#49. Whenever I drink coffee - ordinary, 3in1, coffee shop - I don't finish the entire thing.

PisoBid

I've recently registered with PisoBid and I just failed my first auction a few minutes ago. I was going for that 100 bids auction because it was closing, just so I'd get the feel of the auction. To make the long story short, I didn't have enough bids - I only have the 5 bids that were free upon registration - to win it. To be perfectly honest, though, it was exciting even if I lost. PisoBid is like playing the crane machine. I mean, the excitement you get while playing the crane machine is the same as the excitement you get while bidding on PisoBid.

PisoBid is a piso auction site that offers up to 99% discount off of products. You can get an iPod for 1 peso. Really. I saw testimonials. It's crazy, right? You can try it, too! Just click on http://pisobid.com/?r=babyandmuffi and register. Upon registration, you will be given 5 free bids which you can use for closing auctions. Once these free bids run out, you can always buy bids.

You know what will be really great?

I have been working my ass for two years in oDesk and I have always been wondering if they offered medical plans to their freelancers. Good news: They do. Bad news: They're only offered to US citizens.

I really hope they offer this to other suppliers, too. I guess it's safe to say that majority of the contractors in oDesk are mostly based in another country, right?

Expo Kid Year 4

Hey there, mommies! Here's another bazaar all of you wouldn't want to miss before the summer vacation kicks in: The Expo Kid Year 4!

The Expo Kid Year 4 will be happening at the Rockwell Tent on March 10, Saturday. There are activity areas meant for the moms and kids alike and shops that will be selling high quality products that are both mom and kid-friendly. There are also food booths to help you re-energize if ever you feel a wee bit tired from all the shopping and while you eat, your kids can play at the inflatable play area courtesy of Fun Ranch. There is a breastfeeding lounge for nursing moms, too!

Entrance fee for the Expo Kid Year 4 is Php 25 per head. Kids below 12 years old don't need to pay the entrance fee and those who have the Mommy Mundo passport, you can enter for free when you present your Mommy Mundo passport. All registration fees will go to MomShare outreach activities.

For more details, you can visit the Mommy Mundo website at http://mommymundo.com.

The Expo Kid Year 4. Rockwell Tent. March 10. See you there!

There's no harm in trying...

How does getting rewarded through sharing sounds like to you? Join #phchurpchurp today and bring more friends to the community!

Damn you, Ronald McDonald!

I was on one of my depression streaks these past few nights. How I Met Your Mother and a bag of chips would usually put my foul mood on the backseat but last night, the depression was so stubborn, a bag of chips wasn't enough to make me feel better. So instead of sleeping it off (which might be the perfect remedy for such a thing, anyway), I ordered a McChicken sandwich, LARGE fries and orange juice from the McDelivery website at friggin' 12 in the morning. It was that bad. I got so guilty after finishing everything (in 10 minutes) that I got up early enough to join my parents run at Boni High Street thus my first EVER run since 2009.

Of course, I brought Brianna with me. It's added exercise for me (and my huge arms) and it's another day out of the house for her.

After running, though, we went to McDonald's 32nd cor. 5th for breakfast and I ended up finishing one full order of the Big Breakfast and a 2-piece pancake meal plus one whole hash brown.

Damn you, Ronald McDonald. Mark my words: I will eventually get tired of the food you serve but until that day comes...DAMN YOU.

Brianna's 1st birthday in photos.

So, I know posting the 1st birthday photos will be late now but I sure want it to be here for documentation purposes.



Anyway, Brianna had a Justice League-themed birthday party in Shakey's, Quezon Ave. last February 5, 2012. It was a rather small birthday party, just with people who we know we care about and cares about us. We arrived a wee bit earlier just to fix whatever needs to be fixed.

This is me, getting my production coordinator on.

The guests started arriving one by one with the Cuyegkeng family being the early birds. There would have been a prize if I thought of it before the party. Hee. Anyway, it went exactly how a birthday party would have gone, with the clowns and games and the (poorly lit, overpriced) photobooth.

I am pretty sure, though, that the kids had fun with the games and the cape most of the kids didn't want to take off even after the party. For people like us who have friends who mostly don't have children yet, we had a decent number of kids who attended the party.

Kiddies. :)

Brianna, though, kept on crying the whole time. I don't think she likes clowns... No clowns on her next party, then.

"It's my party, I can cry if I want to..."

 So, that's practically what happened in the party...

Bry and I didn't get the chance to thank each and everyone in the party so even if it's weeks late already,  from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all so much for celebrating our baby's party with us and thank you so so much for the pretty gifts.

#48. I can finish a whole bottle of wine all by myself. In less than an hour.

So... This is awkward....

I just got Brianna's 1st birthday photos yesterday and I still have to resize them so I'm gonna have to postpone the blog entry again...

Welcome to my life.

Ah, the life of a freelance writer can be really fun and frustrating at the same time. There are a lot of truth in this picture. Especially the What I Really Do part. Hee.

WHAT MY FRIENDS THINK I DO: Actually, that's literally how I look when ending my articles so it's kinda consistent. Yes, I get writer's block in the end. I know how to start my articles but I always go "Huh?" in the end.

WHAT MY MOM THINKS I DO: Well, at first, she thought I wouldn't build a career out of this freelancing stuff and I didn't contradict her on what she thinks of my work. It gets really tiring to prove whatever it is that I "need" to prove. Anyway, now, she thinks that I will be able to pull this off...and I definitely will. I am even planning to take up an online marketing course offered by DLSU in order for me to offer even more services to clients.

WHAT SOCIETY THINKS I DO: I don't think freelance writers look like that but I accept it. I mean, the guy's hot so I assume that society thinks freelance writers are hot. *wink wink*

WHAT PUBLISHERS THINK I DO: Okay, I don't know what that is about because the monkey looks mad but I don't think my clients think that I'm a monkey. Too literal? Sorry.

WHAT I THINK I DO: Yes, and I want to believe that I am that great, too... NOT! Well, I don't think that I am great but I think I am literate enough to get my works published.

WHAT I REALLY DO: I don't play solitaire, though. I usually tweet and browse online stores and apply to more jobs and watch It's Showtime. Hee. But I get the job for the day done before the 4pm deadline. *snap snap snap*

Anyway, I knew I could succeed in this work from home gig. I just need to be even more hardworking to get more projects...and yeah, that IMMAP thing with DLSU. I definitely am aiming for that this year. Hopefully.

Irritation

I bought this water-based bug spray for Brianna to use because recently, mosquitoes have been common visitors in our house. I got this from a Multiply shop site that caters specifically to babies. I was too excited to use it and when it came in the mail, I immediately sprayed it on my hands and rubbed it on Brianna's skin. A few seconds into it, Brianna started crying and her skin turned tomato red that I had to wipe the liquid off of her. She was either allergic to one of the ingredients or her skin was that sensitive.

I researched the ingredients of the spray which were lemongrass distillate and oil, citronella oil and eucalyptus oil and saw that none of these would cause harm to a baby. I don't really know what happened but I didn't and will not repeat it again because I don't like the way she cried when I first put it on her.

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012

It was my first time ever to attend the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark, Pampanga this year and I am glad to have Brianna as my hot air balloon date. It was a great chance to bond with the cousins while experiencing hot air balloon-ing at its finest. I really had a great time watching it.

Should I?

I have a very big dilemma (Oh!) and it includes money...

Should I get a portable digital camera?

Yes, I am having second thoughts about buying a camera. I don't think I'm gonna use it as much as I'm using Happy now but I think I need it. I think. I'm not quite sure now but when we're in some sort of event, I feel that I need it. I've been so used to taking photos in college that I have so much of my memories captured by the camera. Now, I still have memories caught by the camera but I feel like someone from the outside looking in. I know it sounds profound but it's really not. I just want my point of view captured, you know? No? Okay, forget it.

What kind of mom are you?

I was curious to know what kind of mom to Brianna I am so I took this test that's powered by OFF! Lotion in the Top Moms Facebook page. This is the result I got:

I would really want to believe that I am a discerning mom. :)

If you want to know what kind of mom you are, you can take the test by liking the Top Moms Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/topmoms or you can visit their website at http://topmoms.net/. They are giving away prizes to lucky moms who take the test. I am fortunate enough to get a prize from Top Moms. I will be claiming it one of these days and I'm going to post the prize here.

#47. I always experience writer's block. I know how to start my write-ups but I don't know how to end them.

To the prettiest and smartest wittle baby...

Happy birthday, Honey! :) Mom and Dad love you so much! :)

I have a new baby.

To celebrate my and Bry's 2nd year anniversary, I got myself a laptop.

Meet Happy. (I'm sorry for the quality of the photo, I just used my phone but I swear, Happy's really sexy.)

I decided to get Happy because she's a need now that I am trying to be serious with this freelance writer thing and I know that it will be a good investment. I'll be getting my money-back in a month's time, anyway, so it's not much of a hassle when it comes to my budget.

Originally, I just wanted to get a netbook because it's so small, I could literally lug it around everywhere I go but Happy is a really handy laptop compared to those other bulky laptops Octagon was selling so I thought it's a win-win situation. I get a laptop instead of a netbook and I could lug it around with me all the time.

Here are some of the first photos we've taken using Happy:

I haven't edited any picture and the lighting was really crappy. I shall try again tomorrow at the party...if the place is well-lit.

So, basically, I bought a gift for myself for our anniversary and for Brianna's birthday. I'm a happy (mommy) bee. :) Crossing out items from the wishlist from 2011.

I'm sorry if I sound really proud about something so small but Happy is, by far, the most expensive thing I've bought with my own money. This is an achievement for someone so cheap like me.

Weird fascination

I don't really think that my baby's fascination is really that weird but if you still don't know by now, my baby is a girl.

Brianna is so fond of cars. Whenever she hears an engine rev, she runs to the door and points to the direction of the car. When we are in a car, she wants to sit up front. Mind you, not on the passenger seat. On the driver's seat. When we're standing next to a car, she won't stop crying until she touches it.

We were at the SM Megamall Cyberzone, looking for a laptop I could use for work. This shot was taken at one computer shop where they had a Samsung race car thing was installed. Naturally, we brought Brianna there because she was really heavy, we cannot carry her anymore. When she saw the car setup, she started reaching for it and waddling her feet. We let her play there for a couple of minutes (30 minutes) and when it was time to go, she started crying and insisted we stay.

I don't know where she got this weird fascination with cars. I do remember myself being crazy over cars (designs, parts and how everything works) a few years back but it (kinda) ended before I got pregnant with her. Her dad isn't much of a car enthusiast either. He just likes some car models he sees but that's about it. Wherever she got it, I am thankful. I might have a future Danica Patrick right here.

I have a confession to make.

Confession: I CANNOT, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, COOK.

Yes, I cannot cook. At all. I know how to cook rice using a rice cooker. I know how to make instant pancit canton, too, but that's about it. So yesterday for early dinner, - I don't eat after 6pm - I decided to make myself a meal. Actually, it's not really cooking because it's just Hamsilog (Ham, egg and fried rice) but heck, I'm still too proud of my achievement! It's a start, right?

Sorry na, I really don't know how to cook. The yaya even laughed at me when I was happily eating my meal. Malamang, I'm the only one who's gonna appreciate the food I cooked, right? Love your own! Haha!

I want these...

In line with Brianna's first birthday party theme, it would really be awesome if someone got me this:

ZAP Headband, Comic Book, Yellow and Royal Blue

It's only available here. It's only $23 with a shipping fee of $5.50 for the Philippines.