The Measure of Real Giving

Have you ever felt incapable of giving because of limited finances?  Should we feel restricted in our ability to give just because we feel empty-handed? Especially during this Christmas season, many of us worry about how we can give, and thus we find ourselves burdened with the pressures of buying gifts for everyone. However, with the right perspective, it is far better to give cheerfully rather than out of obligation.  Lately, I have been pondering how I can afford to give presents when we are on a very tight budget.  It certainly is much easier to give with a thick wallet.  This is one reason why I am now asking the Lord to bless me financially.  God reminded me of someone who demonstrated remarkable generosity even in poverty.

Crisologo Museum, Vigan

Congressman Floro Crisologo's Office

The Crisologo Museum was established to perpetuate the congressman's memories.  He died from a tragic event; in 1970, while in the church, he was shot in the head by a still unidentified gunman.  With this, the century-old family mansion was converted into a museum showcasing the private possessions of the family.

Calle Crisologo Photos

A trip to Vigan is never complete without a walk along Calle Crisologo.  This street is lined with Spanish-style houses that have been preserved for hundreds of years.  I didn't want to miss getting our photos taken here. It's a sure sign that we've been to Vigan!

I find this place very romantic. Calesa, brick walls, Capiz windows, and a cobblestone-covered street—what a lovely ambiance. 

Burgos Museum, Vigan

This was Father Jose Burgos's house, located near Vigan City Hall. They opened this house to the public, displaying a collection of antiques, not only from Father Burgos's personal collection but also from the Kankanay and Ilocano Tribes. You'll get to know the famous personalities and heroes from this Northern Region that we read about in our history books. 

Hidden Garden, Vigan

Hidden Garden is perfect for plant lovers. They have a huge collection of locally grown and imported plants for sale. In addition to the plants, they sell clay pots, souvenir items, Ilocos vinegar, etc. They also have a restaurant—dining here will bring you closer to nature. There are lots of plants and flowers everywhere. I want to have a garden like this one!

Fil-Spanic Friendship Park and Buridek Museum

Children will enjoy this place. There are many trees abounding in this area, a good place to relax and breathe fresh air and let the children run and play in their mini playground. Aside from that, Buridek Museum is an interactive place to learn about Vigan—its History and Culture. Thus, children can learn all about Vigan here easily, and even adults will appreciate this place, too.

Pagburnayan, Vigan Ilocos, Sur

 

Historically, it is believed that pottery in Vigan was introduced by Chinese traders during the 14th century.  Jar factories in Vigan have been established in this barangay for a long time (please refer to the attached map below).  This barangay was known as "Pagbantayan" (the old name) and is now named Pagburnayan, which means jar factories. " Burnay " is an Ilocano word for jars.

Baluarte, Ilocos Sur

Baluarte is just a ten-minute drive from Vigan City. This place is owned by Governor Chavit Singson. It was his rest house before he decided to open it to the public so that more people could enjoy his animal collections. Construction of the facility is still ongoing. Here's what will pique your interest in visiting his zoo: there are no entrance or parking fees here. Yes, it is free!

Bantay Bell Tower, Ilocos Sur

When you visit Vigan, include visiting the Bantay Bell Tower, which is just a neighboring barangay outside Vigan's Poblacion Area. More photos are below.

Grandpa's Inn - Vigan

I have read many good reviews from visitors of Grandpa's Inn, which made us interested in choosing this place to stay in Vigan. Grandpa's Inn Hotel has a very good location. It is just a few minutes' walk to Calle Crisologo, a very good place to take photos with the Old Spanish houses with brick walls and Capiz windows as your background; the pathway is covered with cobbled stones. It is also a few minutes' walk to the Plaza and the City Hall. 

Vigan : A must place to visit

Vigan Heritage, Calle Crisologo

 It could have taken us a very long journey to reach Vigan City, but in return, it gave us back more than we expected.  I am proud to have visited this place and will not forget an extraordinary experience comparing it to other regions in the Philippines that I have been to.  Some people do not enjoy traveling because they only see places that have no differences at all.  Typically, what you'll see traveling in the whole Philippine Islands are the views of the mountains, seas on the other side of the road, and rice fields.  Looking at that point of view will really make you realize that there are no differences at all, and you end up thinking of wasting time and money going out and visiting other places.  Pakner4lyf and I love to travel.  Whenever we visit new places, we try to observe and search for things that are not in our place, and you'll be surprised that there really is a difference, and we still appreciate the common things we share as we are connected as Filipinos.  That's how we enjoy traveling and most of all at the end of our travel we go home with lots of ideas we learned from the new people we meet.

Long Road Trip with Children: From South to North Luzon

Photo taken at Ilocos Sur

 I never thought this trip was really going to happen. A few months ago, Pakner4lyf told me that he had received an invitation to speak at a church in Mangaldan, Pangasinan.  He said he wanted us (me and the children) to join him. For some reason, I hadn't taken his word seriously.  It's hard to travel with the children, and that's one major concern. I have seen how serious my husband was about this trip.  He informed my parents about the planned out-of-town travel and asked if they could join us. At first, they seemed uninterested, but on the scheduled date of departure, I saw that they were as excited as we were.  It's great that they can come along so we have someone to share the expenses with.  Our original plan was to use my parents' SUV (Sportivo) because it is bigger and more spacious compared to our car (Toyota Vios). However, due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the SUV's tires was flat and badly damaged, and we learned that the tires were no longer suitable for long travels. Therefore, it needed a new set of tires. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to buy new tires and change them, so we ultimately decided to leave using our car.

We left Batangas City at noon on November 16, 2013.  We stopped at Petron in Lipa Star Tollway and filled up there while buying the limited Chevrolet Toy Car.  We always took the opportunity to fill the tank outside Batangas City because gas is cheaper there.  On our way to South Super Highway, Mom and I noticed that Eu-La started to look pale and complained of her stomach.  So we immediately found a nearby gas station to take a break and have our late lunch, which made Eu-La feel much better.  We asked Eu-La to sleep whenever she felt dizzy, and I was glad she was cooperative.  Our little girl slept most of the time during our road trip.  

We Feel Wacky Today

It's a wacky day today!

I learned last night of 7-Eleven's promo #BYOCupDay. My children would love to ask us for a visit to 7-Eleven. It is because they would love to have the Slurpee, Ice Cream, Siopao, and Hotdog Sandwich in there. There's nothing wrong if we would join the contest and be wacky for a day!

What is #BYOCupDay?

7-Eleven Philippines invites everyone to join their Bring Your Own Cup and fill it up with Slurpee for only P29.00. This promo happened on November 7, 2013. Entrants who will bring the wackiest/craziest cup will get a chance to win P5,000.00.

One crucial criterion is that the cup you are to bring should fit the "MaCUPangyarihang Blog!"

Cups should fit inside this circle to qualify - "MaCUPangyarihang Bilog!"

Cake Art Collections (5)

The following cakes are covered with chocolate clay instead of fondant.  I prefer using the chocolate clay as it tastes a lot better and doesn't harden fast when modelling compared to a rolled fondant.

I have come from a very busy week.  I had to do some preparations for our church medical mission.  I had decided to have a general cleaning of the house and throw unnecessary papers and stuffs that we do not need to make our house look neat because the medical team is going to spend night at our house.  At the same time, our book shelves had lots of dust in them and needs to be re-organized.  This made me put the Christmas decors as I have found them while cleaning out. So much for my cleaning story.  I heard that the medical mission leader is celebrating her birthday this October so I thought it would be nice to  bake a cake for her and another cake to welcome the medical mission team.  

I love the medical field  practitioners as I have been a part of that too.  I am a registered Medical Technologist if you would know and a frustrated doctor to be.  Well I don't regret my present status today.  I am content and happy nor am I closing opportunities if God will call me back again to serve in the medical field.  

Here's the photo of the medical themed cake:

Add caption

Along with this batch, I also designed a floral themed cake for my sweet niece.  JC and Eu-La wants to give her a gift as she is so dear with her cousins.  She celebrated her birthday last October 24.

Here is Denden's floral birthday cake:

I didn't made the pink flower on top I bought this from a cake supply store.  I don't have much time to try and make this flower style myself; maybe some other time.

Thanks for dropping by and reading through my blog.  Click the Hanny's Buzz tab above to see the full collection of my blog posts that might interest you as well.  You can also follow this blow through my Facebook Page, Bloglovin, Pinterest,  G+ and Networked Blogs.

It's Writing Time: How I Encourage My Children To Write

I am so thankful to have plenty of time to spend with my children.  This is one of the benefits of homeschooling them.   Yet I would be a hypocrite not to admit that I do wish for some days off, especially now. Lately, I've been daydreaming that someone would give me at least a whole day of vacation and would also take over all my responsibilities (household chores, homeschool classes, bakeshop management, church responsibilities) while I am away, as I want to spend this time "ALONE. " 

It was a more significant challenge to convince my eldest son, JC to write. I didn't have any problem with him writing on the walls compared with his other two younger siblings. Naturally, he's not interested in grabbing crayons, pencils, pens, or any markers.  He is not the typical child asking for pen and paper and making scribbles.    Now, he can read books because he knows and recognizes every letter's shape and sound.  I am glad he learned to read on his own.  You might wonder how he learned reading without me teaching him.  It was through Starfall.com he knew how to read.  I let my children use gadgets and surf online (yes they really can!) even at their youngest age.  He is also good at adding and subtracting numbers.   But yet, as a kindergarten student, he should also learn how to write the letters properly.  So here's what I did to encourage him to write.

The First Year of my Baking Quest

Last Sunday, my daughter Eu-La celebrated her 4th birthday. We had a simple celebration for her special day.  I bought her a balloon, and we dined at a restaurant. A month before her birthday, she asked if she could have a pink cake and requested another Barbie cake like the one from last year. I told her I would create a new cake design for her. She inspired me to learn how to bake and design cakes. 

Eu-La poses with her "Three Layered Hello Kitty Cake" Covered in Modeling Chocolate

Finding The Most Beautiful Dresses For Mommies On The Internet

This is a guest post from kevin@thegreenguide.com

 

When we talk of beauty we immediately think of fashion models that often graced the covers of magazines and Hollywood celebrities that we usually see on the silver screen. To most of us, they are the epitome of being beautiful. But all women are actually created beautiful regardless of the age and the disposition in life. We just need to unlock our true potential and reveal our natural beauty with the help wearing elegant dresses. If you think you need help in revealing your "pretty potential" the stick around because we are going to talk about how to find the most beautiful dresses for mommies on the internet.

Tips In Finding Beautiful Mom's Dresses Online:

Collection of Best Memories

One reason I enjoy blogging is that it allows me to maintain an online collection of the best memories I've shared with my family.  I want these beautiful moments to be posted here so that my children can look back on them when they grow up. They may be very young now and might not remember everything I and their dad have done for them, but this blog will certainly help them understand what their childhood was like.

We have completed our first year of homeschooling.  It was not easy, but we will continue.  The children are not yet enrolled for this school year due to financial reasons.  We chose to obtain our curriculum from SOT. This situation is not a reason to skip our classes every day.  It is easier to teach children when they can relate what they have learned from books to the real world.  This highlights the importance of taking children on field trips.  The road can be a child's classroom.

Cake Art Collections (4)

 

 

 

 

Life is sweet!

It takes process and time before having a delightful a delicious cake.
Having combined exact amount of all different ingredients makes this possible.

Want to have sweet or a more sweeter life?

  

Don't ask why God let's you experience the bitter times.  

He surely is preparing a very delicious treat for you to make your life a way more sweeter.  

Just wait for the finished product.  He's not yet done with you.

Candy Crush Themed Party

We're used to hosting children's parties since we conduct this event at our church once every month.  What challenges us is coming up with a theme for the entire program.  We could simply create a typical classroom setup, having them recite Bible verses and teach Bible stories, then feed them, but that would be boring.  I am not only focused on enjoyment, as that should not be my primary motive, but rather on sharing with these children the love of God.

Children can learn and comprehend more when we use illustrations they can easily relate to. With just one week left, we were still clueless about our party theme.  Last week, I planned a cake design requested by a friend - a candy crush-themed cake.  The first photo above shows my finished product.  I downloaded the game and played it to get an idea of what the game...

My Birthday Celebration - Late Post

I seem to let the days pass by without realizing that my birthday is fast approaching.  Text messages starting as early as the first week, along with emails and some people, remind me that my birthday is near, yet it doesn't spark any thrill or excitement.   Is it a sign that I am aging?

E-card from Nestle

Something's wrong with me; I know and feel it. I can't exactly tell what it is. Lately, I've felt too sensitive, stuck, lonely, and as if I'm losing some self-worth. There are times when I feel like bursting with anger. What's worse is that I feel no one is there to understand and help me anyway.

My Favorite Household Tools

We are all glad that pakner4lyf is back from his mission trip. He arrived on his birthday, July 28. Although I may now be relieved from taking care of the car, which reduces my daily responsibilities, I feel like I have more to do since he returned. I had some important paperwork for the bakeshop that I needed to work on. Instead of writing posts for this blog during my free time, I chose to join my children in playing Minion Rush. My children and I love Despicable Me, you know!

 

I get to finish every household chore one at a time. Since I am still breastfeeding our youngest son, who is now 18 months old, and the fact that household chores will never come to an end. 

Pretty Princess in Purple

Meet our daughter Eu-La.  I don't know what it is about her that attracts so many people.  She may be quiet and shy during first meetings.  Once she gets acquainted, you discover her talkativeness, and you'll hear her funny questions along with her beautiful smile.  She's friendly and says hello to almost everyone she encounters; sometimes even those she doesn't know.  I also wonder why so many people call her by name and greet her, even though I don't know them - she truly has a lot of friends.  Without her presence, our house is so quiet that her dad says, "our little girl is the life of the party. " Eu-La loves to be called a princess.

Day at the Park

Since pakner4lyf is not around, I get to be responsible for taking care of our car. Every morning, I have to move the car out and find another space to park so it doesn't block the customer's way. Eu-La usually accompanies me in the morning to reposition the car and find a nice parking space in the market across the street, while JC is with me during the nighttime to have the car parked in front of the bakeshop or the pawnshop.  

We used to go to the park last summer to join pakner4lyf as he did his exercises.  It is where kids can run freely and ride their bicycles further, unlike in our place.  This is what the kids have been missing lately.  Whenever I have to change the car's parking position, the children ask me if we are going to the park - of course, my definite answer is no. The reason is that their dad is not around; I can't manage them alone, and if their dad is present, we probably can't go since it is raining most of the time.

Here are some photos of our days at the park - PPA Batangas City (Philippine Ports Authorities) which is just few meters away from our place.

I am Surviving - Children's Day Out

Pakpak Lawin

It's been ten days since Pakner4lyf has been away from us.  He left for his mission trip, and we miss him dearly.  I truly feel his absence, especially since he has always been my partner in everything. Now, I have to handle everything myself, and I have a lot of work to accomplish every day. Despite the previous church activities, bakeshop management, homeschooling, and household chores, I am still managing.  This isn't easy, but I am tackling it all with a smile, and everything seems manageable for now.  I am thankful that my younger brother is staying with me; even though he's in school most of the time, I appreciate the help he provides.  

My Shopping Memories (My SM)

When I was a child, I remember how happy I was visiting SM, and whenever there are school field trips, there should and will always be a stop at SM.  This store grew and spread out in the whole country, and I think almost every Filipino was able to visit the nearest store in their area.  Personally, SM Malls witnessed and played a role in creating some of the memories I cherish and I know I will still become part of more memories worth remembering.  

SM Batangas City Department Store
This photo was taken when I was still an employee of Pioneer Clinical Laboratory  (year 2005, I guess). 

Here are some of the memories I would love to share.  Way back when SM Batangas City is not yet built,

Mommy Hanny's 1st Blog Anniversary

I couldn't believe that I have been blogging for one year now. I came up with the idea of starting this blog in November 2011. Since then, I have been thinking of what to name this blog. It took me four months to create a full Blogger account (with the layout) as I can only spend a few hours blogging even now.

How did I start, and what made me create my blog?

One of the primary reasons I started this blog is the opportunity to share my experiences.  This allowed me to express myself and voice my views and opinions.    I felt hurt and depressed when I began searching for a new hobby that would help combat the negative thoughts and feelings I was experiencing.  I was grateful to have discovered the blogging community, particularly the blogs from Christian Mommy Bloggers, which provided me with encouragement and inspiration to move forward.  I have chosen today, June 16, to be my blog's anniversary, as my first post was published on this date last year.

Cake Art Collections (3)

Here are the four latest cake designs I was able to make.  I am still on my journey of honing my skill and at the same time improving the taste of my cake.  I am comfortable using butter cream frosting for the cakes I design compared with fondant.  Fondant can make the cake look artistically beautiful  but butter cream tastes a lot better compared with fondant or should I say I needed to look for more fondant recipes to improve its taste.

Monster Cake

Some of my friends said that at the first glance, the monster's hair looks like spaghetti.  Making this design is easy.  I've made an improvised icing tip so I can make the fuzzy hair.  Wilton calls it the grass tip.  I couldn't find this tip in any cake shops that I have visited and that forced me to make an improvised one.

How to Join Giveaway Through Rafflecopter - Step by Step Tutorial

I used to wonder how to "correctly" join blog giveaways before.  I wanted to join but I didn't know how to figure it out.  Don't get discourage joining a giveaway, it just takes a little time joining and who knows you might get a chance to win right?  To some of my friends who doesn't know how use the Rafflecopter, this tutorial is for you so you can easily join my current giveaway and the future giveaways you may want to enter that use Rafflecopter because most of blog giveaways use them.  

Here's how a Rafflecopter looks like:

Persun Mall's International Giveaway

I have been away for few days and it's nice to be back. The family decided to have three days and two nights stay in San Juan - pakner4lyf's hometown. We wanted to conduct a three day Bible School for children but for some reasons we were unable to do the event.  We entrusted all the school materials at Grounds of Hope Bible Baptist Church - they will be the one to utilize the materials and teach the children.   

I missed this blog being away for few days. This blog is going to celebrate its one year this 16th of June. I have been thinking of conducting a giveaway but I couldn't push through because of limited funds. Last night, I checked my email and was surprised receiving a message from PersunMall about their giveaway. By the way, Persunmall.com is an international supplier of the latest fashion-forward items including clothing (tops&bottoms), jewelries, accessories and shoes, bags, wedding dresses, party dresses and so on. Most of the fashionable products you want to possess can be found in their shop; so feel free to browse their website and pick your choice.  PersunMall would like to give free jewelry follow the steps below to win.  This blog is hosting this kind of giveaway for the first time and hopeful to have full support from you guys for this to be successful.

One of these jewelry can be yours for free. 
Non winners will receive 20% off on orders over $60 see the details below on how to avail the discount.

It's easy to join the giveaway.  Here's what you need to do:

1. Register at http://www.persunmall.com/ *(required)   

It's free a registration.  You will be asked to provide your email address and additional login information.
2. Like Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/PersunMall *(required) 
3. Leave a comment below stating the registered email, name, the item link you like 

(the one you registered on Persunmall) *(required) 

4.  Share the giveaway (optional)

5. Follow this blog. (optional)

What We Have for Lunch: Tatak Batangueno

Steamed eggplant and kangkong with sauteed fish sauce (Bagoong Balayan)

Sinaing na Tambakol with fresh tomatoes

(Tuna simmered in tamarind with garlic)

Steamed rice to complete the meal.

When I Come to God in Prayer

It is in prayer that I can pour out my heart to God and express the things I couldn't share with anyone, not even with my partner for life.  During prayer, I am truly myself - I come to Him just as I am; there's nothing to hide, knowing that the God I converse with knows every detail about me.  God moves and changes things as we pray.  We find our strength when we're down on our knees in prayer.

Whenever I come to God in prayer, it reminds me to continually give grace to those who err against me.  As I draw near in prayer to God, I see my impurities in the light of His holiness.  Having a God who chose to love someone like me- someone who hurts Him most of the time because of my frailty - I fail to keep His words, to be grateful for each and every day, and to constantly commune with Him. I might even ask Him for things outside of His will, but those shortcomings do not change the fact that He will still love me no matter what.  This amazes me; what a kind of love!  It is one definite reason to grant forgiveness because God forgives. Now, it is easier for me to forgive those who have caused me pain.  I will choose to remember that I am not perfect, that I make mistakes and continue to err with God and the people around me, so I can graciously extend grace to others.