posted by Jennie on Jan 24
On February 9, before dawn breaks, my boys and I are heading to Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga to witness the 17th Philippine International Hotair Balloon Fiesta. We intended to go the previous years but our busy schedules did not permit it. This time around we will make sure to squeeze this in, even if it means we have to work on our usual rest day. This year’s hot air balloon festival is happening on February 9 to 12, 2012.
Our homeschooler is looking forward to witness this 17th Philipppine International Hotair Balloon Festival. It will also serve as our next field trip as a homeschooling family. The closest he got to a hotair balloon was the one from Hongkong Science Museum, which he read a lot on. I can only imagine how he’d be so amazed with all those varied shapes and sizes of hotair balloons on February 9. Here’s praying that the weather will be perfect enough for all those flying contraptions to have a smashing time gliding across the skies.
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posted by Jennie on Jan 17
When we bought our tickets in December 2010 for our December 2011 travel, we really were eyeing to get a booking at Hongkong Disneyland Hotel. After months of trying to no avail, we thought, we’ll have to settle for another hotel since there were no more rooms available on our travel dates.
Traveling to Hongkong Disneyland, Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island from Kowloon was only a cab away. During that time, we still haven’t figured out just yet how to get around via mtr, so we took a cab. With a flag down of HK$20, we paid a total of HK$240 from West Hotel in Kowloon.
We saw this Hongkong Disneyland Directory before we headed to the ticket booth and figured it can’t be that hard.
We bought our train tickets right there so we won’t have to line up later that day on our way home.
Hongkong Disneyland Tickets are sold for HK$399 for General Admission and HK$285 for kids aged 3-11. We paid a total of HK$1,083 for our Hongkong Disneyland Tour. One day was not enough. We had to call it a day around 7pm because we were pretty tired from all the walking. Hongkong Disneyland is too huge a place to tour in just a day. We missed a handful of rides. This is probably why there was an option to buy a 2-day ticket. 2-Day Tickets are valid on any 2 days within a 7-day period, except some designated days.
photo op in front of the majestic Mickey Mouse mansion before the jump.
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posted by Jennie on Jan 9
No, we did not do a yearender post last month and yes, I’m on to continue with a few more posts on our Hongkong travel. Particularly the fun, fun time we had at the Hongkong Science Museum. Gone are the days when I felt compelled to blog and had our sites pressure me from updating. Yes, even an inanimate object can do just that. It was essentially because blogging was a source of our family income. Now that I’m getting to it at my own sweet pace, we could not be more grateful. It’s way chill to afford do this now and not have my sites pull me away from the very things, or people for that matter, that really count.
As soon as we got settled at our sanctuary in Kowloon, we figured we still had time to visit the Hongkong Science Museum. So off we went. From the hotel, we took a cab to the museum. The fare was around HK$30.
Tickets were at HK$25 each for adults and half the price for children, HK$12.50
We were welcomed by floors upon floors of exhibits and contraptions such as these! Totally a geek’s paradise! My son was in awe as he went from one contraption to the next. The fascination was all over his face as he saw the very things he’s been reading about in his Science Library at home. A whole day is not enough to thoroughly enjoy each and every exhibit. It was funny how we went from agreeing to have to leave the place already out of exhaustion but finding ourselves tinkering with yet another contraption. For sure, it was not just our 6 year old who got hooked in Hongkong Science Museum. It was a place, even us adults (the hubby and me), will never get enough of.
Allow us to share a few more photos:
Our son is working on the proper direction of the batteries to make the appliance work.
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posted by Jennie on Jan 2
While a new year’s resolution entry might be more sound for a first post for 2012, allow me to sink right back to blogging full blast again in a few more days after this Marriage and Beyond Christmas Giveaway Winner Announcement. Tasks have kind of stacked themselves up over the holidays. Bringing me to prioritizing those first.
Without further ado, the winner for Marriage and Beyond’s Christmas Giveaway is
#25….
posted by Jennie on Dec 20
We know the announcement of Marriage and Beyond’s Christmas Giveaway is way overdue. We have been really busy with Christmas outreach and church fellowship this past week. The winner of our Christmas giveaway will receive Boardwalk His & Hers Timepieces and to add to that, a P500 donation will be placed under his or her name to help the victims of Typhoon Sendong. We will be sending the donation to Operation Blessing Philippines. We chose Operation Blessing because it is the the humanitarian arm of The 700 Club Asia. With all the previous controversies surrounding previous calamity fund raising efforts, we really should take care to give to entities that have integrity. Corruption is so prevalent in our country that no tragedy is left untouched for greedy people in our society.
Contest Mechanics:
1. You have to be a “liker” of Marriage and Beyond on Facebook and Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines.
2. Share this contest on your Facebook wall. To share, click on the Share button located at the bottom of this post. Then post on your Facebook Status: “Marriage and Beyond is giving away Boardwalk His & Hers Timepieces for Christmas and a P500 donation to Operation Blessing Foundation Phils for Typhoon Sendong victims under the winner’s name. Join now!” (To tag, type the “@” symbol then follow by “Marriage and Beyond,” then type in the rest of the required phrase )
3. When you’re done with the Facebook status wall update, go to the comments section of this post and paste the link of your Facebook entry with your name and email address. (To get the link, hover to the time of your shared post (e.g. 4 minutes ago) and copy link address. Paste this to your comment to make your entry count.)
4. Contest is open to everyone who has a local address. Free Shipping.
5. One entry per person.
*As with our previous giveaways, we will be requiring the drawn winner to send us a scanned ID for verification.
6. Deadline for entries is on January 1, 2012.
We encourage those who are able, to donate to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities with whatever you can. No amount is too small. We don’t have to wait for this giveaway to wrap up to give them a portion of our Christmas blessing.
The winner of Marriage and Beyond’s Christmas Giveaway will be raffled via random.org. And as proof that the donation was placed under the winner’s name, we will be posting the scanned copy of the deposit slip or confirmation screencap. Have a blessed Christmas, everyone! Let’s continue to pray for the Typhoon Sendong victims while we do our share as we move towards addressing their current felt needs.
posted by Jennie on Dec 15
We booked our stay at West Hotel in Kowloon, Hongkong via Agoda.com a few months after we booked our plane tickets. With all our previous bookings with Agoda, I can pretty much vouch to this day that all were hassle free. A week before we flew to Hongkong, I emailed West Hotel to confirm our booking. I would usually call overseas to confirm but tried emailing this time around. They were pretty prompt with their correspondence. I got a reply within 24 hours with our hotel confirmation number.
West Hotel has courteous and accommodating staff. We have no complaints. We were hoping to book a room in Disneyland Hotel but unfortunately, there was no available room for our travel dates. It took quite a while before we settled with West Hotel. There were a few reviews of West Hotel that mentioned that rooms were too small even for Hongkong standard. But I’ll get to that shortly.
We arrived a little too early for West Hotel’s usual check in time, which is 2:00 P.M. When we got there around 10 in the morning, the staff offered to keep our bags as we wait for our room to be available. We had the bags deposited and they placed them behind the reception counter. I asked if there’s anything I need to show to claim the bags, hoping she’d hand me a claim tag or something. But I was just told that all I need to show is my passport to claim our bags later.
We left it at that, but I did hope somehow that they at least give us a piece of paper that proves that we left this number of bags with them. I guess that’s more of Filipino mentality in me. Since we know for a fact that it’s generally not safe to do that back home. Happy to report that we claimed our bags hassle free. There are hotels aplenty all over Kowloon, I’d say West Hotel is in middle of the pack. I think one of the best things about West Hotel are the handful of good restaurants around it.
Dimsum place at Wai Ching Corner Jordan Streets
While waiting, we figured we’ll have our brunch at this dimsum place around the corner. It was the first dimsum place we saw and checked out. It also was the cheapest that we’ve been to during our stay in Kowloon, Hongkong. I love their Rice Sheet Roll w/ Shrimp the best! I’ve had it in other restaurants during our stay with pricier tags but theirs is the best, by my tastebud’s standards. I can only wish I know what that restaurant is called.
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posted by Jennie on Dec 14
I figured I might as well post on our Hongkong getaway before the novelty wears off. We flew back a few days ago and I know if I put off blogging about this travel, I might just end up scratching it off like I did our previous Davao and Bohol trips.
Because I booked this Hongkong trip exactly a year ago, I totally forgot that we failed to have our intended date of coming back, which was originally set on Dec.9. It turned out, the only available date during that time was December 8.
It was only when we have boarded the plane and I was filling out these Hongkong Immigration forms which were handed out by the flight attendant that I saw the e-ticket and it reads December 8. Imagine my dismay! I immediately confessed as I showed the e-ticket to my dear hubby and he solved the problem in an instant. If it were not for December 8 being our official anniversary date, then it would have been okay for us to head back home to Manila. But husband sweetly solved the problem by assuring us that we can head on over to a hotel in Subic where we can extend our 10th anniversary celebration when we arrive DMIA on December 8. How can I not feel so blessed to have such a sweet husband?
My son and I at the plush Hongkong International Airport
Since it was my responsibility to take care of our flights and travel itineraries, I have somehow expected a slight show of disappointment on the husband’s face. He spared me that and instead assured me that this “unexpected” early flight back should not make our 10th anniversary less fun. I knew right there that it was going to be a a lovely 10th anniversary celebration! 
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posted by Jennie on Dec 11
First off, thanks to all who joined Marriage and Beyond’s 4th Anniversary Giveaway. As promised, here are the winners! Congratulations to all four of you! 
Winner #1 is Ma. Kristina Rodriguez
Winner #2 is Mys Laguitao
Winner #3 is Divine Caraecle
Winner #4 is Dinah Ladao
Kindly email us via jenaspacio@facebook.com your scanned ID, Full Name, Shipping Address and Mobile Number. Please email us soon so I can send your prizes within the week. As for Winner #3, please include your PayPal ID so I can send your $50 the soonest. Congratulations to you all! Our prayer is that all your respective prize will be a blessing to you one way or another. We have another giveaway coming up just in time for Christmas.
posted by Jennie on Dec 3
The Malacañang Palace has recently released Proclamation No. 295 declaring the regular, non-working, and special holidays in the Philippines for the year 2012. As homeschoolers, we are essentially unaffected by this list. But we do have to take note of them anyway, for practical and obvious reasons.
A. Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day – January 1 (Sunday)
Maundy Thursday – April 5
Good Friday – April 6
Araw ng Kagitingan - April 9 (Monday)
Labor Day – May 1 (Tuesday)
Independence Day – June 12 (Tuesday)
National Heroes Day – August 27 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day – November 30 (Friday)
Christmas Day – December 25 (Tuesday)
Rizal Day – December 30 (Sunday)
B. Special (Non-Working) Days
Chinese New Year – January 23 (Monday)
Ninoy Aquino Day – August 21 (Tuesday)
All Saints Day – November 1 (Thursday)
Additional special (non-working) day- November 2 (Friday)
Last Day of the Year – December 31 (Monday
C. Special Holiday (for all schools)
EDSA Revolution Anniversary – February 25 (Saturday)
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posted by Jennie on Dec 1
My boys and I went to check out Promil Preschool’s i-Shine at Singing last Monday. It was held at Center for Pop in Cubao, Quezon City. Our son thoroughly enjoyed himself during the i-Shine at Acting conducted by The Trumpets Playshop last month, so we thought we might as well check this one out.
At first, I was not too sure if the hubby will approve when he finds out that the i-Shine at Singing workshop will be held at Center for Pop. While I know for a fact that Center for Pop has quite a handful of products who have made names for themselves, we really are leaning towards the classical way of singing, where you just don’t open your mouth and try to produce a melodious sound without much consideration on its dynamics. We have learned for sometime now, even as we are essentially a singing family, that sing the wrong way and you are bound to hurt your throat one way or another. This is precisely why we trust the services of Teacher Pau (our son’s voice coach and Music teacher). She hails from my reputable Alma Mater, UST. She’s from Conservatory of Music. But that’s another blog post altogether.
Coach Weng instructs Jed to do some vocal exercise
We always knew that our son has a knack for singing. He has been humming tunes since he can barely talk and even up to now, he’d either sing or hum first thing in the morning. This is also how we know he’s already awake. This is also why we would love for him to nurture his gift in singing. He has always been in tune since he was an infant and now he is already able to do second voice on his own. His Papa sure is thrilled to be driving as he listens to his son singing second voice to the one playing on radio. I can’t even, for the life of me, get myself to even listen to a second voice. Much less sing to one. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on Dec 1
A week until our 10th anniversary celebration! It’s crazy how quickly time seem to pass us by. While 10 years might not be a huge number for some people, the double number makes us look back and ask ourselves, “has it really been that long already?”
While we are happily married, we are far from being a perfect married couple just yet. Our clashes make for the very ingredients that would want us to put our foot forward in effort to be a better person for each other. A pile of things to thank God for this marriage. We recently read and finished a book together – Couples Who Pray, which we both vouch for and highly recommend for married couples to read and apply.
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posted by Jennie on Dec 1
It sure is going to be an eventful two weeks for our family. Aside from the LA Galaxy Football Clinic that our son is going to attend this coming Friday and the friendly game of The Philippine Azkals vs. LA Galaxy, we are flying to Hongkong for our 10th anniversary celebration!
For those who have joined Marriage and Beyond’s 4th Anniversary Giveaway, please expect the winners to be announced a week after the contest. You have until 11:59PM, December 8, 2011 to join.
Meanwhile, we’ve been told that there is a sudden dip of temperature in Hongkong.
Weather Forecast via Accuweather
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posted by Jennie on Nov 25
As promised, Marriage and Beyond is giving away $20 when we have reached the 1,000 mark on our Marriage and Beyond Facebook Page. We are thrilled to announce that we now have 1,008 likers as of this writing. This $20 giveaway cannot be more timely for our very own Thanksgiving celebration.
We were hoping to have all likers fill out the Marriage and Beyond’s Likers Form, just so we can have a database of all our likers on Facebook. Sadly, only 54 have filled out the form. We used random.org to do the electronic raffle and we came up with the number 47. If chances are the result was a number higher than 54, then will will count away from our FB Likers that we can see from our Page on Facebook. The screencap of which is the one below. The list scrolls down to give or take 500++ names. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on Nov 22
It took a while before I got hold of the copy of The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley. I have been waiting for it for months until I decided to contact Thomas Nelson and opted to have the E-Book copy instead since there was no hint that the hard copy was to arrive anytime soon. It must have something to do with our local postal system and its infamous inefficiency. The Blessing is one of the best books I have read to date. Definitely another book to add in my growing list of favorites.
It was in our first year of marriage when we read Gary Smalley’s If Only He Knew, The Language of Love and another book on marriage which I forgot the title of. We lost them to Ondoy three years ago. The books were part of the library my pastor uncle shipped to us from the States. Reading through those marriage books during our devotional time as a young couple helped us a great deal. It allowed for a sturdy marital foundation that we both were not privileged to know growing up.
After several years of not reading Smalley, here he comes again impacting my heart through The Blessing. I have cried quite a bit of times as I read it, not because it was a tearjerker of a book. More than that, I was able to relate to the insights Gary Smalley and John Trent shared. Unlike the previous marriage books we have read by the author, this one is more of a parenting one. How parental approval easily becomes the driving force to do the things we do in our lives. Unconditional love is what every person longs for. The lack of it can bring about a whole lot of unresolved issues in our humanity. While we can surely depend on God’s unconditional love any day, we are encouraged to give it to the very people that the Lord has given us… starting with our children.
Not only marriages, but individuals – and particularly children — suffer from the lack of a verbal blessing. Without words of love, acceptance and encouragement, children often grow up traveling one of two roads that lead to unhealthy extremes: The Road of Overachievement or the Road of Withdrawal.
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posted by Jennie on Nov 18
Marriage and Beyond is celebrating its 4th anniversary before the month ends and we’re raffling off prizes to 4 winners! It was in 2004 when I started blogging via Multiply. But it was not until Nov 2007 when Marriage and Beyond was born. Thanks to our blogging mentor, NeilMaranan.com for ushering us to the world of monetizing websites and internet marketing. Now, we not only get to document our family’s milestones, share our advocacy and faith. This has also become a channel that God uses to provide for our family.
Before we head on over to jotting down the contest mechanics for MarriageAndBeyond.com’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Contest, here are the prizes that 4 of our readers will receive by mid December. Since Marriage and Beyond’s anniversary and our wedding anniversary are less than a couple of weeks away from each other, we’re holding this contest until our 10th wedding anniversary, December 8, 2011.
1st Prize:
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