Munchkin Mommy…

My Wednesday entry is overdue, and it’s not because I fell asleep. I’m actually lacking sleep these days! My brain seems to be working overtime, which is a good thing. Hee hee. Now, for my winnings…

1) McCafe Happy Hour – I’m not sure if all McDonald’s branches in the US have happy hour. The McDonald’s we frequent, which is practically next door to us, has McCafe happy hour on weekdays from 2pm to 5pm. Iced coffee, smoothies, frozen lemonades and frappes are BOGO, that is, buy one get one free. Hubby had his regular iced coffee and I had my hazelnut iced coffee. ;)

2) Adapting to a new routine – It’s been a little over 10 days since we added a new activity to my daughter’s daily schedule. She wasn’t so thrilled at first but now, she’s getting the hang of it. :) Hubby and I are happy and excited for her.

3) Claude 9 Crab Fat – I made Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Creamy Aligue (Crab Fat) Sauce for dinner. Yummy home-cooked meal in under 20 minutes is possible.

It’s a short list. But that doesn’t mean I was short on blessings. *wink*

Cheers and mabuhay! :)

To go through the day in a state of gratitude and thankfulness is a choice. We want to choose it, yes, but it’s sometimes easier to just get sucked into all things negative.  Knowing that I have to end the day with a list of things I’m thankful for leaves my “thankfulness radar” on high alert throughout the day so much so that I’ve gotten better at finding the positive in things that would otherwise be given a negative connotation, say, “chores”.  In the real world, who likes and looks forward to doing chores? Ha!

Here’ my list of terrifics:

1) Laundry – You read that right! Laundry! I don’t mind the loading into the washer and the dryer. What I mind – or at least, “used to” – is the folding and delivery to the respective closets. While I was folding clothes today, I told myself, instead of whining about laundry, I should be thankful instead that I have clothes to wash and fold…nice ones, at that! How’s that for a breakthrough? My therapist would be proud…if I had one. :P

2) “I love freestyle!” – That was music to my ears! I guess I wasn’t the only one who had a breakthrough today. :) My daughter told me that during her swim class, when she reached the edge of the pool close to where I was seated and attempting to read a book.

3) “I want to do my worksheets now.” – Say what? My daughter, who would  avoid doing any semblance of school work (mana sa…) actually asked for her “summer homework”. Well, well, well, I can get used to this!

4) Church’s Chicken Tuesdays – 2 pieces of chicken are only $0.99 at Church’s on Tuesdays.  Guess what we had for dinner. *wink*

5) Safe Travels – Someone I dearly love just got closer, closer she and I.  (Cue in Close-up music…” The closer I get to touching you, the closer I get to loving you, give it time just a little more time, we’ll be togehter…)

6) Ninang Auntie and Ninong Uncle – They are greatly and in part responsible for #5. ;)

Thank you, God, for a terrific Tuesday! Mabuhay!

“You’re just too marvelous, too marvelous for words
Like “glorious”, “glamorous” and that old standby “amorous”.
It’s all too wonderful, I’ll never find the words
That say enough, tell enough, I mean they just aren’t swell enough.”

I just found a theme song for my Monday entries, Frank Sinatra’s “Too Marvelous for Words”.  Hee hee. It feels weird to be posting my Monday entry on a Tuesday. But I was sooo sleepy last night that while my mind was willing, the rest of me was not. Zzzzzz.  Anyway, Monday was truly marvelous, specially from 6:30pm onwards.  Here’s my list:

1) A more confident and a much happier “guppy” – My guppy, that would be my daughter, is back at swim class. This time around she is a lot happier and confident, as evidenced by the big smiles she flashed at me from the pool. That’s a huge relief for me. Whew!

2) Just Go with It - I love a good laugh and this Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston sandler allowed me a few good ones. Hee hee hee. Have you seen this movie? Oh it was hilarious! Then again, it doesn’t take much to make me laugh. :P

3) Birthday – A friend of ours celebrated her birthday. I love birthdays! Life, after all,  is the greatest gift, don’t you agree?

4) Friends, Intel Club, Free Hats, Walk-Off Home Run – Like I said, a lot of things marvelous happened from 6:30pm onwards. We got to hang-out with our dear friends at the Intel Club of the Dell Diamond to watch a minor league game for F-R-E-E. Thanks to our “sponsors” (*wink*), not only did we get free seats, ballpark chow was free as well! The kids got a free baseball cap, too, courtesy of Gatti-Land. And to make the night sweeter, the team we were rooting for, the Round Rock Express, won via a walk-off home run in the 10th inning! Yup, there was an extra inning!

Oh, I forgot to mention that we got free parking as well. It was like Christmas in July! Ho! Ho! Ho! ;)

5) Mommy. MY mommy. ;)

I know a lot of people are allergic to Mondays. I used to be one of them. But how can you possibly hate a Monday as marvelous as this one? Say it with me, “Mondays are marvelous!”

Cheers, y’all! Mabuhay! :)

Note: July 21, 2011 – I changed the title of my weekend entries from Winner Weekend to Wickedly Awesome Weekend. Why? Because I realized just now that my Wednesday entries are called Winner Wednesday. Oops! Hee hee. I confuse myself sometimes. :)

I had every intention of posting an entry yesterday, Saturday, but I got too caught up with one of my earning working blogs. :)  I decided that I will just post one entry for my weekend “winnings”. ;) Here it goes…

SATURDAY

1. Bacon and Pork Sausage – For the first time in a very very very long time, I cooked bacon and pork sausage for breakfast. The kitchen smelled heavenly! Yummmm. It was like having a Hampton Inn breakfast right in our very own home…only better! Haha! :P

2. Free shopping money from Kohl’s – Hubby and I have both been receiving free shopping money from Kohl’s to the tune of $10 almost every month for some time now. That is definitely a winner!

3.  International Crepe Passport – That’s the lunch I had at IHOP, for free! It’s a birthday thing. Yes, I’m still celebrating my birthday! Haha!

SUNDAY

1. $1 Italian Brunch Buffet at Cannoli Joe’s – This would have been free if we went to Cannoli Joe’s on a weekday.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 – Hubby and I got to go on a rare movie date, just the two of us, through (see #3)…

3.  the kindness of dear friends, who offered to watch our little girl. *wink*

4. Buy with Me Fandango Deal – Because of a movie deal I bought through Buy with Me (a daily deals site) a few weeks back, hubby and I got to enjoy Harry Potter in 3D for only $12, for both of us! Without the deal, the tickets we bought online would have set us back a good $24. I’m glad I grabbed that deal! Two of them, actually! ;)

5. Piano - I love love the feel of the black and white ivory keys on my fingers. Although I felt a pang of piano ache while giving our friends’ piano a try, I was really happy with their new toy and that they let me give it a try. I must save for one!

6. Future Harvard Freshman - I love the shirt hubby got our little girl when he was in Boston. How’s that for sending the universe a message?

It was a winner of a weekend, indeed. Good times!

Cheers, y’all! Mabuhay and have a marvelously great week ahead!

Thank.God.It’s.Friday!!! Do you love Fridays? I do! I’ve loved Fridays since I started going to school! Haha! It brings with it the promise of a wonderful weekend. Just how wonderful is all up to us. ;)

Here are the fantastic things I am especially appreciative of and very much thankful for today:

1) Plan B – When you make plans, do you make it a point to have a Plan B? Hubby and I want to watch the very last Harry Potter movie EVER. Unfortunately, our Munchkin Girl doesn’t want to, because the first installment of Deathly Hollows gave her nightmares. We came up with Plan A, which was to watch the movie with our friends. Plan A went pfft! But Plan B – ha! – Plan B worked like a charm, leaving 7 people (that’s 3 Harry Potter movie naysayers and their parents) very happy. Plan B = compromise = a good dose of happiness for everyone.

2) BOGO – A cousin of mine had a work colleague who thought BOGO was a brand. Hee hee. BOGO is short for buy one , get one.  My favorite kind of BOGO is Buy 1 Get 1 FREE, a close second is Buy 1 Get 1 half off. :D This morning, Hubby and I enjoyed a McCafe frappe each for the price of one. Buy 1 Get 1 Free! My kind of BOGO, I tell yah!

3) Being Ahead of the Game – Store displays now scream back-to-school.  Seriously, I don’t understand the rush. :P I’m not quite ready to think about school just yet. Haha! Anyway, I checked my stash of school supplies and realized that we already have on hand, close to half of the items in my daughter’s school supplies list. Woot!  I bought them last year at the time when school supplies were already on clearance. Proud moment for me. Wais na misis…that’s how we say it. ;)

4) A friend’s Instagr.am Update – I was laughing out loud in the car this afternoon, on our way to the pool, when I read the thread for my friend’s (Hi AbbyG!) uploaded photo on Instagr.am.   That thread was hilarious! It felt good to just suddenly burst out laughing. :)

5) Exclusive Pool – My daughter had a playdate at the pool with two friends. When the sun finally started to set, everybody left, that is, except for us. And for a good 30 minutes or so, my daughter and her friends had the pool all to themselves. ;)

6. Look, Ma! No glare! – I love the fact that I am able to read in broad daylight, even when the sun’s shining summer-y bright behind me. No Glare = No Eye Strain = Happy Reader

I’m currently reading The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second book in  Stieg Larsson’s trilogy (the first was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). I hope to finish the book soon so I can move on to the third book in the series and then watch the movie adaptations on Netflix. Never  mind if they’re in Swedish. :D That’s what subtitles are for!

Have a lovely weekend, y’all! Be on the lookout for blessings and remember to count them. Cheers and mabuhay!