Happy Halloween

My babies wish you all a Happy Halloween.
Click the photo for a bigger and cuter image.

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Trick or Treat Loot Bags

I was informed this morning that our Condominium Trick or Treat was moved from tomorrow to today.

TODAY!

I was immediately off to the grocery.

I veered away from candies and chocolates this year. I sure hope these cupcakes and cookies are safe.






Ate S, M, and I turned regular red sando bags into Halloweenie loot bags.


BOO!









My dogs are now all dressed up in their costumes and ready to party. TATA!

More pictures to follow later.

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Wordless Wednesday

We're having party spaghetti and chicken lollipops today.

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Speed Stacks (a.k.a. Expensive Tumblers)

For whatever reason, my godson MUST have one. I don't get it. They are just inverted tumblers.

It seems like a lot of kids are also crazy over Speed Stacks because the toy is now out-of-stock in major toy stores in Manila. Out of desperation, I was already planning on buying one from Amazon last night. Good thing I saw this set in REGINA'S (2nd floor, Shoppesville Arcade, Greenhills Shopping Center).

It's only P550. (The same item is $9.99, without shipping cost, from Amazon.)








Note: This is not a paid post. I am not endorsing Speed Stacks. I have no idea what kids do with these tumblers. I am just trying to be a good ninang (godparent).

Photo of Cup Anatomy from www.speedstacks.com.

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My Garage Sale Experience

My Garage Sale Tips

1. Prepare early. Two weeks before the sale, I went through every cabinet in our apartment looking for stuff I can sell. I then sorted the items and carefully packed them in boxes. Come Sunday morning, the day of the garage sale, I was relaxed and in a happy mood.

That's Jody's table being swarmed by shoppers. She was selling her kid's Crocs for only P150.







2. Let go. True to my hoarder genes, I started reclaiming stuff from the box a few days before the sale. I'm still stuck with this big server plate shaped like a fish. It comes with 6 matching fishy mini-plates.











Letting go does not end with the firm decision to sell the item. It extends to pricing. I was selling my tops (blouses, button-down shirts, t-shirts) for P25/$0.50 each. I used to just give away my clothes so I had no problem selling them at a very low price. However, when one woman started to show interest in my K & Company blouse, I started having second thoughts about selling it. I wore that blouse only once, during my husband's birthday. Why was I selling it?!?!? My heart was pounding! I wanted to snatch it out of her hands. I was tempted to answer P500/$10 (I was selling my Crockpot for P400/$8.00) when she asked for the price. Aaargh! In the end, she got it for P25 but she had to stay and listen to the history of the blouse and a reminder to love and cherish it for the rest of her life.

3. Think out of the box. The sale started at 10 AM. By 11 AM, most of my stuff were already sold. I was getting bored and so I decided to sell the remaining items in bulk -- P200/$4 for one box of clothes and P100/$2 for one box of magazines. 15 minutes later, still no takers.

A woman selling crabs approached my table. Since I haven't sold a thing in the past 15 minutes (an eternity on a hot and humid day), I was in no mood to buy anything. Good thing Mrs. Crabs was in the mood to shop. She was interested in my shoe racks and offered to pay for it in crabs. SOLD! I offered to give her the rest of my inventory in exchange for another bag of crabs. SOLD! She left with 7 shoe racks and a box of clothes (she didn't want the magazines) and I with around 3 kilos of crabs. Everybody happy.

I remembered to take pictures of the crabs only after we finished eating.







I was back home by 11:40 AM.

Note: I joined the garage sale Ting organized in Mabini Hall, Quezon Memorial Circle. Thanks, Ting and Cesca!

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My Moleskine and I

What will I write in my Moleskine notebook?

Recipes and Tips. I will write down recipes from the magazines I read in beauty salons, my doctor's and dentist's waiting areas, and restaurants. (Corny?)















My niece copied this French Toast recipe from her teeny-bopper magazine into my Moleskine planner.

[This post is my official entry to Toni's Moleskine Giveaway Contest. Thanks to Wifely Steps and Avalon.ph.]

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7 Random Facts About Me

I've been tagged by Amy (http://artsyfartsyfooladi.blogspot.com).











Here are 7 facts about Mrs. G that are probably not known to many.

1. I heart HELLO KITTY.














2. I am a closet fag hag. (Hi, JJ!)
3. I can eat a whole doughnut in two bites. (Hi, MM!)
4. I make party spaghetti whenever I feel like it (which is sometimes as often as 2x a week). My party spaghetti is cooked with banana ketchup and cocktail hotdogs.
5. I am a natural-born detective (a.k.a. snoop, stalker).
6. My favorite color is pink.
7. I like staying at home. (No, I don't get bored.)

I now tag http://www.maidapaypay.com/ and http://baglove.blogspot.com/.

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Organize Your Medicine Box

When I was growing up, my parents kept our emergency medication (paracetamol, antihistamine, loperamide, etc.) in a small Tupperware container. Everything was dumped inside. Our medicine wonder-box was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.

My husband, on the other hand, is very organized in this area. Good thing he brought with him his own medicine box when we got married.




Here's are some handy tips on organizing your own medicine box.

1. Spread it. Take it all out of its container and see what medicines you currently have.

2. Sort it. Remember the Sesame Street song, "Which of these things go together... which of these things do not..."? Sort it in a manner that makes sense to you.

3. Check it. Check for expiration dates. If there is none and you have no idea how old it is, toss it out. It's not worth the risk.






4. Store it. Decide on a container. We use a crafts box to keep the medicines neatly sorted. Some keep theirs in small envelopes inside an index card box

5. Label it. Label every medicine with it's corresponding expiration date. If it comes in a blister pack and you're planning on cutting it up, make sure you note down the expiration date first. I made the mistake of cutting before checking and I ended up piecing it all together like a jigsaw puzzle just to see the date.

6. Hide it. Keep away from reach of children. Hide it in a cool, dry, and preferably dark place. It should be accessible to you but not your children. But don't even think of keeping it in your bathroom. Storing medication in a humid bacteria-infested place is not a good idea. Remember, aerosol effect.

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Blog Awards

Thank you to The Work From Home Mother.











Thank you to Tina of Everything But The Kitchen Sink.










My favorite blogs now are:
Kitchen Cow
Market Manila
Wifely Steps
Misterhubs
The Trojan Bore

I'm too shy to tell them that I like their blog. I just hope they see this.

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Wardrobe Inventory: Jeans

Photo by aphasiafilms














WARDROBE INVENTORY: WEEK 6

JEANS

The Lucky Shopping Manual suggests the following:

MUST HAVES...

1 Pair to wear with heels
1 Pair to wear with flats
1 Weekend Pair you can wreck

ADD...

1 White Jeans
1 Another Favorite Pair
1 Cords (Corduroys)
1 Fun Jeans

To help you with your inventory, here is a guide to the perfect pair of jeans from Real Simple -- The Best Jeans for Every Body Type.

I don't have a pair for wearing with heels. I also don't have cords.

I have --

• 6 pairs of drawstring cargo pants (a.k.a. fat pants)
• 3 pairs of Levi's that are way to small for me now (a.k.a. pre-wedding pants)
• 1 pair of Moto jeans that fits horribly (a.k.a. i-bought-it-on-sale pants)
• 1 pair of white skinny jeans (a.k.a. what-was-i-thinking-my-thighs-look-huge-in-these pants)
• 3 pairs of wearable jeans

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Holiday Planning: BOO!

Photo by x-eyedblonde















Holiday Tasks for the Week (19 to 25 October):

1. Check your lists and relax.

• Check your lists to make sure you haven't missed any important task.
• Another holiday is coming up. Time to shift your focus for a while.
  

2. Decorate your home for Halloween.

• Are you buying ready-made decors or are you making your own?
• My friend Mrs. P made her own cute scarecrow a few years ago.
• Find a way to blend the Christmas lights you already installed in your garden with your Halloween decors.

3. Buy or make your Halloween costumes.

• Do you have a theme for the whole family this year? You can be a farmer and your children the vegetables. A gardener with her flowers? Snow White with dwarfs (hmmm... childhood dream)? Queen Bee with worker bees? You get the idea.
• The cute and unique costumes are selling like hotcakes so shop early. You don't want to end up with the generic Wonder Woman/Superman your child wears all year round. This is the one time of the year you can legitimately act goofy.
• Can you help me find an adult version of these costumes - here and here?
  

3. Prepare your Halloween candies/loot bags.

• I heard it's now not enough to just give out candies. People started giving away loot bags last year?! Is this true?

Note: I'm following the holiday planning schedule of Cynthia Townley Ewer. Check out her website -- Organized Christmas.

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How to Colorfast Clothes

GADZOOKS! Someone didn't colorfast his gi!

















Last night, my husband's pristine white gi was stained by his jiu jitsu sparring partner who wore a red non-colorfast gi. How irresponsible!

(The Tide "lagot kayo sa asawa ko" commercial comes to mind now.)

Dear Mr. Red Gi,

Please print out this post and give it to whomever is in charge of your laundry.

Mrs. G

HOW TO COLORFAST CLOTHES

Ingredients:
4 liters cold water
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup salt

• Mix all the ingredients together. Use cold water for better results.
• Soak the garment into the solution. I colorfast each garment separately. If you wish to do one big batch, make sure you soak clothes of the same color.
• Let it stay in the solution for about 30 to 45 minutes.
• Wash separately. Be on the safe side, wash the garment separately until you're sure that your colorfasting was a success.

This is a good way to preserve the color of your clothes, especially jeans.

I hope this helps you, Mr. Red Gi.

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P50 Make-Over: Pen Holders

I was finally able to throw away the capless and barely writing pens in our pen holder. I went to the bookstore and replaced them with P5.00 retractable pens. It looks a lot neater now.




BEFORE:













AFTER:












Computation: P5.00 x 10 pens = P50.00

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Lead in Make-up

We had quite a scare yesterday when HV taught us this simple test to check if there's lead in make-up.

• Apply foundation/lipstick at the back of your hand.
• Rub anything made of gold, like a gold ring, to the make-up.
• If it darkens or turns black, there is lead in the make-up.

We were on our way to Divisoria so I was the only one wearing gold jewelry, my wedding ring. MM, on the other hand, was the only one with a make-up kit in her bag.

MM tested her Maybelline foundation first. It turned black. Aaack! She tested her favorite Cinema Secrets foundation next. It turned black too! She was distraught. (I know she left her bulky wallet that day to lighten her load so why did she have 2 foundations with her? Beauty before comfort.)

Good news, MM! You don't have to give up your favorite foundation. At least, not yet.

According to Snopes.com and About.com, this test is a sham.

The handy home test for lead in lipstick touted in the email is bogus. Certain metals, including gold, may leave a dark streak when scratched on various surfaces, but this is an artifact of the metals themselves, not an indicator of a chemical reaction with lead or any other substance.

To All: Can you help me confirm this? Please do the test on your foundations and tell me what happens. If it's true that gold will generally leave a dark streak when scratched, then ALL foundations, regardless of brand, should turn black.

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Bad Mothers Anonymous

Photo by Jennanana









Hey, Mommies!

Have you ever felt guilty for --

• Not Breastfeeding (or stopping after your child turned 8)
• Leaving the baby for 5 minutes so you can shower
• Buying a dress that's worth 2 cans of baby formula (because you stopped breastfeeding)
• All of the above and more

STOP FEELING GUILTY! You are not alone.

I recently discovered this site - Bad Mothers Anonymous - where mommies all over the world confess their deep dark secrets on motherhood. I bet you won't feel as guilty after reading their confessions.

Here are some of my favorites:

• I have a 6 and 7 year old and since they don't know where babies come from I use it to my advantage when they are getting out of hand I tell them that I'm going to take them back to Target to get some other children. I know it's wrong but it works.

• My hubby and I bought our son some candy at Godiva Chocolatiars. When he fell asleep that night and I carried him to bed I found the candy bar laying there and ate it. The next day or so he ask about it and I gave him a regular chocolate bar wrapped in the other ones wrapper....couldn't help myself it was SOOOO good.

• When My son was little he was a biter, I got sick of it and finally bit him back! I didn't break skin or anything, but it actually worked. My daughter is a biter now, I mean HARD, I haven't bitten her yet, but I've been tempted to just throw her when she bites into my shoulder during a fit.

What's your bad mommy secret?

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Wardrobe Inventory: Sweaters

Photo by Lisa Dusseault









WARDROBE INVENTORY: WEEK 5

SWEATERS

The Lucky Shopping Manual suggests the following:

MUST HAVES...

2 Fitted Pullovers for Work
2 Cardigans
1 Black Turtleneck
2 Weekend Sweaters

ADD...

1 Evening Sweater
1 Vintage Sweater
More Weekend Sweaters

MY WARDROBE

I have too many sweaters! Good thing I did this inventory because I almost shopped for more in Zara yesterday.

Fold Marks -- I've noticed that my sweaters are developing fold marks because of long-term non-use. I need to find a better way to fold and store them.

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Holiday Planning: Deck the Halls

Photo from Wikimedia













Holiday Tasks for the Week (12 to 18 October):

1. Prepare Gifts for Shipping

• Send your gifts for overseas friends early. Avoid air shipping and save money.
  
• The gifts must be ready for shipping by November 15 if you want your friends to get them before Christmas Day.
  
• The same rule applies to Christmas cards. Mail them early.
• Shop around for cheap and reliable shippers.

2. Shop! Shop! Shop!

• I cannot overstress this. Shop early and avoid the Christmas rush.
• If you shop online now, most sellers can still deliver your purchases before December. Check their shipping rules.
• Schedule trips to bazaars and weekend markets.
  
• Review and update your Christmas list. Are you still within your budget?

3. Start Decorating Your Home

• It's never too early! You want maximum exposure for your Christmas tree after spending days installing the lights and decors.
• You can start with the tree then build-up the other decors each week.

4. Halloween

• Two weeks to go before Halloween.
• What's your costume this year?
  

Note: I'm following the holiday planning schedule of Cynthia Townley Ewer. Check out her website -- Organized Christmas.

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The X-Men's Favorite Dessert

GELATINOUS MUTANT COCONUT

What's in a macapuno? MarketMan has the answer. Check it here.

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Christmas Lights Safety Reminders

1. Check the condition of the lights.

• Some experts suggests using new lights every year. Since this may be costly especially for those with big trees, just make sure that the lights are all in good condition.
• Are they still working properly? Are there worn or frayed parts? Are there exposed wires?
• Repair or replace damaged light strands.
• Check if they are indoor or outdoor lights. Never use indoor lights outdoors.
  

2. Avoid octopus connections.

• Connect a maximum of 3 light strands together.
• Use enough extension cords.
  

3. Do not leave a lighted tree unattended.

• Turn off the lights when nobody is in the room.
• Teach everyone in the house how to turn off the main switch in the fuse box.
• Place the fire extinguisher in an accessible area. Make sure everyone knows how to use it.

4. Match your extension cord with your tree.

• Fine! This one has nothing to do with safety.
• Why use a white extension cord when your tree is green?

See also: Associated Content

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Dirty Handbags

(Mrs. G enters the bedroom)

Wow! Fresh bed sheets.

("Psycho" theme plays in the background. Mrs. G looks to the right.)

Shriek! Why is my bag on the bed? And it's beside my pillow!

(Mrs. G faints.)

Whoever put it there has absolutely no idea how dirty that bag is.

I have this bad habit of putting my bag on ANY floor, including public restrooms. I would prefer not too but it is sometimes unavoidable especially with the current condition of most of the public restrooms in Manila. No hooks!

Well, you think your handbag is cleaner than mine? Think again.

Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Laboratories says nearly all of the handbags they tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria.

Here are some tips on keeping your bags germless:

• Use wipes (preferably the disinfecting kind) to clean the outer surface of your bag when you get home.
  
• Bring your own bag hook when you go out so that you won't be forced to put your bag on the floor or any other dirty surface.
• Refrain from putting your bag on surfaces where you know food is served or prepared.
• Apply the same rules to briefcases, backpacks and gym bags.
  

Reference: Health Desk and Today

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The Must-Have "IT" Toy for Christmas 2008

Every year, toy companies come out with must-have toys that make parents who fail to get them feel like crap.

Remember the movie Jingle All the Way? Big guy Arnold Schwarzenegger had to fight with Sinbad for the "it" toy, Turbo Man. The movie ended with Arnold becoming Turbo Man, impressing everyone, and securing his title as the coolest and bestest dad in the world.

This year, unless you want to be a real-life Elmo, you better start shopping for ELMO LIVE!



P.S. If Mr. G is reading this, Mrs. G wants one too... uh... for future Baby G!

P.P.S. Thanks to Mrs. P for sending me the link to Elmo Live! Mrs. P already ordered one online.

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Wardrobe Inventory: Dresses

Little Black Dress by Banana Republic















WARDROBE INVENTORY: WEEK 4

DRESSES

The Lucky Shopping Manual suggests the following:

MUST HAVES...

2 Work Dresses
2 Weekend Dresses
1 Daytime Party Dress
1 Evening Dress

ADD...

More Weekend and Evening Dresses

(Note: I combined the Summer and Winter suggestions.)

Don't forget the LBD (Little Black Dress). This is a definite must-have in every wardrobe. Check different styles here.

MY WARDROBE

Thanks to C, I am fully covered in this department. She made me shop for dresses early this year so that I'll stop wearing jeans and graphic tees. Now, I love wearing dresses. No mixing and matching required.

How's your inventory coming along?

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Holiday Planning: Don't Forget Halloween (Week 5)

Photo by Karoli














Holiday Tasks for the Week (5 to 11 October):

1. Continue Shopping

• Shop! I'm done with my Christmas decor shopping. I can now focus on the Christmas gifts.
• Buying a few items every week is easier on the pocket compared to buying everything in one shopping trip (hopefully not the 24th of December). One exception would be if you're buying in Divisoria.
  
• Shopping early prevents impulse and pressure buys.
  

2. Prepare for Halloween

• Don't forget Halloween!
  
• Prepare your candies and decorations.
  
• Start shopping for costumes.
  

3. Buy/Order/Reserve "Must-Have" Toys

• Research. Know what the kids will want for Christmas. I'm betting they are not clothes.
  
• Excited moms and dads are already ordering the "it" toys. Don't be left behind.

4. Organize Your Closet

• When I was a kid, Christmas means new clothes.
  
• Make room for a new wardrobe by throwing out or donating unused and outdated clothes.
  

Note: I'm following the holiday planning schedule of Cynthia Townley Ewer. Check out her website -- Organized Christmas. She just posted great tips on Halloween planning.

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My Divisoria Experience

Photo by dodongflores









Last Wednesday, during the holiday, I went on a shopping trip to Divisoria with my mother-in-law and 2 sisters-in-law.

I had a blast shopping with them! That experience will forever set the bar for my future shopping expeditions to Divisoria. These are the reasons why:

1. No hassle looking for parking. We had a driver so we did not waste precious shopping time trying to look for a parking space. We were also able to go down in a strategic place, between 168 and Divisoria mall.

2. We had a navigator and guide. My sister-in-law knows the ins and outs of Divisoria like the back of her hand. No more aimless walking around trying to look for finds -- she knows exactly where the cheap but fancy stuff are!

Best of all, she knew where to get good food at the 168 food court. She ordered from this Chinese restaurant in the corner (near the restrooms) called Spoon. We feasted on Hot Prawn Salad, Yang Chow Fried Rice, Chili Spareribs, Chami, and Seafood Platter. I never knew 168 had such a fine restaurant.

3. No lugging around our heavy shopping bags throughout the mall. This is the best part. My mother-in-law brought along two assistants to accompany us around. Whenever our hands got full of shopping bags, the two assistants takes it back to the car and then meets us again inside the mall. How cool is that?

I felt so spoiled that day!

I am definitely going back to Divisoria soon but the experience will never be the same.

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How to Tie a Christmas Bow

Yesterday, I was so inspired by the trees in Tamilee decors that I decided to make a Christmas bow. With the gold ribbon I bought on sale last January, I started looping and tying.

My first attempts were pretty horrible. I tried to do it on my own for the around an hour until I succumed to googling for video tutorials.

Thank you Meghan Carter! Merry Christmas.



My Christmas Bow

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