Michi Photostory

December 24, 2013

DIY Christmas Envelopes

I’m happy to say that I’m done with gift wrapping because I did not wrap those big gifts like bike and lap desk for my son. #nanghihinayangsagiftwrap Anyway, I always save those leftover gift wrap just in case I need it. This time instead of throwing those leftover, I’ve made Christmas envelopes. It saves me from buying angpao, money card or envelopes, I used my DIY Christmas envelopes instead.

Materials:

Leftover Christmas wrapper

Glue

Pattern

Pencil

Procedure:

1. Trace the pattern.

2. Cut the pattern.

3. Fold and paste.

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

December 18, 2013

Manila Ocean Park

We first visited Manila Ocean Park last February 2009, my son was only four months old during that time. I’ve been meaning to revisit the park again because of the new attractions but it never happened so I was really happy when I saw that Manila Ocean Park is included in my son’s field trip. It was our chance to visit the park again. It’s like a first-time visit for my son, for sure wala siya naalala dati. Hehehe!

Our package includes:

Oceanarium

I don’t see any major changes in the Oceanarium except in this picture. See through na kasi yung aquarium so panget na background namin. Before fishes ang background, now you can see tables and chairs.

Sharks and Ray Dry Encounter

This is one thing that I look forward to experiencing but I was disappointed because no pictures allowed and sila lang pwede magpicture, of course you have to pay. We were able to touch the stingray but no souvenir picture.

Back of the House

There is nothing special about this place, they will just inform you and show you how they maintain the aquarium, from cleaning the water, breeding the fish and others.

Jellies Exhibit

A small room where you can see different types of jellyfish.

Shark Anatomy

The last part of our itinerary is Shark Anatomy, I thought they would discuss sharks but we ended up watching a magic show.

Comparing my first and last experiences, I enjoyed the first visit because it was not crowded, and no time pressure.

December 10, 2013

World’s Easiest Detox

Detoxification is part of my healthy living list and I’ve been meaning to do this for the longest time because I know that I have many toxins in my body because of the food that I eat and the oral medicine that I take to control my psoriasis.

“Detoxification is the process of removing toxins from the body.”

I wanted to try the juice cleanse but P7,500 for 3 day cleanse is quite steep for me so until now I haven’t ordered yet.

Last Saturday, I went to Watson to buy medicine and my husband saw this Chi Foot Patches Eucalyptus for less than P70. I bought 1 pack and each pack contains two pads.

Information from the packaging.

“Eucalyptus contains a refreshing aroma. It has antiseptic and mint. With high content of oxygen, it improves one’s ability to concentrate. It is effective when one is tired or had difficulty in concentrating. It also has effect of refreshing one’s mind and releases tension from body.”

Instructions

1.Do not use more than 6 patches at any one time. For detox, it is recommended to use one patch on the sole of each foot. For pain reduction, it is recommended using one patch on each foot corresponding to the are on the diagram overleaf and the another on the painful joint/area.

2.Chi Foot Patches should be left in place for 8hours or until the patch becomes discoloured and damp.

3.Do not place Chi Foot Patches directly over the eyes or open cuts. If you have any health concerns, please consult your medical advisor before using Chi Foot Patches.

Since I only bought one, my husband said tig-isa daw kami hehehe so we tried it. The following morning, this is the result.

It only proves that I have so many toxins. I will buy this again next time I visit Watson. I must agree that this is the world’s easiest detox and it is so simple to use. In addition, very affordable compared to other detox products.

A repost from my old blog Mrs Ugly Duckling

November 29, 2013

Gardenia Plant Tour

We are indeed frequent buyers of Gardenia bread, so when I learned that it is included in my son’s field trip, I became excited because I wanted to see how they make our favorite bread. I love the plant tour. When I was still in elementary, we visited the Yakult and Coca-Cola Plant, na sobrang nag-igib kami ng Coke using our Coleman. Actually, the Gardenia Plant is one tollgate away from our place, it is so near, but I haven’t visited.

The Plant Tour started with a film showing explaining the brief history of Gardenia Bread and how it is made. We were seated beside the marshall amplifiers at musicians friendshall amplifiers at musicians friend and an LCD TV.

After that, we went to the production area where we could see the whole process from handling, mixing, proofing, baking, slicing, and packaging of the bread. Taking pictures is not allowed.

Our last stop is the bread store, where we can buy Gardenia bread at factory price. You can see classic white bread, healthy-licious bread, flavor-licious bread, a bunch of buns, crunchy-licious toasts, and a snack line.

Trivia:

1. Gardenia’s roots go back to Singapore, where it began as a humble in-store bakery in 1978.

2. From Singapore, it expanded its operations in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

3. Gardenia Philippines started its full operations in 1998.

4. The first to introduce G-lock in its packaging.

5. The first to introduce 2 in 1 concept – the Gardenia Double Delights.

Five Point Bread Goodness Test

1. Great Tasting

2. Softness

3. Oven-Baked Aroma

4. Guaranteed freshness

5. Nutrition Packed

November 28, 2013

Alice in Wonderland

We must admit that watching stage plays is not our thing nowadays, especially for our kids who just wanted to watch cartoons and Disney movies or just play video games. I do watch stage plays when I was still in school because it is one of the school requirements but of course, when I graduated, no more stage plays. So it’s been a decade since the last time I watched.

Well, last Tuesday we had a chance to watch a stage play in Repertory Philippines. Alice in Wonderland is one of the itineraries of my son’s field trip. Cameras are not allowed inside and no picture-taking during the stage play. Unlike other stage plays that I’ve watched, Alice in Wonderland is like an interactive play; they asked questions and even requested the audience to sing along. “I’m mad, you’re mad, we’re all mad here”.

Honestly, I’m not really familiar with Alice's story, all I know is lumaki at lumiit siya. Hehehehe! Anyway, Alice in Wonderland is a story of her incredible journey into a different world where she meets the most surprising set of wild characters.

I was a little bit disappointed because of the limited time of picture taking. Hindi ka pa nakakalapit sa stage, tapos na.

I was wondering, what kind of speaker they are using for the play because the sound is clear and very detailed which makes the music play so good.

Date of Performances:

August 17 to December 12, 2013

Venue:

Onstage Theatre

2nd Floor, Greenbelt Mall 1

Paseo de Roxas St., Makati City

November 22, 2013

DIY Christmas Angel Ornaments

We went to National Bookstore last Saturday, I was buying materials for my son’s assignment which is a world map. My husband saw this DIY Christmas Angel ornaments and decided to buy it for my son. I was hesitant at first because it is made of porcelain but my husband wanted it so much para naman may personal touch ang aming Christmas tree.

It is Buy 1 Take 1 at P99.75, there are Christmas balls, Santa Claus and Angels Figurine. I want the Christmas balls para madali lang but my husband wants the Angels para maiba naman at puro Christmas balls na lang daw.

My son wanted to paint as soon as we got home but I told him next time na lang. Yesterday, we experienced 9 hours black out and because of that we started to paint the Christmas figurines. I thought it was easy but it wasn’t. The box includes the paint, paintbrush and of course the figurine.'

Finished product.

I’m planning to make this a yearly activity and next time I will buy three boxes para hindi na magtampo si hubby at di namin siya sinali. =)

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

November 14, 2013

DIY Birthday Banner

My grandmother celebrated her 75^th birthday last Sunday. It was just a simple celebration in her house. I did the Mickey Mouse Banner of my son so I decided to make birthday banner too for my grandmother. I don’t know what the usual color of diamond birthday is so I just used the leftover materials from my son’s birthday invitation. So it is red and white.

Materials.

Printed letters

Cartolina

Yarn

Double Sided Tape

Puncher

1. Cut the printed letters.

2. Make triangle pattern.

3. Paste the letters.

4. Make a hole.

5. Insert the yarn.

After the birthday, I received a message from my cousin asking me, where did I buy the banner? Deep inside I smiled because it means that the banner looks nice.

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

November 11, 2013

Super Typhoon Yolanda

I don’t know what’s with the year 2013 because it seems that this year is not a good year for the Philippines. The country experienced war in Zamboanga, flood because of habagat and typhoon Maring, earthquake in Bohol and nearby provinces and just recently almost 2/3 of the Philippines experienced the super typhoon Yolanda.

No classes last Friday and I was monitoring the weather update because we have free movie screening at that time. As I mentioned in my previous post, we were able to watch Thor movie because the weather was not bad in Metro Manila.

Then last Saturday, I was watching the “Bagsik ni Yolanda” of ABS CBN and I was really shocked. Seeing the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda is enough to break my heart. I was so sad to see those victims who lost their homes, property and even loved ones. Mala tsunami + tornado ang aftermath. I’m thankful that we did not experience this but at the same time I feel so sorry for the Visayas region. Imagine, nakanood pa kami ng movie while there are people na wala ng house, food and drinks.

I know there are no words good enough to console and comfort those people because I was not there and I did not experience it. Actually, I was asking myself if I live in Visayas, will I be able to survive? Am I strong enough to experience that because honestly, signal no. 2 pa lang super takot ako. I’m so scared hearing the sound of the wind and I can’t sleep sa sobrang kaba. How much more signal no. 3 and 4, baka nahimatay na ko sa takot.

But like CNN said, Filipinos are bunch of survivors so in time we will rise again. Lord, please help us, strengthen us and heal our land. Remind us o Lord, that You are in control and You will always be faithful.

Sharing to you this information if you want to help.

Ways to Donate

1.Philippine Red Cross

Monetary Donations

-Send cash or check donations to the PRC National Headquarters in Manila or deposit to the following banks.

Account Name: Philippine Red Cross

Banco De Oro: Dollar Account: 453-0039482

Peso Account: 453-0018647

Type of Account: Savings

Swift Code: BNORPHMM

Metrobank: Dollar Account: 151-2-151002182

Peso Account: 151-3-04163122-8

Euro Account: 016-201650005-9

Yen Account: 151-2-15130001-9

Type of Account: Savings

Swift Code: MBTCPHMM

In-Kind Donations

Send to PRC-National Headquartes in Manila.

Arrange for donation pick-up

Note: PRC only accept goods with expiry date of not less than 6 months. It does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods.

Donate Through SMS

Text RED <space> AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)

Denominations: Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000 Smart: 10, 25, 100, 300, 500, 1000

Vital Hashtags

#ReliefPH Resource Coordination

#RescuePH Urgent Rescue Needed

#SafeNow Resolves #RescuePH

#FloodPH Damage Reporting

#TracingPH Report Missing People

#YolandaPH Media storm coverage

Note; Do not use #RescuePH unless you are a local citizen in urgent need of assistance.

November 09, 2013

Thor: The Dark World Movie

When my husband asked me if I wanted to watch Thor at Resorts World Manila, I immediately said yes because I hadn’t experienced watching a movie in RWM. This was the first time that he would avail the free movie screening of his company. Good thing at nakahingi siya ng extra ticket because only two complimentary tickets per employee.

Yesterday, we were contemplating whether to watch the movie or not because of typhoon Yolanda; signal number 2 was raised in Metro Manila. I’ve been monitoring the weather update til 5PM, and since the weather was not that bad, we pursued our movie date.

My son was super excited, as in super excited that he wanted to go inside the movie theatre kahit hindi pa time.

Ethan: Daddy, let’s go na.

Daddy: Let’s go home na?

Ethan: No, let’s go inside.

Repeat 100 times.

When we went inside the theatre, my son asked: “Daddy, where’s my popcorn?” Demanding ang bata, di ba complete ang pagwatch ng movie ng walang popcorn.

Anyway, we enjoyed the movie, I’m thinking which movie is better kung 1 or 2, and we have the same answer as my husband, pareho lang na okay.

November 06, 2013

Semestral Break Getaway

We’re frequent travelers of Tagaytay so it is not surprising if we went here before the end of the semestral break which is last Saturday. After being stuck at home for almost a week, I wouldn’t allow my son not to have happy memories. He deserves to enjoy his semestral break.

We first dropped by at Bali Village Hotel to make a downpayment for December reservation. I even referred to this hotel when my friend asked me for a hotel recommendation. We met there before they check-out.

Then we went to Mahogany Market for lunch. I’ve been reading a lot of good reviews about their bulalo. I’ve been meaning to try this so finally last Saturday, we were able to try it. I looked for Lyleth’s Eatery because I’ve read it from a blog.

I was disappointed kasi ang konti ng bone marrow, not even half of the spoon, and the meat is not tender, sana beef nilaga na lang order ko. The taste is just okay for us. I’m still searching for best bulalo in Tagaytay. But not bad for the price of P350, next time I will try the gotong batangas and papaitan.

Di rin appealing.

After lunch, we went to Sonya’s Garden, if you still remember my post before, we love the Hispanic bread of Sonyas P120 so before going to Residence Inn Zoo we decided to buy this bread. Then off we went to the zoo. I will share our zoo experience in my next post.

October 21, 2013

Tagaytay Trip and More

Last Tuesday was a holiday and a holiday = family day. Since it was a holiday, we went early to Asian Hospital Derma Laser for my therapy again, good thing they are open from 9-12nn. Then after that, we went to Tagaytay, we wanted to check if there were Halloween costumes in Ukay-Ukay #kuripot but unfortunately, we did not find any costumes.

We had lunch in RSM Binalot sa Dahon, we chose this because we thought it was cheaper than fastfood and para maiba naman. So we ordered Grilled Liempo P130, Tocilog P108 and Turon P70. The meal had no drinks included so we ordered 1.5 liters Coke for P90.

They gave us free bulalo soup while waiting for our order. After eating our meal and paying our bill, nagkatinginan na lang kami ni hubby. We both knew that we were not satisfied with our food and sana nagfastfood na lang kami, mas mura at masarap pa.

The only good thing that happened was we saw a poster of Bali Village Hotel Resort and Spa in this restaurant so we asked if they had flyers so off we went to Bali Village to check the place. We’re currently looking for accommodation because we will attend the wedding in December.

Surprisingly, the place was good so we reserved a room already.

We also checked Hotel Kimberly Tagaytay if they have a promo for December but as of now no promo. But we’re having second thoughts because of the location; it is too far from Caleruega.

Then we went to Nuvali but on our way there, we saw Good Shepherd so we had a quick stop and bought ube jam P 130 and cuchipan P50.

At Nuvali, we’re looking for Halloween costumes and formal clothes for Ethan but we did not buy this because I don’t know the wedding motif yet.

After checking all the stores in Nuvali and Paseo De Sta Rosa, we did not find anything so we decided to go home. On our way home, my mother-in-law texted my husband to pick up his brother in Binan and ihatid sa Cabuyao, Laguna. Wheww! Di pa tapos ang road trip, so we were on the road for 10 hours. Stressful but fun.

October 11, 2013

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

When my husband celebrated his birthday last June, my son and I baked a cake. While baking a cake, my son said that he wanted a Mickey Mouse birthday cake, and since then hehas always reminded me about his cake #repeat100times till he celebrated his birthday.

He even drew this picture to show me his theme so deep inside, I know that he really wanted a Mickey Mouse Birthday Party. I was planning and surfing the net last June for possible ideas, I ordered some party materials online, and started my preparation the last week of August. I witnessed the joy and excitement of my son every time he saw me preparing for his birthday.

We gave the invitation a few days before his birthday. The day before his birthday, I was not feeling well, so I decided that we would not go to school so I could take a rest. I took medicine to prevent it, and thank God, because I was able to go with them the following day.

When I entered his room, he immediately hugged me and said, “I love you, mommy”. He was indeed happy because he would celebrate his birthday. #thelongwaitisover. It was just a simple birthday celebration together with his classmates and teachers.

Mickey Mouse Cake from "Say it with a Cake"

Initially, I wanted to bake a cupcake, but since my son wanted a Mickey Mouse cake, I just ordered this from a friend. The party started with gift giving, then blowing out the candle, eating time, games, and lastly a group picture. Before I left the room, my son hugged me again and said, “Thank you, I love you, mommy”. I was really touched, sulit pagod ko sa pagprepare because my son enjoyed his simple birthday celebration.

Click here to check for DIY Mickey Mouse Party.

October 10, 2013

DIY Mickey Mouse Party Theme

Last year my son had Lightning Mcqueen birthday party and this year he wanted Mickey Mouse birthday party so a few months before his birthday I was surfing the net for possible ideas.

It is not easy to look for Mickey Mouse party materials here in the Philippines so I have to DIY everything. Thanks to Pinterest for leading me to a free Mickey Mouse printable.

1. Mickey Mouse Invitation – my DIY invitation.