National Museum of Natural History

Last September 29, 2018, we are able to visit National Museum of Natural History and finally see with our own eyes what the rave is all about this place. I’ve been planning to go here ever since I heard about it’s opening last year. My son is a Nature Smart (he’s been getting that award from their recognition since K1) so I make sure to nurture the nature lover in him. And this museum is perfect for him! There is no entrance fee and it is open from Tuesday to Sunday. But first how again to go there:

at LRT 1. He's so excited! Can you tell?

HOW TO GET THERE

From Malolos, Bulacan we ride a van that will take us at LRT 1 Balintawak station. Riding the LRT 1, we alight at UN Station. From there we walk to the National Museum of Natural History.

I enjoyed my time there and I know my son did as well. It has 4 floors of various part of Philippine’s history and it was delightful to watch my 8 year old son marvel at these treasures. He was really fascinated with the artifacts and statues and replicas and photos. He was even jumping from one exhibit to the other. He’s favorite according to him are the dinosaur skulls replica at second floor. My favorite was the tree of life. This structure greeted us while entering the museum.

While there, you can also visit National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology and who can forget Luneta Park! We’ve managed to take photo at the famous Rizal monument then play at Children's Park nearby. I wanted to take a photo of Riley with Spolarium at National Museum of Fine Arts but the line is longer than I anticipated. It was a Saturday so crowd is quiet large. So I promised Riley that we will come back again! This time I’ll try to come during weekdays to have more time and the tour will not be rushed. 

That remind me, I wish there are more public parks every where in our country. And also if it can be maintained clean. But over-all it was a fun-filled and productive day!!! 

New Zealand Journey

Dream

It has always been a dream of mine. Ever since my sister and her whole family migrated in New Zealand back in 2009, I always dreamed of visiting this country. But, it's not as easy as that. I believe that God prepared everything even before I decided to finally go here. Few months before the date of our trip, my sister and I were praying about this. She said if this is God's will, then nothing can ever stop this from happening. But I was restless. Yes I was praying, asking God if He really wants me to go here but I was also so worried about the little details. What if the school that I work for won't let me take a leave? What if we got denied with our visa? What if my savings aren't enough to cover the airfare, etc. etc. And then when I finally decided to STOP worrying and trust God, that's when He begins to reveal His plan for me. I remember it was a Saturday, I was reading a devotional book Better Than Jewels. I came upon a line that says, "God words confirms" and how God promise never falter. I took that as a confirmation of my heart's desire so I tell my ate that I finally had a go signal from God. :)

Picking the Date
You think by now, it would be easier to pick a date, but NO. When you're a Christian everything you decide will not be based on your own choice, but it will be God's decision. Even if it's as insignificant as the date. So again my ate and I prayed for it. Then one night, while having a facetime videocall, my ate said that this is what the Bible tell her:

It says, the first day of the tenth month. This date happens to be October 1 and crazily enough that's my birthday! So it's definite, I'm having my 36th birthday in New Zealand! :) But I also learned that CCF New Zealand was about to have their 5th Anniversary on September 24 and Pastor Bong Saquing will be a guest pastor. I wanted to witness that because we attend CCF in the Philippines and I believe it is no coincidence that it falls on that day and so after praying about it, God has impresses on me the date September 21. So finally we have a date and now we need to prepare!

Preparation
This is where my patience was tested. Yes, this is God's plan for me but I need to do my part. First I need to complete all the requirements to take a vacation leave. Then fill out all the forms needed to apply for a visa. Then buy tickets and finally prepare not just physically but also emotionally to this trip. If only it's as easy as it sounds! Let's talk about my vacation leave first. I'm a teacher and I'm aware that school year is not yet over and I have classes to attend to. I needed the approval of our principal, school heads, and supervisor. I was grateful that these people understands and approved my leave right on. After I passed my forms on our HR Department, that's when an obstacle occurred. Imagine, I was waiting for about two weeks (because it is needed to be forwarded in the regional office) to know if my leave is approved or not, only to find out that my files were all missing! The HR people could not locate my forms. GONE. It was all gone. I nearly cried. And I was devastated because it was three weeks before my planned date which is September 21. I need at least a month because I need to forward that approval paper at the immigration for my visa. And our HR was telling me if I can pass AGAIN all the forms (meaning I have to talk again to our principal, school heads, and supervisor). I wanted to be furious at the negligence. But I remain calm, then I told my sister that maybe this is God's way of telling me not to pursue this anymore. I doubted God's affirmation because I encounter difficulty. I almost quit. But my ate, whose life has been orchestrated by God, told me not to quit. She told me that God permits that to happen because God wants me to trust Him completely. She said that we can always do our part but in the end if it's really God's will, then my papers will be approved even if we're late in passing the forms.

Yup, again God was affirming me and can you guess what is the message on CCF on that Sunday? It was about quiting or QUIT-ITIS. Hehe. God has ingenious way of talking to us. But we must have a receptive heart so as not to miss what He wants to tell us. :) So anyway, to make the story short, I didn't quit and I passed again my forms and after two days, my leave was approved. Then I read it will take 20 days to know if our visitor visa will be approved or denied, but the process only took us three days and we were granted multiple entry visa! :)

New Zealand
And now were here in New Zealand! It is not by chance that we are here. God wants me to be here! This trip maybe many years in the making but I believe that God's perfect timing is what leads us this year, 2017, to finally take the plunge and have the courage. This journey has humbled me in so many ways and it taught me that I can make a lot of plans in life, but if it is not aligned with what God plans for us, then it's pointless. And knowing God, I am 100% sure He is devising a grand masterplan for all of us. So why worry?

PS.

Who have thought a trip to other country could make me contemplate about life and faith? :D

Hi5 at Robinsons Place Malolos

When I learned that Hi5 is having a show here at Robinsons Place Malolos, I knew right away how Riley would be thrilled to watch it. He really likes loves Hi5 since he was 3 years old. He knows all the Hi5 songs by heart. He knows the dance steps. He knows the characters. Everything! Sa sobrang lagi nyang pinapanuod, pati ako nakabisado ko na yung mga kanta. Hehe. Needless to say, he's a Hi5 fan! He's been counting the days before the event and I thought few kids will attend but boy was I mistaken! When we arrived at Robinsons we thought we were not gonna make the cut. But faith and patience sees us through and finally, Riley was able to watch Hi5!

 

 Waiting patiently in line 

The show started at 6:00 PM and while waiting for the star of the show, some games are played to entertain the kids.

Riley met a new friend too - Juno. Trust my son to make friends easily! He's such a friendly person.

At last, the moment Riley and all the kids have been waiting for! The Hi5 cast! (Sorry I don't know all their names). They sang all their songs starting with Some Kind of Wonderful.

Here they are dressed as animals and about to perform So Many Animals. ♩♪♫So many animals, set them free.....♬♬

The kids are dancing and shouting it's a happy chaos! I think Riley is having the time of his life too! Nakakatuwa xang panuorin! Hehe. Di magkandatuto sa pagsunod sa sayaw! LOL.

The show ended up with my (and Riley's) favorite Hi-5 song. Can you guess it? The L.O.V. E. Song!

♬♬ L. O. V. E. I love you and you love me.

L. O. V. E. That's the way it's meant to be.

L. O. V. E. I love you and you love me.

L. O. V. E. I love you and you love me.

L. O. V. E.  ♩♪♫

I think the kids and the parents enjoy the show. It was less than an hour but the experience is worth the time!

To end the event, the children had the photo op with the cast.

Anak, sino yang girl na kaholding hands mo??!!! Sabi ko kay Juno ka lang humawak para hindi ka mawala.

And that's it! He was in a chirpy mood since after the show. I think he is still hungover up to now because he was still singing the songs today. LSS lang ang peg. Hehe. Hayyy. I'm happy that he's happy! Thank you Hi-5 and thank you Robinson for making this happen and making my little boy happy!

OPPO F1s Selfie Filter

I've been wanting to have a new cellphone for a loooong while now. Nowadays, a nifty smartphone can spell the big difference in your everyday life. But being a teacher of many responsibilities and expenses, buying the latest smartphone is something I don't have the privilege of. I have to weigh all the pros and cons: the camera specifications, the memory capacity, the design, and most importantly - the price! before I consider it "THE ONE." Hehe. Every tiny detail counts. Scouring the market, I think I found just what I need without breaking my bank account: an OPPO F1s! Why I want an OPPO F1s cellphone? Well, let me count the ways:

1. CAMERA SPECS. It has 16MP front camera and 13MP rear camera! It's not called Selfie Expert for nothing! LOL. I'm already sold with this but if that's not enough for you, well, read on on what this phone has to offer. (Click on the image to enlarge)

This phone can also capture wonderful night shots. (I wish I have this phone when the Supermoon happened.)




This phone also features Selfie Panorama so no one will be left behind in the selfie!




Speaking of selfies, OPPO F1s has plug-ins and filters that will enhance any photos. They have: Café,
Bright, Candy, Shine, Soft, Fade, and Mono. I'll probably use the Bright filter because I take pictures indoor most of the times.



2. MEMORY CAPACITY. It has 3GB RAM and octa-core 64-bit processor. Whoa! With so many apps having a fast processor is a necessity.

3. PRICE. Right now OPPO F1s is P12,990 at Lazada. With all the things it can do, I think it's reasonably priced.

4. DESIGN. The design is candy to the eye. Right now they have Gold, Rose Gold, Grey.  But now OPPO F1s is available in a limited edition space gray color. How cool is that?

OPPO F1s is really a value for the money! And yes, since it’s 28 days before Christmas, this will be a great Christmas gift for yourself or for someone dear to you! 

If you want to know more about this amazing cellphone, click this link: http://www.oppo.com/en/smartphone-f1s#page1

Bershka Dress

This Bershka dress just need a teenie weenie bit of repair.

Still can't believe it's original and it just cost me P10! 

Tadahhh!!! :)

The Start of My Stock Market Journey

As I was checking my stock market investment today, I was surprised to see that my money gained 13.27%. Wooow!!! To put it more bluntly, my money earned P4,463! Just wow! You'll never see that in any bank. I've only been investing for few months but I am very please with the outcome. How much more if I've been investing for years?! Right? But how did my stock market journey started? Here is my story behind it:

Few months after I've given birth, I came upon a book by Bo Sanchez that encouraged me to be financially free. There I was jobless and exhausted and when I read the book, it made me hopeful. If Bo Sanchez's maid can invest in stock market, there is no excuse that I cannot do it.

This book is an easy read. I was so inspired and wanted to start investing right away. But I knew I have to have a steady source of income first. Which I don't have the liberty to do so at that time. (I made a promise that I won't work full time until Riley is 4 years old.) So I told myself that when the right time comes that I can work full time, the first thing that I will do is open an account in COLFinancial. That was 2010. 

Fast forward to 2015. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, I did my best during the demo and was lucky enough to be hired as a Secondary public teacher. I was employed June 2nd. September I was able to receive my first ever paycheck! And come October I made that promise into reality. I ask my friends Grace and Roselyn to accompany me at COL Financial's office. Rose has already opened an account there so she was very helpful and super supportive of my decision. I was not kidding when I told her that she is my personal financial adviser! hehe. I really learned a lot from her. I am so blessed to have friends like them so thank you guys! 

COL Financial office is located at:

Unit 2401-B, East Tower,

Philippine Stock Exchange Centre, 

Exchange Rd., Ortigas Center 1605

All smiles :) Thank you Rose and Grace!

And now 9 months after investing in Stock Market, I can say that I really made a good decision! I'm happy with the company that I already have stocks with, I'm happy that my hard earned money is already growing, and I'm happy that it's making me financially secure not just for my future but for my son's future as well. I know it's a looong way before I reap bigger results but I am motivated to continue investing a portion of my salary in stock market. 

I hope I inspire some of you to invest too. It's a risky move but if you do as Bro. Bo advises, the result is astounding. You'll never regret it. But, that's just me saying. It's really up to you. If you do decide on it and you need help, feel free to ask me! I hope I could be of help in any way.

Ciao! :)