Arte Y Pico

I got this award from mommy Malou! Thanks so much for giving me this award.

The rules of this tag are as follows:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/ .Make sure you visit the link above.

Now, here's the list of 5 blogs I consider deserving to receive this award.

1. Lara - Pinoy dot US

2. Tere - Thoughts & Beyond

3. Phebie - Love's Haven

4. Budget Traveller - From Asia & Beyond

5. Cookie - Cookie's Corner

Remembering Names

I really had difficulty remembering names especially when I am introduced to a lot of people. Maybe my mind couldn’t really grasp a number of names to be memorized in one setting. During college, if I can’t remember my classmate’s name I just call him or her “classmate” and then all is well. But the hardest thing is, when you met your classmate after college and would gladly talk to you as if you were that close. What would you do? Just like what happened to me a week ago. I met my classmate in college while I was waiting for my ride home. Actually we we’re not that close, I even forgot his name but our conversation lasted for about 30 minutes. We talked about life, career opportunities and etc… it was really fun talking with him given the fact that he was a gay and he’s really fun to be with. He’s very talkative… and I wanted to ask his name but I feel a bit awkward asking. I don’t want him to be offended that I forgot his name. At the back of my mind, I kept on thinking on some clues so I could remember his name… is it JR? John? I really can’t remember and I don’t have anymore idea what his name was. I was trying to open up stories where he could mention his name but it never happened. So I tried to ask his number and asked his name .. his name was Argie. Now I remember. He also asked my number and typed it on his cell phone. After that, I was surprised with his question.. he also asked my name. Lol! He too forgot my name…

Survey Lang Po!

Thanks Lalaine for this Tag.

Participants: Tere - Blessing in Life, Yen - Me and Mine, Mitch - When Silence Speaks, Mitch - Etc Atbp, Janet - the nambiars, J3net - Expressions and Thoughts, Lalaine- Lalaine's World, Bogie- Bogie's Wonderland/ YOU'RE NEXt!

1. What do you want for your birthday? A body spa .... :)

2. Who will be your next kiss? My hubby's good night kiss.

3. When was the last time you went to the mall? Last Monday

4. Are you wearing socks right now? Nope!

5. How did you spend your summer? I gave Bible lessons for kids during our DVBS activity.

6. Have you been to the cinema in the last 5 days? Nope..haven't been to cinema for the last 2 YEARS!

7. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water

8. What are you wearing right now? Bedtime clothes

9. What was your last purchase? Pants ... I bought it today :)

10. What was the last food you ate? Grilled style pork chop cooked by my husband.


Now I'm tagging : Cookie, Malou, and Aiza.

Beauty Contest

When I was still young, I am always looking forward for beauty contests in our town. Not that I wanted to join, but I am so fond looking at the beautiful women are so eager to win the contest. I love rating each contestant and guessing who will win the contest. Until now, I am still fond of watching beauty contest on TV.

As I was surfing the net, I found out that there’s a unique beauty contest for everybody, the "Look of the Year".

It's an online beauty contest for everyone all over the world. All you have to do is to send in your best pictures. That’s all! One good thing about it is that, the winner will be given 10.000 USD and a chance to be discovered by model agencies from all over the world. Even if you don’t win you will also be given the chance to be spotted for a modeling career. So why not join now and be counted as one of the famous models in the world!

http://www.lookoftheyear.com

Blogging

It’s been four months already since I started blogging. It was my cousin who introduced me to this stuff. I enjoyed every time I made some post on my blog at the same time reading posts from other blogs. I enjoyed having friends online and feel that they care even if I did not see them in person. I am so much into blogging now since this is also one opportunity where I can express my thoughts, opinions and views of everything and anything under the sun.

Not only that, my cousin even told me that I can make money through my blog. What??? Make MONEY??? Yes, make money! That is why I’ve just joined Bloggerwave. Bloggerwave gives me the opportunity to earn extra money through my blog. Blogging is really so much fun especially when you make money out of it.

Happy Face

I have to prepare snacks for our DVBS activity tomorrow, but I decided to do it tonight so that I will not be late for tomorrow’s activity. I planned to make a Happy Face Pizza, actually it’s a homemade pizza. All you have to do is to put pizza sauce, cheese, ham or hotdog on the bread, and put it in a toaster for a few minutes, that’s all. While I was preparing the pizza, putting some sauce, and cheese, I was amazed looking at the pizzas I’ve made. They were all smiling and they all looked happy (lol). I was then excited on what will be the kid’s reaction with these happy face pizzas. But not after I placed these happy face pizzas in the toaster. I was surprised! The pizzas were not smiling anymore. (lol) It seems they were tortured inside the oven toaster. They looked so sad and some looked angry.

The sad face pizza reminds me of our experiences in life. We tend to usually smile when things are going well. But when things aren’t favorable we tend to be sad. It also reminded me that God can allow us to have a happy face and a happy heart even if the situation is not good. All we need to do is let Him turn our sadness into joy. Same with these pizzas, I fixed there mouths in order for them to have a happy face and that the kids will be happy as they eat it.

Always wear a happy face! :)

How much of the Philippines have you visited?

Thanks ate Janet for this tag!

Show me how much of the Philippines have you visited?

Add your links here:1) mind bubbles, 2) may, 3) VANITY KIT 4) SOMETHING PURPLE, 5.) A DETOUR, 6) Big Eyed Gal, 7)The Chronic Shopper, 8) Free IT and Blogger's EBook, 9) Ness 10) Mica 11) Bernadeth 12. Bernisaac13. expressions and thoughts 14. our family story 15. Bogie's Wonderland 16. Add your name here..

My Lakbayan grade is F!

Hu..hu.. so sad.. Actually, while I was doing this survey I was really expecting this grade. I haven't travelled much of the Philippines. As you look at my map... I haven't been to the Visayas area. If given the chance to travel, I would like to go to Baguio, Tagaytay, Palawan, Cebu and Bohol and many more....

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

What about you Lara, Cookie, Phebie, and Lanel ?

Who's the Real Cook?

I really love cooking but I am not that confident to cook compared to my husband. Two weeks ago I told my husband to cook Pancit (Fried Noodles) for our dinner. He refused because he was very tired. He told me to cook instead, with him giving the detailed instruction. I have cooked Pancit before but it was a very long time ago and I already forgot the whole procedure of doing it. So I started the cooking, asking my husband on the next steps to be done. To make the long story short, I was able to cook a delicious pancit that day… according to my husband it was yummy.. (lol!)

My mother in law came home and asked, “Oh, did you order Pancit today? My husband said,… “No, Bogie cooked it…” Mom then tasted it and said it was good. I was so happy that mom liked my cooking. She even asked me to cook another Pancit for her friends on Saturday.

Saturday came. I was busy preparing for our DVBS, but I promised to cook Pancit for mom because her friends will be coming in the house. So I asked my husband to cook it. I just prepared the ingredients, slicing, peeling and etc. but my husband really made the whole cooking without mom’s knowledge. While mom was out in the house, we really prepared the house for her visitors. We were not anymore in the house when mom’s friends came.

When we arrived home, mom told us that the Pancit was really very delicious. Her friends really liked it and thought that it was ordered from a restaurant. But mom told her friends that it was prepared by her daughter-in law. My husband made a funny look at me while mom is telling us the story behind the Pancit. I could see from his face that he was trying to tell me that he’s the one who cooked it, but he just kept silent. I gave him a big grin.

When we are about to sleep at night, my husband couldn’t sleep. Just to tease me, he was jokingly grumbling about who gets the merit of that delicious Pancit (lol). To pacify my husband, I told him that I will tell mom tomorrow who really cooked it. He was laughing out loud and told me to forget about it, and just think of it as a combined effort. Who’s the real cook? Both of us! (lol).

Chewee

This cute little pup happens to be our visitor last New Year's Day. His name is Chewee, owned by my sister in law, who is also the owner of Chocolate. Chewee was their baby in the house. He never fails to greet his owners when they arrived home from work. He really brings joy to his owners, that is why he was well loved and cared for. Last Thursday, Chewee got sick. According to his owners, he was really very, very weak that he wasn't in the mood for play. When they tried to check him if his okay, his mouth was already foaming. They rushed Chewee to the clinic and allowed him to stay overnight. Last Saturday (May 17, 2008), I got a text message from my sister in law that Chewee already died last Friday night. According to the doctor, it was a certain virus that caused his sickness. I was so sad, even though I am not the owner of this cute puppy.... As I was looking at this photo, I kinda missed Chewee...

Goodbye Chewee!

Weekend Snapshot # 9 : "Granny's Place"

This is Granny's house. I used to visit here every Saturday. I love this house because it's so relaxing. The shade of the trees and the river beside it makes the place so calm and serene. You can really appreciate the beauty of nature. My husband would love to stay in a place like this because it made him forget his worries. That is why Granny never looks too old for her age because she has a God who cares for her and a very nice place to stay.

Edible Sombreros

I was quiet busy for this week because of our Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS). I was tasked to organize the whole DVBS at the same time do the snacks for the kids. The theme for this year’s DVBS is “Trading Places, Where Jesus Makes a World of Difference”. Lesson one is entitled “Trading Loneliness for Loyalty”, this is a bible story about Ruth. Part also of the Lesson is introducing different countries and learning how it is to trade places with someone living there. For the first day, our lesson is about the country Mexico. My duty is to prepare snacks that will remind the kids about Mexico and about the lesson “Loyalty”. What I did was I made this Edible Sombreros. Sombrero is a Spanish word for Hat. How did I do this? It’s just simple… no baking needed (lol!). Just look for any biscuit that has a round shape and anything round (biscuit or chocolate) that will be placed on top of the biscuit. Here in the Philippines I used the Fita Biscuit and Eggnog biscuit placed on top. I used mayonnaise to make the two biscuits stick together, and then I sprinkled some nuts and decors on top. As the teachers gave the snacks to the kids, they reminded them with these words…. “The Bible story for today is about loyalty, and the snacks for today will help you think about loyalty. Loyalty means sticking together even when times are hard and things get rough. Remember, kids, that no matter where you are or where you live Jesus makes a world of difference! … You can now eat your sombreros! The kids were so happy with these cute sombreros and were excited for tomorrow's snacks… (lol!)

(DVBS materials courtesy of Operation Blessing. You can also visit www.vacationbibleschool.com)

Rice Crisis

Rice is a staple food in the Philippines. We cannot have a complete meal if we don’t have rice set on our tables. But just recently, the Philippines is suffering from rice crisis. I couldn’t feel such crisis until I saw the price of a kilo of rice goes higher and higher. News on TV shows a lot of people lining up just to get cheaper rice from the National Food Authority. They were to line up, have priority number cards and sometimes get arguments of who’s next in line. I was so sad when I heard that there’s one old man died due to heat stroke as he waited for his turn to buy the cheap rice. Until now, there are a lot of sad stories for people who are trying to purchase rice in the market. One story that struck me most was the story I saw on TV. There were certain women who would try to give their bodies in exchange for two kilos of rice, worth about 70 pesos (approximately less than $2). I was so sad about it… very, very disappointed.

According to some politicians, rice crisis is due to “corruption”. Might be true… The government keeps on updating us that there is no rice shortage, but I guess there’s no truth on these words. With all these stories heard from a lot of people who are mostly affected with the crisis, these are enough evidences that there is really shortage.

I remember one pregnant woman I talked to… she said it’s already her due but the baby is still not coming out. That is why she went to her doctor and asked what the reason was. Her doctor made a funny answer… “Maybe your baby is afraid to come out because the price of rice is so expensive already’… I believe the doctor was just joking… but I hope the government will not make joke on this issue.

Let’s continue to pray for our country!