My daughter Yona is no doubt an artist, she just needs to be nudged from time to time and remind her that she’s doing good. Her shyness is eating the best of her

A few days ago, we were invited to try the programs of Global Art, a world-class art school. My daughter was so excited that she didn’t think twice in attending it despite the distance. So from Cavite, we traveled all the way to Greenhills, San Juan to meet fellow moms and their kids. The visit was so worth it because I learned that she really has a strong inclination towards art and crafts.

Here are some of her artworks:

Yona at work!

Global Art courses are curriculum based and student-centered. Each school follows a syllabus designed to instill the skill to children and gradually introduce them from simple to complicated themes. The core program has several levels:

• Foundation Level for children 4-6
• Basic Level for ages 7-9
• Intermediate Level for ages 10-12
• Advanced Level for ages 13 and above

Aside from these Global Art also offers the following courses:

• Acrylic painting
• Cartoon and Comic lessons
• Handicrafts

See more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150606208349495.394962.728494494&type=3

Global Art’s presence is felt worldwide as they are present in 18 countries worldwide including the USA, Australia, Canada, China and in all South East Asian countries.

In the Philippines, Global Art has 8 branches:

1. Greenhills, San Juan (726-0435)
2. Del Monte Ave., Quezon City (692-6632)
3. Katipunan Ave.,  Quezon City (383-6084)
4. Salcedo Village, Makati and Rockwell Power Plant Mall (392-6220)
5. Alabang Town Center (861-2061)
6. Serendra, Bonifacio Global City (404-4399)
7. Davao (082) 221-9980
8. Soon to Open: Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas (726-0435)

I am inviting fellow mommies to visit any of Global Art’s branches and try any of their courses. It’s really worth it

My husband and his younger brother are both artistic. They could sing, write music, draw, make a lot of weird stuff and saying that they are indeed artistic is an understatement.

Both of them could play various musical instruments so being a music lover that he is, the hubby would want a guitar of his own and not just the typical guitar, but one of breedlove acoustic guitars. How choosy.

Where can I find one of these? Are they even available locally?

I am a huge fan of riding boots. It’s just so unfortunate that I live in a tropical country where people are not so used in seeing common people wearing boots under the scorching sun. It’s like fashion suicide if I force myself to use riding boots in going to  the mall or the market.

This is one GOOD reason why I want to visit cold countries where people are required to wear leg warmers and boots. It’s my life-long dream and I’m never going to stop until I would be able to pull off a get-up like this:

A few weeks ago, February 12 to be exact, my godchild Charlee celebrated her 1st birthday and baptism in Lido de Paris hotel in Binondo. Charlee has a very special place in my heart as she’s the daughter of my BFFaE (best friend forever and ever), Mhellai.

To celebrate Charlee’s baptism and birthday, the parents invited close friends who also posed as Charlee’s godparents, a few other friends and of course, the families of both sides.

It was indeed a very momentous event because of course, Charlee turned one and it was a time for friends to finally meet. Everything was personalized from the cake, down to the souvenirs

Of course, I baked Charlee’s beautiful cake haha All the best for my godchild!

I wonder if I would be able to organize a party like that for my kids

A little birdie just said “tweet!”

He’s turning 5 and will give us a sweet treat!

Say hip! hip!, say hooray!

Let’s greet Nuffnang a very happy birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUFFNANG!

A Curious Thought: What’s Inside a Bad Boy’s Pair of Pants?‏

What does action star Robin Padilla, former president Joseph Estrada, and cosmetic surgeon-turned-celebrity Hayden Kho have in common with Hollywood stars James Dean, Collin Farrel, and Robert Downey, Jr.?

Unless you’re a brooding man who can make women want to drop everything and land in your brawny arms every time something unfriendly comes their way, most men have all went through devastating heartaches at some point in their lives. We’ve seen it a thousand times—nice guys getting dumped and friend-zoned over stoic, devastatingly gorgeous, distressed men reminiscent of Damon Salvatore and Edward Cullen, who can make even blood sucking look sexy. What is it about bad boys that put sparkle in women’s eyes, glow in their cheeks, and blood rushing into their veins and other lovely parts?

No, this is not another story about vampires who sparkle in the midday sun while wearing outrageously pale faces and pouted lips. This is the truth that young boys long to discover, grown ups laugh about, and our grandpas love to revisit. This is the story of every Adam that will never be written in the history of mankind.

Three-time best-selling author and 30th National Book Awards finalist RJ Ledesma unravels how this and other crazy, perplexing phenomena are taking place, as he launches his fourth book “It Only Hurts When I Pee, RJ Ledesma’s Guide on Bodily Gases, Hair Loss and Pink Parts.” The book, distributed by Anvil Publishing, is a compilation of the ridiculously truthful, self-aware and highly comical chronicles of the less hygienic male species based on curious epic research, thorough investigation and, ahem, first-hand experience.

From the freshly squeezed brain juices of RJ Ledesma, the book and all its 167 pages tackles amusing topics and antics, including classic and epic details in the Pinoy dating and mating scenes, and male entertainment created simply by grimy fingers and a lack of good taste.

Wonder why bad guys often become the object of romance by women who, in RJ’s own word, desire “to increase the country’s current voting population”? Let the entrepreneur, multimedia practitioner, yogi and author of Lies My Yaya Should Have Told Me (2008), I Do or I Die (2009), and Is It Hot In Here Or Is It Me? (2010) tickle your funny bone and usher you into testosterone land with his newest masterpiece guaranteed to make you pee to your heart’s content.

Specialty coffee and tea purveyor, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, reinforces its claim as the preferred café chain in the country by opening its 42nd store right at the heart of Pasay City.

Located at Two E-com Center in the Mall of Asia Complex, the new The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® store will be serving customers their full selection of specialty coffee and teas by February 18. “This newest addition to our line of strategically-placed stores will help us fully realize our vision of providing every Filipino with the best available coffee and tea out there,” explains Walden Chu, President of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. “Being a new landmark that packs commercial, retail, residential and business areas in one unique structure, having a shop at Two E-com Center will help us reach more people and tap different markets in a way that we have never been able to do before.”

Located in an alternative business and entertainment district amidst a spectacular bay setting, the new The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® store will serve as a haven for both cult-like followers of the brand, and coffee and tea aficionados of all sorts.

“The Mall of Asia Complex is home to a growing number of young professionals working in technology-based companies and business process outsourcing centers in the area,” adds Chu. “The people that regular the vicinity are part of the growing coffee population in the country that are in constant search for the best blends.”

In line with its debut, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf® branch in Two E-Com Center will be holding a special promotion that will run from February 18 to 24, 2012. During the promo period, customers can come to the store from 12:30 to 1:30 in the afternoon and purchase their favorite drink for only P100.

I have a growing family so the search for the perfect mattress among the MANY types of mattresses is on!

We now have about 6 mattresses in the house, most of which are stored and used only when visitors come over. From the double size foam mattress that we used when we just got married, we upgraded it into a king size so the three of us Marcelle, Yona and I would fit on it. Then came Lana, our bundle of joy who eats a lot of space when she is awake, more so when she is asleep. Told him we need more mattresses for the kids.

So what we are planning now is to buy a double deck for the two of them with memory foam mattress each and have our bed restructured to make it double again (we don’t buy beds – frugality issues ^_^)  So is it a good idea? What do you think? For the kids, we are eyeing on a high-quality memory foam mattress, it pays to have a good night sleep and we don’t want them to develop back pains, worse, scoliosis because we scrimped on mattresses.

We have searched online and oh boy, we were bombarded with so many ideas! Deciding which one is the best for the kids, for us and for the room was such a pain. The ideas online were all so cute but of course most of them requires us to purchase very expensive types of wood – something that we cannot afford hahaha! Our place has a ready supply  of palo china so I guess we will just go for this, as with proper care, this type of wood will go a long, long way. I better spend MORE on a just-priced memory foam mattress than on the bed.

With the right bed, the right paint – guess which color won? PINK. (lol) I guess my kids would surely love their new bed and the hubby and I will have the bed for ourselves.

I wonder if we have contactless cards here in the Philippines?

Here is an explanation of what a contactless cards are:

A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps some specific security logic. Contactless smart cards do not contain an ordinary read-only RFID, but they do contain a re-writeable smart card microchip that can be transcribed via radio waves.
The first contactless smart card in production use for fare payment was the Octopus card, introduced in Hong Kong in 1997 for the territory’s mass transit system.

I wonder too, if they use these contactless cards in mass transit tickets and in ATM cards. Well if they do, I badly need more information about its local availability.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks!

This question has been bugging me for months now. Though I know that my daughter could sing and has shown great interest on musical instruments, I still do not know if she indeed has musical talent. You know how moms could get so biased most of the time

How should I know if my child has musical talent?

You see his dad could sing, his uncle plays the guitar soooo well. Right now, Yona would always want to visit the guitar stores of malls on every visit.

So is she really musically inclined? I would want to enroll her in a music class, singing or guitar perhaps but I don’t know where to start. I don’t want to spend on something that she would get tired of after a few classes.

Help me please?