A Matter of Perspective Chronicles of my married life down under Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 95 4677

Articles from A Matter of Perspective

Maiden Voyage 2007-07-30 19:35:00 Yes, I have finally given in. I have now hopped on the monetize-your-blog bandwagon like some of my fellow bloggers to earn some extra moolah. :) Now that Erin is a little bigger and more manageable, I realise I have more personal (and idle) time on my hands so that I can be more productive.Enter Bloggerwave. It works pretty much the same way as the others who pay you while you blog about certain products and services. However, I discovered that they give feedback on approval/rejection of blogs upon submission very fast. This is great because once you get an email from them, you can immediately start on whatever you got planned next (whether to start working for them or moving on to another blog submission somewhere else). If you have spare time like I do, you may want to try Bloggerwave for yourself. I suggest you better get a move on it. Fast! :)I'm sooo looking forward to the opportunities they offer. There is absolutely nothing to lose but definitely so much more to gain! ...

Still on Erin (and more) 2007-07-29 20:57:00 Erin's been quite talkative these days. Her speech is not limited anymore to just cooing. She gurgles a lot and I think an emerging "Ba" is on the way as she loves making bubbles with her saliva. "Gi" is also now part of her vocal gymnatics repertoire.The other day, J reckons he heard her say "Daddy." Now, that can't be really true, right? I spend almost the entire day (24/7) with this kid and her first word is "daddy" ?! Maybe J heard something else, like the "gi" syllable which does sound like the last syllable of daddy. Anyway, whatever it is, I have yet to hear it for myself to believe it. So far, nada! :P-o-Yesterday was Erin's cousin C's 18th birthday. Lunch was held at the second floor of the Canberra Football Club in Deakin. It was eat-all-you-can Yum Cha at AU$15 per person. The food was delicious but their service was terrible. :( The place was packed at 12 noon. And since our tables were located in the farthest corner from the kitchen, the food couldn't get to us. I thi ...

My Disclosure Policy 2007-07-26 02:51:00 This policy is valid from 26 July 2007. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be ve ...

Reminiscing 2007-07-20 19:41:00 I was just going through some of Erin's photos when it came to me that it was exactly a year ago today that J and I first found out we were pregnant. I can clearly remember how ecstatic we were when two distinct blue lines appeared in the home pregnancy test kit we bought earlier that day from the chemist.From this little peanut:To this bubbly bundle of joy:Our own 'little' miracle! :D ...

The Hate Tag 2007-07-16 01:29:00 This meme from Jen is terribly long overdue. Here goes...1. Food you hate - Hmm... I can't really hate food. But I'm not so keen about eating lamb, liver (except liver spread).2. Fruits that you hate - For some reason, I'm not a fan of the caimito or star apple. It's flesh is slimy and that's what I don't like.3. Veggies that you hate - Mostly ones that are slimy. (Do you see the trend here? :P ) A great example of this is the okra.4. Celebrities or people that you hate - Celebrities? Naku, a lot.. especially those former child stars gone wild. Tsk, tsk.As for people in general, I hate hypocrites, pretentious, proud, snobby, holier-than-thou individuals. These are just to name a few. :D5. Situations you hate - I hate waiting.. I also hate having to go to a party where I hardly know the other people who are also attending it. This is because I hardly make the first move to socialize. :P6. TV Shows or Movies that you hate - I see a lot of mystery/investigation type of series on TV. ...

Updates 2007-07-12 01:05:00 Yes, the new template calls, rather demands(!) for some updating. It's been a week since my boring meme post so I better get on with it.It's all about Erin. Well... what else is there? :PThe little girl developed nasty red rashes all over her body last Monday night. This gave us quite a scare because she kept on crying and had difficulty sleeping. We stripped her of her clothing and discovered that the redness was mostly found on her face, neck and tummy. She didn't have a fever, which was a relief. But just to check, J rang up Health First to help us in determing what was really bothering Erin. They just said that if she didn't run a temperature, it could be just the heat that's making her uncomfortable.But that wasn't enough for me. I was still worried because it could be an allergic reaction to the milk that she got from me. You see, our dinner had some eggs in them so that could also have been the culprit. And since it might have been an allergy, she could have trouble breath ...

Mobile Meme 2007-07-03 20:08:00 What is the color of your phone? whiteWho's the first person who comes under the letter M? Mama Dia (my mom)Who's the last person you called? JosephWho was your last missed call from? good friend LalamWho's the 2nd person who comes up under D? Directory Assist Intl :DWho's speed dial 2? I haven't set up my speed dial yet. :PWho's the third person who comes up under J? Jean!Who was your last received call? LalamWho's speed dial number 3? n/aWhat is your background? some oriental flower design i got from zedge.netHow many text messages do you have? 2 in my inbox, and 113 in my sent folder.What does the fifth message in your inbox say? n/a :PWho's the first person under B? my grandfather, BenedictoWho was your last text message from? still Lalam :)Name every person you have text messages from. J and LalamWho's the ninth person on your missed call list? n/a. only have 6 missed calls logged. :PWhat does the sixth message in your Sent Folder say? "Chat pa ba tayo? Tulog pa si Erin e ...

At 15 Weeks 2007-06-30 22:00:00 Look, new shoes! :)Today, at fifteen weeks, I heard our little girl Erin giggle for the very first time! Yes, giggle, as in "to laugh with repeated short, spasmodic sounds."It was after our short trip to the city. She was all cranky and bawling her eyes out on the way home. But as soon as we got inside our house and placed her on the bed, she quieted down and gave me one of her smiles that never fails to melt my heart. So I engaged her in some play and in a short while came the giggles. Too bad J wasn't in the room at the time. I tried to elicit the same reaction from Erin when J was around but was (and still) unsuccessful at my attempts. Oh well, maybe next time... whenever that is! :P ...

Cravings 2007-06-27 00:30:00 I have missed cooking a lot. Ever since Erin was born, I have taken a break from the kitchen because I hardly have any time anymore to prepare food. These days, J does most of the kitchen work but with me supervising.But last weekend, I just needed to get back into it once again. For one, there were two bars of Philly cream cheeses waiting for me to bake them into my long-time craving of blueberry cheesecake. Last time I made one was probably five years ago. It's definitely time to do a repeat!So, I entrusted Erin to J for the entire Sunday afternoon to get things done. After months of researching/studying of recipes, I decided Mik's was the easiest one to make. Since it has been +/- five years since I last baked one, I lost the recipe my tita gave me so I needed to find another one fast.I followed Mik's recipe for the crust and the filling except I used just plain thickened cream (250 ml) in place of the mascarpone cheese. Also, instead of the sour cream topping, I made a blueberry ...

Quick Fix 2007-06-22 01:38:00 J and I have been yearning for some of mom's pasta that I just had to email and ask her for the recipe. The sauce is pesto with sundried tomatoes and shrimp. Sounds complicated right? But I found out it was surprisingly easy to do. Thanks to this...Leggo's Sundried Tomato Pesto SauceThe secret is to saute first a whole head of chopped garlic in lots of olive oil until they're golden. Add the peeled shrimps. Once the shrimp is cooked, pour in one bottle (190 g) of the pesto sauce. Season with salt and pepper then mix it with your preferred pasta which has been previously cooked. Serve with a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese and some toasted garlic bread on the side. Voila!It was so delicious, I ate two platefuls of the dish! :P Yummy! :) ...

My Lakbayan Grade 2007-06-19 18:57:00 My Lakbayan grade is C-!How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan! (Created by Eugene Villar.)Geez, I really should try to get out more. :P ...

Baby number 2 2007-06-18 22:38:00 No, I'm not talking about a real baby and no, I am definitely not pregnant once again! :P Thought I'd try the Knocked-up Babymaker which was featured in Jean's blog.Hmmm... so this could possibly be the face of Erin's potential sibling. The bub's got my eyes; the other features belong to J. :)Tip for those who'd want to try it out: choose pictures with the parents facing front for a less 'mutated' offspring. :P ...

Getting there... 2007-06-17 04:23:00 Erin's getting big fast and J and I decided that it was high time that we take her out for pasyal. You see, since she was born, we only take her out of the house only if it's necessary (e.g. check-ups, her baptism, family dinners). For one thing, I don't like exposing her to the freezing temperature outside. One other reason is that, she hates sitting in her car seat for long periods of time. She'd really cry the entire trip no matter what you do.Last weekend was her debut. We were invited by our friends in Belconnen for merienda. Initially, J and I were hesitant about it and even told our friends that we weren't sure if we could make it. It takes us 30 minutes to get to Belconnen and that's on a traffic-free day, mind you. But inspite of it, we went anyway. Would you believe the little girl did NOT cry on our way there? She even slept during the last fifteen minutes of the trip. Thanks to my non-stop singing and use of toys. :D We stayed at our friend's house for two hours and ...

Pass this on... 2007-06-13 22:36:00 Got this in the mail today...TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't ov ...

Consider myself tagged 2007-06-12 19:33:00 It's been a while since I've done a meme. Got this one from Apols while surfing. Here goes...Yourself: Tired, sleep-deprived proud mommaYour Partner: All I could ask for. :)Your Hair: Straight and in need of a haircut!Your Mother: Super mom!Your Father: Helicopter PilotYour Favorite Item: My books, but I don't get to read them anymore. :(Your Dream Last Night: Can't remember.Your Favorite Drink: Coke ZeroYour Dream Car: Honda AccordDream Home: Three bedroom bungalow with a nice shadey pergola and neat backyard.The Room You Are In: Our studyYour Fear: Death.Where You Want to be in Ten Years: In the Philippines (pwede rin dito) and managing our own businessWho You Hung Out With Last Night: J and ErinYou’re Not: a messy person. I'm a neat freak! :POne of Your Wish List Items: Right now, webcam so that people back home can see Erin and how she's grown up to be.The Last Thing You Did: Washed the dishesYou Are Wearing: track pants and jumperYour Favorite Weather: fine, especially dur ...