I need a vacation... from vacationing

Yes, I'm back. My 7-week Philippines vacation was brief and short. I wasn't able to do all the things I need to do. And since I chose to come home during the typhoon season, it was mostly rainy and soggy. So i was basically spending time at home bonding with my brother's kids whom I miss so much.

Despite the unfavorable weather, my vacation is just as I thought - hectic, fun and enjoyable.

I had the chance to spend time with my brothers Gary and Japol [who took me to different places].

Bonded with my family...

Catch up with long-time friends...

and met-up with new friend.

 Reconnected with colleagues....

and former students...

Got-together with High School...

and Elementary classmates.

 

Ate most of the food that I miss so much...

and tasted new ones that I will surely miss.

 

 

Visited places I have not seen before...

 

 

revisited places that had once become part of my childhood memories...

and went back to places that I love to see again.

 

 

 

 

Did things I have not done before...

 

and got pampered away!

And now that I'm back home from vacation, I think I need another vacation so I can recover from hang-over.

Hurricanes, Phone booths, and Facebook

I'm on vacation right now. After 5 years of being away from home. I finally got the chance to go back and visit my homeland. It was a little emotional but manageable. I was spared of all the drama due to some travel problems like flight cancellations, delays, phone booths, hurricanes, and facebook.

I supposed to leave on the 25th of June but my flight was delayed due to hurricane. Hubby brought me to the airport at about 9 am for my 12:45pm flight but it was delayed to 2:45pm due to hurricane. But since my  connecting flight to Hong Kong was at 3:45pm from Newark Airport, I had to ask for a change of flight schedule for the next day because there is no way I can make it on time.

So there I was stuck in the airport just 18 miles away from home. The next problem occurred when I realized there are no longer "phone booths" anywhere in the airport. Yes, phone booth is now a thing of the past. It's already extinct! I left my phone in the truck and there is no way I could call hubby to ask me to pick me up. A couple of people offered to use their phones but Hubby left his phone in the truck too. So there was no way to contact him or get hold of him until he got hold of his phone. hayyyy

Good thing I had my kindle fire with me and the only thing I can do is to go on facebook to shout "help" as my status on the wall. Soon enough help came. But I was already home cozily tucked in in bed when Hubby got the messages from different people I came across at FB who knew that I was stuck in the airport.

Dino Video War Party

Brandon turns 11 years old today. We had his birthday celebration last Sunday. He wanted a Video War Game Party and Dinosaur Theme in one. So as always he got his wish.

I made him a personalized invitation cards...

I also made matching Happy Birthday banners...

Name banners and banners bearing his pictures through the years.

And matching Party Favor bags.

His sisters heather and Steff did an awesome Dino Cake.

And I set up a Candy Bar...

A Sundae Bar...

 

A Lemonade/Fruit Punch Stand...

A Burger/Hotdog Bar.

And yes, I made my very first "cake pops".

It was a very intimate party attended by only family and closed friend. He got only one kid guest, Maya who never fails to come every year since he was 6 years old.

It was tiring but enjoyable. I never realized that throwing a party is fun. I would like to do something like this again.

Healthy Choice, My Choice

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Quaker Oats for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have signed up for 2 races every month right after my 1^st year Running Anniversary. I never thought that running is addicting. I can’t brag that I am good at it because I know I’m not. It just feels good that I can challenge myself to do something that I know is good for my health. And knowing the benefits I get from it is just simply amazing.

Training on the other hand is the hard part both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of effort and self-control to train. And it takes miracle to stick on a strict diet. Hahaha. Well, good thing that nowadays there are healthy foods that are readily available to help me with my weight goal like the Quaker Soft Baked Bar which aren't just tasty, but are packed with 140 calories, 5g of Fiber, 6g of Protein and an excellent source of 5 B-Vitamins. What else can an active person like me ask for a snack bar?

This baby provides me with the FUEL I need with my training. This new wholesome food which is made with real fruits and nuts comes in two delicious flavors, Cinnamon Pecan Bread and Banana Nut Bread. My favorite flavor is Cinnamon Pecan Bread which is my eat on-the-go power breakfast snack when I am in hurry or when I have a race. But when I have those days where I can relax and enjoy a hearty snack while doing chores, I can just pop it up in a microwave for a real bakery experience. This great snack can get me through until my next meal so I am not worried that I get hungry and overeat when I get my hand of the food.

That is why Quaker Soft Baked Bars top my grocery list. I need to stock up on these snack bars because I’m not the only one enjoying it… my Sweetest too.  I make sure that he got his fair share in his lunch box every day when he goes to work.

Well, we all have choices. Making the right choice is always based on our personal preference. When it comes to health, we are given many choices too but as for me - my choice is Quaker Soft Baked Bar.

What a nice day it was!

It was a nice day yesterday. A perfect day for my planned surprise birthday party for my Sweetest. It supposed to be a surprise but apparently, his radar is too strong to keep it a secret so he knows what's gonna happen except for some cute details.

 

the lovely wild flowers center piece courtesy of Heather.

 

The Gregoires, so happy to see them together in one picture.

Well, it was a nice day yesterday and the day before that. Oh I am so loving the weather up here in Maine. Can't complain. So there I was crunch on precious time to get my act together and had successfully delivered a lobster cookout birthday party for my Sweetest complete with party favors. If I didn't forget the party hats it would have been perfect. hahaha.

 

My Veggie/Fruit Salad Bar with blue and green color scheme.

 

It was indeed a nice day yesterday but then, I can't brag about it all by myself because my step-daughters did an amazing job in helping out too.

 

I call this, The Sweet Bar which the girls helped me put up.

 The Birthday Boy, blowing his candles.

It was just a nice day yesterday and the girls did great cakes for their father and they too shared the joy they brought to their father.

 Heather's yummy triple berries cheesecake.

 Steff's Boston Cream cake specially made for Dad.

 And the Birthday cupcakes.

And on a nice day such as yesterday it was indeed a great day for a cookout. Thanks for my Father-in-Law who loves grilling. We all enjoyed the chicken wings while waiting for the lobstah and corns to cook.

 The sweet corn.

 Another famous Maine's pride - the steamers.

 And of course, Maine's pride - the LOBSTAH!

Yes, it was a nice day yesterday to celebrate my Sweetest special day with our closest friends and family.

 Digging in with a smile.

 Enjoying the feast with closest friends and family.

 Advance Happy Birthday, Lover Boy. I love you.

  

My Sweetest.

Run

 

It all started with a walk. Now I run and I refuse to get tired of it.

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Going organic? Go Whitney!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Spring has sprung. And yes, it’s the time of the year when my garden will be blooming again with all kinds of plants. This year, I have decided to go organic. I started buying organic produce since I realized that the price is not that much compared to non-organic. And aside from the health benefit that I get from them it is no brainer that going organic helps the environment too.

A couple of weeks ago I started a green smoothie detox diet to flush out toxins from my body caused by all the preservatives that I put in my body through all those food that I ate. And the best way to get the best benefits from these green smoothies is to use organic fruits and veggies. So this year, I have decided to grow my own organic garden where I can get the produce I need for my green smoothie like baby spinach, arugula, lettuce, cucumber and all kinds of veggies to make a healthy green salad. And to make this possible, I already started getting our gardening supplies like organic soil from Whitney Farms which is a full line of 100% natural plant foods and soils will be a key player in my gardening style. I like Whitney Farms because they don’t use any additives in their farm products. There is nothing artificial about the product and just natural ingredients from the earth that are designed to help you grow big, beautiful flowers and veggies.

With Whitney Farms® 25+ years of leading gardening experience, it is just enough reason to trust that their products will help me produce the healthiest veggies for my green smoothies. They contain beneficial microbes that are specially designed protein-based blends to provide your plants with both macro and micronutrients that they need to grow and thrive in any garden condition. They are easy to apply. They are also low to no dust content like other products. And yes, they have no stinky and disgusting manure odor.

Convince enough? Then try out Whitney Farms with the $3 coupon! This surely will give you a win-win attitude towards your health goal and environmental concern. Wink**
Our health is our personal concern. It is up to us if we want to be healthy and remain healthy. It is basically our personal choices that help us live a healthy life.  Given a choice between an organic plant food garden and a conventional plan food garden, we know which one is the best for us and our loved ones. We don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that with Whitney Farms products, we can produce the best and healthy garden and help save the environment at the same time. So yes, let’s make it a goal to live healthy in a safe environment.