Helloooo! 
Can you sense the ticklish delight in my greeting! 
First, I have to ask, have you seen Abby’s recital video yet? No?! *gasps wide-eyed in total shock* My oh my! *still open-mouthed* Go check it out first! Hahaha. I’m just kidding, of course. It’s my inner Annabel Rama…the patroness of stagemoms. Not! Nyahaha!
Are you ready for another one of my weekend updates? I have to do something about this habit of waiting until I’m overflowing with stories before I update. Then again, it really can’t be helped….two hands, three blogs, house chores, Abby home for summer break, paid opps. Whew! I am not complaining one bit! Promise! Let me get on with the updates then.
Special Feature
In my, uhm, “glory days” not too long ago as COO, that is, child-of-the-owner, in the family business (come to think of it, I AM still child-of-the-owner!), I’ve had my fair share of media mileage. I appeared on tv twice. First in GMA’s ”Extra! Extra!” on one of its taped “Extraordinaryo” episodes hosted by Paolo Bediones & Miriam Quiambao and second, live in “Magandang Umaga Bayan” in the segment hosted by Winnie Cordero. Then, there were several interviews and photo ops for print media, which included the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippine Star and Good Housekeeping Magazine (January 2003 Issue).
Nowadays, I get a different kind of media mileage. *giggles* In the last 4 days alone, including today, my “works” have been featured in 4 different blogs. That’s new media for you. This time, it’s not our handcrafted decorative metal sculptures that take center stage, but, of all things, my handmade cards. Hee hee. Yes, many more of my snails have reached their destination. Yipee!
Last Friday, I woke up to wonderful updates from Bloglines. My fellow Wifespeaker, Jen and a fellow Mommy blogger friend, Feng, featured the cards I sent them in their respective blogs. The snails reached Philippine shores on the 23rd and 24th of June. Last night, Gracie, my Dubai-based friend, left me a comment that she got her snail, too. And just now, after Abby and I got home from doing today’s errands, I got another surprise as I was checking out Bloglines (again!). Keith, my KSA-based cousin, got his snail, too! The Middle East bound snails arrived in their destination last.
Jen, Feng, Gracie and Keith, like I said, you didn’t have to thank me in such a big way. A note of thanks via email would have sufficed. I am deeply touched by the heartwarming messages on your respective blogs. Thank you for going the extra mile to feature the snails you got. I guess in this day and age of high technology, snail mails still have a much more magical effect on people. Enjoy your loots, you guys! Huwag gawing pambalot ng kung ano, ha?! Hee hee! 
Abby’s on Summer Break
Finally, Abby’s on summer break. That translates to an extra hour (or two!) of beauty rest for me. Majority of US schools have been on summer break since the last week of May, if not earlier. Abby’s school, being a private montessori, follows it’s own schedule at the cost of one month extra tuition for us parents. Hee hee! Come to think of it, it’s ok really. We would have probably spent the same amount on summer activities for Abby anyway if she got out of school earlier. So, I say it’s just quits.
Last Friday, to kick off Abby’s summer break, Abby and I did our first ever baking project together. We made some banana choco chip muffins. It’s the best ones that ever came out of our oven. :D It’s from the recipe given to me by Kris, a blogger friend of mine who’s kinda MIA for some time now. I’ve used this recipe soooo many times. It’s fool proof and made better only by the fact that Abby baked them with me. For the complete recipe and step-by-step procedure complete with photos, click HERE. What the heck, here’s a slideshow from that fun afternoon of baking.
Little Mermaid
Abby has been bugging Hubby and me to take her swimming at the community pool for quite some time now. For two consecutive early evenings, which is still bright as day in this part of the world anyway, that’s exactly what we did.
The shrieks of laughter from Abby as she was enjoying her time in the pool with her Dad (Where was I? Taking pictures, of course!) were just priceless. She absolutely loves the water and is so much more confident and more comfortable in it now. After she turns 4, we will sign her up for swimming lessons. She would definitely love that!
I was feeling a tad guilty that we didn’t sign Abby up for swimming lessons this summer. Fortunately, I found a way out of that guilt after I read the July issue of Parents magazine. Apparently, 4 is the “magic age” for swimming lessons. I can scan a copy of the article for you if you don’t believe me. Hee hee!
We’ll be making more trips to the pool in the days to come. I have to stack up on snacks to bring. Our trip to the pool yesterday was cut short because Abby was looking for something to munch on, and her Mom didn’t bring any! So shame on you, Abby’s Mom!
Here’s another slideshow for you from those two days of swimming.
Today
Today, we haven’t done anything out of the ordinary except do some errands for Hubby, which included going to Pak & Ship, the bank, Wal-Mart and paying the rent. We did have a lunch date at McDonald’s though. That, so far, is the highlight of Abby’s day. We still have a few hours to go before the day’s over and I’ve still got a couple of tricks in my bag.
I vowed to myself that Abby and I will have loads of fun this summer. That means less time for my on-line sideline. Nyahahaha! Abby is my priority anyway.
I’ve bored you enough. That’s all I have to report for now. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead! Cheers and God bless!
