My son specially want soldier toys and therefore we went to the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio where he could see some “ancient” tanks and canons.

We also went to the Botanical garden and our son and his cousin wanted to ride the horse. This is also their first time to ride a horse so that’s a really great experience for them.

Of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without having a boat ride at Burnham Park.

While they were having a boat ride, us parents went to the Baguio market to buy some veggies. Brocolli is only PHP20 per kilo. That’s cheap. It’s usually PHP100-200 in Manila. We also bought lettuce since Baguio is known for producing lettuce because of the cool climate. I can’t remember the price but it was also very inexpensive.

I recently started couponing in an attempt to save our family some money. Every Sunday I buy two newspapers then flip through and find the coupon books. My husband switched our internet to satellite internet from http://www.satellitestarinternet.com/hughes-net/kentucky/, so I can get online and look at coupon blogs. I go to the blogs to find out which groceries will be at the rock bottom prices each week. I then match the coupons I have to the sale items in order to pay as little as possible for each item. I never pay full price for any groceries. I have even started to cook meals each week based on what was on sale for the week. I have cut our grocery spending in half and hope to continue to save even more as I learn all of the tricks of couponing. I have watched the show Extreme Couponing a few times and I have no desire to be like the people in those shows. I do not need a huge stockpile of all of my groceries. I simply need to save money on the groceries my family needs.

It’s nice to go to the beach and not worry about having your expensive camera being ruined by seawater or sand. I love going to the beach and take family pictures with my kids, taking shots while they play on the sand or while floating on water with their life vest on. It’s always a nice keepsake and a good material for printed albums to show our friends.

I’m not really into deep underwater photography, well, not yet I suppose. So I’m just looking around for those starter waterproof cases that can take pictures up to around 15 feet. I suppose those are cheaper compared to the underwater cameras being used by scuba divers.

I got mono last year out of the blue and I was in the bed for over three months – it nearly killed me! I don’t know where in the world I picked it up or how I didn’t give it to my husband but he got out unscathed which made me happy. He was constantly bringing me Gatorade and all kinds of broths to eat which was so sweet and he even went to www.tvbydirect.com to get us satellite so I could watch movies during the day which really helped the time pass. I won’t lie, though…have any of you out there had mono? Literally all I wanted to do all day every day was sleep and I just couldn’t get enough no matter how hard or long I slept. Just as quickly as I got sick I got better and I was happier to be back to work than anyone you’ve ever seen. I can’t believe being in a cubicle all day makes me this happy now!

So I’m trying to create a Hawaii itenerary. Who knows, we might go there within the next 3 years.

So far, I like the part where we can go out to one of those active volcanoes, so a bit of snorkling, go to the Waimea canyon, and Wailua falls. I’ve heard there’s a blowhole out there called SpoutingHorn. I haven’t seen one before so I guess it’s nice to have a look at that too.

Normally we just stay in some inexpensive hotels. Some say that there are Hawaii houses you can rent out for a week. I think that’s nice too.

While there, I would like to pass by the Kilauea lighthouse. I did some oil paintings before of lighthouses and seascapes so I think it would be nice to take a nice high-resolution photo of the Kilauea lighthouse and then try and paint it on a canvass at home.

China is now known as the world’s factory. They literally produce a lot of products being sold in other countries ranging from toys to discount scrub sets, to electronics. In fact, in almost all consumer electronics, at least one of the parts inside is made in china.

I was looking at a website called http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ and was amazed at how good their scrubs are. I was hoping to see if some factory in China is making similar scrubs, or at least I can design one specifically tailored for our country. In some countries like the Philippines, there are certain designs that are sellable. I noticed that whenever there’s an upcoming Manny Pacquiao Fight, just about any t-shirt sells. I’m wondering if a Manny Pacman themed scrub would be popular.

Another one is a sports related scrub. Why not get a license from NBA teams and sell an NBA themed scrub. Just imagine, laker’s scrub, Orlando Magic Scrub…hmmm… I wonder if there will be a market for that.

Anyway, going back to China, I’ve always wanted to go to that country. I’ve been to Hong Kong several times but going to mainland China is something I’ld like to be able to do within the next couple of years. One thing I’ld like to visit is their electronic shops. I expect there are so many inexpensive items I can find there.

I’ld like to see the venue for the Olympics, I’ld like to go to Shenzen, and I’ld like to attend one of those consumer electronics expo shows in China. And if possible, I’ld like to visit an actual manufacturing plant and see how stuff are made. That would be awesome.

Dexter may very well be the most consistent show on television. While others have suffered from lackluster seasons here and there, America’s favorite serial killer continues to turn in year after year of killer (pun intended) http://www.tvbydirect.com. Whether its watching Michael C. Hall help Julia Style’s tortured character Lumin come to terms with her agonies or gleefully chuckling while John Lithgow chews the scenery, switching the satellite tv over to Showtime and indulging in Dexter’s activities is now my favorite pastime.

The Miami-set show is brimming with characters who were interesting during the first season but now feel like family. Jennifer Carpenter plays Dexter’s sister Debra, and steals every scene she shows up in. Her love life is one of the show’s most entertaining facets, as she frequently ends up in relationships that are destined to reach a bad end.

Season four ended with one of the most shocking finales in television history, and I doubted that the writers could ever top it. I was happily proved wrong as soon as season five got into full swing. It proved as entertaining as every other season since the show’s beginning.

With Dexter confirmed for a sixth season, I’m already looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Dex and the rest of the stellar cast.

Here’s a map and I’ve highlighted the best location with a thick red circle.

Here’s a photo of the fireworks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the best location so good thing for you, you’re reading this post so you’ll know.

There’s a lot of fun things to do with your kids there. Some fun, some a little bit spooky but it’s all a good and memorable experience. My son who I brought along on that trip like this huge mickey during the parade.

You may try vacation with cheap airline tickets here and hopefully you get a good deal.

According to the prestigious magazine, one of the key reasons why Philippines was included was due to its “ancient cultures, structures and biodiversity”.   The Philippines is harboring as many islands as the Caribbean. 

The Philippines is quite popular specially among SCUBA divers.  The country boast of having the center of marine biodiversity.   I was able to dive in the waters of Anilao in Batangas and truly,  nothing else is like it.  If you’ve seen the movie “Finding Nemo”,  that’s how it looked.   Lots of colors, full of life.

Last month,  National Geographic also included the Ifugao Rice Terraces (Banawe Rice Terraces) as on of the “50 Places of a Lifetime: Great Destinations in the world”.   A truly magnificent place.    I would probably visit this in the next coming years.

 

We’re planning to have an Australia Getaway trip sometime in 2010 and aside from touring Sydney, we are thinking of going to Port Macquaire, or Coffs Harbour, or Byron Bay. I was looking at some Port Macquarie Hotels. Two accomodations seems to fit our budget. The HW Boutique Motel Port Macquarie, and the Country comfort Port Macquarie. I heard that the Port Macquarie is a water lovers paradise with 15 pristine beaches so I guess it would be a nice place to visit.

I’m also looking at Coffs Harbor. Some nice Coffs Harbour Hotels I found are Australis Opal Cove Resort Coffs Harbour, and Dolphin Sands Holiday Cabins coffs Harbour. The one in Dophin Sands looks really great however, the problem is the availability. It seems like its a popular hotel.

Then last of the 3 we’re looking at is Byron Bay. Upon checking some Byron Bay Hotels , I immediately like the one called “The Byron At Byron Resort and Spa”. However, it is too costly. The one in Breakfree Eco Beach seems to be ok.