The book I Just Can’t Take It Anymore ingeniously illustrates in pictures and their captions some truths in our least favorite of predicaments.

I personally think that this is a book I can make use of from time to time. That “time to time” being, the not so good times. We all can make use of a grin or even a big smile as we step back, let go of our stressors and go back to basics. Be inspired by the different faces of those children in the pictures and find two or three things to be thankful for. Knowing that at the end of each trial, is the affirmation that God loves us no less.

Here are sample pages from the book I Just Can’t Take It Anymore! and a word from the author, Anthony DeStefano himself can be read here.

our view from inside as the tram ascended the mountain

Before we went aboard The Peak Tram, we had to take the Star Ferry near Salisbury and Nathan Road from Kowloon to get to Madame Tussauds Hongkong. The ferry ride was the cheapest we took while we were in Hongkong.  At HK$2 each and HK$1 child rate.

From the dock, we walked a block towards the bus station. The double-decker bus will be hard to miss. We took the bus to the Garden Road Peak Tram Terminus.

Bus Route No.15C

We had to wait awhile when we got to the bus stop. It was also hard to communicate with the driver since he did not speak English. He was pointing for us to go to another station. Good thing we stayed a bit and waited. Otherwise we would have missed our bus.

We paid HK$15 for the three of us. We did not have the exact amount and change was not provided.  The fare was HK$4.20 each and cheaper still for kids.

The Peak Tram Return + Sky Terrace Tickets = HK$65 adult and HK$31 child

For starters, The Peak Tram is actually a cable-hauled two-rail funicular railway. The ride alone was an experience in itself. The little guy was so thrilled during the 8 minute ride ascending the mountain. Nevermind if the crowd was overwhelming when we came. It also helped that it was Winter weather in Hongkong during our visit.

While waiting for our turn to ride The Peak Tram, we had a peek of  The Peak Tram’s Historical Gallery, which was like a time tunnel with more than 200 memorabilia. Taking use back to Hong Kong in the 19th and 21st century. The first day of commercial operation on May 30th, 1888, attracted 600 passengers. The tram has been in operation for over one hundred years. And to date, no accidents have ever occurred. That’s a major relief for me even as the tram ascended in an angle that ceased to be comfortable.

The wait for the Peak Tram ride was maximized while we were in line as my homeschooler and I went through the exhibit that looks like straight from an industrial supply company. Complete with history and all the trivia that came with it. Another of which is that the funicular system has two trams that are currently in operation. These trams balance each other, as the other travels up, the other tram moves down. Our little guy who wanted to be a train engineer once upon a time. Three years ago to be exact, when he was very much into Thomas and His Friends complete with British accent. Haha!  Since we were not able to roam around much at the Victoria Peak (it was too cold when we were at the Sky Terrace), we are hoping to take the Peak Tram ride again the next time we go to Hongkong.

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.

Transport and trainer planes, ultra-light aircraft and helicopters, some of which will be conducting a series of fly-bys  are joining the colorful and uniquely designed hot air balloons that will be dominating the skies of Central Luzon. All for the spectators delight. This year’s major attraction will be a US Air Force F-16 doing flight demonstrations. Captain Meynard Halili will spear head the thrilling aerobatics show that will also be staged by ace pilots from the foreign countries.

special shaped hot air balloons from previous year

We’re especially thrilled to witness the special-shaped hot air balloons, which include a car-shaped cutie from Germany, a daisy flower, ice cream cone, and a birthday cake from the United States, “Iwi the Kiwi” from New Zealand and several other regularly shaped huge “flying bubbles” will take the center stage of the festivities.

The 17th Philippine International Hotair Balloon Fiesta sponsors include Caltex, Hotdog on Sticks, Rudy Project, SM City Clark, Global Gateaway Logistics Corp., UPS, Krukspec, Isuzu Philippines, Crayola, Sunkist, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ROX Recreational Outdoor Exchange, Yellow Cab Pizza, Close Up, Alveoland, Department of Tourism, Fontana and Air Asia.

Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
Tel. (02) 384.0085
Website: www.philballoonfest.net

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.

Hongkong Disneyland is the first place we went to in Hongkong where Chinese spoke good english and we did not have to use sign language to get our message across. I just realized that now. Just saying.

Our little guy attempting to drive the double decker Omnibus.

As photo heavy as this post already is, believe me when I say I haven’t even started yet. We prolly took a million thousand photos and some during that tour alone. This is also why it took me more than a month to do this post. The photos are overwhelmingly plenty that it’s hard to choose which ones to post.

The very first building we went in was the Opera House, which showcases Art Animations, Preview Gallery. Our little guy was in awe. He went from one exhibit to the next. Read excerpts and captions. He saw how the movies that he love are made.  He stared at these cars from the Cars movie for a bit before heading on the Toy Story Carousel.

Toy Story Carousel

Us three, armed with 3D glasses, waiting to get in to watch Mickey’s PhilharMagic Orchestra

Photo op with Tinkerbell

Jungle River Cruise

It was a good thing that we chose the middle seat inside the boat for the Jungle River Cruise. The people who got mostly sprayed on by the  ”animals” in the jungle were the ones seated at the sides of the boat.

a collage of the some of the photos we took during the Jungle River Cruise

Similar to Enchanted Kingdom’s Anchors Away is Hongkong Disneyland’s RC Racer

which of course, only the hubby was brave enough to ride. Haha!  He’s that sole person on the far left with raised arms.

Toy Story Land

Photo op with Woody and Jessie of Toy Story

Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop

Because I don’t exactly fancy heights,  I had the boys do their thing up there as I take photos.  The Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin alone got me really dizzy and nauseated. I’d have to say though it is no fun waiting for so long. It was prolly more than a thirty minute wait for a couple minute ride.  That’s Disneyland for us, folks! Waiting in line for rides was what ate up a whole chunk of our time right there.  This is why a  2-day tour is really more practical if you want to experience the whole Disneyland ride.

For some reason, my husband managed to drag us to line up for the Space Mountain ride! By the time we saw the warning about sharp turns and all that,  it was too late to back out. It was the craziest ride ever! I thought it was never going to end! Our 6 year old was crying at the end of the ride and got really mad at his father! While I was on the verge of throwing up when the ride was done.  Yes, I’m no fun at all when it comes to these kinds of rides. But then again, now that I survived Space Mountain, I think I can do it again on our next Disneyland visit.

Flights of Fantasy Parade

Our son’s favorite attraction is Autopia from Tomorrow Land.

And what do you know, my 6 year old drove for me for the first time! He had soooo much fun that he wanted to do it all over again. But that would mean we would have to line up again a good 45 minutes more. The line just swelled after our ride.  So next time it is.

Photo op with Buzz Lightyear taken before we rode the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, which was also one of Jed’s favorites.  Lines were long too even for photo ops like this. So we only lined up to those that weren’t ridiculously long. So that meant, we had to pass up on Mickey and Minnie’s.

One more shot before we call it a day — at Tomorrowland.

Sleeping Beauty’s Castle

Hong Kong’s Sleeping Beauty Castle is a carbon copy of its sibling in the US, based on the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle. The rooftops of the Hong Kong’s castle use a dark shade of blue while the US uses a lighter blue shade so the US rooftops can be seen more ‘shiny’ because it causes the reflection of sunlight, the same thing happens to the pink walls, in Hong Kong, the castle looks more medieval because Hong Kong Disneyland’s castle uses more pink than the US, the accents and cornice of the Hong Kong castle is more’ white and pink’ while the US uses more golden accents, cornice and decorations so the US looks more fairytale while day time. The Hong Kong castle is surrounded by less trees than the US’s so fireworks view from the plaza to the castle in Hong Kong is wider while the other view was blocked by tall trees. (Source: Wikipedia)

Main Street

At the end of Main Street was this huge well-lit Christmas tree. And that’s where we had our last family photo in Hongkong Disneyland.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed our Hongkong Disneyland tour and we agreed to have a 2 day tour on our next visit, which won’t be very soon since we have plotted out our 2012 itineraries as early as December 2011. Our little guy is thrilled to gear up for his first winter vacation and said he’ll get some snowmobile goggles to get him ready. I’m kinda sorta having second thoughts about it. We left Hongkong at 10°C and I was extremely cold. I’m not sure how I’ll survive a negative degree temperature. But that aside, we are pretty excited to spend our 11th anniversary on our first winter.

Hongkong Disneyland
Address:  Park Promenade, Lantau Island,Hong Kong
Contact Nos. +86 852-1830830
Operating Hours: 10am-8pm Sunday to Thursday; Open until 11pm on Friday and Saturday
Directions: MTR Disneyland Resort Line – Disneyland Resort Station (transfer from Sunny Bay Station on Tung Chung Line)

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.

Our 6 year old on a forklift

Science News Corner

A driving simulation got our kiddo really thrilled. The stationary car gives the driver the instructions on what to do, how to avoid accidents and even how to save fuel.

Here’s the photo the hubby took while I was busy making bubbles! Fun!

Another driving simulation using a real, stationary car.

Tricky Triangles.  Jeff made use of this puzzle and a couple more from this department in our recent Ministry Leaders Retreat and Team Building.

Fooling around in the Concave Mirror Room

Mirror of Invisibility

Square Kaleidoscope

After roaming around the first two floors of the Hongkong Science Museum, we thought we could make use of some refueling at the Museum Coffee Corner, which is located at the Hongkong Museum of History, right smack across the Hongkong Science Museum Building.

We got for ourselves some potato and egg salad, pasta and potato wedges, iced tea and lemonade for HK$126. Ice on your drinks costs HK$2/cup. All of which were not spectacular and we hardly finished.   It might have been better if we walked a few more blocks and find ourselves a dimsum place to eat in instead.

We went right back to the Science Museum after our snack to roam an hour more. After a while, we got really tired from the lack of sleep, the flight and all the walking around we have done in all three floors of the grandiose of the Hongkong Science Museum. We missed quite a few more exhibition halls.  Despite not being able to visit every nook and cranny, we were pretty exhausted and are ready to call it a day in our Kowloon crib. Never mind if it’s nowhere near as pretty as the apartments in Boston. We were all too ready for slumberland!  We are totally going back for more the next time we visit Hongkong. What we love most about Hongkong Science Museum is that probably around 80% of the exhibits are participatory. Being able to make use of the maximum number of senses for every exhibit makes for a more involved experience. As homeschoolers, this is the most exciting field trip that we have done to date!

How to get to Hongkong Science Museum by MTR:
- Around 18-minute walk along Cameron Road from B2 Exit of Tsim Sha Tsui Station towards the direction of Tsim Sha Tsui East.
- Around 20-minute walk along Austin Road from D Exit of Jordan Station towards the direction of Tsim Sha Tsui East.
- Around 15-minute walk along the footbridge from Hung Hom MTR Station towards the direction of Tsim Sha Tsui East.

Hongkong Science Museum
Address: 2 Science Museum Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel : 2732 3232
Fax : 2311 2248
Email : enquiries@hk.science.museum

Hongkong Science Museum’s Opening Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays : 1pm – 9pm
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays : 10am – 9pm

Closed on Thursdays (except Public Holidays) and the first two days of the Lunar New Year
Closed at 5pm on Christmas Eve and Lunar New Year’s Eve

Cielo Pagcaliwagan

Congratulations, Cielo! Kindly email us via jenaspacio@facebook.com your details: shipping address, mobile number and a scanned ID. We will send the watches the soonest! We will also need your details as we transact the donation that we will put under your name to Operation Blessing.  The donation will be done via Bank Deposit. We will have the scanned copy of the deposit slip posted here.

For those who would still want to help Typhoon Sendong victims through Operation Blessing, you can go to their website for details on how to send help. —> Operation Blessing | Operation Northern Mindanao. You also have an option to give in kind: clothes, relief goods, even toys, model kits to comfort the children of CDO and Iligan who fell victims of the Typhoon Sendong Tragedy. Donations can be brought to the Operation Blessing CBN Asia Offices at the 4th floor Sagittarius Building, HV dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City.

Thanks everyone who joined our Christmas Giveaway and may you all have a blessed 2012!

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.

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.

We’d always feel relieved whenever we see menu w/ English translation. Otherwise, we have no choice but to settle to pointing to pictures and some universal sign language. Not a lot of people in Hongkong can speak good English. We also made use of the little Hongkong pocket guide we have with us.

Fresh from the airport and ready for  an authentic dimsum brunch

Rice Sheet Roll with Shrimp, HK$14

We did not eat much for brunch since we were all looking forward to get settled in our room. For our first meal in Kowloon, we spent approximately HK$90. The cheapest of all our meals during our stay in Hongkong.

We headed to a nearby park after brunch and went right back to the hotel shortly after. We took a chance that there might be an available room to check us in early and there was!

13th, Non-Smoking Floor

I was pleased when I saw that West Hotel has a 13th floor. I would not have expected one in a Chinese country.  Coming from a country bombarded with silly superstitions, I was relieved to be in a hotel with predominant Chinese population that obviously did not patronize the superstition of having to omit the 13th floor.

The double doors leading to our Room 1302

Note on the door reads: Smoke Lobby Door. This door prevents fire and smoke from spreading to the stairway. Keep it closed at all times.

There was this one night the fire alarm went off and when we called the front desk, we were told that it has been taken cared of. One of the guest’s children must have played with the alarm.

When we booked with West Hotel via Agoda last year, there was only the Standard Room available. So that’s what we got.  The room was tiny. Yes, even by our Asian Filipino standard. The three of us would bump with each other as we move around the place. There was hardly any place for our luggage too. But it was fine with us, since we really don’t plan to stay around the hotel a lot.

Here are the things West Hotel’s Standard Rooms DON’T HAVE: Closet w/ enclosure, safety deposit box, restaurant, WiFi. Their having no restaurant is forgivable. Since you can choose your pick as soon as you step out of the hotel.

Bathroom with a stand up shower and a lavatory. It is so small that the door won’t fully open because the door will bump on the lavatory.

The bed was awfully hard on the back, I should say. The hardest bed I got my poor back on ever.  I saw from the Trip Advisor that a lot of other West Hotel guests have that for a common complaint.  But the tiny room and the hard bed are small price to pay for such outstanding location.  Besides, I read somewhere that lying down on a hard bed is in fact good for your back.

Basics of hotel amenities are included: fridge, cable television, air conditioning, blower, desk. We barely made use of the air conditioning though. The coldest was 15°C.

Here’s a screencap of what the weather was like when we were in Hongkong International Airport shortly before we boarded to fly back to DMIA in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines.

I again took a photo of the clock beside West Hotel’s front desk upon check out. Yes, I noticed too that the temperature slot remained at 25.8°C from the time we arrived three days back to the time we left.

Temple Street

There’s more to love about West Hotel’s location. Temple Street, for instance, where the popular Night Market happens is just a few blocks away. It is where we did our quick pasalubong shopping after our Hongkong Disneyland tour, which I will also later blog about.  West Hotel is also located at the heart of the Jade/Jewelry market of Kowloon. This is hard to not notice. Rows upon rows of jade stores right there.

West Hotel’s location totally makes up for its few shortcomings. Close to the markets, Jordan and Austin mtr stations, parks and shopping areas, restaurants, even the Airport Express Station.  Us doing a repeat at this hotel, we might just consider. But their rock hard beds would really make me think again. West Hotel’s published rate is US$104/night. We were able to book for three nights via Agoda for around US$270.

West Hotel
No. 39 Wai Ching Street, Jordan Road
Yaumatei, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Tel: Tel : 852-2770-7718
Fax : 852-2770-7066
Email: westhotel@westhotel.com.hk
Website: http://westhotel.com.hk

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!

This was handed to us before we rode the cab to our hotel.

We took an Urban cab which has a flag down of HK$20. Lantau cab has HK$15 and N.T., HK$16.5.  I have learned in our previous travels not to have a lot of dollars exchanged for the local currency at the airport. Exchange rates at the airports are considerably lower than currency changers around town, wherever part of the world you go.

I was right. US$1 to HK$7.08. Compared to the exchange rate we got later that day around the corner of the hotel where we stayed in Kowloon, which was HK$7.60 to a dollar. We learned a few more things along the way.

One is that we could have saved a whole lot of moolah (read: HK$850), had we chosen to take the train and ferry during our first two days of stay in Hongkong. With our 6 year old in tow, we were hesitant to take the mtr and ferries. We thought it would be such inconvenience. We cannot be more wrong.

The mtr system of Hongkong is perfectly mapped out, packed with efficiency in mind that makes it so convenient to go around the city by just taking the train. Even executives use the train. I’m sure there are not a lot of rv insurance quotes going around in that place since majority of the population commute anyway. And yes, I cannot help but hope that our mrt and lrt will be like that someday. It’s a long shot, I know, but whoever says that we cannot dream and hope, right?

One of the first trains we hopped on from Disneyland

The ferry we took from Kowloon Island to Central Station. The cheapest of all rides, I should say. HK$2/adult and HK$1/child.

Did I mention that we bought our tickets via Cebu Pacific last year when they offered the Piso fare? We only paid around P3,500 for round trip tickets for the three of us. It was a steal, right? I think that will be it for our low fare getaways. Because recently, even with the promos, the bookings we did for our 2012 travels were all pretty pricey. The cheapest of which is P15,000 for our South Korea trip in time for our 11th anniversary.

We also paid the following before we were able to board the plane to Hongkong.

Travel tax: P4,250 (1,620/person, 1,010/child)
Terminal fee: P1,800 (600/person)

Up next, a review of the hotel where we stayed in Kowloon, Hongkong – West Hotel.

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.

]]> http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/12/11/marriage-and-beyonds-4th-anniversary-giveaway-winners/feed/ 7 http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/12/03/philippine-holidays-2012/ http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/12/03/philippine-holidays-2012/#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:58:12 +0000 Jennie http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/?p=8088 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)

As the hubby and I were simultaneously working on our respective toshiba laptop computers, I just thought I’d have this one posted for our future reference. We have strategically plotted our upcoming travels until December 2012. This list of Philippine Holidays 2012 will guide us with our other various activities, ministry and personal.

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.

Cecile Tamura, Vice President for Parents of the Philippine Association of the Gifted, was also there to offer tips  for parents on how to nurture our children’s potentials. “Pre-school age is a good time to start teaching kids to sing, since at this age we can expect them to do things by themselves. This is a time to learn what they can do individually like brush their teeth without any help, count 1 to 10 at least and sing songs. Kids this age are active, they want to move and singing is one activity that involves physical actions.” she said.

The kids with Cecile Tamura of  Philippine Association of the Gifted, Coach Weng of Center for Pop

The children enjoyed themselves as they played and serenaded us with a Christmas carol.

with fellow blogger mommies Mauie, Pehpot and her sis.

Meanwhile, have you joined Marriage and Beyond’s 4th Anniversary Giveaway yet? You have exactly a week from now to join. The books package itself will provide priceless teachings and learnings. And then there are the three other prizes which are fab all by themselves.

* i-Shine at Singing by Promil Preschool and Center for Pop Album

This workshop reminds us, parents, to look after our children’s future by honing their potential now. Thanks again to Promil for the i-Shine at Singing Workshop.

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.

Yes, it’s been more than 10 years ago when my now husband slipped that diamond ring on my finger and asked me to marry him. Having him in my life is one of the best gifts God has given me. I am one happy wife of a very unassuming, godly and loving husband! Can you really blame me if I so feel God’s favor upon me?

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

Looks like my cashmere sweater won’t be enough to keep me warm.  Here’s hoping that we will still be able to enjoy our trip. We have a handful of places to go to. We’re hoping to visit Macau as well, while we’re there. Oh and did I mention, Jed is so looking forward to Disneyland. Our little guy made sure he’s got a few leaflets and brochure printing picked out during the recent Travel Mart event we went to. I tried to book with Disneyland Hotel last year. Unfortunately, they had no more slots available for our travel dates.  Oh well, we did get a good deal within Kowloon. So we should be good. Here’s looking forward to an awesome week with my boys!

]]> http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/12/01/coming-soon-celebration-week-at-hongkong/feed/ 0 http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/25/marriage-and-beyonds-fb-likers-20-giveaway/ http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/25/marriage-and-beyonds-fb-likers-20-giveaway/#comments Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:05:08 +0000 Jennie http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/?p=8064 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.

Congratulations, Leizle Demaisip! We’re transferring the $20 on your PayPal account in 3, 2….

]]> http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/25/marriage-and-beyonds-fb-likers-20-giveaway/feed/ 2 http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/22/the-blessing-by-john-trent-and-gary-smalley/ http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/22/the-blessing-by-john-trent-and-gary-smalley/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:34:59 +0000 Jennie http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/?p=8053 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.

The blessing goes beyond parent-child relationship. Its results spill over into our and our children’s every other relationship througout our lifetime. These are the five elements of The blessing:

1. Meaningful and appropriate touch
2. A spoken (or written) message
3. Attaching high value to the one being blessed
4. Picturing a special future for him or her
5. An active commitment to fulfill the blessing

You totally have to read the book to get a grasp of the principles behind each element. Needless to say, this is one of my highly recommended books on parenting. Even if you are not a parent, this will surely pull at your heartstrings and maybe have you understand yourself more. This, aside from the book’s challenge to impact one child’s life through “blessing” him/her.  This could even bring about reinforcement for families undergoing healing therapies (i.e. malibu rehab treatment center or other similar issues). This book will also benefit teachers, pastors, managers as well and every other person who wants access to a life of quality filled with real joy. Precisely the abundant life God has in mind for us to live.

Children who are left to fill in the blanks when it comes to what their parents think about them will often fail the test when it comes to feeling valuable and secure. Spoken and written words at least give the child an indication that he or she is worth of some attention.

I’m giving The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley my highest recommendation.

Disclosure: I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Happy 4th Anniversary, MarriageAndBeyond.com!!!

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:

1. The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional by Gary Chapman

My husband and I love this book that we bought another one to share to one of our readers. We use this when we have our devotional time together. That is, if we are not buried in other good books that we also read together and use as our devotional guide instead. The insights in this devotional are priceless! Here’s a peek…

2. A Mom After God’s Own Heart, 10 Ways to Love Your Children by Elizabeth George

I picked out this book because of its easy to implement principles that make parenting both enjoyable and effective. There is also “Heart Response” sections that are designed to help us apply the principles to our life. A very practical and straightforward book on parenting.

3. The New Testament Picture Bible (The Timeless Stories of The New Testament in Full Color)

This New Testament Picture Bible is an all time bestseller! The action images in comic book-style art make the Bible fun and easy to read for young readers. Your children will enjoy hours of reading fun while they grow spiritually by learning about Jesus, his disciples and what it means to follow Jesus.

4. Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends’ Buzby, The Misbehaving Bee DVD

I was so thrilled to finally see this available locally that I bought one to include in this anniversary giveaway.  My son got the same DVD for his pasalubong from my Mom when she came home from America a couple of years back. Children will not just enjoy the video but also learn about value of following the rules and how a simple act of kindness changed Buzby’s heart and teach him that God’s rules are made to keep everyone safe.

5. 101 Ways to Spoil Your Wife by Ron Brown & 101 Ways to Spoil Your Husband by Tena Brown

Even after ten years of being married, we still, to this day, love to pamper each other. Jeff and I hope to share to our dear readers through these books things that we can do to make your spouse feel special. Easy to read books that we can apply right away.

A Peek of 101 Ways to Spoil Your Husband

A Peek of 101 Ways to Spoil Your Wife

6.  A Spanking Rod

We understand that spanking is a very controversial issue in parenting. We’re not taking that road of debating with fellow parents. Our resolve is in this, it won’t be in the Bible if there is no wisdom in it. Truth be told, a person who does not have a “relationship” with a child has NO RIGHT to spank.  Even parents should be given Guidelines on How to Spank.

2nd Prize:

A Whole Line of Neutrogena Fine Fairness Gift Pack worth P2,200+

Thanks to my beauty blog, KikayCorner.net, we can afford to give awesome prizes like this. Here’s my write up about the Neutrogena Fine Fairness range. Taking care of our family is no reason to settle to looking drab and flat.

3rd Prize:

$50 to the winner’s

We will be sending $50 to the winner’s PayPal ID.

4th Prize:

Sennheiser MX 400 Powerful Bass-Driven Stereo Sound Earphones

High performance dynamic speaker systems for powerful, bass-driven stereo sound optimized for MP3, iPod, iPhone and portable media devices.

Contest Mechanics:

1. Be a “Liker” of Marriage and Beyond on Facebook.
2. Write about the giveaway in your blog. Blog must be at least 3 months old. The post NEED NOT be lengthy. Just make sure the three (3) links below are included.
3. Include following links in your post to the url of Marriage and Beyond and our 2 other sponsors, Life as Experienced Daily and Church in Makati with their corresponding url.
4. Share this contest on your Facebook wall. To share, click on the Share button located at the bottom of this post. On Facebook’s status update box, tag Marriage and Beyond. Then post: “Marriage and Beyond is celebrating its 4th anniversary with fab giveaways to 4 winners. Including: books, dvd, $50, beauty package and Sennheiser earphones! Join now!” (To tag, type the “@” symbol then follow it with “Marriage and Beyond”, wait for the menu box to appear and select “Marriage and Beyond,”  then type in the rest of the required phrase).
5. When you’re done sharing on your Facebook wall, go to the comments section of this post and enter the following:

• Full Name
• Email Address
• Link of your blog post
• Link of your Facebook entry with your name and email address.

4. Contest is open to everyone who has a local (Philippine) address. Free Shipping.
5. One entry per person. Only those who follow the mechanics will be included in the raffle.
6. Contest ends on our 10th wedding anniversary December 8, 2011 at 11:59 PM.

As with our previous giveaways, we will be requiring the drawn winners to send us a scanned ID for verification. Let us do this to be fair with the rest of the contest joiners. The 4 Winners of MarriageAndBeyond.com’s 4th Anniversary Celebration will be raffled via random.org the week after contest ends.

He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.  Proverbs 13:24

Even parents should know that we do not have the liberty to just spank our kids on a whim. This is something that we do not take advantage of. There are guidelines for spanking that we should take care to heed to. Here’s from the spanking spoon that I recently bought to be included in Marriage and Beyond’s 4th Anniversary Giveaway.

1. Before spanking, consider the place and circumstances. Do not publicly embarass the child.

2. Ask “what is our rule?” or “What did daddy (or mommy) say?” –> You are making sure the child understood your instructions before you correct the child.

3. Ask “What did you do?” –> You are asking the child a personal responsibility for his or her action, THIS IS IMPORTANT!

4. Explain that your love with correction, say, “I love you and want to help you learn to do the right thing next time.”

5. Spank the child, give a few swift but painful swats on the buttocks. The child’s anger or mad cry should change to a softer “giving in” cry.

6. Comfort the child immediately after spanking. do not make the child feel rejected. Hold the child close and reassure him or her of your love. The parent/guardian who spanked should do the comforting.

7. If necessary, have the child make the restitution for the damage done.

The spanking rod’s handle reads “applicable for preschooler and gradeschoolers only” and the other side reads, “Guaranteed Butt Friendly.” We practice spanking at home because we love our son so much that we do not want him to grow up breaking the law and ending up in jail. Yes, that’s a pretty magnified consequence to growing up not following the rules. But something that’s also very real. It happens to the best of families. We follow the above guidelines and the result will speak for itself. We have not just a son who we can live with and understands the values of rules and the consequences of disobeying them. But a very social and confident young man as well. Those who have met him personally will attest to this fact. Spanking will help a child not just learn to obey authorities in the long haul but also respect the laws that are given for us for protection.

Although the LA Galaxy Football Clinic might not sound very cheap, I think with what’s included in the package plus the two chaperones who are allowed totally justify the cost.  And it’s the LA Galaxy Football Club for crying out loud! It’s the cost we pay for being with the top team. How often do we get the chance to be with David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane anyway? Yes, we’re pretty stoked! We actually have a couple of wedding invitations and a Christmas party/reunion that we had to turn down for this.

Aside from the football clinic, we are also watching the Friendly Game live at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on December 3, 2011. We actually bought two extra tickets for the match, which I think we are going to sell for the same price we got them for.  We We bought our tickets for the LA Galaxy vs. Philippine Azkals match via Ticketworld.

]]> http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/17/stage-mother-mode-on-our-little-guy-to-join-la-galaxys-football-clinic/feed/ 0 http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/09/first-time-to-hear-about-yellow-propaganda/ http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2011/11/09/first-time-to-hear-about-yellow-propaganda/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:05:43 +0000 Jennie http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/?p=8002 This is the first time I have heard about this Yellow Propaganda. Sure, for years and years issues about Hacienda Luisita props up from time to time. We barely watch the news – it is overall depressing. There are some questions in my mind, sure. But since the politics is probably the dirtiest thing in the world, my thoughts was to leave them be and just prayerfully hope for the best for our country.

But when I watched this “Aquino Conjuangco: Facts They Don’t Want You to Know (Yellow Propaganda)” over YouTube today, I can’t help but feel disheartened. Totally makes sense, sure. But I have no idea how accurate these facts are. Clearly, something I can no longer be silent about.

Scary and sad. What greed! —> These are my first thoughts as I was watching the video. But there is one statement that my heart refuses to agree with – Ninoy dying because of his ambition to become the president. But then again, my mind might just have been “set” from what could easily be a result of brainwashing via the media. I really don’t know. Yes, I am confused. If it goes back to so many generations before the current living Cojuangcos, can the evil legacy be so potent to this day?

It’s just sad what’s to happen to our country if there is truth to this sick legacy and if this further presses on. All the more reason we should storm the gates of heaven and pray for the leaders of this country, for the sake of our children. Can anyone share your two cents and maybe enlighten us about this Yellow Propaganda?