very long weekend

since it's gonna take a while before i report back to work i've taken the role of a mommy-slash-yaya. Sofi is turning to a one hell of an explorer -- one minute she's under the table and the next thing you knew she's up the shelves. She talks a lot, runs a lot, cries a lot and do all sorts of mommy NO-NOs. but mommy's learning how to control her anger or at least mommy's trying to lengthen her patience.

Today, Sofi made me proud with the three things she did.
1. Sofi wee-wee using her potty trainer for the first time. We have the potty trainer long before she was born. Her cousin used to own it. I tried teaching her how to use it before but she keeps on laughing each time i ask her to wee-wee. This morning, I pulled her diapers and allowed her to play with just her undies on. She went to me and told me that she wants to pee. So I hurriedly clean the potty trainer and gave it to her. On her first attempt, no pee came out, so i went back to my breakfast. She was able to make it on her second. My dad asked if I put water inside the potty. I said no and peeked in. She was able to make it.

2. She took her vitamins with no struggles.  Medicine feeding was the hardest part of her daily routine.  She would cry and pretend to choke and vomit when asked to take her vitamins.  We had to stop giving her vitamins when she turned 1 because the process seemed futile.  Thanks to the tiki-tiki vitamins commercial showcasing a smiling baby while being given tiki-tiki drops, medicine taking is a breeze.

3.  She helped me in baking bibingka.  Though I still have to guide her with the whisk, she was so happy being allowed to help in the preparation of the merienda.  We made an instant bibingka which we got from the cupboard.  The Bibingka was made of a 250g Bibingka mix (similar to a hotcake flour), 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 4tbsp melted butter, 1 cup water and salted egg.  Baked it in a oven toaster for 15 minutes or so.  She was beside me when i popped it out from the oven and she was amazed after seeing how it turned out.

missy

I’m typing this blog entry using MISSY.  Missy is my new toy.  Though I’m not the gadget-freak type, I think that it’s high time I get my own lappytoppy.  Been salivating about this for quite some time though I didn’t like the idea of getting a netbook before.

Netbooks refer to the small version notebooks with screens measuring from 8 to 10inches. They’re as big as regular writing notebook, as light as your husband’s shoes and as functional as your regular PC.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="362" caption="MSI WIND"][/caption]

Netbooks don’t have optical drives -- Can’t play, watch or burn CDs/DVDs.  But I’ve seen its advantage.  It’s light, portable and budget friendly.  There are a lot of available 10” netbooks in the market.  There’s HP mini, the ever famous ASUS eee PC, Lenovo and MSI Wind.  I also encountered Gigabyte and Qube netbooks in the market.  But after weeks of comparing and browsing reviews on the web, MSI Wind emerged as the winner.  I got the MSI Wind 100H LXP8 with the following specs:

• Intel Atom N280 Processor


• 10.2” WSVGA (non-glare type)


• SATA 250 GB


• 2GB DDRII Memory


• 6 cells battery


• No Bluetooth


• Webcam


• Wi-fi ready


• Free XP home

In terms of physical appearance HP mini is a sure winner, availability of accessories is taken over by ASUS but Wind has an almost full-size keyboard.  Its screen size is also a lot bigger than other netbooks.  HP mini becomes way too hot during usage and they say Wind has a tolerable heat.  Anyway since this is an ode to Missy and not another netbook review, I’m stopping here.  Besides Missy has just arrived last Saturday so I can’t say much based from experience.  Give me another month and I’m sure there’s a lot to say about her.  I just hope I get this fully paid before something bad happens to her or at least have the warranty cover the damages if ever.  Top priority is to keep Missy away from Sofi…as she can be one big gadget-freak.

LTO student permit

As my husband-slash-driving instructor recommends, a student driver's permit is required in the process of learning how to drive.  We went yesterday, June 8, 2009 in Pasig LTO situated inside the Kapitolyo grounds.  As promised, fixers were all over the place, shouting and signing "Sir, parehistro po, parehistro?"  And since I have my bodyguard slash husband slash driving instructor with me there was no way these guys can get near me.  We got there at 12 noon and since the gov't has a mandated lunchbreak sched, we just got the requirement list and went out to take lunch first. The list told us to bring the following:

birth certificate from civil registry

Tin Number

Application Form

P 371.63

Make sure you have a photocopy of your birth certificate and your ID bearing your TIN number.  In my case since I am married already, I was asked to submit a marriage certificate.  Good thing, I had it with me.  If you don't have a birth certificate with you...The list also indicates what to submit just in case you dont have your birth certificate with you like a government ID like SSS or GSIS is required or an affidavit of two persons claiming that they know you and you are that person applying for a license.

We got back past 1 pm, and there was already a checkpoint near the LTO office asking for parking fee who weren't there on our first trip.  After a discussion, we ended paying P20.00 with government receipt that looks like it was tampered.  The seats were almost filled.  I went straight to the customer service representative table, where they gave me the application form.  I filled it up, gathered my documents and submitted it to him.  He told me to wait so I squeezed myself amongst the sweaty licensee hopefuls and waited for my turn to be called.  It was quite a long wait but still tolerable.  While waiting, I saw a man in shorts came out of the office, went close to the security guard, handed a balled up paper to him and said something which i figured as thank you.  And for that moment I felt nervous.  I was thinking, the wait might end up to be longer than I think it should.

After a few more minutes, I was called only to find out that I should be submitting a marriage certificate instead of a birth certificate since i'm married already.  I gave my photo copy and submitted my paper back.  Again I waited.  And then my name was announced in the mcrophone and was told to proceed to the photographer.  Yey, Step 2!  It was a small window and from there a webcam was situated atop a CPU unit.  I was told to just look at the webcam, a few seconds after i was instructed to sign in a tablet.  It was funny to see scribbles of names and signatures in the tablet.  Maybe it would be good to assume that not all people know what a tablet is... :)

I went back to my seat and waited for my name to be called again.  Third step is to pay P317.63 to the cashier.  Fifteen minutes after, I was called to window 9 to pay the fee.  Another 15 minutes and I was called to the releasing window. 

Before leaving LTO, I was stripped off with another P20.00 for the plastic ID holder.

UP Thai Canteen

after graduation,  visiting U.P.  almost always surprises me.   of course the feeling of familiarity is  still there but the sight of new buildings and stalls stands out.   What created the most impact on me, aside from not seeing the Isaw stand infront of Ilang-Ilang Residence Hall, was the relocation of the food kiosks along Balara.  The most familiar of which is the UP Thai Canteen.  The spicy seafood viand with beef, chicken and veggie strips is our usual order.  Jaims had fetched me several times when I was still studying there so he too had his share of Thai cravings.

A few weeks back Leng blogged about UP Thai Canteen and that's when I discovered that they opened near our place.  It's called Khao Pad (formerly UP Thai Canteen).  They are now located at Unit 180 Auto Depot, Ortigas Home Depot, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City.  The owner was still there, albeit a little thinner than before.  At the ground floor, there's an area for ordering your dishes and a few stools for those who are probably eating out or dining alone.  Upstairs open up to a more spacious area with two air-conditioned units, a television and several tables and chairs which are definitely far from the atmosphere they had back in Balara.  The Thai touch is very evident with the carvings and other Thai culture icons.



We ordered the  seafood viand (2 bowls), spring rolls and 2 rice for merienda (hahahha!) plus Pepsi.  Service is good and still fast, probably because we are the only ones being served during that time :).    It cost us P245.00.  If I were still a student this may not be okay with the budget but since i'm part of the working class, i'd say, the taste compensates the price.  Jaims declared that this add to our list of comfort food.  Now, finding comfort food will be a lot easier.

Khao pad
706.3528
Unit 180 Auto Depot, Ortigas Home Depot, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City