Halloween Fun Day

Chloe and her schoolmates had their fun day activity at school last Thursday, and the children were asked to dress up in Halloween costumes. She usually loves to wear princess or fairy costumes, but for a change, she dressed up as a Vampire. You can see her pictures below…


The Queen of Vampires strikes a pose!


With the pumpkin girl. Chloe's best friend at school


With the rest of the kids...

The kids really had fun. Aside from games and prizes, Pizza Hut also facilitated a pizza–making activity. The kids were the ones to make their own pizza. It was fun watching them as they put in the sauce, cheese and bacon on their pizzas. After baking, the finished product was given for them to eat.

Chloe in action


The finished product. Thanks, Pizza Hut ----- for the burnt pizza!

The Flower 4

Not so long ago, a Taiwanese show was brought to the Philippines and it became wildly popular. The girls went ga-ga over it, be they young or old (let me include the gays, too). The title was Meteor Garden. For some reason, I didn’t bother to watch. All I knew was that it featured the four guys who were popularly called F4. I thought that was the name of their band. One of the reasons that I didn't feel like watching their show was because the language was dubbed into our local dialect. I just didn’t like watching shows that were being dubbed (And what's with the long hair?).

I mentioned recently that I went crazy over one anime show titled Itazura Na Kiss. It ended already and my husband recommended one show that he found interesting, also from the manga. But it was not an anime anymore, but a live action drama. The title was Hana Yori Dango. I didn’t bother to watch it either.

Then, a dear friend told me she would lend to me her Meteor Garden VCD Collection so that I could watch the show. I told her again that I wasn’t interested in any dubbed shows. I thought I could escape. Instead, she told me that her collection was not dubbed. It had English subtitles. Bingo! I told myself why not give it a try?

Before watching the show, I checked the internet first on how interesting the story was, only to find out that Meteor Garden was actually based on Hana Yori Dango. I was intrigued. My husband then told me to watch HYD first.

I ended up watching both shows. I watched MG on a Saturday and HYD on a Sunday. I seemed to enjoy both.

I cannot really compare the Taiwanese-made to the Japanese-made story. The plot may be the same but the presentation was different.

Well, to describe MG, their story was very detailed, but to the point that some scenes became quite dragging. However, you could easily comprehend everything that transpired in the story. In HYD, their show had very good cinematography, and it was more fast-paced, but to the point that the audience are left to analyze by themselves what really had happened.

But one thing was common between the 2 shows. I was so into that guy who plays the violin, hehe. In MG, he is Hua Ze Lei and in HYD, he is Hanazawa Rui. They both have the same charisma. What was only nice in MG was that the leader of F4 was equally appealing. In HYD, I can’t say their F4 leader looked bad but Hanazawa Rui made my jaw drop, haha. If I were the girl in the story, I would go for Rui. I found the actor (played by Shun Oguri) really cute and he played his character so well that any girl’s heart would melt. But well, that was how the story went. If you happen to read the manga, the leader really had a funny curly-tops hair.

So now I know what F4 stands for. A group of four arrogant heirs dubbed “F4” or the Flower Four. It was first published in Manga titled Hana Yori Dango, which meant Boys Over Flower. It was first dramatized by Taiwanese Actors titled Meteor Gardens. I’m not yet done watching both of these shows, though. But my weekend is reserved for them. Let me add that I learned a lot of Japanese words, too, from watching HYD, but Chinese is so hard to understand and speak, that I only know only one word of it, haha.

Art Gallery

Are you an Art Lover? I love Art because it beautifies the things that surrounds us like our home, school, office, galleries, etc. It would surely create life in any dull places. I've read about WhiteWalls art gallery and what is interesting about them is that their designs are very unique and you can hardly find them in any store. They also offer very fast, FREE SHIPPING on all artwork including canvas art sets, metal art, abstract, modern, and contemporary styles.

Their 110% price match guarantee lets their valued customers know that they're always offering the lowest price possible. And if you find a better deal anywhere on the web, all you have to do is to email to them the lower price and they will surely beat it by 10% with no questions asked! Now that you know, I guess you can go shop with confidence! And don't forget to check back every morning for their "Steal of the Day" art specials. You can find them updated daily on the upper right-hand corner of their homepage.

A True Friend

Got this tag from my new blogger friend Ady. Thank you so much for this.

True friends are hard to find especially nowadays but in the blogging world they are always there for you. I want to thank my BLOGGER FRIENDS for accepting me as your friend and giving me the opportunity to be part of your page. It means so much to me. This tag is for all of you guys.

If you have friends that means so much to you, let them them know that they are a true friend and they deserve to receive some compliment. Simply copy and paste this tag on your page and mention the name of your true friends and let them know that they've got a tag. Send this tag to as many friends that you have and let's spread the true spirit of friendship in the world of blogging.

Fear Thou Not

“I’m sorry, but your father is diagnosed with fibrosarcoma, a rare kind of cancer”. Those were the exact words my dad’s doctor told us. This happened in year 2000. My dad actually had an operation earlier that year. However, the operation was unsuccessful. He still experienced excruciating pain afterwards, even though his doctor said that the biopsy result was benign. My dad then sought for a second opinion with another doctor, who doubted the result of the first biopsy. He referred my dad to Makati Medical Hospital because this was beyond his capacity. True enough, my dad was advised for another operation because the biopsy results turned out malignant. On that ‘big’ day, my dad entered the operating room in the morning and was sent back to his room in the evening. After the doctor told us about my dad’s prognosis, I rushed to the hospital’s chapel and cried uncontrollably. I was angry and even blamed God for bringing this unto my dad. No one in his family ever had cancer, why him? He was a good person. I didn’t want him to die yet. I was still single at that time and how I wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle when I would get married.

When I returned to work, I was in denial when people asked me about my dad’s status. My family was in total depression. Sometimes, I would make a bargain with God, but all were unanswered. However, as months passed by, I learned to accept my dad’s condition. I returned to God and the Bible was my constant companion at that time. One of my favorite verses that helped me gain strength was from Isaiah 41:10 which says:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

My dad died February 19, 2001. I was still single but I was prepared. I had witnessed how much my dad had suffered but through God’s comforting words, my family and I were able to surpass the ordeal. In fact, it strengthened my family’s faith in Him.

Speaking of Bible verses, CineMeetings & Events is hosting the first-ever Theatre Church Conference in Silver Spring, MD on October 22 & 23. To Find out more more about this wonderful event, just go to the following links:

Find out more about Tradeshows, Meetings and Events, or;
Find out more about Theatre Church Conference.

My Wedding Dress

What Your Ideal Wedding

Dress Says About You

Your Personal Style:

Classic and elegant.
You prefer to make a statement with a few quality pieces.

Your Ideal Wedding:

Traditional and formal, but not tacky.
You think the most beautiful weddings are understated.

Your Philosophy on Marriage:

It's a serious commitment, and the couple entering it
should be ready to work for their relationship.

Your Perfect Marriage:

Is calm, stable, deep, and meaningful.

The Wedding Dress Test



Here's the blushing bride for you ;)
(and yeah, that's me, hehe)

Have A Little Faith

I have so many favorite Bible stories and one of them was the story about Moses from the book of Exodus. I even love the movie The Ten Commandments because it depicted the life of Moses and the many tasks that the Lord asked him to do. One of the tasks was that, Moses was to go to Egypt and spread God’s words and warnings. Moses, who was of little faith at that time, told God that he couldn’t do it. He thought that no one would believe him and that he also didn’t know what to say. But God reassured him, He will be with him. He just needed to have faith. So Moses went there and sent God’s message. Even though the Pharaoh and the others did not believe what Moses had said, a lot of people believed him.

What Moses did reminded me of myself when I was in College. I was an active member of a religious organization. The music and evangelization ministries were to be spearheaded by me. I was confident to take responsibility of the music ministry but I declined to our spiritual moderator to take care of the evangelization ministry. For one, I was scared to speak in front of many people. I was not confident and felt the need to learn more from the Bible. I didn’t believe in myself either. I was afraid people might get offended or might laugh at me when I discussed to them some spiritual matters. I felt I still needed to learn a lot before resorting into this kind of thing. But our moderator gave me some encouragement. He believed that I could do it. He said he that he would teach and guide me. And some of the senior members would be helping me, too. So, I became an evangelist. I read the scriptures to understand better. And before I knew it, I was able to conduct several talks during recollections and retreats.

But of course, I had to remind myself to practice what I preach. Human as I am, I still make mistakes. I'm no saint at all, and I have to admit that.

You can learn and Find out more more about Bible stories and Theatre Church when CineMeetings & Events brings the first-ever Theatre Church Conference in Silver Spring, MD on October 22 & 23. Just click on the following links:

Find out more about Tradeshows, Meetings and Events.
Find out more about Theatre Church Conference.

Name Game

What Cookie Means

You are very open. You communicate well,
and you connect with other people easily.

You are a naturally creative person.
Ideas just flow from your mind.

A true chameleon, you are many things at different
points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.

You are solid and dependable.
You are loyal, and people can count on you.

At times, you can be a bit too serious.
You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are a seeker of knowledge, and
you have learned many things in your life.

You are also a keeper of knowledge -
meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.

People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof,
but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited...
which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly.
You don't stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.
Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are friendly, charming, and warm.
You get along with almost everyone.

You work hard not to rock the boat.
Your easy going attitude brings people together.

At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible.
But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Cookie is my nickname but I use this one over my real name because the meaning is closest to my personality. You can go to blogthings to check for the meaning of your name, too, or click the link here. Happy Blogging!

Can You Reach My Friend?

I am currently thinking of my friend who I did not see for years. She was my best friend and until now she still is. However, things were not the same as before, since we now live far from each other. We used to hang out a lot and were inseparable. But time came when I was too preoccupied with work that I didn’t get to spend time with her. When things went wrong with her, I was furious. But I also felt guilty about it, for not being there for her when she was lost. I thought that things would have been prevented had I been there to guide her. But since our friendship mattered the most, we tried our best to put the flaws aside and live life as it is. She returned to her hometown and I remained here. But I missed her. She’s a friend who was my exact opposite, yet we clicked. She always listened to me, even if I gave her some constructive criticism, she always took it positively. Even after I scolded her with what had happened to her, she still listened and held on to me, saying she'd try her best to make amends and make the wrong things right. Nowadays, even though we don’t get to see each other, we still communicate by phone, but not as often. Sometimes, she would tell me she’s OK and contented, however, at times I can feel that she’s lonely. I'm reminded of the song that we used to sing. I always dedicate this song to her whenever I play it on my guitar...

Can You Reach My Friend?

I got a call from an old friend
We laughed about how we had changed
But I could tell things weren’t going as well as she claimed
She tried to hide her feelings, but they only gave her away.
The longer I listened, the more I kept wishing
I knew the right words to say.

Can You reach my friend?
You’re the only One who can
Lord, I know that You love her
So make her understand
Can You reach my friend?
Bring her search into an end
And help her bring her heart to You.

We talked for more than an hour
And I smiled when she mentioned Your Name.
I said I knew You
and told her the difference You made
She never thought she needs You
But maybe she’s changing her mind.
As we said goodbye, Lord, she told me that
I have found something that she’d like to find.

Can You reach my friend?
You’re the only One who can
Lord, I know that You love her
So make her understand
Can You reach my friend
Bring her search into an end
And help her bring her heart to You.

Maybe she’s ready tonight
Lord, she said that she might
Make a call on You.

Lord, can You reach my friend?
You’re the only One who can
Lord, I know that You love her
So make her understand
Can You reach my friend
Bring her search into an end
And help her bring her heart to You.

Lord, help her bring her lonely heart to You.

Rosary Month

October is the month of Holy Rosary for us Catholics. We start praying the rosary on the 1st day of October up until the 31st. My daughter, who is now five years old, usually prays with me at night and I'm very happy that she already knows how to recite the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory Be and Oh, My Jesus. Last night, she became the prayer leader. She even knows how to move the beads of the rosary with her tiny little hands.

I'm Nuts Over It, Yet!

My blogger friend and also Polyvore pal, Soul Anchor, made this set for me (titled Nuts). Arigato, Soul-chan, I'm so touched. I wrote about Itazura Na Kiss in my previous blog (link here) and how I became addicted to it. I was so sad, though, when the show ended recently and I'm still having a hang-over (I didn't want it to end ~~ waaaah).
Sometime ago, I introduced this anime to Soul Anchor and I'm glad she liked the show as much as I did. We sometimes chat on the internet just to talk about Kotoko-chan and Irie-kun and how we laughed at ourselves realizing that even in our age, we were so into Japanese anime (or maybe we're just a kid at heart, right? wink*). Well, as of now I'm about to 'infect' my other friends ( and blogger friends, as well) into watching this show.

I'm not a sucker for romantic love stories, but this particular one has really gotten my attention. Aside from the very cute and romantic story, I found the show to be so hilarious (really!~harhar!). I want to watch a show that would truly entertain, not to scare or put me into a depressive mood. That's why I avoid watching the local tv series here where a lot of villains appear and the lead characters were often made to suffer, duh!
Thanks to INK, my facial nerve gets to exercise by laughing a lot. I salute the late author, Kaoru Tada, for her great work. Had she not rested in peace accidentally, there probably would have been more stories to tell as I'm not over this show yet (bu~huhu).
Anyways, as for the curious readers, I've a link here on their manga scantalation (click here). The story in the manga differs a little but it's still very close to the anime version. Enjoy reading! wink*wink*