible halloween costumes , I so want to get the little boy the robot costume. Do you think at one year old he can carry the Ironman outfit? Real cutie. Anyway, check some of the cute costumes I found on the net =)

early Christmas wish

90 days before Christmas ... could this true? Time flies so fast! It felt like summer ain't over yet as I've just recently blogged our last Singapore summer escapade, and now the holiday season already slowly creeping around the corner. I can hear the Christmas jingles played in some of our local malls, and Christmas decors and goodies displayed on racks. In fact, most of the malls now starting to conduct clearance sales in preparation of the holiday shopping. And speaking of all these holiday brouhaha, I better start doing my Christmas list. This season, I am thinking of getting something practical for myself and family. My intial list includes the following:

1. set of eight crab crackers

2. brandnew rice dispenser - our old one served it's purpose for the past six years and needs to be retired.

3. emergency light - obviously for emergency brown-outs

4. a set of iPod auxillary cable for both of our cars

5. sexy hot lingerie to be worn on Christmas eve (naughty! naughty!)

6. new set of pillows ... hoping I can get the expensive ones made of goose feathers =)

7. set of twelve charger plates with holiday prints for parties

Hmmm... mostly for home use eh. How about you, have you made your intial wish list?

the party outfits

I've been so busy with work lately that I almost forgot to update you peeps with my party preps. So far, everything seemed going well with my plans. I've already booked most of my party suppliers, and even provided sixty-percent of downpayments to them. And with barely two months left before the big day, I am more concerned now with the party outfits. Almost missed this one! Getting a jungle safari for the celebrants not easy at all. I've been trying to shop online for the appropriate theme costume, and so far ... no luck at all. If only I had the barnyard or the cowboy theme, getting an outfit like an equestrian apparel would be smooth and easy. Most of the costumes I browsed online geared to cowboy and wild, wild west parties and I am seriously considering of getting them. Oh, if only I could ...

a sneak peek

As I previously blogged, I was out for a three-day conference in a sun-shiny town named Mactan, Cebu. And for three-days, the husband and I stayed at Crimson Resort and Spa. Newly-built resort hotel down south of the archipelago. I was told that the resort is still at soft launch stage, and so far ...so good. Not yet formally opened its doors to the public, and with the target launch by October 8, 2010.. everything in full swing now. Both construction and maintenance working overtime to make it ready by then. Anyway, here's a sneak peek of Crimson Resort and Spa. Enjoy photos below while I shop online for mbt shoes I can bring on my next travel =)

anniversary gift

With barely five months away, I am now thinking of fabulous gifts to get the husband for our anniversary. I don't know if it's just a phase, or call it 7-year itch anniversary ideas but every year, buying a surprise gift for the husband is always a challenge. Two years ago, I got him a very expensive watch and after this, I haven't got him present to top that. Thus for next year, I am planning to give him a surprise trip ...perhaps, travel somewhere private and secluded with just the two of us. Splurge on a trip! Perhaps go to places we haven't explored together like Amanpulo, Maldives or Kota Kinabalu. Or probably go something traditional and get him gifts made of copper like bracelet or necklace. Or to be modern about it, get him a nice stylish pen. Hmmm...nothing definite. First need to allot budget for my surprise gift. No idea where I would get it, but definitely will give the husband something meaningful and memorable for our upcoming anniversary.

new gadget

The husband and I are thinking of getting an iPad for ourselves as Christmas present. I've been bugging him to replace my old Compaq laptop eversince the battery was busted, and to upgrade my unit to iPad. He's slowly sold with the idea of upgrading my present laptop unit but he's thinking of getting me more durable gadget, an IBM perhaps with sleek design, higher memory capacity and upgraded OS package. He saw good deal from buy.com and he's thinking of getting it online and have it shipped to my aunt in New York in time for Christmas. Any info you can share for hot laptops?

souvenir tokens

As I've mentioned on my previous post, I am on my sixth year as a delegate for Asian Carrier Conference in th sun-shiny Cebu City. As I've always attended the conference, I've ran out of creative ideas in giving promotional products to my clients. Our company already provided sign pens, passport holders, business card holders, notebooks, USBs with our company logo ... and this year, we decided to give elegant luggage tags. Very beautiful and classy. In fact, I am getting compliments that it is functional souvenir to our foreign clients. And with just few weeks away from the holiday season, I am again mentally challenged what to give next. Any suggestions? =)

something in green ... and in red.

After getting something in green (kiwi) in matching small and large short handle sizes ...

I got something red this time from Magnums.net.

Despite owning several branded bags ... I can't resist. Especially with the good promo price and low dollar rates ($1 = P44) , I can't say no! Hahaha! I hate to admit it, yes ... I am absolutely crazy over longchamps and I can be easily persuaded by my online twittmates. No EQ at all.

love my job

One of the things why I love joining the Asian Carrier Conference yearly is I love connecting with people. I am in sales and marketing, and talking to people is like breathing for air for me. Hahaha! And every year, I get to meet new partners and explore business opportunities with them. Aside from meeting and enjoying the company, I learn new things from then such as new cable routes, new products available in the market, new technologies (such as IPV6 and CDN) and more. This year, my presence in the ACC was very productive as I hooked up with new partners for our company. I love, love my job in the telecoms industry as sales. Wouldn't trade my work with any high paying tech jobs available in the telecoms industry. Love people and drive new sales than being stuck in operations. Hahaha!

back in the conference

Yes, back in the sun-shiny Cebu ... my second best fave summer local destination. Yes, back to the annual telecoms conference. This year, though I plan to be on vacation ... I ended up working again. And since the husband had a last minute changes in the conference. He messed with our hotel booking. We ended up losing our slot at Shang-rila Mactan, but ended up getting Crimson Resort and Spa. Another premium resort development under the Fil-Estate and DMCI Homes. The place is at it's soft opening stage, and as early as now I wonder if they will offer a time-sharing stay. Though I cannot ask my local bank to finance property for us here in Cebu, I hope they do accept asset based lending collaterals. Probably one of our small properties for a time-sharing vacation spot at Crimson Restrt and Spa. =)

happy news at work

Last Monday, our sales department was surprised with the happy annonuncement from one of our colleagues. She proudly announced after seven years, she's finally expecting a baby! Naturally, we were all happy with the good news. New baby in the team means new blessings! Hahaha! But seriously, we know that the couple waited for so long to have this joyful blessing. And to ensure that everything will be well, we mothers recommended to immediately consider prenatal one multivitamin. As a mom, I know the importance of taking prenatal vitamins to ensure proper development of the baby especially on the first trimester of pregnancy. It helps with the bone formation of the child, as well as essential organs to survive the stages of infancy development. Good thing my colleague wasted no time to reconsider and in fact her doctor already advised her to take additional meds as well to prepare her body for the growth of the baby inside her womb. To my colleague Cindy, congratulations! Praying for your safe pregnancy ...

on losing weight

My younger sister and I was all out for a friendly debate last weekend deciding what are the best diet pills available in the market nowadays. You see, both of us gained so much weight after giving birth and we haven't gotten our pre-preggo figure back. We tried several ways on how to lose weight such as dancing , gym excercises, belly-dancing, boxing and even running but so far, it was not successful for us. The result was slow and we end up eating more after all the rigorous activities. So we decided to take the immediate and easy way out, diet pills! My little sister, the adventurous one tried different diet pills and so far, she's happy with her appetite suppression pill. While I, the less risk taker decided to take the all natural L-carnitine pill which acts asfat burning pill to increase my metabolism. We haven't decided yet which one is effective as we just started our pill intake for over a month. So far, we both see positive results and we are plannnig to comapre our notes after three months period to see which one is effective. No promises yet, but let's see if our diet plan works! Wish us luck =)

still sick

It's been a week and we still have sickies in the house. My little daughter not yet fully recovered from her bad cough and as for me ... still terrible and sick. After three days of being away from work due to flu, I still have the virus. Despite drinking meds round the clock, lots of fluids and doubled my intake of multivitamin, still not working. My body is too weak to fight it off! Worst, I need to be back to my normal self prior my travel this coming Tuesday for a conference in Cebu. Otherwise, I will be forced to take leave of absence and will miss all my set meetings. Too bad. I need a miracle to be cured asap. Any suggestions?

finding my muse

My blogging friends knew that I've been searching for something black and gold to perk me up. And since I am looking for an inspiration, my muse ... the answer came in the form of Yves Saint Laurent Muse. a Black Muse! Hahaha! The oversized or large muse seems pretty,eh. Now I so want it! I was even more inspired to get one since our local store, Rustan's carry the YSL muse brand on a friendly payment scheme. Hahaha! Now if I could only go out today and purchase my muse ... hahaha! let's see how long I can wait =)

And just look how lovely the black muse on Jessica Alba ... very classy and corporate eh. Perfect for my work.

migraine treatment

Lately, I am experiencing bad migraines. At first, I thought due to my irregular sleeping patterns but it's not. My hunch, my painful migraines may be eye-related brought by over exposure infront of computers (due to social networking sites, blogging and twitter) which I haven't validated yet. I've been reading the web for possible migraine treatment and so far, I've found the natural ingredient to be the most effective pill to treat migraines. It is fast, and provide best result in matter of minutes. Do check it out ...

diet plans

Any suggestions for weight loss programs? My colleagues and I are looking for possible weight loss activities that we can implement in the office so as to inspire and motivate one another to lose those unwanted fats. Our Human Resources already tried yoga, aerobics and hiphop dancing, and happily many of our colleagues joined the class. For this quarter, we want to try a different program so as not to bore our participants. Any suggestions for an effective and super fun weight loss programs ?

pretty duo

This is me and my little bratinella, Samantha. Pretty duo, right? My friends were asking how I lost weight after giving birth ten months ago, and I told them it was no secret at all. Aside from watching my diet and avoiding too much sweets and carbs, I also did some fat burning exercises to trim those unwanted fats. Though the result was not fast, but it helped contribute in losing weight. Try it.

a garden party, perhaps?

No ... not another theme party for my kids. But, I am drooling over the Hermes garden party tote. As I cannot afford to get myself Hermes Birkin bag ( so much social injustice, anyway!LOL) in my lifetime ... why can't I get more price-friendly item from Hermes? A garden party PM tote, perhaps. Hahaha! Who would have thought that the sassy company like Hermes would name their bag after a functional garden tool bag. Hehehe! But nevetheless, I soo want. It's part of my Christmas wish list already. Yay!Of course, if I ever do settle on Hermes GPT bag, would definitely get myself the familiar Hermes orange color in TPM. To be on the safe (and conservtive) side. As I love, love, love how the orange-y look brings life to any dull outfit. Hahaha! And it was really beautiful when I saw it weeks ago IRL. TDF. Almost bought it, but decided to be sane than buy it on an impulse. Hahaha!

And so my Christmas wish list begins ...

cost cutting solutions

As it is budget season again, our company is looking for possible ways to cut down our OPEX spendings for next year. And one of the items they've noticed, was the extensive us of printing materials such as paper and printer ink which yielded to above the board budget of 185% total spendings compared to our pervious 2009 budget. Really high versus other marketing material expenses incur month on month. Thus to save on cost, our sales operations head suggested instead of printing too many papers for sales flyers, proposal copies and rate cards, is to invest on xerox phaser 8560. We were told that it provides good quality print output with less cost. Very affordable at around $140.00 versus buying printer ink thrice a month. A one time CAPEX investment, but truly beneficial OPEX savings. Sounds promising eh, let's see.

grocery trip

Just came from the grocery earlier, and was so pissed with the sales attendant who facilitated my grocery transaction. I don't know how it happened, but I almost ended up paying an item worth P195.50 twice. Good thing the husband noticed that the cashier swiped the item at the barcode scanner more than once, which erroneously resulted to double reading or billing. The husband immediately called the cashier's attention to reverse the charging, but the cashier proceeded swiping some of our items without stopping. Grrrr... not listening. And to make the matter worst, the mistake could have been corrected in a jiffy, but the absent-minded cashier decided to cancel the transaction and re-do the entire process. Goodness, more than twenty minutes of our time wasted by the cashier. Very bad, since we missed the little girl's favorite bakery store for her cheese floss bread.

next on my list

And all along I thought I already ended my bag wish list! NOT. Well I guess women can't have too many bags (and shoes) anyway! LOL

After getting my dream C classic flap bag few months ago from Paris ... my C list keeps on going and going. Hahaha! Now I am lusting over Chanel Cambon Large Shopping Bag : black patent on black. It's an additional item on my revived bag wish list as of last week. Tee-hee! Not that I plan to get it next coming months or for the Christmas holidays ... that will be too soon for me. BUT, I am thinking of asking another friend (who is Paris-bound by March 2011) to get it for me. Hah, Paris ... my haven for C bags! What do you think? Any idea how much this baby would be?

a gentle reminder

Just received mail from our insurance company today, reminder for our annual premium payments for the husband's term life insurance. It is up for payment due again and I almost forgot to set aside budget for this. You see, I've been very busy tweaking our monthly expense budget for the past months to accommodate the little boy's first birthday party, and the insurance premium ...aahhh, almost missed it! Good thing our insurance company sends reminder notices for the payment due dates. Otherwise, if it hadn't ... I might have totally forgotten about it. Which means, payment lapses on our end and will require additional fees to re-instate the insurance coverage. Wheew!! Thanks to gentle reminders sent by the company, with thousands of things of my mind lately ... little reminder would truly help. :)

gadget shopping

We are already on the -BER months. Meaning, holidays almost here. Giant malls already starting to put up Clearance SALE items to give way for new stocks for the holiday shoppings. Radio stations already playing Christmas songs and next thing you know, the Christmas rush already creeping up on you. And before start of any holiday festivities, I think I need replace our old Sony camcorder. It's a mini-DV camcorder which served it's purpose for the past four years. It served us well during past holidays, not only used for birthdays, school activities but also part of our family trips here and abroad. In fact, I think we have enough mini DV collection already to cover one huge shoe box accumulated over the years. All for posterity sake, documenting family outings and reunions. And to give my old camcorder a rest, need to find a replacement fast. Any brand and model suggestions?