Clowning Around

My family and I attended a birthday party a few weekends ago. The boy turned one year old and he is the son of my husband's friend. We trooped to Max's Restaurant to celebrate with them. There is a portion in the program where a clown entertains the kids (and adults as well). I think this it one of the clowns I enjoyed watching because of his punch lines. His jokes are really funny! My guess is he is also a stand-up comic. :) The kids love him!


Theme: Jokester

I love the cupcakes! Had one bite though. Too much sugar does not go well with my goal of 112 lb by October 2012. :))


Of course, a birthday party (or any other fun gathering) will not be complete without the photobooth. Guests look forward to this and try their funny poses or try putting on assorted costumes. :)


Happy weekend!

Center for Pop Music, Shine Concert, June 2012 (Part 2)

I was supposed to share this last Saturday for the weekly Photo Hunt meme with a theme of "Song". But I was not free during the previous weekend because of our church activities and we had our family movie date. Anyway, I still would like to share about my daughter's numbers during their practicum and recital held on May 2012 and June 2012 respectively for Center for Pop Music Philippines.

My daughter was enrolled last summer in the Level 2 class. I asked the coaches from the center what is the difference of Level 2 from last summer's Level 1. Level 2, as they explained to me, is teaching the kids overall stage performance, not just voice articulation. Also, they will be performing with a live band during the concert and not a minus one as how it was in Level 1 and during the practicum.

My daughter sang two songs during their practicum, one is Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. I didn't know this song until she sang it and I learned to love it. :) It's quite a difficult song but she did well. :)

The other solo song she did was One Direction's Tell Me a Lie. One Direction is her super favorite band by the way. She calls herself a Directioner, which according to her, is entirely different from a Directionator.


Together with other two participants, they sang "Till the World Ends" by Britney Spears. It was such a fun number!


For the recital, Shine Concert, she sang "Crazier" by Taylor Swift. I had to find a dress that will fit her age as well as shoes. We tried red, orange, pink but we settled for black. We both liked what we found. It fits her well.


There was a glitch at the start of her song. I told her it was a learning experience as anything can happen during a live performance. What it taught her was how to carry herself well and how to project a confident (but not overbearing) stance during unexpected situations.

There was a problem with the introduction of the song as the band started playing the music. My daughter was very composed during that one or two minutes of rearranging the introduction. She was smiling all throughout while waiting. The production number was good and the song she was able to carry out well. :)

The opening number of the Shine Concert was a dance number by all the participants which I shared on Center for Pop Music, Shine Concert, June 2012 (Part 1). It was indeed a very colorful number with their K-Pop costumes.

A duet with another participant and a good friend of my daughter was also part of the concert. They sang Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". I love it!



Another song and dance for the closing number was rendered by the group.


Each member of the class was given an award of achievement recognizing their Level 2 program performance.


That's me and my daughter together with the center head, Coach Louie, and their mentor for this summer, Coach Mervin.
This particular summer activity of my daughter is tiring, exhausting but the fun and the learning my daughter gets are far greater. This is a very enriching activity for her.


Till next summer at Center for Pop Music! :)

Comfort Food

My activities took a back seat today as the flu bug hit me. I am blessed with good health and have never been sick really. I am thankful about that. Good health for me and my family is one of the things that is in my prayers. Health is wealth indeed. I feel better now compared to this morning and afternoon. I hope the medicine I took is doing me good.

Comfort food, that's what I had today. I indulged. I actually don't know what I want to eat but I had Jollibee's chicken joy. I was expecting a not-so-crispy chicken but what a pleasant surprise, chicken skin are so crispy! I love it!



I also craved for their cheeseburger but the fries I didn't even touch.

One thing I realized, I cannot consume this much food already. I only had 1 piece of chicken leg and half of burger. No, I did not drink the softdrink.

This afternoon I had my mocha cake fix. As usual, it's from Red Ribbon, one of my favorite bakeshops. Well, yes, I ate straight from the box, haha. Nobody else is a cake person here at home but me. And down with the flu is a good excuse to be a mess. Lol. Kidding.



Anyway, I really prayI get better towards the night. I have so many things to do tomorrow.

Center for Pop Music, Shine Concert, June 2012 (Part 1)

Just like last summer, my daughter enrolled at Center for Pop Music Philippines this year for her singing lessons. It's actually not just singing but performing on stage. They are coached for both singing and dancing as well as stage projection. My daughter was really looking forward to this activity. She couldn't wait till classes ended last March so she could start her summer class and sing her heart out. :)

It was a bit exhausting physically, and yes, exhausting also for my wallet, haha, but it was worth it. I know my daughter is happiest when she is being productive, when she is singing and performing in front of a crowd. This particular activity helped her boost her self-confidence and hone her performance skills. It also helped her to be more sociable and be on top when she is on stage.

She didn't complain a bit even if she was tired especially during rehearsals for the practicum and recital. She said she wanted it so she will endure. :) That's one of the values this kind of summer program instill on young people - being disciplined and committed to their craft.

The culminating activity for their class is the Shine Concert held at the main branch of Center for Pop Music. The opening number showed the dancing talents of the participants.

That's my daughter - the one in yellow shorts and blue top. :)






The dance ended with a group hug. I love this shot! The kids are just too happy to be performing.


My daughter continues to perform at school. She would sing even in church when there is an opportunity for her to showcase her talent. Performing on stage is really something that gives my daughter an adrenalin rush. I am so proud of her because she knows what she wants and she knows how to keep on getting better with her God-given talents. Carry on, daughter! :)

*****

I'm just so glad that the theme for Photo Hunt for two consecutive Saturdays are about dancing and singing. I already have the pictures for next week! :) This is just in time when I am all excited to resuscitate my blog. So hello there once again! I miss blogging and sharing and blog hopping. See you all, at least virtually! :)

I AM BACK!

I had so many things I would like to share here in my blog but I don't know, for some reason, I stopped blogging, at least here. I had all the intentions to blog but work and activities in and out of the house prevented me from doing so. I finish all things I need to do before I sit down in front of the computer at home, and before I know it, I lose the enthusiasm to blog what I want to blog.

That was my main reason, and here are some more:

1. I was updating my Life Bliss Daily blog everyday until May 2012.
2. I was so busy that I can only update one blog. Summer was crazy too so even Life Bliss Daily did not get its own update.
3. There are just too many social media in my plate that it feels like updating everything is just being redundant. I have Foursquare which I also attach pictures with where I am, what I do. I have Twitter and Facebook. I can honestly do away with Facebook and just go there to see my families' pictures. But I can't do away with Twitter. I get all my current events update through Twitter first.
4. And now I am hooked with Instagram. I check this first before any of my social media accounts.
5. YouTube distracted me from blogging. At least for two weeks, instead of blogging when I am in front of the computer, I listened to a lot of Axl Rose, browsed the net for his previous articles and then listen to his music some more.

I don't blog religiously even then and with all these social media, blogging took a backseat even more. But then suddenly, I wanted to blog again, chronicle my day. Just update and do something about my blog. I get excited thinking about blogging. This should be good!

I miss the first few years when I was blogging. I miss my rounds in different blogs from different countries every Saturday when there is PhotoHunt. I browsed on some blogs at BlogHer Directory and checked out some mommy blogs. I really love journal type blogs - just sharing what happened within the day. I love looking at pictures from different countries, how their days went by, simple things.

It's perfectly fine with me if one monetizes his or her blog. In fact I want to do that too, again. Admittedly, a lot of times when I get to encounter a blog with inserted link ads in their post, I lose the enthusiasm to read. I find everything posted to be insincere. It's like the post was just made up for the link ad. I am not saying the story is not factual, but, you know, it's just there for the link ad.

I used to monetize my blog but again, work ate up a lot of my time that I was not able to continue improvements in my blog. Now, I want it again but I want to preserve the personal touch. I hope I can do that, find the balance between entrepreneurial blogging (is there such a term?) and still just share what I want to share.

I have always believed this, even if I get so busy, if I want to accomplish something or a lot of things with great passion and enthusiasm, I will always have the time to do them - and this goes for my blogging too. :)))

Let me savor this moment. I AM BACK TO BLOGGING AND HAPPY ABOUT IT! :))))

ArmyNavy Burger + Burrito

We proceeded to Harbour Square after going to World Trade Center for the Manila International Autoshow. There were a lot of dining choices but they were the usual fares so we opted for the ArmyNavy restaurant. Been seeing this restaurant but haven't tried yet.

The interior is very simple, no frills - tables and chairs with no back rest like how we see them in the movies in military training cafeterias. It's meant for fast food of course. It's still comfortable if you ask me.

The menu in their sintra board is very easy to understand. It doesn't look cluttered. It's the same way with their website - ArmyNavy Burger + Burrito. Navigation is user friendly.

My husband loves TexMex cuisine so definitely he ordered for Steak Burrito. He said it's good and really filling.


Steak Burrito, P175, Libertea, P75
My daughter, as always, looked for her comfort zone (plus the fact that she was starving, it was not time to experiment on other food on a restaurant she visited for the first time) - fried chicken and rice. ArmyNavy calls it Fearless Fried Chicken. It tasted fine, nothing grand. It's crispy yes, but it's like your fried chicken at home. It's not oily though.

I was not able to take a picture of the drinks but my daughter ordered for Vanilla Milkshake which she said tastes good. My husband ordered for iced tea. He liked it because it was not the usual powdered tea which fast food prepares. The restaurant calls it Libertea.


Fearless Fried Chicken, P165, Vanilla Milkshate, P99
I had my Cheese Quesadilla. I love it! It goes well with the salsa. It's not like other salsa which are quite sour it overpowers the taste of the quesadilla/taco/tortillas. This one blends so well with the soft taco. Next time I will order the Steak Quesadilla.


Cheese Quesadilla, P105
So the ambiance is fine, the food is good, the speed of service is alright. Maybe we waited for about 10 minutes. There was one table ahead of us I think.

How about the customer relations? Oh, this is were ArmyNavy should improve. It's self-service alright and there isn't much customer interaction except when you order. I was at the counter waiting for the cashier, which was nowhere in sight, to take my order. The pantry crew just looked at me and continued to do their task. There was not even a slight acknowledgment of a customer's presence waiting for her order to be taken.

Then the cashier (I also think he is the manager) finally appeared in the counter area to take my order. There was no greeting, no smile. I just had to relay my order and he punched it away. I asked if there is wifi. He said yes. I had to ask for the password. Without saying anything he wrote down the password in my receipt. There was no suggestive selling as you would experience in other restaurants.

The wifi is fast, plus points for ArmyNavy. We were able to connect right away. The wifi name though is not ArmyNavy. We just guessed from among the wifis available and the password worked.

Connected!
But they could really polish some customer relations. I don't mean to be treated like a royalty. A sincere smile, a simple greeting will do a lot for paying customers. Or are they living up to the image of how it's supposed to be in an army camp? Pure business. I say my order, I pay, you give me my food. Done. Haha. Every business requires customer relations. It won't hurt, try it.

Oh yes now I remember as I post this, I saw one of the staff talking to two customers who seem to be jolly and he was really entertaining the guests. Therefore I conclude, the counter person and the pantry crew might just be having a bad night. :)

Going Around Manila International Autoshow 2012

We trooped to the World Trade Center last Sunday to watch the exhibit of cars, the Manila International Autoshow. If you ask me, I was more interested in our family bonding time more than the cars I was going to see. :)

Anyway, this is the second year that we attended the car show. I remember back in college my boyfriend, now my husband, go to Transhow, another transport show, every year. He introduced me to this kind of event. Obviously he loves cars. :)

Disclaimer: I don't know much about cars but I do appreciate their beauty. This is one of the first cars that I saw and love. It's cute with its color green, stripes and all - a minicooper.


My dream car is a sleek Mercedez Benz. It's elegant, spells success but does not give an air of stiffness. Let me visualize: I'm going to have you, dear Mercedez Benz, sooner than later. Haha.


My daughter and I love vintage cars too especially their colors. The Beetle is such a classic and it's yellow color suits it so much. My husband took different photos of cars and their sound system and their machines. He also took the opportunity to have our picture taken with Rusell Swift. I undrestand he is a precision driver. My husband showed me a YouTube video of this guy driving his way...I mean parking his way in between two cars with very little space to move around.



We looked for a place to eat and found ourselves at Army Navy Burger in Harbor Square. That was our first time in the said restaurant. My feedback on the said dining place on a separate blog post.


It's been crazy busy for all of us especially with husband's schedule so I grab every opportunity I can grab so the three os us can go out together as a family. We spent around two hours there. It was exhausting but like my daughter said it was all fun. :)