guess who's back?? :p

Heya guys! First and foremost, happy 2010 to all of you! I know it's nearly one month since I blogged here -- it's coz I was busy with our wedding, baby and make-money blogs! If you wanna know what I've been up to since late last year, click the blog post links below:

- BABY BLUES -

Six months pregnant!

Cloth versus disposable diapers

FOR BETTER OR WORSE..

DIY wedding wine labels

Destination wedding: Las Vegas!

Bride's emergency kit

My bestfriend's wedding! ^_^

QUICK BYTES!

What to buy for baby and the new mom

Haiti 7.0 earthquake =(

Saturday 9 meme!

Lamaze classes

yes, I'm a SAHM! =)

SAHM means “stay at home mom” and though I’m not a “real” mom yet (3 more months!), I have been in mommy mode since my 2 younger male siblings were born. I am the eldest and the only girl, and so it’s just natural that I’m my mom’s right-hand gal =) Anyway, last October 2008, I got married and chose to be a stay at home wife instead of practicing my medical profession. Most of the people I knew (especially my parents) didn’t understand why I would waste my time staying at home instead of earning moolah being a doctor. My female friends asked me don’t I get bored staying at home day in and day out?

Firstly, being in mommy mode most of my life “trained” me not to get bored spending 24/7 at home. Even during my hectic days in medical school I still did some cooking, cleaning, taking care of our dogs, and doing other household stuff. And when I took a 1 year hiatus after graduating from med school (and before I took my Physician Licensure exam), I further honed my housewife skills. My parents were not living with us due to my dad’s work, and I had a 5-room home, 10 dogs and 1 spoiled brother to take care of. Taking care of our finances and housework was easy-peasy for me. While most “modern” women don’t like cleaning and cooking, I adore it! =)

And then I got married. I now have 2 guys to take care of :p Hubby and I initially planned that I’ll spend the first year of our marriage at home and take specialty training after October 2009. But then I got pregnant around July! We had no plans to have kids until after 3-5 years of marriage so we can really save up for our kid, and now this. Our best-laid plans just got awry! Since I was pregnant, I had to say goodbye to specialty training. I could do it but I don’t wanna stress myself and our sweet baby =) That’s why, until now, I’m still a SAHM! Needless to say, homebody me is loving it!

check out our baby blog!

It's been up for quite awhile but it's only now that I'm starting to promote it as it has lots of content already =) And to start off, here are our first trimester posts! Well, actually, it's below the ultrasound photo (our first look of our sweet baby!). We're on the sixth month of pregnancy and so far, me + hubby + baby are doing great ^_^ Enjoy the posts!

Weeks 1 - 6: The First 6 Weeks

Week 7: August 2 - 9, 2009

Week 8: August 9 - 16, 2009

Week 9: August 16 - 23, 2009

Week 10: August 23 - 30, 2009

Week 11: August 03 - Sept 6, 2009

Week 12: September 6 - 13, 2009

Science Stuff: First Trimester Recap

pregnancy aches and pains..

I'm nearly five and a half months pregnant, and boy, the weight I gained is taking a toll on my petite body! I gained a total of 6.5 kilos for the first half of my pregnancy and though my body mass index (BMI) is still normal for my height, this is the heaviest I've been my entire life! I've been chubby during my high school life and during summertimes but at most, I only weighed 47-48 kilos. The added weight plus my bulging abdomen have been killing my back, calves and feet! I badly need a full body massage and foot spa but I'm so lazy to get out of our house. As it is, I'm relying on hubby for mini-back massages and foot massages every day. He sooo good at it, especially with the foot!

Hubby's aunt (who lives in New York) even compared his "expertise" to podiatrists manhattan! =) I think Labsie's aunt compared him to Dr. Les Glubo, a leading podiatrist in New York who has been providing expert foot care for over 25 years. I've seen this foot doctor being interviewed in Inside Edition, Fox News and The Early Show, and I was impressed with his credentials and the wide array of foot services his office offered. Wish I was in New York and have my aching preggy feet pampered by him!

Pacquiao smashed Cotto!

Yep, another historic event in his fairytale boxing story! That brings Pacman’s record to 50 Wins (38 by way of Knockout), 3 Loses, 2 Draws. Not bad eh? As for the boxing titles under his belt, check these out and be amazed:

WBO Welterweight Champion

Reigning IBO, RING Junior Welterweight Champion

WBC Lightweight Champion, 2008-2009

WBC, RING Super Featherweight Champion, 2008

RING Featherweight Champion, 2003 - 2005

IBF Super Bantamweight Champion, 2001 - 2004

WBC Flyweight Champion, 1998 - 1999

Manny Pacquiao is the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. Also, he is the ONLY boxer to win the lineal championship (”the man who beat the man”) in four different weight classes. I’m really more than amazed with his accomplishments.. Mabuhay ang Pilipino!! =)

need help translating stuff?

Then try TRANSLIA! I just knew of this service coz I was looking for new ways to earn moolah since we have a baby on the way =) Anyway, this is how their translation services work: you post a job by uploading files then you choose the language you want the files translated to and last, you set the price you're willing to pay for the translation job. Professional translators (like me!) will work on your posted job. Once you are satisfied with the translation, your payment (held in escrow) will be forwarded to the translator. Aside from the usual translation services, Translia offers free translation (for charities and such), brand translation, linguistic editing and name translation. If you're fluent in several languages, I suggest you sign up as a translator. In the economic recession we are in, every little earning counts..

50% done with the pregnancy! =)

Yep, I’m gestating for 20 weeks today and that means in another 20 weeks, we’ll finally meet our firstborn! How exciting is that?? My only problem is that our Baby Fund is still zero, i.e. no savings yet. This pregnancy of ours caught us by surprise and most of our savings in our first year of marriage went into our second honeymoon (babymoon) last October. The trip was already booked months before so we can’t cancel and save the money for our baby. So now, with 4 months before my due date, we’re gonna save money like crazy! Or like those ants preparing for the rainy day.. ;-)

crustless quiche!!

I love pies and I love cheese.. More so when I got pregnant! Just ask hubby and my parents.. They'd tell you how loud I squeal when I see pies and cheesy pastries in stores =) Anyhoo, I wanted for a long time to bake my own pie, quiche or buttery pastry -- but what really turned me off is making the crust. I love cooking (and I'm quite good at it!) but baking is simply beyond me. Especially if it involves making doughs o_O Today I stumbled on Food Connect and found a recipe for a CRUSTLESS quiche!! That's it below, no crust baby! And the best thing? It's made up of 4 cheeses! Yummy eh??

At first glance I thought FoodConnect.com was a cooking website full of recipes and stuff. It turned out it's more than that! They do have recipes and food articles but the best thing is their website's ability to search for restaurants in Canada and the US. Users can review these restaurants, other users then can read the reviews and decide for themselves if the restaurant is worth dining in. Each restaurant listing contains the restaurant's address, how to get there (directions), contact details, specialty or cuisine, plus pictures, ratings and reviews from Food Connect users. You can also print and email the restaurant listing page if you like.

The website also has a page for Foodies (the website's users) where one can search for fellow food lovers in their own city. Each Foodie profile lists the suer's city and you can add the user as a friend. Yep, http://www.foodconnect.com/ is like a social network for foodies =) Anyway, the website also has a page for Events where users can enter food events in their cities. In your entered event, you can invite your friends, assign them to tasks and share recipes before the event and upload photos after. Real good stuff eh?? So if you're a foodie like me, check Food Connect! You'll love it!