My new specialty

Right after work -- I went straight home. I thought my hubby had an appointments to go to but he just did his paperworks at home and ended up staying home. Des and I was waiting for Kai to get up -- She was taking her good nap.. As soon as she got up.. we went to babies r us to get her bathing suit.. Then we went to target and woodfield mall to get some stuff for our vacation next week...It was so funny though -- as we were driving-- we got stuck at the stop light.. I saw this 3 girls just jamming in their car.. Soo funny coz I dont know what song they were listening to-- the only thing I know was a good song to dance.. So-- I asked Des and rolled down her window so she can listen to it.. ha ha ha. We were both laughing too coz I was also jamming in my own car.... So -- as always-- I started reminiscing and missing my old fun days with my girls.
It was getting so late and we wanted to go home but I promised Des that I was gonna make her beef salad..So-- we went to Jewel and bought the ingredients.. Guess what?? that was already around 10pm..lolzz So, I called my honey and asked him to grill the marinated beef I had at home.. So, as soon as we got home.. I did my beef salad.. Hmmm, i didn't have the full ingredients coz it was getting so late.. But it was still deliciosooooo... Let me tell yah! The 3 of us t finished the whole thing .. he he he..

Here's the ingredients for you...if ever u want to make some..... You can always make it different -- however you want it.. Just dont forget to put lotz of lime, cilantro and your beautiful smile...

INGREDIENTS
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup lime juice
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 pounds (1 inch thick) steak fillet
1 head leaf lettuce - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, stir together the green onions, cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Adjust the flavor, if desired, by adding more sugar and/or fish sauce. Set aside.
Cook the steak over high heat on a preheated grill for approximately 4-6 minutes on each side, until it is cooked medium. Do not overcook the meat! Remove from heat and slice into thin strips. Add the meat and its juices to the sauce and refrigerate, tightly covered, for at least 3 hours.
Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl. Arrange the cucumber on top of the lettuce, and then pour the meat and sauce over. Top with the cherry tomatoes and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves

k --- im going to sleep now..Nitey!

Char

quick, but somewhat long blog =)

sorry, i haven't been keeping up with my blogging. been tired and have lots in my mind i need to accomplish. plus, our home needs major organization... my dr & lr looks like we're moving. my hubby brought all the stuff from the basement that will be included in our up coming ph garage sale on july 21st & 22nd. we couldn't really leave it in the basement anymore since they're in the process of painting it. we can't put it in the garage coz they will also work on finishing the garage soon. ugh! can't wait till this is over and the house is fully sparkling clean.

i have so many things to share to you, but not enough time to blog since my little one's calling me already.

so here are some photos to summarize it:

1) went to the wfg '07 picnic/char's 31st bday
2) yanna mimicking me while i was exercising
3) yanna loves puzzles! she's a quick learner...she knows the alphabets, names of some animals, numbers (so far 1-14) & recently the us map. she'll tell you where to put 'em. if you look at the pic of the map that's what she did early this morning (white part are the missing pieces - it's gotta be in one of her bins).
4) the book i had camille read, "so you want to be a teenager" - i bought the entire bundle from (familylifetoday.org) i highly recommend it to all the parents with children in their adolescent yrs. it'll help your children handle peer pressure and hopefully make the right godly choices. although i have yet to experience any drastic things with any of my children, i wanted to start it right and help them grow knowing God's way and to make them aware that God is with them through this journey. i may say that i was so amazed to read camille's answers to the questionnaires. it gave way for us to talk about things most teenagers would hesitate to talk to their parents about. she was so open to talk about everything in the book and i saw the sincerity of her words. i'm so grateful to God that He gave us this opportunity and i trust that He has my kids' future in His holy hands.
5) camille went to virginia with her cousins (staying there for a month) - i couldn't sleep last sunday coz i wanted to make sure she has everything she needs. i kept sending her a text and calling her trying to find out if she's ok - she finally said "mom, don't worry i'll be fine." oops! she caught me - hehehe

well, it's 4th of july! we had an interesting adventure last night. we drove all the way to chicago to see the fireworks, but unfortunately it started pouring. ugh! we ended up picnicking inside the van and just headed back home. what a night!

but today, Lord willing we'll see some good fireworks. we're off to my brother's house - yup! time to get bloated again!

and to you all... "happy independence day!" hope you'll have a wonderful time with your loved ones and a safe celebration too!

ciao!
love

Busy Bee but fun.. All worth it!

Hi! it's almost midnight here.. Good Am! .. Thought of blogging since I haven't blog since I became US citizen-- I got so excited. Lolz.. j/k... Anyways-- I'll just summarize it... -- If i still remember what I've been doing for the past weeks.. Well --my best friend Lovely already blogged about my daugther's dedication--so less typing for me..j/k -- Thanks Lovable.. . The dedication of my lil one was really nice. Thanks everyone!.. Well-- as you already know that Summer is here. And that means -- picnic every weekend.. lolz.. Once again, we thank god for blessing us with another office in Midwest area. We just open one in Lincolnwood area.

June 22 - My relatives from New York came for Kalea's dedication. We all went out and did our small reunion. It was fun.. We were up till 5AM...whewww! that's been awhile since we stayed up till 5.. we actually did that 3 straight days..ha ha ha.. we drank lots of coffee. I tell yah! .. It was tiring but all worth it. We miss them already! Then yesterday--- we celebrated my 31st birthday and WFG Family Picnic.. Oh goodness! there was a lot of food and sports everywhere-- name it and they all played it.. lolz..We didn't finish till 9PM. There was still a lot of people that came and still bbq'.. I thank God for my friends who was able to celebrate my birthday with me yesterday.. I know some of them couldn't make it coz of prior engagement. And that's okay.. Our group of friends are just getting so big..he he he... We love it though! coz we have picnic/bdays/ for our little kids every week..lolzz...Today, right after church we went to Oak brook Mall -- had to return the purse that my sister got me.. I love it though - it's just i already have something like that-- so i had to exchange it-- as always - i had to get something for my Destiny..he he he. Then we just walked around for an hour and had to go Drury lane for my honey's cousin baby Christening...Hmm.. food was great.... hmmm --what else... Well -- our realtor finally came and we got the paper works out of the way. Now, she just advise us to start cleaning up and boxing our stuff so when she put our house on the market.. Then it's all ready.. But since we've been so busy with other stuff.. We keep putting it on hold.. So, hopefully this week so when we go on our vacation next week.. Then it's all ready.. Lords willing-- we'll be able to move by August of Sept.

Well--I'm gotta go to sleep now.. My honey over here can't sleep if I'm not next to him... ha ha ha... So, nitey everyone... Will post some pix later..okie dokie

Oh before I forget ---- Congrats to Max! -- 3rd place for stroller racing contest and Kai got the last place... ( 'Coz Mama Star wanted to push her) ha ha ha.....There were at least 15 contestants.. he he he

Love u guyz! God Bless

dedication to God

hi all! how's your weekend? mine was somewhat productive, relaxing and cheerful weekend. but before i tell you why.... i'd like to take this opportunity to extend our warm thanks to everyone who have sent in their donations in the mail. it's such a blessing not only to see these donations come, but the fact that there are people who share the same vision as we do. thank you for not waiting any longer as well as for taking action to pour out your resources and share them with the less fortunate. this is all for the glory of our great Prince of Peace. so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. - ph team

ok, now back to my weekend story...

friday, we celebrated my niece's 15th birthday. wow! she's all grown up now. still can't believe we're not getting any younger - hey, i'm still young, but just becoming young at heart! *wink* my sis brought all the kids to bowling that night, they slept over her place and went to see fantastic 4 at matinee on sat. went bowling afterwards, then to carnival & to chuck e cheese per the little ones' request... so obviously the kids had loads of fun those 2 days.

on my side of the world, i was able to straighten our office, last sat. was able to shred some of my old old documents (btw, still not done). had a great time playing with yanna, relaxing with my sis while watching filipino shows (tfc). later that evening, noel, my sis, yanna and i went to target for some grocery shopping. to our surprise, they're selling first-aid kits and flip-flops in their dollar section. we went ahead and bought as much as we can for project hope. while putting them all in the cart, i was praying that someone, somewhere, a kind heart will think of donating these items to project hope. *hint, hint* all targets have them hehehehe

anyway, we had a late supper. we tried the new thai restaurant (thai town) by my house and i must say "delicioso!" (dora way - hehehe) my sis and i cleaned our plates i tell yah. the price is just about the same as other thai restaurants... i highly recommend it!

sunday: it was my goddaughter's dedication. "kalea star santos" - she was definitely a pro! goodness! that little munchkin can easily be kidnapped! she lets other people carry her. she did not care. when the pastor held her up, she was just looking around and enjoying her view. just like her mom and dad, she enjoyed the local paparazzi around her hehehehe. her attention was always drawn to noel's beard... she just couldn't stop looking at him. so cute! i'll ask char for some pics so i can show you all how cute cheesy kai looked yesterday.

well, didn't get to chat with my girlfriends as much as i anticipated... so i guess i really need to set up another date for all of us sometime soon. had a good nap yesterday though. noel said "you needed that!" aw! so sweet. yah, he knows i've been staying up late for project hope and i guess those late nights are starting to get to me. need more of those naps though =)

ok, that's it for now... hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
may your week be blessed!
-love

weekend of celebration!

sorry, i haven't blogged. i've been tied up at work and so many things in my agenda i need to finish.

we celebrated my brother's birthday and squeezed in the father's day celebration as well. lots of food for a last minute planning. so once again i was stuffed this past weekend. my brother didn't really want anything, but i kinda insisted since i don't want to give him anything he wouldn't really like so he suggested a gift cert at restoration hardware. got all the fathers in our family movie tickets for 2 and for my dad, i made out a simple plaque with a message that he has won a home makeover for father's day as our way of showing our appreciation. at first he was shocked and little by little he was so looking forward to it. target date july 7th - i'll definitely keep you all posted!

project HOPE update: we were able to print out a bunch of flyers and were able to send out an additional 100 of solicitation letters. noel has set up a day of going to parking lots to stick flyers on people’s cars. we received another great response from people who were able to view the info on our website and have planned to send their monetary donations this week. great job team! and again, thanks to all who continues to pray for us and for all the support we've been receiving since we've launched this project. i know God's hands are not too short to extend His blessings to you all!

yesterday, we gave the contractors a day off since i'm sure their families would want to spend time with them on father's day. bill hybels, our senior pastor gave a wonderful message about heroic fatherhood... it was a message of relationship between a child and a parent and of course it all relates to our own relationship with our Heavenly Father.

yanna had a singing fever yesterday during the service, so i had to bring her in the parent's room to keep her from interrupting the service hehehehe - people around us were so entertained by her singing the barney songs (i'm not sure if that's a good thing). she was singing her heart out paired with her facial expressions. so cute! it was priceless... if i can just keep her that way... she's just growing up so fast =(

anyway, after the service we all went to on the borders for a father's day luncheon. i think we were the loudest there. we had nothing, but laughs! thank God for His blessings of humor. it sure did surrounded us yesterday. =) so what did i get noel for father's day? i finally got him the tile wet saw he's been wanting for so long. he plans on updating our kitchen himself so i thought it was a great idea to get him started hehehe ;)

well, after 2 days of non-stop eating... it was time to walk it off - noel and i went to our favorite hardware stores (lowes, menards & home depot) i thank the Lord they're all close by. i was so sleepy the whole time we were shopping for supplies that as soon as we got home i had to excuse myself and crashed into my bed. wow! that was the first time i slept at 9pm after having yanna. yes, that's early for me already. i usually sleep at midnight or so... up to now i'm still sleepy hehehe i can't wait to have a vacation!

well... to all the fathers - HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL FATHER'S DAY WITH YOUR LOVED ONES!

God bless!
-love

productive weekend

before i go any further with my weekend of productivity, i would like to say sorry to my good friend tal and family for not making it to cecilia's dedication. i planned an errand to fulfill this weekend forgetting about the occasion and when I got started doing it yesterday, i couldn't stop it anymore. hope the dedication and the celebration went well! God bless you, Cecilia!

ok, noel and i have been thinking of getting our landscape done, but since the renovation of our basement and other updates inside the house are costing us a lot already, we decided to just do the gardening ourselves. i was so excited the whole week and i was definitely having a green thumb spirit.

friday, noel and i met up at menards to buy plants and soil, but they ran out of the phlox i wanted. thank heaven, meijer had them all!

saturday, i felt the urge of waking up early and do some walking. it seemed like my little yanna knew mommy was taking a walk... she woke up at the same time i did and that rarely happens. my 2 sisters, c, and my 2 nephews joined us on a 3 mile walk - we ended up having breakfast at mc d. right when we got home, i started gearing up for gardening. my older sis and i teamed up, after finishing the first side, we had a late lunch, did 3hrs of grocery shopping, bought veggies to plant on the side of our house (tomatoes, green peppers & egg plant) and here are the results!

BEFORE

WORKING HARD

AFTER

and you know what i appreciated most while i was enjoying my outdoor moment? the Lord brought my neighbors to my yard and we simply exchanged a short life update. God is really good for even if i was busy decorating my garden, He brought people who have the same desire as we do - that's to please the Lord and extend help to others. maribel and steve (uh-oh! i sure hope that's his name- yikes!) certainly helped lift up my spirit yesterday. they're also excited to help Project HOPE, they prayed for me, our team and everything that's involved with Project HOPE. the Lord is so faithful that in every moment He delivers His promises. that's why from the day we started planning this project - i knew that the Lord will bring His resources together to make this project happen. thank you Lord for your goodness!

my 2 other sis, my niece, sarah and my daughter, c, all worked together to produce almost 300 solicitation letters to go out for Project HOPE. great job team!

well, i guess that's it for now. hope you all had a relaxing or productive weekend like i did. time to sign off now... after days of gardening... um, i'm totally sore. ouch! nitey nite!

Woooohooo!!

Finally, I am now US Citizen lolzz.. Gosh! After how many years... That's what you call ( proscastinator)...Thank you Lord =) .. Anyways, my hubby and I had a great time yesterday... Not only we got free parking ticket but we were goofing around the whole time ( it started coz I had to do number 2..hahhaha) and I told him to stay there and don't let anyone take my spot and to text me when the line is moving..ha ha ha..Then coming out from the bathroom-- I was walking without my shoes on...Only because I didnt know that we were gonna walk that far... And I forgot to bring my sandals...Ha ha ha.. But my honey was soo cute -- He said that only me that can always get away with that..lolzz..So, he finds it funny and cute while my feet was killing me.lolz... I was getting so sleepy coz the line was too long...I had my DD already but still sleepy..... Ha ha ha .. My Oath Ceremony wast at 8AM.. So, we had to wake up at 5Am.. Got ready. We went to drop off Des at mommy, so she can get ready for school and good thing the school bus also stop there. Then we went to drop off Kai at my in laws then went straight to downtown... But my Oath was short--- We got out of there around 930Am but you know how I am --- I was still chatting with some people I met....N-ewayz, gots to go for now... Enjoy the rest of your day...And I will see some of you tomorrow and the rest on Sunday ( Lia's dedication..)

Oh and let me introduce you Funmi ( she's from Nigeria).. She's really nice.. We were talking for 2 hours. lolz.. She works at St. Mary's.. Oh man! she can talk.. But very nice lady.. She had no camera -- So i told her if she don't mind. I will send her a copy of our pictures.

We do not remembers days, we remember moments

A time to celebrate the beauty, the gift and the blessing of enduring love.

Yesterday we celebrated our 3rd year wedding anniversary and it was also our 8 yrs being together. How time flies?? Actually, this year was my turn to plan. We try to take turns every year. We didn't really do something big this year but it was very special of what we did yesterday. Right after work , I went groceries and I called Destiny and told her that I will be cooking menudo ( William's favorite dish). Well, for the filipinos ( that's not easy to cook).. Too many ingredients. So, when I got home I told him that I have my gift for him. But he asked me if he can help me.. I said No, but he said that he wants to be part of it..So he can take the credit..lolzz.....So then, he started cutting and peeling the veggies and I started cooking and putting the ingredients to the pot... We were thinking if we should call his mom and my mom to ask for help but we both said " No, let's do William and Charisma's style"... So, we were both reading the filipino recipe.. And waited for almost an hour just to make sure that the pork is tender... I was doing the tasting and William will do the 2nd tasting just to make sure also......lolzzz.. My mom kept calling and since she knows that it was our anniversary..I told her that " Mom, if i give you some-- that means-- its good"..if not, then don't ask anymore..lolz.. Well, guess what???? It was deliciosoooo... So my honey and Des went to drop off some menudo to my mother dear and she said that it was good except it needed more salt or fish sauce... But it was good!!!! Yipppeee......They both came back and my hunny took a shower before dinner so we can have our dessert after.. lolz.... Oh before I forget... The night before our anniversay- he gave me his gift, a simple letter and we both said our prayers for each other before we had our dinner...He always does! I think for the past eight years now.. He never once forget to give me short or long letter... hmmm, wish i can share it with you of what he wrote but it was very sweet and touching.. Then around 7:30PM.....Tin's been bugging me if she can come over and it's hard for the past months ( since she broke up with her ex)..She's been going to my house and just hang out.. Which i don't mind because Tin's fun to be with...She does nothing but laugh at you....ha ha ha ha....So she stayed till 11:30PM...

Anyways, sorry haven't been blogging..Been kinda busy -- Fun busy--i may say =) -- actually- been visiting some old friends and organizing some events. Lords willing - it'll be done before we leave for the cruise.

Here are some pictures from yesterday --- before and after menudo... Also, pics from my sis' graduation... So proud of her..=)

Thank you Lord for all the blessings. But most of all Thank you Lord for blessing me with a wonderful husband and two beautiful girls that balances me everday of our life.

Vavooski -- Don't forget them beautiful smilez going... =)

Congrats Grads!

So proud of my nephew, kev & niece, nix. they both graduated today... well, it's past midnight already so i should say... yesterday.

didn't get to go to my niece', but i'm sure she had a fabulous time! she's on to her college years! anyway, we made it to my nephew's graduation though and i must say, i'm so proud of how thoughtful and generous he was to his many girl friends. he bought 10 of them 3 red roses... hmm! what a playah! j/k =) nah! he's just a sweetheart to everyone. took lots of pics and video of his graduation and i sure did kinda missed the old times (w/ my friends) when i saw him and his group of friends gathered for more picture taking. btw, he's going to high school now. my oh my! time flies by so fast i can't believe my sis has 2 high schoolers. next thing you know it's my turn, yikes!

well, i sure am proud of all of them. congrats again kev and nix! i love u both so much!!!

how did my weekend go? well, besides the graduation, last sat we had our bible study and discussed the last chapter of james. i thank God for His continued guidance and nurturing of our soul... we again received another wonderful revelation from God and i pray that He will help us live our lives according to what is pleasing to Him. that we may put everything we learned into practice. and that His light will shine upon us and through us.

i'm glad to share to you that we received our 1st monetary donation from my sister's employer, pivot-point international. we are eternally grateful for your help and rest assure that it will be put to a great use and will be very much appreciated by the people in need.

well, i need to sign off now... i'm pretty beat and i'm planning to work early tomorrow. so you guys have some good night sleep or should i say "have a great monday!"

God bless you all!

Enthused over Project HOPE!

praise the Lord for a great response! i know we're just starting, but the amount of enthusiastic people who responded to help was more than we had ever imagined. and to think we haven't even reached 1/4 of our distribution list. God is good! and i can say that over and over again.

by God's grace, here are some of the highlights we've received yesterday:

1) a family from mundelein or gurnee, il (if i'm not mistaken) has responded to our letter and will gather donations in their area. they have also proposed to donate beanie babies and school supplies as an addition to the items needed for the HOPE bags. and there's more! they have volunteered to send the collections directly to our designated headquarters in the philippines!

2) just yesterday, we have distributed 5 donation boxes and have received 6 more requests of donation boxes to be placed in their local businesses.

this is all because of your boundless prayers, compassion to poor and generosity that we are able to extend more help to the needy. we are just getting started and the need will never be over, so please keep the enthusiasm going and your donations rolling!

let's set aside our differences and bring hope to these people! whether you see them in person or not, please know that YOUR HELP can make a great impact in their lives!

i know there are many who desire to help, but are waiting for the last minute to do so. please, i encourage you... do so while you can. don't wait for next year to come... now is the time, act now!

~ off the subject here ~

just wanted to share to you the wonderful experience we had yesterday. seeing our daughter, camille, receive 3 honorary awards at their 6th grade recognition program that was held yesterday, was absolutely more than i had hoped for. we were never told who would be awarded that's why the surprise was perfectly planned and just wonderful! it felt awesome!

camille had the best cheer from her bestest sister, yanna. yanna gave her cutest and loud cheer for her big sister! she was waving, clapping and cheering her on like a star - hahaha. people around us weren't even paying attention to the program anymore, but instead were so amused by yanna's charming smile, loud cheers and giggles.

i just thank God for such wonderful kids. they may sometimes be too much to handle, but i'm grateful for all that they can be. they are all gifts from above!

have a blessed night! and again thanks for all your continued support!

Launching of Project HOPE

GREAT NEWS! We have launched the Project HOPE webpage! Simply visit www.walk2remember.com and click on Project HOPE. Please continue to pray for our mission as well as the people involved. we can all help each other by prayer.

thanks be to God for He continues to use ordinary people like us.

hope to hear from you all!

In His Service,
Lovely