Earth Day at NSIS

You all know about our efforts in going green, that's why I absolutely love how Aly's school makes a big thing out of Earth Day.  They spent the entire week making different projects out of recycled materials, they watched educational videos, made earth day posters...Aly's personal favorite was the eco bag that they decorated in class.

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Aly's eco bag. Front side...

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...and back side.

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She said we can use this bag when we buy stuff from 7-11 like chocolates, chips, bread...Heehee!

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They also made this pencil holder from used water bottles.

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I am amazed at how Aly's pencil cup (foreground) is so nicely done compared to her classmate's (background).  Galing no?

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This is another thing that Aly showed me yesterday:

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Their pledge tree.

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This is Aly's heart/pledge.  It says at the back: "I pledge to plant more seeds".

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All these school projects are not for naught because by the end of the week, Aly began making a more conscious effort to be Earth-friendly.  When we were about to go out for an evening walk, Aly rushed back to her room to turn off the lights.  Then when she joined me and and her daddy at the door, she said "save enery, daddy."  How great is that?

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Walang Magawa Tuesday

This is what happens when you're sick, bored, stuck at home with nothing good to watch on tv with only the internet to keep you company. Photos are from my looklet account.

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Just lounging at home...but I should be doing this:

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Grocery shopping

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...or this:

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Window shopping.  Heehee!

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I want to go here too...

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...and do this:

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Sigh...

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Oh, I also made this for my sister Angel:

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I think this would look good on her.

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Now, excuse me.  I have more looklet work to do :)

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Current Addiction: Khanom Krog

Khanom Krog:  I can't get enough of these!  I can finish this entire box in one sitting.

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Khanom Krog is a bite-sized snack made from coconut milk, rice flour and sugar.  Think maja blanca with a slightly chewy bottom and a soft center.  It usually comes with a variety of sweet and savory toppings such as corn, sweetened pumpkin and sliced green onions, but I like mine plain.

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I was feeling under the weather the other day so Richard gave me a box of these as pasalubong.  Boy did that cheer me up!  Well, I'm still sick as of this writing, but the Khanom Krob made me forget about my icky throat at least for a while. These coconut thingies cost only Thb30/box from my suki and it goes so well with our other addiction, the spicy grilled beef from our other suki (that deserves another post but till our next meal).

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I should really sign up for a Thai cooking class.

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The Electric Fan Saga

I brought up the idea of buying an electric fan to my husband a couple of days ago.  Actually, it wasn't the first time I told him that, but he would just brush off the idea saying that we don't really need it because we have aircon naman daw.  But there are times, especially in the morning when I'm home alone, when I don't want to use the aircon.  I don't want to open the doors/windows either because it's too darn hot outside.  I just want a little breeze inside the house to keep me cool while I do my chores.

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You know how relentless I can be at times so the hubby eventually gave in.   Nakulitan siguro sa kin.  Hehe!  We came up with a compromise: since we don't really need it, I can buy a fan but I have to set a certain budget.  Ok.  Sounds good to me :)  So I set a budget.  How much?  Thb500.  Easy peasy?  I don't think so.  Why?  Here's why:

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I don't really like to work with certain restrictions (in this case, a budget) but let's face it: this electric fan is a want, not a need, so I have to comply.  Plus, I can be very kinda picky when it comes to home appliances -- like I only want this color, this kind, this and that...and those specs are usually not within the budget (as in waaaay out).  For my electric fan, I only want neutral colors: either black, gray...if I can find white then better.  If there's stainless steel or vintage looking; even better.  I didn't want blue, red or green because they don't match the color scheme of the house.  I didn't want my fan to stand out; I want it to blend in.  Yes, I can be maarte like dat, just ask my bestfriend Pat when she went househunting with me before in Sta. Rosa.  We were only able to narrow down our options when she knocked some sense into my head.  Heehee!  Given that, I know this electric fan quest is so not going to be a walk in the park.

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Anyway, so off I went to Central Rama3 to look at my options and boy, was I surprised to see how much the electric fan has evolved from a simple home appliance to a high tech thingy.  This is what I saw (the following images were taken from Powerbuy website):

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Wow, space age-ish. 

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Cute...

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With digital controls. 

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Then, there are also added features like this mist spraying fan...

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...but it was too bulky for me, so no, thank you.

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Another mist-spraying fan with remote control.  Huwaw!!

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Now these fans look really fancy which only means they come with an even fancier price tag.  Price range of the fans mentioned are somewhere between Thb2,300-3,900.  Eh, hello!  My budget is only Thb500.  Besides, I prefer old school.  Something like this:

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Oooooh!  Me likey!  But the price tag: Thb2,990 *jaw drops to the floor*. 

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Tsk..tsk...things are not looking good for me...So I went to the cheaper fans section and saw these:

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Pwede na, based on the color, pero hindi ko sya masyadong feel kasi it's made of plastic and it's a bit small (10 inches in diameter).

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Next candidate: within the budget, but even smaller than the previous one (8 inches).  Haayyy!!

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This would have been perfect, but...

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It was too tiny.  Pang office desk lang sya.  I wish they had a bigger version.

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Are you still with me?  Or is your patience wearing thin already?  Told you this is not going to be easy so just hang in there with me :)

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The next day, I set off for Tesco Lotus.  Tesco Lotus is like SM hypermart so I know this is where I'm going to find The One.

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Color: check!  Price tag: hmmm...pwede na.

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Color: malaking check!  But the price tag is a little over.  Let's see if they have a smaller version...
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Yes, they do have one!  Alleluia!  And the winner is...(drumroll please)

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Ta-dah!

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Color: check!  Price tag: check!  Perfection.  This is The One!  Hay salamat!  But I didn't buy it right away because I won't be able to carry the box.  I had to wait for the hubby to come home from work and drag him to Tesco.  He still wasn't with me on this 100%.  May last minute protest pa sya.  I caught him muttering under his breath that we didn't really need one kasi  naman may aircon naman daw kami.  Haha!  But it was too late to back out.  Sorry, sweetie!

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So there you have it: my electric fan, standing proudly in our living room.  Aly and I love it.  We use it all the time (except when the aircon is on).

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The color is just what I wanted and I stayed within the budget (though the hubby says I went a little over -- hello! Thb78 over!?!  Anobah?)

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At jan nagtatapos and kwento tungkol sa electric fan ni Krisan.  The end.  Bow.

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My Spice Jars

I didn't throw away my Starbucks Frappuccino bottles because they were too pretty and I knew I would find a good way to use them someday.

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We tried out different flavors like Mocha and Vanilla, but I like Caramel best.  Nothing beats the blended version, though.

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Then, I got the idea to turn them into spice jars from my Cook with Jamie Oliver book.

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From Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Cook with Jamie. Why not?  I can soo do this.

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Ta-dah!  My spice jars.

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I used Liquid Paper old school style (the one that comes in a bottle with a brush) to label them.

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If only I had an open cupboard where I can display them para naman hindi masayang ang effort.  Heehee!

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Our Blog Gets Another Makeover

So I woke up this morning and found the colors of my blog a bit blah.

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Glad I discovered Blogger Template Designer :)

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Counting Our Blessings

I know I can barely keep this blog, but what they hey!  I'm starting a new one.  Follow me and my family as we count our blessings on http://thegratefuldomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/.

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My First Longchamp Drama

Meet my new baby :)
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A large Longchamp Le Pliage shopper tote in lilac.
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Here's the drama: my first Longchamp is actually supposed to be the large black Les Planetes that I've had my heart set on at the lunch market, but it had to wait for a few more weeks because I wanted to save up for it. So when the day came when I was finally ready to buy it, I went to the lunch market full of excitement because I knew that I will be going home with a new bag. I had no idea that I was in for my first bag heartbreak.
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You see, I arrived at the lunch market a bit too early so I decided to walk around Silom area first. When I was heading back, it started to rain so I had no choice but to seek shelter at Delifrance, which is about a block away from the market. I thought it was just going to be a quick shower, but it just kept raining so after a quick lunch, I decided to go for it. Kicking myself there for not bringing an umbrella, but also kinda glad that I wore sneakers that day.
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Yes, rain will not stop me from getting that bag! But when I got there, que horror! Someone was already looking at the very same bag that I wanted to buy. Of all the other bags that they had at the shop, she wanted to buy MY bag! MY BAG!! I hoped that she was just looking, but then she actually bought it. Nooooo!!! I saved up for this bag! I didn't go out for weeks so I can save! All my sacrifices...gone...just like that. I seriously wanted to cry. You can just imagine me, dripping wet from the rain and heartbroken over a bag. Para akong basang sisiw. Promise.
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I called Richard and told him about my bag drama. He was really sorry for me because he knew how excited I was. Then, he told me: "Sweetie, hindi siguro uukol. Hanap ka na lang ng ibang bag." I guess the bag really wasn't for me and the weird thing is I felt a lot better after he said that.
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So I looked around and I actually saw another store selling the bag that I wanted, but it was more expensive and the lady there was masungit. You know how I hate sungit salespeople. I was really turned off. Besides, at that point, I wasn't too keen on getting a Longchamp anymore. To make the long story short: I had set out to buy one bag, got heartbroken and ended up buying two bags instead :) Heehee! I went home with a Marc Jacobs canvas tote, a Harajuku Lovers bag and some cash left from my budget. Oh, joy!
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But my story doesn't end there. I decided to just buy my first Longchamp in Hongkong. There's actually more drama behind that Hongkong purchase, but it's just my usual major purchase ritual -- you know, how I like to linger before I finally make the decision. This time, the delay was choosing the right color. I can't decide between red and lilac. It kinda drives the hubby crazy and he doesn't really want to get involved so he suggested that we ask Aly and naturally, she chose lilac. So that's how I ended up with this baby.
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Hooboy! You might be wondering, what's the big deal about the Longchamp anyway? Well, my friends Pat and Jenn have been raving about how unbelievably lightweight this bag is. Plus, it's #16 at the L.A Times top 50 designer bags list. Also, much has been said about this bag. Just google it and you'll see what the baghags all over the world have said about it. Personally, I love how it's a designer bag and yet not overly expensive that it's perfect for schlepping. And my favorite part? I love how the bag folds into this:
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aPerfect for travel and storage because I'm running out of space in my closet for my bags (not that I'm complaining).
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I'm inlove with Longchamp :)

Post Holiday Blues

Songkran holiday is officially over. The hubby went back to work today. Same goes for the daughter who went back to school. So now I'm home alone again, left to tend to a ton of laundry (ugh, story of my life nowadays) and to babysit Aly's Tamagotchi.
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How I miss them both...I can't wait for them to come home.

Grocery Coupons

When I was a kid, I would cut promo coupons from my mom's Better Homes and Gardens magazines and pretend they were play money. Who would think that I would actually be using real grocery coupons in my mommy years?
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Sure we have loyalty/point-earning cards back home (i.e SM Advantage card), but they don't mail coupons to your house so you can get discounts the next time you shop. I'm fortunate enough to have the chance to live in a country where they really encourage you to shop. Promise, year-round ang mga sale dito sa Bangkok -- and I'm not talking about crazy cheap Pratunam or Chatuchak shopping here; I'm referring to Central/Paragon department store shopping.
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Anyway, my suking grocery sent me these by mail:
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Cash vouchers and discount coupons. Yipee!
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Now I have another reason to love Bangkok shopping. Heehee! I got those coupons just by using my Spot Card everytime I do my grocery shopping. That, aside from the discounts/promos that are exclusive to Spot Card members. Now, this is the kind of shopping rewards/point-earning system that housewives like me love! Now, if only Zara and Charles & Keith have the same rewards program...