Uratex Bio-aire Mattress Pad

So then, my complete bed rest started yesterday.  As in, I'm staying in bed the whole time but I cannot just turn sideways because I feel some pain everytime I do so.  I really don't want to take risk so I really have no choice but to lay on my back the whole time.  Although the AC was on the whole time yesterday I can still feel my back becoming too hot.  I now know the feeling of the babies that cry when they are left in bed for a long time.  Also, I believe we have the best quality mattress and I never felt uncomfortable sleeping in it since but yesterday was different.  I was complaining to hubby about it so he's helping to put me in sitting position but the pain in my abdomen is startng if I am in sitting position for longer time.  So I have no choice but to lay down again.

After breakfast this morning and after making sure I will no longer need to use the restroom, he went out for a while.  He was actually out for more than 1 hour and when he went back, he had some groceries and a Bio-Aire Mattress Pad from Uratex.

He helped me get up and i got a very quick shower while he puts the mattress in my space of the bed. I asked him to take pictures of course before setting up the bed sheets and pillows back on their places.  Well, the colors of our bed sheets are still very bachelor and the mattress that he bought is still blue.  I asked hubby he could have gotten the other colors like the yellow or the cream but he chose blue because this is the softest among the others, hhmmm... Sige na nga! :)

This is what's in the label.  Bio-aire Mattress Pad has a convoluted shape which prevents and helps heal skin ulcers, eliminates bed sores, reduces pressure pains, allows air flow and prevents your body from becoming too hot during sleep.  Its peaks provide softness and comfort while its hollows provides passageway for air to pass through.  Truly a great addition to your mattress!

We are just on the 6th week of my pregnancy and I don't know how long I need to be on bed rest but having this bio-aire mattress makes my bed rest more bearable and comfortable for me and baby.  Thank you hubby for being so thoughtful.

6 weeks

"The essence of being a woman is bearing a child in her in womb and deliver it to the world".  This was the winning answer of a candidate in a pageant during my intel days and alas! She won the crown of Ms. Intel Summer Bodies 2006. #tbt

Being pregnant is the most wonderful news a couple/family could ever receive.  But pregnancy is not as easy as 1, 2, 3... Only those women who experienced pregnancy could tell.  There are those who are very lucky that may have not experienced any trouble during pregnancy and those that need utmost care and doctor's supervision.  Well, sad to say, i belong to the later.

Yes, I am on bed rest for a week now.  I saw the OB on my 5th week & 4 days and that was just last week.  There's bleeding inside of me and there was no heatbeat yet.  The baby was as small as a sesame seed that time.  I was advised to have a bed rest, no oily food, no coffee and no milk and few medicines such as folic acid, aspilet to absorb the blood and the other one "pampakapit".

I followed the advise of the doctor.  I took a medical leave from the office and just stayed at home.  I was on bed rest but from time to time I sit down in the sala to watch movies, go downstairs, go to my in-laws for each meals riding a car because their house is few blocks away from ours.  Last Sunday, We still went to the church early in the morning to hear a mass and oh, still working from time to time... This was pretty much my routine last week.

Today, was my follow-up checkup with my OB.    On our way to the hospital, i was feeling some pain in my abdomen, and this was the same pain i was feeling since yesterday.  I was scheduled to have the ultrasound first before going to the OB.  This was the 2nd time i experienced the most uncomfortable  ultrasound which is the transV, last week was the first because my baby was so small so it can not be detected yet by the normal ultrasound method.  Before taking the transV, i was again advised to empty my bladder.  I was surprised to see some blood on my panty and became so nervous.  My husband was itching to call the OB when I told him about the spotting, but i said let's see first the result of the ultrasound.

I was praying that the baby will have a heartbeat before the procedure begins. And when the doctor said, oh wow, we now have a heatbeat, my tears started to flow because that was what i was afraid of, that my baby do not develop a heartbeat.  But I still have the bleeding as per the doctor.  Some more measurements on my uterus was made and my hubby was called to enter the room.  The doctor showed us the movement inside which was not there last week.  The movement was the heatbeat and even my hubby was teary eyed hearing the good news.  The doctor said, the baby measures 6 weeks and 1 day, and that i started asking because I should supposed to have 6 weeks and 4 days old baby. My OB was immediately prompted of the result and advised me to go see her immediately.

The OB said the bleeding is preventing the baby to develop that is why it is already delayed for few days now.  The bleeding is also blocking the oxygen of the baby so it needs to stop.  The doctor cannot do anything but to advise me to take the medicine and have complete bed rest.  That means minimal movements, no standing, and walking.  It's up to me how i will be taking care of the baby since she already advised the same last week and the result was the same.  I was also advised that if i experience spotting again, any time of the day, be it midnight or dawn, we need to call her immediately and go straight to the delivery room.  I have a threatened abortion case as per my OB.

Hearing that last advise from the OB seems the most painful news i ever received that day.  It was as if the doctor is expecting something bad to happen on my baby.  Ok fine, the OB was really not harsh when relaying the info, she was just telling me to strictly follow her advise and see what happens when i didn't.  Maybe it was my fault too because i still did a lot of movements since last week. I was already crying going out of her clinic.

I still have ranging emotion that kept me crying but I am determined to keep my baby safe.  Now, i will be staying in bed all the time and will do this just to save my baby.  We are praying to God to protect our little one and stop my bleeding. Please please God.

God's gift

Eversince 2014 came in, a lot of changes happened in my life.  I became a happy wife after i married my 12-year long boyfriend last new year's eve.  Packed my things and live together with my husband, and that means driving 1.5hours from home to office compared to when I was at home with my parents which was just 8 minutes drive. At work, new roles were given to me, meaning 3 bosses from the business aside from the 2 bosses that I have from technical.  Who's complaining? I'm not :). These are also the reason why I've been missing in the blogsphere for more than a month now.

Another big change is coming....

Last weekend, I thought my period was about to start.  I had some few drops of blood but then, it stopped.  I thought it will restart again after few hours or on the next days but it didn't.  This was when i started to suspect that I might be pregnant.  I also started to have some weird feelings.  Sometimes, I feel light-headed, feels like I wanna throw-up and in the morning, my breast are swollen.  I was scared to take the test at first, I wanted to follow the advise of my bestfriend Irene to wait for 2 weeks, baka delayed lang daw ako. Hubby and I agreed to wait for another week before we do the test.  You know it was so difficult to see the pregnancy kits just sitting on our medicine cabinet in the bathroom and not to use them....everytime I start opening the kit, i feel scared and immediately close the box again.

And today, it's been a week and it's time for us to do the pregnancy test.  Early this morning, before taking a shower to prepare for the Sunday service, I have confirmed that we are soon to become parents. Yes! Yes! Yes!  God has given us this wonderful gift... ❤️A baby soon! ❤️... Indeed a very beautiful blessing.  God is really good.  Thank you again papa God. 🙏

Puerto Princesa Palawan 2014

We had an early summer outing last February in Palawan with my hubby's family.  My hubby and I were actually just singit in this trip.  The trip was originally planned by hubby's cousins last year but it coincided when typhoon Yolanda badly hit the Philippines.  When the children re-booked their flights, the parents decided to also book theirs, then kami ni hubby we just booked last January and luckily found a promo in Air Philippines, 3Kphp round trip for two. 

For the past years we've been meaning to visit Palawan but everytime we plan to go, we always end up buying tickets to Boracay.  So I was really excited for this trip...  We were 3 batches to arrive in Palawan.  My hubby and I and his cousin RA we're on the 1st batch and arrived in Palawan at 5pm, the next batch arrived at 6:30, the 3rd batch on the next day.  

So being the first to arrive in Puerto Princesa, we looked for a coffee shop and found the Crossing Bridges just outside the exit gate of the airport.  The place is so open, no walls just pavements and the food was very affordable.  We had 2 french toasts and 1 clubhouse and several drinks and the bill if i'm not mistaken was just 600php, with free wifi pa.  We stayed here until the next batch arrived.

When the 2nd batch arrived, we went directly to the RAQ pensionne house.  It is not a hotel so it has a homey feel.  The place was very clean and the staffs were very accomodating.  When we arrived, there were welcome drinks and a rainmaker souvenir for each one of us.  The rate is php500/pax only.  Super affordable. 

Then we decided to take our dinner to one of the most recommended restaurant in Puerto Princesa, The Kalui.  On the entrance, you need to take your shoes, it was a barefoot dining experience for everyone of us.

The food was so yummy and affordable, 200-300php per dish.

The place was so beautiful, it seems like we had a photo-ops in here.  One thing that I was awed in that restaurant was the restroom.  I think i failed to take picture but it looked like a room where you can relax, ang bango at di mo feel na restroom sya.

We wrapped up the night with our tummy so full and the feeling so wonderful because of our dining experience in Kalui.   On the next day, we went for a city tour.

First stop, was the Roxas boulevard of Puerto Princesa, we just passed by the area so no pictures for the place.  Next, the Immaculate Conception Church which was damaged on World War II and was rebuilt 1961.

Across the street was the Plaza Cuartel, were hundreds of american soldiers were burnt in this place.  It was kinda creepy so we did not went inside.

Next stop, the PEARLs and the pasalubong centers.  We went to Delma Pearls and they offer the different kinds of sea pearls.  If you are eyeing for pasalubong you can get the fresh sea pearls from P10- P70 so I got few pairs for my sisters and my mom, t-shirt and sando for the boys.  But there are South Sea Pearls which are very expensive, naka-vault pa talaga sya because they are the most valuable pearls in their store.  1 pearl costs a thousand pesos, so if you want a pair of earings that will cost you 2kphp and just count the pearl for a necklace... Ang mahal!  But that was my only chance to get my own South Sea Pearls so i asked hubby if I can get one pair, and yehey he paid for it.. I was so happy, nakalibre!

Crocodile... Crocodile... Before going to the crocodile farm, we had a chance to taste one in Croconatics, there's a stall near the pasalubong center so we ordered crocodile sisig and tapa for take out. Crocodile was unbelievably delicious, promise!  On a side note, may nakapark na tricycle sa gilid, in Palawan it is called taxicle... It has a huge body compared to the normal tricycle we have here in the metro.

While eating crocodile sisig, off we went to see live crocodiles in the Crocodile Farm.  We had a chance to meet Rio, the 2nd biggest crocodile, 16.7 feet versus the famous Lolong of 20 feet.  So big and scary!

Hubby was so scared of the crocodile he didn't want to touch it... But I was persistent and convinced him to just have a picture with me for few seconds and then he left the crocodile in my arms na.. Hahaha!

Next stop, Senator Mitra's resthouse called Rancho which is overlooking the Honday bay.  They also have the zip line but we opted not to try them because we still have few more places to go to.

Then, we went to the butterfly farm and the tribal village.  I wanted to try to hold the snake kahit hubby was so against it but when my chance came, biglang naninigas na yung snake and pumupulupot na. Hubby was so relieved, hehehe! The tour guide said, baka nastress na, so ayoko na din noh!

And finally, The Baker's Hill... My MIL parang nag panick buying na naman.. Dami binili, so libre na naman kami lahat sa pasalubong and madami baon going to El Nido...Oh I so love their hopia...

...and I love the place too!  Sarap mag photo-ops... :)

Few things that Puerto Princesa must be proud of:

1) Puerto princesa is the most cleanest city. Mayor Hagedorn did a very good job implementing the no littering law.

2) The tour guides are excellent!  

3) People there are very tourist oriented

4) Abundant in fresh sea food and affordable restaurants.

5) Beautiful culture and tourist spots to showcase, and

5) the pearls of course

This is pretty much the end of our city tour.  We just waited for the 3rd batch to arrive then off we went to El Nido.  Watch out for my next post... Hopefully, it will be soon :)

Top 10 ways to ensure your best people will quit

Just saw this shared in facebook...

Most reasons the most talented and productive people flee a given workplace can be avoided. Here are common mistakes, along with better alternatives.

Here are 10 ways to guarantee that your best people will quit:

10. Treat everyone equally. This may sound good, but your employees are not equal. Some are worth more, because they produce more results. The key is not to treat them equally; it is to treat them all fairly.

9. Tolerate mediocrity. A-players don't have to or want to play with a bunch of C-players.

8. Have dumb rules. I did not say have no rules; I specified dumb rules. Great employees want to have guidelines and direction, but they don't want to have rules that get in the way of doing their jobs or that conflict with the values the company says are important.

7. Don't recognize outstanding performance and contributions. Remember Psychology 101: Behavior you want repeated should be rewarded immediately.

6. Don't have any fun at work. Where's the written rule that says work has to be serious? If you find it, rip it to shreds and stomp on it, because the notion that work cannot be fun is actually counterproductive. The workplace should be fun. Find ways to make work and/or the work environment more relaxed and fun, and you will have happy employees who look forward to coming to work each day.

5. Don't keep your people informed. You've got to communicate not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. If you don't tell them, the rumor mill will.

4. Micromanage. Tell them what you want done and how you want it done. Don't tell them why it needs to be done and why their job is important. Don't ask for their input on how it could be done better.

3. Don't develop an employee retention strategy. Employee retention deserves your attention every day. Make a list of the people you don't want to lose and, next to each name, write down what you are doing or will do to ensure that person stays engaged and on board.

2. Don't do employee retention interviews. Wait until a great employee is walking out the door instead and conduct an exit interview to see what you could have done differently so they would not have gone out looking for another job.

1. Make your onboarding program an exercise in tedium. Employees are most impressionable during the first 60 days on the job. Every bit of information gathered during this time will either reinforce your new hire's "buying decision" (to take the job) or lead to "Hire's Remorse."

The biggest cause of "Hire's Remorse" is the dreaded employee orientation/training program. Most are poorly organized, inefficient, and boring. How can you expect excellence from your new hires if your orientation program is a sloppy amalgamation of tedious paperwork, boring policies and procedures, and hours of regulations and red tape?

To reinforce their buying decision, get key management involved on the first day and make sure your orientation delivers and reinforces these three messages repeatedly:

• You were carefully chosen and we're glad you're here;

• You're now part of a great organization;
• This is why your job is so important.

Wedding Video (Same Day Edit)

How lucky we are today that technology really makes everything possible.  Compared to weddings before, weddings today already have what they call SAME-DAY-EDIT Videos.  This video is the summary of what has happened on the ceremony and the early parts of your wedding.  Until now, I am still in awe of the result... still crying sometimes when I show this video to my friends and relatives #iyakinpadin

And finally, I was able to upload the same-day-edit video from our wedding.  Here it is.

Romeo & Melody
December 31, 2013
Church: Chapel of Transfiguration Calaruega
Preps: Taal Vista Hotel
Reception: Bali Village Resort and Hotel
Photography: Chito Ignacio Photography
Gown: NRG Bridal Couture
Bridal Car: Royal Carriages
Hair and Make Up: Teajay Nonato

The uploaded video seems not in its best quality... please feel free to check it out on this link posted by my coordinator Kate Espinili

Post by Kate Espineli Events.

Happy 6th birthday Ate Yanis!

Yesterday was my niece's 6th birthday.  The family gathered together and prepared a mini celebration for her.   My dear cousins Tonts and Kalay and my brother Deks took over to prepare the food because I have appointments since the morning.  My hubby and I arrived 5:30pm and saw ate Yanis still not dressed, she didn't want to because the dress she was wearing was the dress that she was wearing when her mom left again for Australia last January 3.   Her classmate Mica and her family arrived shortly so I persuaded Yanis to change her dress immediately.

While I was dressing her up, we had a very heartfelt conversation:

Yanis:  Tita Lods, Kuya Carl and Ate Sam (Yanis cousins) have fever... They will not be here for my birthday.

Me: it's okay, they'll just visit when they are better.

Yanis: Tita Lods, this is my 1st birthday

Me: No ate yanis, this is your 6th birthday, kaya nga 6 years old ka na diba po?

Yanis: this is my first birthday without mommy, daddy, kuya Carl and Ate Sam...

Me: (speechless for a while)... Mommy will call you later and daddy will be here soon after his work is done.  They love you so much that's why they are working hard for you and Migs.

Yanis: (silent)

Mamitz, Papa Lolo, tita Lich and tita Mitch arrived at 6PM and brought Amber's spaghetti and gelatin. We can really sense her sadness so we tried to cheer her up.  We sang the birthday song and she blew her candle.  Of course, we had a repeat of the birthday song for little Miggy para mag blow din sya ng candle kahit sa March pa birthday nya, then opened their gifts.  

This is Mica, Yanis's bestfriend in school.  She somehow made Yanis felt happy, they danced and play together with the gifts.

I know Yanis is beginning to notice the absence of her mom, i saw her crying non-stop when my sister left compared to last year.  And she was still crying even after we reached their home.  She hugged me too tight that night.  I tried to convince her that her mom will be here soon again and I stayed with her until she fell asleep.

I still don't know how to tell my sister about this, I know it is also so hard for her to leave and she misses her family so much... Hope that she can already settle the papers very soon so they can be together again everyday.