Annebisyosa, No Other Concert was held very recently. It was a hit and I am not surprise. It was also just recently when Tony Award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga was questioned about her “strong opinions about off-key singers” and if she was referring to Anne Curtis. It was denied by Lea, said that Anne didn’t identify herself as a singer and just made her dream concert come true so she ( Lea Salonga ) can’t be angry at Anne. In fact, Lea Salonga said she’s happy for Anne has made her dream a reality.

I feel personally happy for Anne as well, everyone who attended the concert went home happy with a smile in their faces. I should have saved and watched it too. I believe with what Lea said, that she did not really diss Anne Curtis. Let us just be happy for them both. I even think Lea Salonga is referring to someone big time. Don’t you?

She wowed the world with her golden voice. The singer even proved a lot with her movie The Bodyguard. Whitney Houston said to have died at age 48, as per Associated Press. The cause and death of the singer has not been revealed yet but the music industry is very much saddened by lsoing yet another awesome singer – performer.

 

It was Kristin Foster, Whitney Houston ‘s publicist informed the AP about the singer /actress’ passing. It has been well known though that in recent years, the singer struggled with drug abuse.

Whitney Houston is known to be the Golden Girl of the music industry. Her self titled debut album which was released year 1985 was said to have sold 25M copies worldwide. She even earned 30 Billboard awards. She is definitely golden, right? Beyond that golden voice and singing talent, she’s also made a mark in her acting career with her movies “Waiting To Exhale” and “The Bodyguard”. It was said too that Whitney has influenced a lot of singers like Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey. In one of her interviews with Oprah, Whitney Houston mentioned that using drugs became an everyday thing like work for her but wasn’t happy and she started losing herself already.

It was also recent when I have read that Whitney was asked to join The X Factor as a judge along with Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. That will not happen anymore. Even so, Whitney has already made an unforgettable mark. I will personally always remember her with her movie The Bodyguard and song ”I Will Always Love You”. The song, just so you’d know, became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. She’s definitely talented.  Farewell Whitney.

 

My friend asked me to make an invitation and tarpaulin for my Godson Miggi’s 3rd birthday. I gladly said yes sine I haven’t done any scrapbooking lately. I decided to look for freebies that I can use for the Angry Birds theme. I found one from Shery K Designs and I am very thankful that it made my project cute and it was done with ease. I also found a Dora The Explorer and Minni Mouse theme I might download too in preparation for my daughter’s birthday as well. This site is really awesome.

Thank you as well to my friend Hazel who owns Funtastic Shots Photobooth. She helped me with some Photoshop tips. I am happy with the outcome of the Angry bird themed invitation and tarp I made specially for Miggi.

It’s time for Hump Day $50 Giveaway and today’s event is for following on Pinterest . But wait, this week, you can win $50 and a bonus entry for $10! You can win both if you’re really lucky today, or at least have a chance at $50 or $10. This week’s event is composed of the 25 wonderful blogs listed below so feel free to check them out after joining.

My Tots Exactly | Sonya’s Happenings | Coupon Queen of Texas | Life’s Cheap Thrills | One Proud Momma | My bric-a-brac | My Sugar Free Sweet Life | Charming Junkie | Totally Temberton | Building Carpenters | Frugal Experiments | Lakwatsera Me | Stitches of Life | Happy Mothering | Mirage | Retail Therapy Lounge | Experience of a Super Mommy | Money Saving Mindy | Bambie’s Turf | Extreme Personal Measures | Fabulicious Diva | It’s all about me, Mommy Kat | My Tummy Calls | The Blogger Hub | Travel Unravels 

A note though in joining: You can only join this on one blog/page. There will be a maximum of 32 entries ONLY. If you have more than 32, I reserve the right to delete duplicate or fraudulent entries. May I request that you use only one name and email address for quicker validation of entries. Also, make sure you do the mandatory entries otherwise if you win using an optional entry but DID NOT COMPLETE the mandatory entries, you will be disqualified and another winner will automatically be drawn.

On the first mandatory entry, please do not forget to write Stitches Of Life referred you since it is a mandatory entry. You must complete the first 2 tasks before the others are enabled, and for all your other entries to count.

Thank you very much and good luck. By joining this giveaway, you agree to the Terms and Conditions on the bottom of the form. Contest is open all-day Wednesday, from February 9th, 12:01am EST to February 9th,11:59pm EST (February 9th, 1:01pm Philippine time to February 10th, 12:59pm Philippine time).

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I love popcorn as a child and now that I have 2 kids..I still make it a point for us to enjoy home made popcorn. There are times that we don’t have any in stock so we end up buying the flavored ones. The cheapest that I liked a lot is the one from Jack & Jill – caramel puffs! Here’s a bowl of home cooked popcorn – good thing that the Bonus brand I got from SM Hypermarket has 2 sachets of cheese flavored powder. The kids loved their afternoon snack.

I’m again joining:

I do not really buy Sharon At home magazine but when I saw this particular issue that says “The farewell issue” – I grabbed a copy and paid it on impulse. As it shows in the cover, Sharon Cuneta is with her 2 lovely daughters and a charming little guy – her adopted son Miguel. Sharon referred Miguel to be the child who came from her heart. It is the first time couples Sharon and Kiko Pangilinan allowed Miguel to be photographed for publication. Sharon said that Miguel, who is now 2 years of age, is not just smart but also really sweet. He even started to look like them, as many people say. Something I must agree. There were even rumors that Miguel happens to be Kiko’s real son from another woman which Sharon denied in a talk show.

I can not say that I am an avid fan of Sharon Cuneta but I find her personality so appealing and admiring. She’s witty, charming and her laughter and happy disposition in life is so contagious. Even if I only own one issue of this magazine, I know this farewell issue is truly special to the staff and so as to Sharon herself. It even featured a Christmas prayer:

 

Jesus, the light of the world, as we celebrate your birth…may we begin to see the world in the light of understanding you give us. As you chose the lowly, the outcasts, and the poor to receive greatest news the world had ever known, so may we worship you in meekness of heart. May we also remember our brothers and sisters less fortunate than ourselves in this season of giving. Amen.

Aside from the stories of her previous reality show, talk show, being a celebrity endorser, celebrations, easy recipe ideas, chronicles and photos, the issue concentrated more on how Sharon manages to balance work, family and play. It also featured and pointed out great things about the reality that there is not anything bad about adoption nor being adopted. In this magazine she named famous and great people who were also adopted like her son Miguel. I truly admire how she can be wonderful in front of the camera as an actress and host and be as wonderful as a Mom to her kids. It is like being best in both her worlds. There were lots of photos where photographer Jun de Leon captured the Sharon Cuneta as the person we see on TV and the other Sharon as an ordinary person she is off cam.

Sharon Cuneta is just like every good Mom there is – her family, especially the kids, serves as the key inspiration for anything and everything she does. And as she puts it in her words – “You may have complaints every now and then, but the good things always outweigh the bad. God’s been so amazing!”. We may see Sharon Cuneta to have been so blessed and others may even envy her but she still has a lot of things she wish to have and experience..even have a bucket list for all we know!

It’s surprising how many different kinds of beer taps there are. There seems to be something to fit almost any bar style. Many people prefer beer on tap over bottled and canned. This is one reason that many bar owners choose to have great classic beer taps installed in their bar. Some of these beer taps are a collection of great detailed taps that lend to the atmosphere of the bar. This is a good way to personalize the bar and make it the bar that you intended it to be.

You can find some amazing beer taps at your local pub and the taps say a lot about the bar. Have you ever noticed that one of the favorite spots to hang out at a bar is by the beer taps? These can be great conversation starters and some of them may even have some history to them. These taps can really show off a bar and may be as important to the bar owner as the first dollar that they earn.

Did you know that beer taps are actually collectible? It’s true; you can find a large number of collectible antique beer taps online. Many of them are worth a large amount of money and can be considered an investment if pursued correctly. It seems that if you are the lucky holder of an antique beer tap you could have a pretty sizeable profit there. Beer taps all over the world are different in style and size. Some people will even collect beer taps from around the globe as a way of marking their travel to that location. Clearly, there is more to beer taps than meets then you might think and the next time you spy one in your local pub think about where it might have come from and if there is any history to it.

I really did not bother prepare bigtime for this year. I guess the excitement was not totally within me. Something strange preoccupied my thoughts and my heart. I wasn’t feeling genuinely happy about a lot of things. I tried my best to shrug it off by taking care of the kids and finding ways to earn from home, so as keeping in touch with friends and relatives. These things and people kept my sanity.

I ordered what we call Biko and Palabok from a friend’s sister. I made those cathedral window jellos.

The fireworks blasted at the half of this month. We were half an inch away from “the end”, really. You can almost hear me sing ?? “all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go..” I was so sure it was the sign I was waiting for after attending the mass at the Quiapo Church last Sunday but then something else happened..and I think that was the real sign. I vowed to take care of my kids and love them more than I love myself and I will never leave without them.

Now, I am still here not because I can’t leave and live off him but because I glady gave it the chance to start over. Agreeing to correct mistakes at once and refrain to commit them as much as necessary.

Life goes on…a stitch and a patch made us go through a painful part of it but we both deserve a chance to be happy.

I honestly can no longer remember the last movie I have seen. I can recall though that my elder daughter’s first movie was Narnia, way back when she was just almost 4yo if I am not mistaken. Glad that she liked the movie. After 5 years, she’s now more interested with movies. She has requested few times to watch a movie with me. There were blockbuster movies we have failed to watch. I remember to have told her that sometime before she came, I worked at SM North EDSA cinema as an usherette. My contract even started Christmas day itself though my first day of duty was the 26th. I recall that I was in total amazement on how people lined up outside the cinema at the ticket booths to be able to see the MMFF movies in its opening day. It was a great experience to have rendered duty (when you are a newbie) at the peek of MMFF where there were several box office hits. I saw parents and kids ran inside the cinema just to get the best seat there is for them. Muro Ami was a blockbuster at that time.

I could also remember that MMFF normally select movies to be included in the festival through a thorough review and MMFF people picks one movie in each category (action, horror, drama, comedy & fantasy/adventure). Shake, rattle & Roll movies were a sure blockbuster back when I was still a kid. Changes became inevitable as the movie industry progress. MMFF 2011 features 2 horror movies, 3 comedy and 2 fantasy movies. Another observation is that, Eugene Domingo is in a supporting role to entries and lead role in one of the 3 episodes of Shake, Rattle & Roll. I guess, awesome Eugene Domingo herself is already a blockbuster. So, what movies are in store for us this MMFF?

Here’s the list:

1.  Enteng Ng Ina Mo      - Fantasy, Comedy     – Vic Sotto & Ai Ai Delas Alas

2.  My House Husband  -  Romantic Comedy  -  Judy Ann Santos & Ryan Agoncillo

3.  Segunda Mano            -  Horror                         –  Kris Aquino, DingDong Dantes & Angelica Panganiban

4. Shake, Rattle & Roll   –  Horror                         –  Maricar Reyes, Kathryn Bernardo, Albie Casino, Paulo Avelino and Eugene Domingo

5. Panday 2                        -  Action, Fantasy       –  Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Phillip Salvador, Iza Calzado & Marian Rivera

6. Yesterday, Today

& Tomorrow                      - Drama                           –  Maricel Soriano, Gabby Concepcion, Heart Evangelista, Carla Abellana & Dennis Trillo

7. Manila Kingpin: The

Asiong Salonga Story    -  Action                        -  George ER Estregan, Philip Salvador, Baron Geisler, Sam Pinto & Dennis Padilla

8. Hototay                          - Comedy                      -  John Lapus, Ruffa Gutierrez, Andi Eigenmann, Lovi Poe and Melai Cantiveros

MMFF is the grandest movie festival here in the Philippines and almost every Filipino is in excitement waiting for the official list of movie entries to be announced. This year’s list is extravagant I must say. Having big names like Vic Sotto and AiAi, Judy Ann Santos, Kris Aquino, Bong Revilla, Marian Rivera, Maricel Soriano and Gabby Concepcion; one of the best MM movie festival for me. I have already asked my elder daughter which movie she would like to see in case I decide for us to have a movie date and she gladly responded with her top 3 movies. I am no longer sur[rised that she didn’t mention SRR 13, she’s a coward with horror movies.

Here the trailer of the first movie my elder daughter K wants to see… Enteng Ng Ina Mo. I still don’t know if we will be able to pursue with our movie date and as to when. So, which movie do you think will hit as the top grosser or blockbuster ? Which movie will win most of the awards? Who will win as Best Actress and Best Actor? Let us all find out on the 28th.

 

Photo from Google

Many of us may have read and seen how tragic the aftermath of typhoon Sendong is for CDO and Iligan residents. Every video footage and every photo there is is truly heart breaking especially that it is almost Christmas in a matter of days. Many children will no longer be able to open nor receive their presents. All we can do now is pray for their souls and so as help the survivors in the simplest way we can. I am gonna start sorting kids’ clothes and bring it to LBC who has generously offered to deliver goods and donations to the affected provinces for free.

If you are not in the Philippines and still would like to support and help out. HERE is the link to Red Cross’ Paypal account and this is the RED CROSS website.

Besides LBC and Red Cross, the biggest TV networks are also accepting donations, in cash or in kind.

TV5 Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc.

Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc.:  BDO Savings Acct No. 005310-410164 and Bank of the Philippine Islands Savings Acct No. 1443-05333-2

Donations in kind like food, clothing, utensils, blankets, mats, water containers, and medicines may be sent to News5 Aksyon Center, TV5 office in San Bartlolome, Novaliches, Quezon City.

Dollar donations may be made through:
Bank of the Philippine Islands

Beneficiary: Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc.
Beneficiary Account No.:  1444-0214-85
Beneficiary Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands – Ayala Avenue SGV Branch
Address: 6758 Ayala Ave, Makati City, Philippines
Swift Code: BOPIPHMM

Banco de Oro

Beneficiary: Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc.
Beneficiary Account No.: 10-5310-46264-4
Beneficiary Bank: BDO Unibank Inc – BDO Makati Ave-Ayala Branch
Address: Ground Floor L.V. Locsin Bldg., 6752 Ayala Avenue corner Makati Avenue, Makati City, Philippines
Swift Code: BNORPHMM

GMA Kapuso Foundation Inc.

METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST COMPANY (METROBANK)
Peso Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:3-098-51034-7
Dollar Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:2-098-00244-2
Code:MBTC PH MM

UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK (UCPB)
Peso Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:115-184777-2
:160-111277-7
Dollar Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:01-115-301177-9
:01-160-300427-6
Code:UCPB PH MM

BANCO DE ORO (BDO) 

Peso Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:469-0022189
Dollar Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:469-0072135
Code: BNORPHMM

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK (PNB)
Peso Savings
Account Name :GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Numbe:121-003200017
Dollar Savings
Account Name:GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
Account Number:121-003200025
Code:PNB MPH MM

 ABS CBN
Sagip Kapamilya: Operation Sendong

All information in this particular post was derived from the websites of the particular foundations mentioned. This is one of my ways to reach out and encourage everyone to help out – sharing & love is the spirit of Christmas!

 

Not everyone can afford high-end brand new cars. Not everyone can even buy a car. Some will opt to go for motorcycles instead while others go hunt and browse over used car book prices. It is not bad to buy used cars especially when you are being practical. There are pros and cons in everything, so as in buying used cars.

We own a motorcycle which came as a surprise to me. I was sort of expecting it already when hubby bought the motorcycle but was hopeful that he will go for a used car since we are already a family. Aside from the fact that there were great deals from car dealers offered to him that time. I was excited yet a little disappointed when he drove a brand new motorcycle home, I have to admit.

Anyways, I am still wanting to have our own car and house too. Second hand or used car is okay with me just as long as the four of us will comfortably fit in. It’s quite awkward travelling in a motorcycle with 2 kids. Not just that it’s awkward but really unsafe, right?

Since we are one of the families that really can’t afford high end brand new cars, we will go for second hands instead. I have read that buying used cars is quite hard – quality and value is always at risk. Even so, I think I still agree that old and used cars are much more reliable especially if it was well maintained by the previous owner. One of my cousins bought a used car from a friend. Even if it was not really the model she wanted, knowing it was well maintained and taken cared of by a female owner, she made a deal.

Besides reliability, we should also consider possible repair costs, insurance and safety. Now, these are just very few of the things to consider. The point is, there is real practicality in used cars even if most women does not really know “everything” about them. Although we try to get to know more about cars, it is still a guy thing.