My New Year's Prayer for 2009

Dear Lord,

As we come to the end of a tumultuous year of 2008, give us a shining ray of hope to welcome 2009 with faith and belief that all of the crisis the world is facing right now will come to an end.

I pray for peace amongst my brethren. I pray for prosperity for everyone. I pray that You will continue to bless us with your grace and love. Keep all of us safe from harm. Provide us the needs that You deem is enough for us. I pray for the protection of the innocent children all over the world. I pray for the healing of Mother nature. I pray for happiness of those who have already lost so much and hope for the hopeless. I pray for the indigent people. I pray for our religious and political leaders that they will be guided according to Your will. I pray for the homeless to have shelters. I pray for the rich that they may share their riches to those who are in need. I pray for the lost souls that they may find their way. Give us the strength to battle each obstacle that will come our way. Make us steadfast in our faith in Your most omnipotent power.

I believe in You Lord because You know what is best for us. I will leave all my worries with the passing of the old year and welcome 2009 with bright promises.

Thank you Lord for the year that was and for the year that will be.

Love,
Ria

Great Costumes for Great Parties

Halloween passed and I missed the party of my hubby's friends where I could get dressed as someone I only dream of. I planned and rehearsed in my head the images of what would become the ultimate get-up! I wanted to be Disney's Belle in all her yellow gown and matching gloves and tiara! My hubby wanted to be a cute and cuddly bunny mascot. My princess, as usual, would like to be Princess Barbie. However, so much for planning, I didn't know we were going to travel in Singapore. There goes my plans and my Halloween was spent 35,000 feet above the ground!.

I am waiting for another opportunity where I can dress up. I am considering a different costume this time for the three of us. Maybe we will come as bunny family. We like the cute and cuddly bunny costumes where we get to wear long bunny ears. These costumes will be useful too for Easter-themed parties and that's not too far from now.

Wearing costumes is a fun way to dress up and act out those make-believe feelings. I remember wearing go-go boots and micro-mini when I was in elementary school during one of our themed Christmas party and I had fun. It's so nice to re-live those moments. So, I am counting on a good costume this time to wear for fun.

Ideas...check! Make-up...check! Accessories...check! Costumes...coming up! Looking good I would say. Next thing I need to have is the invitation!




(Photos from Buycostumes.com)

Catching Up

I am back but taking things easy and slowly this time as I have a lot of catching up to do. I didn't realize the amount of tags and awards I need to do and post; not to mention the other articles I have set aside to post eventually at a later date. They need updating of course.

How was everyone's Christmas? I hope it was spent meaningfully with the people who matters most. My family had a great time and I was glad I took the trip. I was adamant of going because of financial reasons. I felt it was too "inconsiderate" thinking how the world was suffering from economic crisis and there I was - traveling. Then again, I didn't travel for the sake of satisfying my travel bug sickness but I had to spend my Christmas with my mom and siblings and in-laws too.

Well, the New Year will be a different matter. I dare not talk about it ;) I just pray and hope that good things will come despite the rise of job cuts, the crazy increase in credit card interest rates (which reminds me that I need to discard mine before I fall into a bottomless pit!), the uncertainties looming around us. I always believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel might be long and winding but it will reach its end. Let's just have faith and rely on our family and friends for support in this time of need.

I wish you all a very peaceful and prosperous 2009. Prosperity might not come in riches but the blessings that we still have food on our table, a roof over our heads, clothes to keep us warm and a job to sustain our living. Let's all believe. We will all pass this storm unscathed but with more steadfast faith in Him.

Happy New Year everyone.

Friday Tag - Google Tag

Thanks Niko of Niko's Blog for remembering me on this interesting tag.

Here are the simple rules to follow:
Use Google Images to search for the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results and post it as your answer. After that tag 7 people.

1. The age of my next birthday

Sssshhhh!

2. Place I would like to visit

Hopefully by next year, we will be able to travel to the US.

3. My favorite place

Paris will always be my favorite place. I just love Paris.

4. A favorite thing

I cannot live without my iPod Touch... =)

5. My favorite food

My mom's homemade Chicken Galantina!



6. My favorite color

Midnight Blue



7. The city I reside now

Dubai



8. The city I was born




9. My college major



10. Name of your first lover




11. A Bad habit




12. A hobby

Well, I'll be..... I found MY very own clay art picture in Google's first page result!!! I have featured this before here. Check it out...



13. My current wish lists ( Max of 3)

Have fun with the tag everyone! I am tagging:

Jason
Cherry
Mommy Liza
Jade
Enid
Ria S
Kate C
Melody
Jenn
Bill
MsRay
Cely

Sorry, I liked the tag so much that I have to tag more than 7! =)

A Blessed Christmas Greeting

Merry Christmas to you and your family. May this season bring forth love and good tidings. God Bless.

(photo from American Greetings)

Teen Education Site

As a parent of a soon-to-be teen, I cannot help but wonder about how my daughter will fair in her studies when she reaches high school. She is currently in her 5th Grade in an international school and lessons are getting harder each change of term. I know I have to start preparing her for the inevitable - the rigid high school subjects!

Brightstorm is a good site to get courses to aid your kid's studies with subjects we commonly have difficulty with like Algebra, Writing, History and SAT tips. It has been a while since I got out of school and it would be difficult for me now to teach her the rudiments of some of those difficult subjects especially Math which is my Waterloo. I am quite relieved that this site can offer great tips in covering those subjects. I know this will be very beneficial for me when my daughter starts her high school session. At least when that happens, I am better prepared and we can both handle the onslaught of Algebra problems like a piece of cake.

It is easy to get around the site. You will have to Sign up for a free brightstorm account and choose the subject you want to cover. I choose the Algebra II (probably) Won't Kill You of Joshuah Thurbee and found the course fun and interesting. I suddenly had a flashback of how I dealt with my Algebra woes during my high school days. I found this course an eye opener and saw Algebra in a different perspective, or should I say, in a better and positive perspective because I found the subject loathsome! After taking this free course, I have seen the good side of Algebra!

Brightstorm gives storm of benefits like:
- Educational Effectiveness
- Value
- Funness
- The professionalism of the content
-Sign up for a free account and have access to a free episode

I'm sure, my daughter will have a fun time going through the courses in Brightstorm.

Gone for the Holidays

Let me greet everyone a Blessed Christmas and a Peaceful 2009! My family and I will be in Manila for the holidays but I will be back after Christmas here in Dubai. I cannot take a long leave now so I am cutting my vacation short (for financial reasons as well). I will not blog for a week to spend my time with my family so please bear with me. However, I will really appreciate your comments, greetings and well-wishings. I shall resume my normal blogging activity by last week of December or perhaps on January 2009.

I pray for the grace of our Lord to shine upon all of us on this blessed season. Let our Christmas be measured by the love of our families and friends, instead of the material things that commercializes this blessed time. Money may come scarce to some of us but we will all get through this through our faith. May 2009 be a year of new hope, new dreams, new goals and the spread of peace to all.

A Blessed Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to all of you.

Special Gift Ideas this Holiday

My head is already spinning thinking about what to give my family and friends which can be very useful and functional at the same time. Last year, my gifts were smorgasbord of items and I was not even sure if they actually used them or not. I want to re-invent the art of gift-giving in tune with the sign of the times. This time I want to go techie.

I am sure a lot of us would have a good use for a nice storage where we keep our important documents in one place. With the advent of high-technology process and the demand for a secured place to keep documents and important files are the common concern of almost everyone, I just have the right personalized holiday gifts for Christmas.

Pexagon is the right place to find these cool and functional gift gadgets for the holidays. There are 4 gift ideas to choose from: Wooden USB flash drives, Business card flash drives, personalized thumb drives and pens. I think these are cool items to give away and they are offering a 20% discount up to the end of this year. So, even after the holidays and you need some catching up to do with gift-giving, then you can still avail of their good offer. The receiver will surely like these gifts since you can also personalize it for free!

Clay Art - Christmas Collection Part 2 (B)

Here's the last installment of our clay art project with the Christmas theme. Hope you all enjoyed our work which we did out of "love."

Meet Mr. Frosty and Angel Santa. My daughter made the angel Santa while I made the snowman. She used glitters to give angel Santa the glowing effect.

This is the Christmas stockings I made. Notice the texture? I used my old fish net stockings and pressed it to the clay before baking to create textures for effect.

Well, my daughter made this Christmas pear and she insisted that there is one. *Sigh* I don't want to argue with her on that one...hahaha.

This is her Christmas hearts.

My daughter prepared this Christmas snacks for Santa. She wondered why it was always milk and cookies. So, she made "hot" cocoa with chocolate cookies. That's thinking out of the box!!!

I made this Santa face ornament. Notice the dent on the right eye? I must have poked it too much! Almost gave him a black-eye there...LOL!

I made this Rudolph ornament. I accidentally dropped the sharp shaping tool on his nose so there is a slight chip there.

I also made this Fat Belly Santa ornament. I wondered why it is always Santa's face on the ornaments and so I focused on his ever expanding girth as inspiration. I used some lace to texturize the cloak and the same old stockings for the belt texture.

And this is my daughter's holiday ski!

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS, HAVE A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS! PLEASE REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THIS SEASON IS "HIM" - CHRIST. LET US PUT BACK CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS...

Shower My Blues Away

I have been bugging the developer of our flat to fix our shower fixtures for quite some time now. All I ever want is to have a decent bath to start my day right without worrying if the shower will even work or not. It is even annoying to come home and see your bathroom become a mini-pool area from the leak and busted pipes of the shower system.

Prior to moving in this flat, I was already having this weird thoughts playing in my head on how I am going to rip off the shower and replace it with a nice, top-of-the-range shower accessories with anti-leak shower enclosure and simply enjoy my bathing time without any hassle. Thinking about those great improvement ideas made me and my husband take the flat right there and then.

I have always wanted a spa-like bathroom with enough space to walk around and the shower area is not cramped in one place. So we plan to have the master bath refurbished with frameless glass shower enclosure and a soothing steam shower to complete the spa look! Of course, the ubiquitous bath tub will be there too. Thinking about how my new master bathroom will look like after the installation of the new shower kits and shower enclosure is already giving me certain calmness, the same kind of feeling you get when you are being pampered in a luxurious spa. All that comfort right in my own private master bath!

I have checked numerous sites specializing in shower improvement with upgrades on shower kits, shower enclosure and steam showers and found an amazing site which captures the very kind of shower system I want. Unlimited Showers carries wide range of high quality shower kits and enclosures which emulate luxurious bathing experience without paying the luxurious cost! Their high quality shower kits, enclosures and steam shower are even offered at discounted and clearance price. My hubby does not mind shelling out extra cash for the shower doors just to ensure the great bathing experience by using Unlimited Showers’ products. Some of the products are either in glass or acrylic but we prefer the acrylic type. Having an extra jet shower will be a treat but if in case we do get one, I want one that simulates rainfall. As for the enclosure, I just want a simple, frameless type that can be affixed on the corner so I still have more room to move in the bathroom.

Oh, I can't wait to shower my blues away with Unlimited Showers!

Tag - Have You Ever?

MsRay of Woman on a JouRney has tagged me on this one. I find this very interesting because you get to know the person who tagged you more and you share something as well that others would find very amusing. So here they are:

1. Have you ever been on TV?
One time while I was doing a "picket" with other concerned citizens back in the Philippines. My mom actually saw me and called me in my mobile phone instantly to tell me to get out of there because I was a government employee picketing against the government of the Philippines right in front of my office (and that was during my lunch time...hahaha!). The irony!

2. Have you ever sung in public?
Well, if you count singing in a karaoke bar as a public place then yes I have had the chance. AND I won't do it again. I was slightly tipsy so I had the guts to sing in public which when I am sober, I won't even try.

3. Have you ever dyed your hair blond?
Not in my wildest dream. I think I will look weird if I do. LOL!

4. Have you ever eaten frogs' legs?
No and will never.

5. Have you ever received a present that you really hated?
No, I always appreciate all the gifts I receive.

6. Have you ever walked into a lamp post?
It almost happened while I was vacationing in Paris with my family. I was too pre-occupied gawking and oogling at the scenery and the beautiful surroundings that I almost hit the lamp post. Good thing my daughter called out so I was back in my senses before I could actually have contact with the post. Sheesh...

7. Have you ever cooked a meal by yourself for more than 15 people?
Once. I never liked cooking but during my hubby's birthday, I surprised him by cooking "menudo" and "pancit canton" for our family and friends.

8. Have you ever fallen or stumbled in front of others?
Yes when I was in grade 4. I was lugging this very heavy bag with stroller and placed the stroller on the "stroller ramp" customized in our school's stairs. Well, we all know how the law of gravity works right? What comes up must come down...together with Ria! I was graciously helped by 1 cute sixth grader and was even kind enough to get my bag and stroller for me...Oh gosh... *blush*

9. Have you ever done volunteer work?
Yes, back in the Philippines during my university days.


Okay guys, it's your turn to tell me about yourselves: Chubz, Niko, Cherry, Mommy Liza, Chriss, KCee, Chelle, Riaboo, Ria S, Cely, Enid, Bill, Shiela, Melody, and Jade.

And the Winner is... (Guess How Many Mini Contest)

Drum roll please!Congratulations Posh of Posh Post Reviews for getting the answer right - THREE (3). I have 3 fat and cuddly guinea pigs in the cage and they are (from L to R) Brownie, Lola and Ugly Getty.


Also, I am giving 2 weeks free 125 x 125 ad spot for the winner in my 3 blogs: It's My Party, The Fashop and In My Home.

As for the first 3 who left their comments, I am giving 1 week 125 x 125 ad spot for the same blogs.

1. Life, Marriage and Kids
2. {girl}forall status
3. Shiela

Congratulations to all. Posh, don't forget to contact me or leave a comment here for your email address so I can send the prize. To the other ad winners, please send me your 125 x 125 graphics before Dec. 18, 2008 so I can post them right away before I go on my holiday leave. Email me at msculit@yahoo.com . If not, then I'll post your ad buttons on January 2009 ;)

Thanks for joining. My next contest will be coming soon...

Tag - Shot on the Spot

This interesting tag is from Niko of Niko's Blog and MsRay of Woman on a JouRney and now I won't be able to hide my true identity...hahaha. I mean, everybody will see how I look like sans the make up and business attire. This was taken today before I ran on the treadmill. See the bathrobe? Well, I was just keeping myself warm because the weather temperature here is starting to drop.

This tag rules are:
1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!.
2) DON'T change your clothes, DON'T fix your hair... Just take a picture.
3) Post that picture with NO editing.
4) Post these instruction with your picture.
5)Tag 10 people to do this..

Show me your best shot: Bill, Bingkee, Riaboo, Chie, Chubz, Posh, Yub, Marly, Kikamz, Enid

Monday Party Games - Kitchen Escape

Due to my princess' insistence, I am posting this game because she loved it so much and she's such a kitchen fanatic (wish I had the same gusto as hers). I swear, I had to ask her help to get my way around this kitchen game. Good luck finding ways to get out!

Click to play Kitchen Escape

Tag - The Fours Edition

Aloha! MsRay of Woman on a JouRney for this interesting tag. Thanks for remembering me on this one because I love doing tags. Hugs to you!

1. Places I would like to visit and why

Rotorua, New Zealand - I sold some packages for this place but I have never been there myself. It would be fun to see and feel how it is to be in a place I can only see in pictures and travel brochures. Rotorua is known for geothermal activities in New Zealand like geysers and their mud pools and also famously known for its colorful landscape and craters.




The Galapagos - I am so interested with the eco-system in that island.




The Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, UK - I was 5 years old when I saw a picture of Stonehenge and ever since I am so bent to go there. Maybe next year...



Jungfraujoch, Switzerland - The top of Europe, as it is famously known. Again, being a travel agent before, I know a lot of interesting places which travellers will find very appealing and this place is one of them. I have prepared several packages before about this place and again, I have not set foot on that place yet. My colleagues who had travelled to Jungfraujoch said that the place was breath-taking! That remains to be seen!




2. Favorite things to munch on
Baby carrots
Pringles Barbecue flavor

3. Favorite sites for online shopping
Victoria's Secret
Amazon
Philosophy

4. Things you have to get done this weekend
Ironing clothes
Buy food for the pets
Clean my closet again for the _nth time!
Pack for our Christmas holiday trip to Manila this Friday morning (December 19)

5. Things that pop up when you google your name
** secret ** hehehe!

I am passing this to: Niko, Bill, Jason, Marly, Kate C, Tricia, Binkgee , Tata , Ate Anna and Posh. This is fun! Hope you'll enjoy doing this...

On Tags and Awards

Thanks to all my blogger pals who remembered me on all their wonderful tags and recognized me as a recipient of their marvelous awards. I really appreciate all of them. As I go on my holiday this Christmas back home, there will be pending of tags and awards to post so please bear with me. I shall post them as soon as I get back.

Have a Happy Holidays!

Clay Art - Christmas Collection Part 2 (A)

Here's the next part of our ingenious clay art project. I am amazed by the ideas that come to my daughter's head. She'd tell me what she wanted to do and direct me on the tips (and I never had a clue she knew all that!) on how to sculpt, roll, mould, texturize and cure the clay before baking our maestro. Well, these are Christmas Ornaments, as inspired by our friend Judith (I still owe her big time for introducing this Sculpey clay to me) of Artsy Clay. You should check her out too because she has amazing collections of original and creative clay art pieces.

Here's Mr. Pingu, the Christmas penguin. This is a 50-50 labor of love between me and my daughter. She shaped the penguin's body and beak while I did the decorations such as the santa hat and the long scarf.

The Christmas Holly made by my daughter.

Keeping warm during the cold, winter holidays with beannie and mittens created by my daughter.

Here's my Christmas Golden Star which I embellished with long beads and a gold star sequin for effect.

The Christmas Duckie (if there is one..LOL!) made by my princess. She used a cookie cutter for this duckie's shape.

Christmas Bauble of my daughter. She created lines against the bauble to create an illusion of "shimmer." I told her to use glitter instead but she insisted doing the linear texture and it came out great!

My Christmas snowflake. I had difficulty creating flakes with intricate design so I just balled up some clay and pressed them against line clays I cut from the batch. I scored some lines on the snowflake's balls to create effect using our sharp clay cutter tool.

Year-end Cleaning

2008 is almost drawing to an end with few days left in the 12th month of the year. I have been figuring out how to welcome my 2009 with a fresh new start, less the hassles, lesser the stress, more eco-friendly practices, tighter budget and perhaps a cleaner house!

I have just done my autumn cleaning by sending my daughter's toys back home and I guess I will be doing another round of cleaning and this time it's my year-end cleaning. However, my vacuum cleaner is not as helpful as it used to with its worn out filter, bags, and rollers. EZ Vacuum might just do the trick for me with their 10% discount on vacuum cleaners bags belts filters brushrolls machines. Imagine the cost of buying a new vacuum cleaner compared to just replacing the parts; I will be spending more if I buy a new one. As the budget gets tighter and the money becomes scarce, I will definitely need a value-for-money vacuum cleaning parts, filters and bags without having to dispose the current equipment I have since it is still usable. This code EZVAC10 will give you the 10% off from vacuum cleaners to vacuum parts, filters, bags and even more and is applicable to purchases above $20. EZ Vacuum will also ship your order via UPS.

Winter cleaning, here I come!

Clay Art - Christmas Collection Part 1

As promised, here are the first of the Christmas Collection clay art my daughter and I made. Our medium is still the Sculpey III Polymer Clay which can be baked. My daughter made most of them except for the Christmas Tree (which I happily made for her). We used cookie cutters for the shapes and the rest were from our creative brain juices =) Their sizes are approximately 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches high. Hope you like them!

THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

Here's Mr. Gingerbread Man, fresh from the oven...notice the crack on his arm? Almost got him over-baked...hahaha.

The Christmas Tree I made for my daughter. She loved it a lot.

The Christmas Cane

The Christmas Reversible Star. Now it's GOLD...

& NOW it's SILVER!

The Christmas Bell