I Made a Strawberry Giant Muffin from Scratch!

Why? Because I bought three boxes of fresh strawberries sold for only $.89 a box and because I was drooling on how yummy and tasty they looked like, I grabbed 'em expecting that swithart and Triz are gonna join me in munching them! Guess what, they both don't like strawberry as much as I do and so, I ended up recycling the ripened fruits before they're all gonna rot and be put to trash! Ahhh... I hate throwing away foods and so, I came up with this:

From scratch, I mashed the strawberries and blended and battered them together with my chosen ingredients! I chose to put the mixture in a huge baking pan muffin size and this is how it turned out:

Oh di va, tortang-torta! He he. We don't like icings much and so you'll always noticed my pastries here as icingless! Here's to make you drool some more!


Yummy, yummy? You bet!

The hubby and the daughter, both not strawberry lovers adore this strawberry torta that I made! Now I can keep on buying fresh strawberries and just turn them into this so I can let them join me in my munch. Don't ask me for the recipe though. I am not the best in telling you how I did it, because I have my own way of doing things and I can't be trusted in sharing my technique. lol Trust me, I don't follow recipes because I make my own, and if I do, I tend to alter whatever I try to follow. I am more on satisfying my own taste buds and if it's good to me, I believe it'll work to others. It's been proven. He he he.

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Porcelain Tiles

We were at a friend's house this afternoon for a lunch invite that a very kind and sweet friend Bebing gave to us before we'll move. It felt good to have stayed at their house for more than three hours and enjoyed the yummy foods that she herself prepared for us. Unfortunately, I wasn't too concern of my camera at all so i didn't have pictures to show. We had so much to talk and that's exactly what we did for our last get-together. Oh well, when we arrived at her house, the hubby and I noticed right then and there their newly renovated floors with porcelain tiles replacing the carpet which I remember was still on during our the last visit. And the most incredible thing is, she did it all by herself! "The what?" you ask? Well, the renovation of their flooring! When you can see how professional it looked like, you couldn't believe either! And with all that, I am so proud of Bebing! A stay-at-home wife and mom to three boys managing a huge house, she was able to do the floor renovation of her own house all by herself! The hubby was amazed most of all!

Well, you can check out buytile.com if you are looking for the best tile that suits your taste!

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A new home. A New vanity.

Our soon new home which is one among the units in this apartment building is going to be our brand new place of residence in the next one year at least. The only thing that's hidden in this photo? The woods! Yep, the surrounding is wooded, in fact, very close to a forestry trail which the hubby likes a lot while I DON'T. LOL

Anyway, I'll learn to adapt and get used to it, swithart says, which I'll try to do. The great thing about it is that this complex is a brand new one making us the very first occupant since its operation. And now that we only have less than a week since we'll move in there, I can't wait. But of course, I am so stressed out and tired now with all the packing ups!

What I am most excited about is the vanity that I'll be engaging myself with. :) Bathroom Vanities will be the number one in my list and I am loving the fact that I get to choose everything that we'll be getting-- from furniture to bathroom vanities (where I am most meticulous with!) to the littlest thing that we'll fill in our new abode. For now, I'll keep the thrill. And oh, check out spacify.com if you are upgrading your home designs!

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Defend Your Mesothelioma Claim!

Know your legal options and get the best Mesothelioma lawyers who could help you all the way!

First of all, you need to know if you or you know someone who has been diagnosed with any of those asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma. If you do, you may be eligible for a legal claim so don't let your case be left behind. When you're here in the United States, good for you because there are a lot of injury lawyers whom you can call for legal help. But if you are in the third world countries, I must say, tough luck, because it's not that easy to ask for what you deserved. My brother-in-law who is a resident physician back in Philippines once mentioned how pitiful was his patient who died of an asbestos-related disease. The company he was working with simply didn't care at all and it left his family with nothing. Now you might want to check out mesotheliomahelp.net and seek legal help if you must!

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Last Check-up with Dr. Boe

__________________

Triz's 3-year-old well-check up was her last check-up with Dr. Boe as her pediatrician. I must say, it's a sad fact, because as I've been blogging about it here, Dr. Boe, my daughter's pedia ever since she was born is truly one-of-a-kind! We've been going back and again to Bloomington Pediatrics and Allergy Clinic for Triz's well check-up since she was 2 weeks old back in 2006 and last July 10th was our last hop in there so we said good-bye to the staff who accommodated us and to Dr. Boe especially who have been so good to us professionally and friendly-wise. He wished us good luck in our move and he said to call him anytime if we've got health concerns with Triz. He has been so vocal in complimenting me how much of an intuitive mom I am and he appreciated my initiative in exerting commonsense towards dealing with my own child's health status. He said he'll miss Triz's very good development and we've expressed how grateful we are to him.

I was laughing within me to see the nurse checking Triz's blood pressure for the first time. The fact that my baby is not so little anymore hit me home. :) Of course, she's got normal BP, like she has with everything else!

Dr. Boe said that Triz is one of the healthiest patients he has ever had and her cognitive development is excellent. He gave us a star-patient stuff like drawing book, pencil, and a mug and we'll sure treasure them for as long as we could. I have yet to send him a Thank You note soon; I'll wait till we're settled in our new place. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to find a good pedia like Dr. Boe but I wish we can find the closest. Or even better? Hmmm... We'll see!

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Affordable Police Gears

I got a cousin who is a policeman and I believe online stores that sell law enforcement supplies like these florida police gears would be an "in" thing for him. His passion for being a cop stems from his heart to serve and I am so proud of him. I wish I can give him something that's of relevance to his career. A military boot perhaps?

Well, to all of you who have family members who are into law enforcement, lawsupply.com could be a helpful site for you. For law enforcement equipment, CHIEF Store offers worry-free ordering and even more. Check out CHIEF's better service and more product selections of law enforcement supplies and enjoy a smooth ordering!

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this kind of smile...

...is one that melts a mom's and dad's heart! And you bet somebody else's, too!

In these days of pressure, stress, and some other problems, one of my consolations is to take a look at my archived photos here in my laptop and be refreshed with beautiful and memorable memories in the past. Triz's smiles are the ones that lift my spirit the most!

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The University of Scranton's Online MBA

Our move up North made everyone around here asked what am I gonna do there. I told them that for now, I'll remain to be a stay-at-home parent but as soon as my status would be changed, I'll go ahead and enroll myself back to school. My desired courses to take: to either get a nursing degree, a master's degree in Communication or an MBA program. My sister-in-law, an MBA degree holder herself prefers the last option since she knows full well what awaits for MBA degree holders out there.

And as for an MBA degree, the best option available for me is to take online MBA classes and with that, The University of Scranton online is the one that delivers results. With a program that could be completed in two years, it's not bad at all. Online classes, I must say, rock these days when stay-at-home people decide to go back to school and get those particular degrees desired by them. And when it comes to choosing which online school is the best, it is a must to check out the facts and seals of approval and recommendations by experts. Now take this:

One of the richest men in India has his MBA from The University of Scranton
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalanidhi_Maran)

And we know how Indian entrepreneurs are ruling the business world these days, right? Well, I'm just saying that there are a lot of good stuff at the University of Scranton that one will be benefiting. When I am sure of myself to get my own MBA degree soon, I surely will consider scrantonuniversityonline.com! The seal of approval that I'm talking about?

How about you? How do you find online schooling? You might be interested in one, I should tell you it's worth checking out scrantonuniversityonline.com!

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The busiest bee is me!!!

Yesirreeeee! I've only returned drops in my two blogs for today and the rest of my time was spent packing up and cleaning the basement! Now I am tired, can you tell? Actually, I've been tired since this weekend and my Saturday night was the busiest, too. I didn't go to Wal-mart until the sun set last Saturday night to do some grocery shopping for Sunday's event which was a send-off party for us at Ironwood Park. I was told we didn't have to bring anything since we were the guests of honor but I felt it wasn't right; thus, I made my specialty to share and you bet, everybody loved my toron at the party! I have yet to edit my photos because I can share 'em. As always, I have a lot especially that our informal party by the park was full of sports and so much fun so you could imagine the hundreds of photos there are.

Anyway, we have two more weeks left and then we're off. But until now, we still aren't done with things to be packed and kept around here. Triz is becoming helpful in her own way but not in mine. I am even having some troubles keeping her toys. I let her choose the toys that she wants to bring with us to our new place and let go of the ones that she felt she's done playing with. But she has a hard time doing it. Know what I mean? Oh well, I'll have the final say. And because I am as busy as a bee, I won't bore you with my somewhat senseless sharing around here. Ha ha ha. Have a great Monday everyone! Hope you all have a good start of the week!

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Pet Beds?

It may be a little late but I want to express my heartfelt congratulations to our church friends who are proud parents to a newborn baby boy! It's so funny. Jenna gave birth last July 25th and after we called her to congratulate her a day after, she gasped, "hey, I've had enough of baby stuff. Any kind of pet beds would be appreciated as a gift for my dog!" See that? I thought she was joking but she was not. And I thought to myself, "Oh man... how lucky is her dog!" And you think I bought her a pet bed? Nope, I did not! But I did tell her of the site jefferspet.com because I've seen a huge selection of pet beds that I am sure Jenna will love. I still am prioritizing a gift for the baby... I believe that a baby will never have enough, especially enough diapers! How's that? :D

...to Miller Park Zoo!!!

I got (somewhat) old photos to share. These are actually the shots that we got last Father's Day when we went to a small zoo here in town-- Miller Park Zoo here in Bloomington, IL. It was a wonderful treat for the three of us and Triz enjoyed our time seeing the sun bears, reindeer, Sumatran tigers, sea lions, river otters, red pandas, lemurs, Galapagos tortoises, bald eagles, Pallas cats, Amur leopard, gibbons, and red wolves. I haven't uploaded these yet to Friendster or Facebook and since my sisters have been asking for new shots, I'll just tell them to check out my blog. Anyway, here are my slides, I hope you'll like these!

First slide:

I'm sure you're aware that going to a zoo would make your camera full. And so, a single slide here isn't enough to show all of my shots! lol

2nd slide:
The Zoo features many large indoor and outdoor exhibits such and the Tropical America Rainforest was marvelous! We loved the birds and just about everything wild in there!

And no, they're not the only two! I still have one more slide left to round it up but I may seem to be so corny na diri. Hehe... If you're not liking all these, just leave without unnice comments posted, ok? He he...

3rd slide:

So there you go Yaya and Ate Eve! You won't be enjoying these much if you only view these via your iPhones so turn your PCs on! lol Again, Miller Park Zoo is just a medium-size zoo but very very family friendly. Swithart is thinking of taking us to a bigger one- in Peoria where there's elephant, giraffe, and zebra but I wonder if we still have the time. It was a fun day overall! It was Triz's first-ever zoo experience and she thinks it was one unforgetabble trip!

To all of you, thanks for dropping by! Have a great weekend everyone!

Master's in Information Security

That is one of the degrees why my sister-in-law is very in-demand in her job right now. It even gave her a hard time deciding which one to take when she was torn between the job she used to have back here in Illinois that was offered to her again and the position she's currently holding there in Las Vegas, NV. After so much scrutiny and weighing up of things, she's has finally decided to remain in Las Vegas, and everything just seems to get better for her job-wise.

To have a masters information security degree these days makes one so hot and in-demand in the work place. It's not just getting an information technology degree; it's more than that. Information security program enables one to think, analyze, and strategize unconventional ways and will help one expand his creative and innovative problem-solving abilities. My SIL's skills and abilities make her a top-notch in the field she is in and I couldn't be more proud of her.

And because she is a product of online education, she knows full well what online campuses are worth recommending. If you are wondering what online campus offers one of the best Master's in Information Security degree, Lewis University Online deserves your visit. They offer two concentrations for you: Managerial and Technical Concentration and they help you identify what suits you best once you decide to pursue such degree. How about checking their site out for more information?

TGiF and the Weather Factor

Winter? Spring? Summer? Or Autumn?

Which season do you like best? Well, it's no doubt there is uniqueness in each of the season and I do love everyone of it, but I find Spring and Autmn to be the most desirable. With the two, I won't dread the super icy winter and my migraine won't attack because of the burning summer heat.

And how's the weather for today and for the week ahead here in my neck of the woods? Well, I should say, it's awesome! It's been great since the past few weeks; we have been able to do a lot of hanging out outside because the weather is beautiful and I just couldn't ask for more. I think summer here in the Midwest is perfect, considering my type. Much more, in Wisconsin where we are moving to, it's even a lot better, for me still! See this snipped forecast I have below? This is our current weather condition here in Central Illinois and I think it's just enough! Tomorrow is Sabbath and the beautiful and warm atmosphere will help swithart give a remarkable sermon! (yep it's his schedule tomorrow- his last here at All Nations SDA Church).

Meanwhile, we do a lot of inquiries about stuff in the new place where we're bound to be settling. Thanks to the power of the internet, much of our questions can be answered online. As for the weather there right now, you can compare it with the snipped I've posted above and see the difference:

There's not a lot of difference, right? When we spent our July 4th weekend there, we had so much fun with the perfect temperature of the day that time. The sun was shining so bright and yet, it wasn't hot at all! Now that is one thing I want my in-laws to experience once we get settled up north. Right now, Ma and Pa are in Las Vegas and take a look at their current temperature out there:

See that? The highs are in three digits, yikes! That's one that's I dread! LOL Yesterday, I talked to Mama and she said it was so hot and humid in there that she and Papa couldn't get out of their apartment because she couldn't breathe outside. It's like being stuck here at home during wintertime you see. So it's just right that we are in Wisconsin and SIL will remain in Las Vegas so that the old folks will have option of where to stay when the scorching heat on summer attacks and when the feet of snow on winter takes effect.

Meanwhile, thank God it's Friday! We still are so busy around here with the packing ups but every weekend is a break so I'm loving it! This coming Sunday by the way is the send-off party that our church family is going to throw at us. If you're interested to come and join us, let me know and I'll send you the address and the direction in getting to Ironwood Park! ;-)

Painting and Ferrari Parts

My Japanese brother-in-law expressed his excitement in coming over here this Christmas holiday and he, along with his whole family will be spending their New Year with us. I hope everything goes well so that there'll be no postponement or cancellations. We have been scheduling our trip come Christmas holiday and because we have a family in Las Vegas to visit, it sure would be a wonderful time. But most of all, one of my brother-in-law's main purpose in coming over is to check out for Ferrari parts in the famous Ferrari centers here in the US. He drives the famous Ferrari Enzo in their place and I bet he's very particular of the parts. I let him check out ricambiamerica.com and he's very familiar of the accessories and parts at the site.

Meanwhile I gotta show you these:

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Sugoi! Can you believe that a 7-year-old kid drew those? Well, it's really unbelievable and all I gotta say is, my 7-year-old niece Shai-shai did magic in painting it! She's half-Japanese and it's understandable that she's that fond of those animes! He he he. Can you tell I'm one proud Auntie? [wink]

The Stress! Can They Burn Fats?

Because I've already stopped spending a whole amount of effort trying to lose weight, now I'm solely depending on the stress that I'm getting and they're what I consider to be my fat burners. Hehehe. Tell me about it! Can stress burn fats? It's been a constant echo in my mind that problematic people tend to get thinner and it's all because of the problems, emotional pains, and stress that they're having. Now that I'm starting to get very stressed with this upcoming move of ours, I hope I'll lose weight, even if not a lot. Ha ha ha. I used to religiously spend a regular time doing Wii Fit and keeping track of my BMI. Now that I am so busy, I'm forgetting about all those hard works. I just sweat out whenever I am so busy with all the cleaning and packing up that I do, and thinking about our new life in a new place soon, though it makes me excited to be starting from scratch, there is no doubt that stress tend to outshine my excitement. But one thing's for sure: though I keep reading fat burner and diet pills reviews, I still am not convinced that taking one would be best for me. I guess I am still in the right level of my BMI because I am not that desperate yet to try one. Reminder though to those who are into diet pills or fat burners, find the one that is as natural as it is!

Magic Singing

I feel like singing my heart out! And last night was my first session! Wooh! Can you hear it? LOL

It's been several months already that our our magic sing has been of no use around here and because I suddenly felt the desire to sing and shout, I hooked it up last night and belted out some of those familiar tunes to the point of achieving a perfect score, but nope, my voice was not that rehearsed at all, disabling me to reach the highest rating possible. Hahaha! I had some yummy chicken tenders, home made fried peanuts that I myself cooked, our favorite iced tea, and off I felt like I was in a singing lounge! Swithart joined me every now and then and we had so much fun with Triz being our number one cheerer! Guess what, I felt like doing it again tonight and swithart's about to turn the mic on so I'm outta here! LOL Anyone wants to join me? Come on! :D

How Important is Life Insurance?

I couldn't remember if it has ever played a role in my life before. All I know is that any kind of insurance is not that important for ordinary citizens back in my home country. That's why when my dad died 10 years ago, we had so much struggles with all the financial burdens we shouldered that time. Now that I got my own family around, I don't want it to happen again when I die or when my husband will. Well, I know it's such a pain to talk about death of ourselves and our loved ones but that's reality so we need to deal with it. I am just thankful that both me and swithart share a common goal: that a term life insurance is a must for us, especially that we now have a daughter to leave behind when the time comes. I think when you become a parent, your perspective towards the future changes big time. Your priority doesn't focus on yourself anymore but on your children.

So now that we are responsible for our child's future, we see to it that we would do everything that we could in order for her not to go through what we have gone through during our times. Getting ourselves life insurance is almost the same as getting ready for what the future holds. I hope we could settle for one soon, when everything is already in order.

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I Say... Thank You!

There have been a lot of things that happened lately. Many are good things, some others made me frustrated, despaired, and heartbroken. But in all those, my heart is still overflowing with gratitude because at the end of every day, God is always good. He knows how grateful I am for all and every thing that I've gotten, even the odds that gave me those sleepless nights and stressful days. First of all, I thank God for swithart's and Triz's presence into my life-- they're the ones that keep me going and I don't want to imagine life without them. They don't give me headaches at all, they're the ones who anchor me when I feel so down and heartbroken because of problems back home. Yep, it's the people back home that give me constant heavy and hard feelings but I just couldn't say no to them still. They're my family after all.

And then, I say...

to all of you online or virtual buddies who have been here for and with me, leaving me your thoughts and remarks through comments and shout outs. Know that you all are very appreciated. This is sort of a thankful post so my gratitude goes to everybody who:
* drops EC consistently and even the first timers
* non-EC members who keep checking on me
* Facebook and Friendster connections who cared to visit me here
* and everyone who greeted my daughter on her 3rd birthday in this blog and at my other blog!

Thank you so much guys for your kind gesture! Now I wish for great days ahead of you and may God bless you always!!!

Vegas Foreclosures? My SIL Needs This!

You see, my sister-in-law Daisy has been in living in Las Vegas since last March and we thought it is so easy for her to buy herself a house since housing prices these days have lowered, but nope, we were wrong. After two months of living there, she still hasn't found one, thus, she decided to just rent an apartment while looking for the property that she so wants. So this Las Vegas Foreclosures link is what she definitely would consider to be a huge help! She still goes for house hunting until now and since Ma and Pa are there with her, it's a less hassle since she has company to help her with the search. We can't wait till she could find the perfect place that she wants. It would be worthwhile in the end! Meanwhile, check out lasvegascustomloans.com if you're around the place and is needing their services!

Cheap Auto Shop For Us

It has been quite a difficult task for us to find a cheaper auto shop these days. If only we are close to where my bestfriend lives somewhere in Oklahoma, their auto shop would be of huge help to us. Thing is, we are in a tight budget currently until later this year and .our van is so used considering that we keep traveling long distance so I feel like our van needs to be checked regularly. We could try the auto body shop corona and get a lot of information at collisionrepairexperts.com first and I will have to say you could check out the site, too! Car collision is one of the most dreaded thing to happen on the road but when such unfortunate circumstance really took place, the need to find for a trusted car repar experts becomes the top priority. At least, to us! It's just a good thing that we have someone here whom we could trust with our car services. Do you?

Happy 3rd Birthday to Our Precious!

"Supposedly wordless."

It's been a wonderful blessing to be parents to this amazing little girl. Swithart and I are the most grateful for the privilege of being a mom and a dad to our now 3-year-old sweetie pie! July 4th 2006, a night before that date, we've checked in at the delivery room of Bromenn Hospital because of the intense contractions I was having. After 19 hours of labor (yes, that looooooong!!!), a 6 lbs. 1 oz. baby girl came out from my womb and since then, everything has never been the same.

It's been three years now. And we wish for many more years of parenting this kid, God willing. Heaven seems to be sounding sweeter each time I think of living there with my family around, especially with this child of ours. That would mean swithart and I did the right job in teaching her how to be a citizen there.

For now, join me in marking my daughter's 3rd birthday, would you please?

Happy birthday, darling Triz! Momma and Dadi love you lots! And Jesus loves you most!