Weekend Blog Follower Caravan #21

Hi, a new bloggie here.  My blogging instinct came out when I got an exclusive invite in a baby product launching.  I am a first time mom but actually into late motherhood (had pregnancy problems before).  Anyway, I am currently a full-time mom to my little boy.  Hubby is an OFW, so its just the two of us always.  

I envied those people who can really write pretty well, because I know I am not good.  I have lots of thoughts playing at the back of my mind and writing them down is something difficult for me.  So I prefer just to talk, I can talk endlessly.  There was a time I deal my professor in UP Manila if I can just recite the answers to my comprehensive examination instead of writng them down. Ha!ha! of course she did not agree.

Ok, so I am making my first entry to this Weekend Blog Follower Caravan, and the theme for this week is to follow via Google Friend Connect.  My GFC widget is on the side, just "click it" if you wanted to know more about "mommy giay".  I write more often about my son, events we have attended and of course online contests I've joined.  In the future I would like to write mo often on topics which interest me and those I am more knowledgeable like health research and nutrition, being a researcher for 15 long years, I think I can share some stuff from that experience.

I decided I wanted to be write and be a blogger to meet more moms like me and be able to exchange and share ideas with them.  Motherhood was my ultimate joy, my little boy Ivan is always giving me the most happiness with all the things he does, even at time he is becoming naughty.

Thanks to my new acquiantances in the blog world.  I still have many things to learn and I'll be more than glad if you can give me comments, share your ideas. I'll follow you back, just as I do always. From here, I want to meet more mommy friends.  

Lastly thank you to our dear sponsors for this week Coffee on the Side and Walking News Paper.

Camilla's 300 Followers Giveaway!

Win it here. 

Opens Worldwide.

Ends September 16.

Honeybee Housewife HK Set Giveaway

This is such a cute giveaway, look at the prizes!!!

Perfect for you or your little girl.

Would you like to win them? Click here

Dailyfashionista Aranaz Bag Giveaway

Its her 2nd blog anniversary giveaway.  

The prize.

Click here for complete details of this giveaway. 

Ends Sept. 9, 2011. Philippine residents only.

Buwan ng Wika at Smart Kids

Agosto was "Buwan ng Wika" and it had been celebrated here in the Philippines mostly by different schools.  My son who is in nursery level had his first experience of this event.

It was a week-long activity for them.  Each day, beginning Monday of the last week of August the school held various contests and activities participated in by the pupils from all levels.

Friday was the culminating day of these activities.  It was started with a mini-parade within the village premises (Ivan's school is just within our village and mostly the students are from the neighborhood).  The pupils walked around wearing their respective Philippine costumes.  My son was just as excited, he walked on his own and saved Mommy Giay from carrying him. 

 

Wi

After the tiring foot parade, we headed to the covered court for the program proper, that's the awarding of certificates and presentation.

See how behaved are the nursery kids? while waiting for their turn to dance.

The nursery level were the first one who presented their "itik-itik" dance.  Ivan liked this performance so much.  Even during their practices, he's very cooperative with his teacher and really learned the dance steps.

Ivan won again in the Coloring Contest (Third Place).  I did not expect him to win in the Declamation and Singing Contest because he can't really pronounced well yet those Tagalog words, the teacher asked them to memorize.  At age 3, he is still "bulol".

Some of the behind the scenes.

 

Congrats kids, you are all very good.

Thank you baby Ivan for always making Daddy and Mommy so proud of you.

Pasko sa Agosto: Tupperware Simply Healthy Set Giveaway Winner!

First of all thank you gorgeous moms and ladies who joined my first ever blog giveaway. There were 51 participants with total of 189 entries.  Each participant had 3 to 5 entries depends if they did all the requirements.

So, announcing the grand winner (drumroll please.....)

Congratulations ***JEAN BELTRAN***

And to the first ever participant of this blog giveaway ***MICHI SOLEE*** I also have a little token for you sweetie!  Ladies, kindly wait for my confirmation e-mail so that I can send your prize.  I will be generous, there is no deadline when you can confirm your winnings.

Again, thanks everyone who joined me.  

I enjoyed it so much, I may have another giveaway soon.

Toblerone says "Thank You" to our OFWs

There are currently 11 million Filipinos working overseas.  They are the ones called modern-day heroes for the personal sacrifices they are doing just to earn money despite all the hardships being away from their beloved families.  They are also the one helping build our nation, contributing about 17 billion USD in remittances or roughly 12% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Thank you to our heroes.  Thank you to my beloved husband who joined the pool way back in 2004.  I myself worked overseas for about a year.  Even though I was then with hubby, I still experienced the sadness of being away from my parents and my siblings, relatives and friends. I therefore salute every one of them.

But when you're there at the international airport arrival area, what you see are all smiles from our OFWs coming in, amidst some tears of joy, happiness abound.  More so, when they have "pasalubong" for everyone, and what's our favorite? of course chocolates.

As a way of saying "thank you" to our heroes, our top brand chocolate "pasalubong" TOBLERONE partnered with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Duty Free Philippines, Good News Pilipinas and Kraft Asia, stepped up to the challenge by launching the "Thank You Global Pinoy Awards".  it is an initiative that seeks to search the most outstanding global Filipino workers who deserve the gratitude not only of their loved ones, but also the nation as a whole.

The launching was recently held in an event at the Duty Free Philippines, Fiesta Mall, Paranaque City. In line with this, they will also be launching the Special Rewards Passport, It is a collection of freebies/coupons from partner establishments which our dear OFWs can used everytime they go on shopping or on vacation.

 Duty Free Chief Operating Officer Mr. Lorenzo Formoso

Mr. Jaya Singh, Region Director, Middle East and Asia Pacific, 

Kraft Foods World Travel Retail

Nominations are now available online at www.thankyouglobalpinoy.com.  Participants are invited to register, nominate and vote for the ultimate Global Pinoy.  The top 10 stories will be awarded in January 2012.

Busy Monday

Hello everyone! how's your monday morning?

Finally the sun is up and shining now :) goodbye rains.

It is a regular non-working holiday today which means no school for my little boy.

But it's a NO holiday for SAHM  like me.

Since the sun is up and shining brightly, an opportunity to do the laundry.  I still prefer our clothes to be sun-dried, they smell better even without those fabcon.

I am tapping keyboards at the same time sipping my coffee.

Yeah! that's how versatile mommy giay is :P

Barney keeps Ivan preoccupied so he is not disturbing me for now.

I do hope it will take time for him to realize that he wanted to watch Barney online.

I don't know why he sometimes insists that or it's just he wanted to annoy mommy giay so he can share the computer with me.

Later it will be chat time with daddy who works overseas.  Thanks to new technology, homesickness at least is lessened.

I need to do some errands outside later today.

Running up my mind, what we'll gonna have for dinner (lunch is already set).

Ok, cheers everyone!

Free Hair and Make-up Session

I went to the mall yesterday to meet SIL and her daughter.  Going up the 2nd level, a girl handed me a flyer along with an Ascof capsule.  Oh yeah! I remember, its the Ascof Lagundi event at SM Calamba for the "Search for Natural Super Mom". The event was on the 3rd level so while waiting for SIL to come, I decided to just go there and see what's happening.

There are lots of people inside the event area, and there are several booths giving out free services and some freebies.  One of them is the Ystilo Salon providing free hair and make-up session to event participants.  Oh, I like that, its been a long time since I had a full make-up and I think I wanna try it.

Got a message from SIL, that she had come, I replied to her to just come up and attend the event as well.  So then we lined up at Ystilo Salon, along with other ladies for our hair and make-up session which is for free. Who doesn't want freebies?

And this is the result of our cum make-over.

My little boy Ivan said, "mommy danda".  

I love him so much because he appreciates all my effort.

 

 This is my SIL, Panting with her beautiful daughter Faye.

OK, so I wanna say, "thank you Ystilo Salon and Ascof".

ToonFest: Activate Your Style at SM Calamba

Be a kiddie model in 4 easy steps.  All kids aged 3 - 14 years old are invited to join the SM City Calamba Toon Fest! Activate your Style on September 3, 2011 (Saturday) at the SM City Calamba Event Center Atrium.

See in-store posters for details, or call (049)5300064 (Marketing Division) 

A Gorgeous Plus Giveaway

This one's for the gorgeous ladies out there.  I am not a plus size but I've joined anyway.  I want the prizes for my moms, she is sexy and still gorgeous even she's already a Senior Citizen Card holder.

What's up for grab?

First Prize:  2pcs brassieres, a slimming top, 2pcs Avon lipstick

Consolation Prizes (there will be two): each one will win a brassiere and a lipstick

Hurry! this giveaway will lasts for only 30 hours

(August 27, 5pm - August 28, 11pm), 2011.

Click here to join.

Pasko sa Agosto Giveaway: $20 or Domain Name plus $10

This is part of the Pasko sa Agosto Giveaway Caravan

 

 Pasko sa Agosto Giveaway: $20 or Domain Name plus $ 10 by Online Money Maker

Sponsored by: Free Article Submission, Blogging Tips, PNoy Talks and Google+ Games

Contest ends August 31, 2011.  Open for Philippine residents only.

Kath's Very First Giveaway

Join  here!

Opens internationally. Ends August 31, 2011

Petite Chiq Forever Grateful Giveaway

Win fabulous items!!!

 Click here for complete details of this giveaway!

What's happening this week?

Looks like it will be another busy week-end for mommy Giay and baby Ivan.

Lucky Citrine's Birthday Giveaway

August is her birthday month and she wanna give out this Sigma E25 Travel Blending Brush to a lucky reader.

Click for here the complete mechanics. Ends August 31, 2011. This is open for everyone.

Agosto: Buwan ng Wika

What was there to celebrate this month of August? I learned from grade school (ha!ha! that's way way back) that every month we are celebrating the August month as "Buwan ng Wika" because this is the birth month of Manuel L. Quezon. 

 

He is known as "Father of the National Language". Born August 19, 1878 in Baler, Tayabas. He is the first Filipino President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines under the US occupation. He graduated from Law School, became an Assemblyman, a Senator and in 1935 Quezon won the Philippine's first national presidential election under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. Whew! such an achievement, and if you are listening to your Social Studies teacher, I bet you know all of these.  I think this subject is now called Sibika.

Anyway, so my 3y old son who is in nursery school is having his share of the Buwan ng Wika celebration.  He is required to memorize a poem and a tagalog song.  Actually mommy giay is having difficulty because he doesn't want to memorize nor sing.  Ivan told me, he'll just join the coloring contest.  Actually last month, he won 2nd place in their Nutrition month Coloring Contest Activity.  I shared that here.

The short poem.

Ako ay Pilipino, Filipino ang wika ko

Wikang dapat ipagmalaki kahit na kanino

Saan mang dako ng mundo di ikakahiya ito

Bansang malaya, Filipino ang wika

Ikaw, ako, tayong tanan

Wikang ating kinamulatan

Wikang Filipino hatid ay karunungan

Wika'y mahalin, ingatan at pahalagahan.

(this is just part of a longer piece of poem)

The Song:

Ang Bayan ko'y tanging ikaw

Pilipinas kong mahal

Ang puso ko at buhay man

Sa iyo'y ibibigay

Tungkulin ko'y gagampanan

Ang lagi kang paglingkuran

Ang laya mo'y babantayan

Pilipinas kong hirang.

Familiar with this song? 

Will tell you more what will gonna happen next week, when little Ivan takes center stage again.

Makeup Diary's Huge "Just Because" Thank You Giveaway!

A generous set of prizes to be given to three (3) lucky winners!

First Prize: 1)  Urban Decay 15th Anniversary e/s palette ($55); 2)  The Balm "Shady Lady" (vol 2) e/s palette ($39.50); 3)  The Balm Balmbini face palette (blushes, e/s, etc) ($28); 4)  Urban Decay e/s Transforming Potion ($18); 5)  Urban Decay Matte e/s in "Jones" ($17); 6)  Urban Decay Matte e/s in "Chronic" ($17); 7)  Hello Kitty Notebook ($14) ; 8)  matching Hello Kitty Cosmetics Pouch ($28); 9)  Milani LE "Paint" e/s palette ($8); 10)  Rosebud Salve ($6);     11)  Three BB Cream deluxe samples; 12)  Make Up For Ever graphics cosmetics pouch ($35), which includes: a)  Lab Shine Lipgloss, b)  HD Powder, c)  Smoky Lash Mascara, d)  Aqua eyes eyeliner; 13)  Benefit "Little Look Goods" Very Important Beauty Insider exclusive: a)  Dandelion in a full size ($28);  b)  "That Gal" Brightening Face Primer 0.25 oz;  c)  BADgal Lash Mascara in a deluxe sample size; 14)  Benefit "One Prime Day" Sephora exclusive ($10) :  a)  0.25 oz Mini That Gal; b)  0.25 oz Mini Porefessional; c)  0.9 oz Mini Stay Don't Stray; 15)  Benefit "Feeling Cheeky" Sephora exclusive ($15): a)  0.13 oz Posietint (poppy pink); b)  0.13 oz High Beam (shimmering pale pink); c)  0.13 oz Benetint (rose); 16)  $25 MAC Gift Card

 

Second Prize: $50 MAC Gift Card

 

Third Prize: $25 MAC Gift Card

 

Opens internationally. Ends September 1, 2011.  

Click here  for the complete mechanics of this giveaway.

 

 

 

The Product Whore 500 Followers Triple Prize Giveaway

Enter now!

1st Prize-- Sephora Prize Pack:  $84 value

Fairy Drops Scandal Queen Waterproof Mascara

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm (BB Cream)

Hello Kitty Charmmy Kohl Eyeliner Kit

 

2nd Prize -- Sasa Prize Pack: $59 value

My Beauty Diary Sweet Teatime mini set

Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in "Sweet Biscuit"

 

3rd Prize -- Sigma Prize: $16 value

SIGMA f80 flat top synthetic kabuki brush

 

Opens internationally. Ends August 31, 2011.  

Winners will be chosen via Random.org.

Click here  for complete mechanics.

  

  

My Kiss & Make-up Birthday Giveaway

She is giving away fantastic prizes for her birthday giveaway!

First Prize:  

A gorgeous collection of 9 essential matte neutrals and soft shimmer eyeshadows, complete with 3 Get-The-Look cards and an applicator tool.
 with an actual total value of $73

Second Prize:

For International winner, you may choose any MAC items you want worth $50- that'll be purchased from MAC Duty Free Philippines. 

For Local Winner, You may choose MAC or Rustan's Gift Card worth PHP 2,000 with 1year validity.

 

Third Prize: Sigma Make-up Brushes, choose between Sigma Nice in Pink or Naughty in Black. 

 

Opens internationally. Ends September 8, 2011. Click here  for complete details of this giveaway