New Template Implemented

Greetings and may the grace and mercy of our Lord be upon us.

I have finally found the time to implement the template I customized for my other blog, My Daily Memory Verse. The truth is, I am excited to see the new look of this blog so I really "find time" to change the theme. Plus, I am also excited to know if the template I've customized will going to work.

Thank God it worked with no issue.

If you have time, you may want visit the blog and I will be very thankful to know your two-cent.


Note: Take note that I used customized because the I did not started the template from scratch. Check my previous post for the credits. I am giving the honor to whom it is due.

Blogging and Beyond

Ever since I started blogging, I am always in a template-hunt appropriate for my other blog site, My Daily Memory Verse where I share the bible verses I memorized and share some insights too. Unfortunately, I can't find one. So, as explorer as I am, I tried to customize the template I got for My Scrapie Bookie I got this template from SimpleWP. I only get the layout but dress it with different shade of color. I also combined some elements I downloaded from digi scrap sites such as Shabby Princess, Twin Moms Scrap, and Scraps of Ellay.

I've been doing (should I say experimenting?) this template-making project for few days now. And finally, I was able to finish the last touch a while ago. I named it "All about green" for obvious reason that everyting in the theme is a shade of green.

I am willing to share this template for free except for the banner. I will just create an alternative banner if ever there is someone who likes to use this template. Based on the policy of the sites where I get the elements, I cannot share the graphics in any form. I do not want to violate their rules since they already allowed me to use their works for free.

I will implement the new theme for My Daily Memory Verse as soon as I have the time. I took some screen shot to share with you.

The detailed pageThe default page

Blogging does not only help me practice english language and writing skills (which I know I am not good :D) but it also allows me to learn new things.

Mommy Momments - Haircut!

When my daughter was born, her hair is extremely thin so my husband and I decided to bald her after she turned one. Like any other new parent , my husband and I also want to treasure the firsts of my daughter. So even on her first hair cut, we want to get some memorabilia.

I heard from other moms that some salons are giving out sort of certificates for the first hair trim of the baby. My churchmate suggested a shop @ Trinoma thinking that the certificate and the hair cut will only cost 200+. But when we went there and asked for the package price, whoa! We were really surprised. It was 500+, too expensive for a hair cut. I was a bit hesitant but since we were already inside the shop, we just go for it and promised ourselves that we will no longer visit that shop again :D

Anyway, here are the pictures we took before, during and after my daughter's hair trim. I hope you enjoy them.

just before the start of the hair cutting session

the session started... my daughter was wondering what was being done with her hair

she was trying to recall if same thing happened to her before

she started to voice out her mild protest

..half-way done

...she was not happy with what was doing with her hair...

..she was trying to find out if there were some hair left

...she was given a small token for being behave during the session

... and this our reward for her... her first time to ride on a carousel.

Want to see more mommy momments? Join us here

Color Blind Test

Are you color blind? Do you want know if you are? Check this sites. http://colorvisiontesting.com/online%20test.htm and http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp.

This morning, my colleague identified a green button as gray. I asked another colleague to get another answer. And our answers are the same, the button is green. So I inquire my first colleague if she is color blind and ask her if she already undergone a color blind test. She thought I was referring to an internet site so I asked Mr. Google if there is an online Color Blind Test. And there is! Although it is just s sample test, you can already identify if you are color blind or not.

By observation, I know that my husband has a problem identifying colors. Just to confirm that he is really color blind and not just having a problem identifying the color names, :D I let him took the exam. And indeed, he is a color blind.

Climate Change

Did you notice that it was terribly warm for the last few days? Many people are aware of the term "Global Warming" but I am thinking how many of these people are taking it seriously.

Recently, my husband and I were able to watch a part of a tv show discussing about the Climate Change. The show presented many undeniable evidences that we are now experiencing the effects of global warming. The show was very informative but unfortunately, we were not able to watch it from the start. I tried to search it over the net but it was not also complete. Only the introduction was uploaded. How I wish the show will be repeated not only in one channel but on all channels during prime time to cater awareness to the majority of the Filipinos.

Global Warming has a domino effect. The obvious effect of global warming is the rise in temperature. The rise in temperature is not onlyhappening in the Philippines, but all-over the world. This rise in temperature causes the melting of the polar ice which is the cause of the rise in the sea-level. The rise in sea-level means more lands will be occupied by the water. And this is one reason why there is flood in some areas even without rain. Not only this, the rise in sea-level will also penetrate the fresh bodies of water where we get our drinking water.

The worst part is that Philippines is an archipelago, we are surrounded with bodies of water. This means that we will be more affected and we will be the first to feel the effects. We will also be the least to be able to adapt to the change because majority of the citizens are poor.

There are many more negative effects of global warming. The rise in sea-level is jus one. If you want to read more on this topic you can check http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html. There are simple things we can do to help control the continuous rise in temperature. We need to act now, especially, us parents, because we have kids to protect and raise. We can no longer cure this environment disease but we can at least help not to aggravate the current condition of our atmosphere.

Turning Two

My daughter will be turning two this friday, May 29. Hay... how time flies so fast -as if it was only yesterday when we celebrated her first birthday and now, in few days time, she'll already be two years old.

I can still remember the preparations we made for her first birthday - it took me a month or so to finish her birthday banner and invitations. We went to Divisoria for her party needs, give-a-ways and her gown. Although I wanted to make it memorable, my practical side as a mom also reigns. I go where I can save some money :D

Ska's Birthday Invitation (3R)

Ska's birthday banner (3" x 2")

Her 1st Birthday Cake

Ska's first ever gown

You probably have already guessed the theme. Yes, it was Dora the Explorer. Dora is the only cartoon character which my daughter can recognize during that time :D

But this year, my husband and I decided to make it a simple celebration. We just ordered a simple cake for her and that's it. We will reserve the effort and money for her 7th birthday, lol!

Monday Sickness

Ever since I joined the Philippine work force (that was 1999), I am always hoping that weekend will never end and Monday will never come because Monday, as we all know, is the start of the working-days. Every Monday is a struggle day, a struggle to come to office and start the week working. Some workers, use the VL to escape going to office on Monday, that is why the term Monday sickness is coined. Many workers find working a burden not a blessing. I have the same mentally until I heard a lesson about being thankful on a Monday.

I realized that this is true. I should be thankful to the Lord that every Monday, I have a job to report to. That I am not included to the million Filipinos who do not need to wake up early because they don't have a work that require them to be do so. I should be a hundred times more thankful because God gave me a family-oriented company which allows me to work from home. I should be thankful because God gave me the strength and the complete body to work. So many things to be thankful on a Monday, isn't?

So whenever I feel a little bit lazy to get up on a Monday, I would just think that God gave me a blessing that needs to be taken care of.

IE Error?

I don't know what is happening with IE but whenever I tried to visit other blogs I always encounter this error.

Not only with The Mommy Journey site but with all other blog sites I visit, this error happens. But with non blogger site, I don't encounter any problem... I am wondering if others encounter the same problem or is it only me.Is it my browser settings' problem or a user problem hehehe.

Anyway, s a work around, I am using Firefox to access blogger sites.

Please let me know if you encounter the same problem and if you happen to discover the solution :D

Bible Research 2009: Christian's Guide to Finding God's Will

One of the major and most awaited summer activities in our church is the Bible Research. This year's Bible Research started last Tuesday, May 19, 2009 @ 5:30 PM and it end on tomorrow, May 22. This year's theme is Christian's Guide to Finding God's Will. Since it started, I have received many spiritual blessings. I am a bit regretful that I didn't learned these lessons before. But God is the god of second chance. He is very gracious to give us another chance if we commit mistake. But we must not abuse it because as a loving Father, He will definitely correct us and correction is most of the time painful.

Please allow me to share some of the lessons I've learned and my sincere desire is that you will also be blessed.

God's will is God's wisdom ordering the events of a human life by God's omnipotence for God's dual purpose: 1. Personal sanctification of the individual 2. Fulfilling His appointed ministry and service in the life of the people of God.

What is God's wisdom?

"What does the Bible mean when it calls God wise? In Scripture, wisdom is a moral as well as an intellectual quality, more than mere intelligence or knowledge, just as it is more than mere cleverness or cunning….Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.
Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fullness only in God. He alone is naturally and entirely and invariably wise." (Packer, Knowing God)

God's omnipotence
"…God the Father Almighty… It points to the basic Bible fact that God is the Lord, the King, the omnipotent one who reigns over his world.
Does omnipotence mean that God can do literally anything? No, that is not the meaning, There are many things God cannot do. He cannot do what is self-contradictory, or non-sensical. Nor canhe act out of character. God has a perfect moral character and it is not in him to deny it. He cannot be capricious, unloving, random, unjust, or inconsistent. Just as he cannot pardon sin without atonement, because that would not be right… The positive way to say this is that though there are things which a holy, rational God is incapable of intending, ALL THAT HE INTENDS TO DO, HE ACTUALLY DOES." (Packer, Growing in Christ)

So in this world, nothing is an accident and God does not do anything without a purpose and He reveals His will to us.

The Challenge is "Can I trust God that His will is the Best Plan for My Life?" Can you?

Summer Mini - Escapade @ Bakasyunan

Last Saturday, May 16, 2009, My husband, my daughter, and I joined our company's summer outing held in Bakasyunan Resort and Conference, Iba Zambales. It is a 4 - hour long drive from Manila.

The resort has two swimming pools, one for kids and one for adults. The adult pool has a mini-slide. The resort also have beachfront facilities. Some of the cottages are facing the beach and are only few steps aways from the water of the beach. The water of the beach is clean; no floating dried sea-weeds, no sharp stones, and no unidentified floating objects. The sea is suitable for swimming because the waves are not big.

My daughter and my husband had a great time. My husband really loves water and this is the reason why I agreed to join the outing despite the long drive. I want him to enjoy. My daughter started to enjoy the water too. Last year, she was afraid of the sea. She was crying when she was placed in the water with her inflatable. But now, it was totally different. She was crying when we tried to get her out of the water because the heat of the sun is really terrible (although she has a sunblock, I do not want to risk her skin). She even attempted to jump to the pool by herself.

When the heat of the sun subsided in the afternoon, we tried to bring her to the sea. My husband pull her out from her inflatable and tried to teach her to swim. I can say she can easily learn how to swim because she can already move her legs correctly. Once in a while, my husband would allow her face touch the sea water. But she would just ignore it. After a few gasp, she would persuade her father to play again with her. My husband and my daughter really enjoyed the water while I enjoyed watching them.

We only had a day trip since it was a Saturday and we don't want to miss church the next day. We caught the last trip of Victory Liner at 7 o'clock pm. A bit tiring but I thank God for the joy that my daughter and my husband had.

My husband is trying to teach my daughter how to swim :D

My daughter is already playing with the other kids playing in the pool.

My daughter


Father & daughter bonding

Loyal Commenter Award

I received this award from Chris of The Mommy Journey Thank you Mommy Chris. I find your site interesting and informative. I can also easily relate to your posts, hence, I find it easy to give my one cent.



Thanks again and may the Lord bless you and your family.

Mommy Momments - Silly Momments

I have two sets of Silly Momments, one is for my husband and one is for my daughter.

This was taken while my husband was trying on my newly bought maternity dress :D

My husband is really fond of imitating my daughter's actions. My daughter is a thumbsucker until now and my husband was trying to imitate her while they were watching my daughter's dvd.

While this in picture, my husband is imitating my daughter's pose.

These pictures were taken when my daughter was only more than two months old. Whenever I share this pictures with my friends, they usually asked me how my husband encouraged my daughter to make face in front of the camera. My husband would simply respond, "it's innate with her" :D

My daughter has a special talent :D She can cover the holes of her nose by her lips. When she smells something bad, she will not use her hands to cover her nose, she would only pout her lips :D

If you want to share your Silly Momments, just visit The Mommy Journey

Friendship Chain

~~Begin Copy~~
This is the easy way and the fastest way to :
1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Makes more new friends.

Rules :
1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1. Picturing of Life
2. Juliana’s Site
3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.
4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space
5.My Family is my Life
6. The Simple Life of a Baghag
7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today
8. House Everything
9. The Creativity in Me
10. Travel and Photography
11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
12. You Are My Sunshine
13.Song to Remember
14. Super Blog
15. Philiippine Tv Marathon
16.Simply Blue
17. Breaking the Boundaries
18. Top Five
19. A Simple Life
20. Simple Happy Life
21.Mom's Special Diary
22. The Mommy Journey
23. Online Mommy's Corner
~~End Copy~~

I am passing this tag to:

Pinay Mommy Online,

Princess Ishi's Diary,

A Blessed Life,

A Momma's Journal ,

Brown Pinay

and to

IT Mom's Corner.

Watch Me Grow

Today is the scheduled delivery date of the "Watch Me Grow" I made for my daughter. I am excited to see the printout. The size of this picture, 12x15 , is bigger than the usual 8R and but I only spent Php 106 for the print out and it will be delivered on my doorstep free of charge. What a great deal, isn't?


This is the soft copy of my daughter's "Watch Me Grow."

Post Mother's Day Tag

I got this tag from Jes of Me, Myself and Jes. This is a bit late for Mother's Day but for me everyday is a Mother's Day. I am sharing this to all the mom's that may be able to read this tag. Please feel free to grab it :)

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Send this to someone whom you think is a special Mom...

And remember that behind every successful woman......
is a basket of dirty laundry.

-Unknown

Woman of the Bible

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and to all the mothers in the world. I writing my entry for Sunday on my other blog, when this idea comes to my mind. This is a bible quiz about the mothers in the Bible. This quiz is open to anyone especially to moms.

The instruction is simple. Identify the moms being described in each number. You may check your answer here.

1. She is the mother of all living.
2. She committed adultery with a king but her son became the next king of Israel. Her son was known for wisdom.
3. She was the mother of many nations.
4. She was first account in the bible who gave birth to a twin, but her favor is in the youngest.
5. She prayed for a child and offered this child again to God after weaning.
6. She was a moabitess, but became the great grand mother of the great king of Israel.
7. She was turned to pillar of salt.
8. She was the mother Paul spiritual son who also became a missionary.
9. Because of her kindness to a prophet, she was rewarded with a baby son who died but was also revived by the prophet.
10. This woman's husband died in Moab and also her two sons.
11. Blessed among women.
12. The mother of the one crying in the wilderness.
13. She was just a second wife. Her son was sold to a merchant bound for Egypt.
14. She was a handmaid of a princess who was given to her mistress's husband to bear a child.
15. She has an eye problem. She was the first wife but loved less than the second.

Is there anything too hard for THEE

Most of the time, my husband and I read our bible together before we jump to our bed. But not today. My husband fell asleep first before my daughter. I have no choice but to read my bible alone.

We are in the book of Jeremiah, we supposed to read Jeremiah 32 today, but since he is already sleeping, I read it by myself. There is one verse that became a blessing to me. It is in verse 17. The Bible says "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:" The phrase that struck me is the last phrase which says "there is nothing too hard for thee."

I may be carrying a heavy yoke nowadays, but the verse reminds me that there is nothing hard for the Lord. He can carry the weight for me and I believe that He will and I thank Him for that. God created the entire universe merely by words alone, is there anything that He can't do for me? Nah, I only need to trust Him. What a comforting promise from the Word of God, isn't?

My sincere desire is for anyone who will be able to read this entry will also be blessed by the verse.

8 Things

Thanks to Mommy Chris of The Mommy Journey for this tag.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
have our own house
see my little darling's hair get long
buy an SLR camera
have more blogsphere friends
improve my page rank
release my current project
have a baby son
see my friend Paula again

8 Things I Did Yesterday
fixed dnn project issues
bathed my daughter
took a nap
blog hopped
posted potty-training update
searched dora award stickers and chart for potty training
posted comments
visited to my newly availed web hosting

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
I wish to travel to other countries with my husband and daughter
I wish I could earn extra income from blogging :D
I wish I could change my husband to be sweeter and more caring one :D
I wish I could lose weight in no time at all :D
I wish I could I have some money for the perm hair removal :D
I wish I could stop drinking coffee
I wish I could always have the time to blog and blog hop
I wish I could complete the 2 succeeding sections

8 Shows I Watch
Tayong Dalawa
News
(I don't have much becauseI don't often watch TV)

8 People I Tag
Ruby
Jes
Pinay Mama
Sheila
GvenRose
Dotsky

[Sorry it didn't reach eight :(]

Potty Training Update # 1

I am so happy with my daughter. This is the first time that we had a successful potty training session. This is the first time she did not pee on the floor and on her undies. We were able to make to the comfort room. Though, she didn't still like to sit on her potty nor simply sit, she was able to pee and poo without her undies. She peed standing and when I noticed that she wants to poo, I carry her but positioned her as if she's sitting. And it was a success!

We started to removed her diaper during day time last week and since then, she would pee on her undies and even poo. She would only approach us after she have already done the crime :-D She can utter uumm ummm (the sound for persuading to poo) even before but she wouldn't like to sit on her potty. And once we remove her diaper, she will no longer poo.

This is a milestone for her and as a mom, I can see that it is a good sign of development.

3rd Wedding Anniversary Gift

On the 12th of May, my husband and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. I am planning to give him a token since last year I was not able to do so because I am about to give birth to our first child and we need to save every single cent for my delivery and for the months that we won't have any income.

Now, though we are not really that financially okay, but I believe he deserve a token for his graduation and our anniversary. I am planning to buy him a perfume from Scent. I want to give him another bottle of Cool Water By Davidoff. This was the first cologne I gave him. I like the smell of it because it is masculine yet not too strong. The cologne has a long-lasting effect that when he puts on it in the morning, I can still the smell the scent until the evening but the smell is not irritating. The price of the cologne from Scent is also within my budget :)

I can't wait to smell my hubby with the same scent again :)

Mommy Momments - Doctor, Doctor Am I Sick?

This entry might already be late for the Mommy Momments last friday, but nonetheless, allow me to share the feeling of a mom when my child is sick. My daughter have an acquired asthma, meaning, her asthma is not hereditary. It is not from me nor from my husband's genes. Nobody in my family nor in my husband's family had an asthma. She is the first to have this sickness both in my husband's family and mine. The sad thing is that my daughter was very healthy before we transferred to our current apartment. I even brought her with me when I went to divisoria, not only once but twice huh but she never had any colds, cough or even a slight fever. She was not even 5 months old then. She get her asthma only here in our current apartment. It is because we have an inconsiderate neighbor who uses wood or coal for their cooking and uses their trash to start the flame, worst, they even use plastics. The smoke of the burning plastics, paper etc is coming in to our house through the kitchen screen. I didn't notice it at first, but when cough never leaves my daughter for a month and she already tried different prescription, I realized that the cause is the smoke.

Since then, every now and then, even if we already made some work around so that the smoke will no longer enter into our house, my daughter need to be nebulized whenever we hear her wheeze. It is really hard for my daughter that whenever she have a cold, her asthma will also attack. Series of nebulization, vomitting and endless crying will fill our small house during these periods. Really painful for me to see my child suffering :( I usually plead unto God to spare my daughter from the pain and I'll just take it for her. Hopefully, my daughter will overcome her sickness when she grows older.

Below is her pictures during the nebulization sessions.

If you want to read more Mommy Momments, just visit The Mommy Journey.