So when will I cook again? I’m not quite sure… but for now, the hubby will just have to settle for old food pics I took when I used to cook. Pardon the pre-instagram/pre-iPhone food pics taken before. Maybe if I do decide to get my butt back to the kitchen, the food shots will definitely be better this time. (Hopefully the food will be better, too!)

chicken tikka masala

korean namul

chx teriyaki

crab cakes

rosemary chicken w/ apple slices

chicken adobo

eggs ben w/ hollandaise sauce and german sausage

steak w/ peter luger sauce

scallops in white wine sauce

grilled beef w/ mushrooms

lamb chops w/ mint jelly

beef salpicao rice

egg omelet surprise

grilled salmon

shabu shabu soup

shabu shabu

blueberry cheesecake w/ vaniilla ice cream

choco-banana pancake

hickory spare ribs (salad?)

most requested: blueberry muffins

our version of banana split

steak AGAIN!

Hmm… I’m suddenly hungry and missing my cooking LOL.

Can’t wait to get back to the kitchen… or maybe for a change, hubby can cook for me!

Much to my delight and surprise, I saw that one of my favorite retailers, F&X, had Snoopy items!!!

what i got for moi

snoopy for baby bear

snoopy for papa bear

snoopy for boys

snoopy for girls

snoopy for tweens – so chic!

snoopy for teens

snoopy accessories

The colors are warm and bright, just in time for the summer! The best part is, the clothes are all so soft, comfy and stylish.

It’s unique in me that I love Snoopy. I don’t know how many other Snoopy fans are out there, but if there are… this one’s for you! Thank you F&X for carrying a Snoopy line. You have no idea how happy you have made me.

Hop on to the nearest F&X branch and get your own Snoopy shirt.

F&X Philippines Facebook

Branches: Greenbelt 5, Fort Bonifacio, Robinson’s Manila, Trinoma, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa-Annex, SM Cebu, SM Clark, SM Masinag, SM Southmall

Snoopy fans unite!

Please like Snoopy Facebook and follow Snoopy Twitter.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started this blog. I started this blog because I wanted a space where I could share my journey as a wife, a first-time mommy, daughter, friend, and entrepreneur.

This was my main reason but I also had a couple of secret reasons as to why I wanted to blog:

1.) I came from corporate brand marketing before and I was worried that if I write less, my copywriting abilities would deteriorate with lack of practice.

2.) I had a lot of to-do lists and using this blog to journal my bucket list, mommy list, and work stuff among others, would force me to accomplish everything since I would be held accountable to myself, my family, business network and ultimately to you – my readers.

3.) I wanted a space to be inspired, be positive and have that feeling of wanting to live life MORE.

4.) Jotting down my problems, fears and worries helped me to resolve some issues and gave me an outlet to think clearly, calmly and stay strong.

5.)  Taking note of milestones, joys, and successes enabled me to remember to count my blessings, stay humble, content and be happy.

Fast forward to one year of blogging and I am so amazed by how much I have grown in this short span of time. With my blog, I have met so many wonderful people – some have become friends, others turned out to be business connections, hobby partners, and mommy advisors.

StartUp Babies has become more than just a blog. It has become my own personal space where inspiration became vision and is continually molding my reality and my life. Thank you to all my dear readers for your love and support. This journey is so much sweeter because of all of you. Here’s to more birthdays to come for StartUp Babies!!!

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

2012 Color of the Year

2011 Color of the Year

This year, the color of the year is… (drumroll, please)

2013 Color of the Year

So excited as we will be coming out with new product extensions next year. There’s something about this color that shouts royalty and prestige, perfect for our premium line.

What about you? How do you feel about this color? What personal care products can you imagine this on?

Happy Holidays and Happy Christmas shopping this weekend!

The next step is to encourage them to read words by blending the sounds. Again, Leap Frog to the rescue! The next movie in the series introduces words in a story form and more importantly, via song! The best way to get our kids’ attention! The Leap Frog Talking Words Factory focuses on how words are built. The Professor uses the help of the Word Builder Machine in forming words. Baby Bear learned about the concept of rhyming words here. (CAT, HAT, BAT)

It also introduces the concept of Vowels and how they are the glue that forms words. Below is the clip on Vowels: The Sticky Letters

Again, I supplement the movie with toys or books in order to help her see how it also applies to other aspects. I try to prepare her toys that are featured. (i.e. toy CAT, her white HAT, and BAT decor I used during Halloween)

I also support the lesson with books. As I stated in my Raising A Bookworm post, always try to find the best book that will be able to teach the most efficiently. Clean drawings and singular thoughts per page as much as possible like the ones below.

cat – hat

Hat on Cat

Of course, the best way to learn is still via real life application. Sometimes after our teaching sessions, we get her hat and go down to the lobby and count the stray cats hahaha.

Seriously though, I can’t wait for the day that Baby Bear can actually read. I bet it would be so exciting. When that day comes, I might just cry tears of joy!

Do join me in this journey of mine with Baby Bear. Bookworms Unite!

Related articles

• Raising A Bookworm (startupbabies.com)

How about you? Want your kids to meet Santa, too? Or in my case, just have a pic taken with him since Baby Bear can’t tell Santa what she wants for Christmas yet…

See y’all at Rustan’s!

Rustan’s Santa

The Last of the Mohicans…

61.) I am directionally challenged. Lost cause!

62.) I am sooper lactose-intolerant. Just a spoonful of milk will send me to the toilets. (Sorry, TMI!)

63.) I am currently renovating our place and don’t know squat about electrical wiring, pipings, drainage, tiling and stuff…

64.) … neither do I know much about fabrics, fabrics. My face goes blank when my interior designer discusses it with me.

65.) I am always the last person to finish eating. I eat a lot, I eat slow, and I love talking while eating.

66.) I am afraid of the doctor. I am a wuss with needles. I have low tolerance for pain.

67.) I had the chicken pox when I was young. It was the best 2 weeks of my life. The whole family had it all at the same time so we were all cooped up in 1 room doing things together… united by a common dislike of the splotchy, itchy skin feel we were all going through.

68.) I’m a plain jane — I love plain vanilla ice cream, I wear my hair down only, I don’t experiment much with fashion, I love plain colors and I always play safe. Good thing I have close friends who make sure they bring color into my life.

69.) Some of my crazy adventures involve tobogganing down the Great Wall of China and bungee jumping over some mountain near China. But the craziest of all was getting caught sneaking out of our retreat house in high school… we were caught by dogs set loose by the guards and by flash lights streaming on our criminal faces.

great wall of china

70.) I believe that everything, even every little thing, though may come across as insignificant or innocuous… actually happens for a reason. It’s all part of one great big master plan.

71.) I hope that when I die, I leave a legacy behind.

The End. Less than a hundred to protect my secret identity… and more importantly, stopping myself from boring all of you! Hope this somehow gave you a glimpse as to who Startupbabies is. Thanks again for all your support. Enjoy the rest of your Sundays and hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Related articles

• Me in a Hundred Nutshells Part 1 (startupbabies.com)
• Me In A Hundred Nutshells Part 2 (startupbabies.com)

Hi there, you guys, still there? LOL

And the countdown continues to number…

37.) The coldest place I’ve been to is Harbin… and it’s freakin’ cold! I just kept crying as we attempted to go skiing down the mountain slope because I thought all my toes and fingers were coming off. I’ve sworn off places with temperatures below 10 degrees ever since then.

38.) Contrary to #37 though, I do want to experience a “white Christmas” and do all the things they do in the movies such as hang out by the fireplace sipping egg nogs and singing Christmas carols while waiting for the first few drops of snow.

39.) I could spend a whole day reading a novel. (Not anymore, now with a baby!) ;P

40.) I want to swim again with the butandings in Donsol!

41.) I got my eyes lasered early this year and my vision now stands at 20-15! It truly is the greatest gift to wake up in the morning and see the world with such clarity and color.

42.) I plan to spend my birthday next year with orphans. (Bad, I can’t believe I haven’t done this, must do this soon!)

43.) I have a snow globe collection. The most recent addition to my collection is that of the Empire State Building with Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York!”.

44.) I’ve always wanted to visit Machu Pichu ever since I first read about it in Rin Tin Tin‘s Adventures.

45.) When I was young, I wanted to be a model because I wanted to get free clothes.

46.) I like my clothes “Downie-d”!!! Ironically, I was the brand manager for DEL before.

47.) I have my iPod on speakers almost the whole day even while I’m taking a bath and while I’m sleeping. (Again, not anymore!)

48.) Unlike my mom, I’m not good at shopping. I’m so lazy to go through the clothes on the rack. That’s why they invented good windows displays, it’s for lazy people like me.

49.) I work best under time pressure. Cramming is a craft I learned from high school. (Not proud of it!)

50.) I’m organized and I like having lists. It’s quite OC, but hey, these lists keep me going everyday.

51.) Not many people know it, but I was an active officer during my college days. I have won a very much-coveted leadership award for outstanding officer during that time. I believe it has shaped me to be who I am today with my constant, fervent drive for success.

52.) I have had 4 loves in my life and have no regrets with any one of them. (okay, maybe with the second one )

53.) My first dog’s name was POLKA, but he was a black-and-white striped dog… the only circles were his eyes.

54.) My favorite number has always been 4, but they say it’s bad luck in Chinese because it means death. So for Feng Shui‘s sake, my favorite number is now 8.

55.) My favorite day of the week is Thursday. It’s not the beginning or the end of the week and neither is it the middle of the week, it’s somewhere in between.

56.) If I were to get stuck on an elevator with someone, it would have to be with some star. Not because I’m star-struck but it would be nice to know how normal their life really is.

57.) One bad habit of mine is nail-biting when I am nervous.

58.) I know I sound backward, but I would like to buy a polaroid sometime in the near future.

59.) I once joined a bazaar in college and made 20k in profits for 2 days work… not bad!

60.) I can do productive work while listening to my sounds, but for some reason, I can’t digest the pocket-book I’m reading if I have my tunes in the background… go figure!

…last installment soon!

Related articles

• Me in a Hundred Nutshells Part 1 (startupbabies.com)

The title is ME IN A HUNDRED NUTSHELLS but obviously, I can’t write the full list here since I wish to remain anonymous… so it’ll be close to a hundred, I think. Will also blog this in 3 parts so that it won’t be so full of me in 1 sitting. I might risk alienating you all after this, hahaha :) Hope this gives you a bit of a glimpse as to who I was, who I am now and who I want to be.

1.) I was born on the 3rd of ___, 5:50 P.M. Incidentally, my fiancee was also born on the same day but at 12:02 A.M.

2.) I am currently 102 lbs. I’m underweight for my height but I need to go on a diet because of high cholesterol (blame it on heredity).

3.) I love the color blue in general… but love wearing pink, red, and white.

4.) I wear earrings everyday because the holes in my ear close if I don’t.

5.) Yes, yes my eyes are sooper small but it doesn’t mean I view life in “laser vision” mode…

6.) …neither do I see people or things in half when my eyes smile!!!

7.) I can be gregarious and the life of the party WHEN I WANT TO BE.

8.) I always go for the underdog, unless the underdog has the majority following, then I go for the minority. Just to keep things balanced in my own little way. Teeheehee!

9.) My favorite movies of all time are: Cinema Paradiso, Meet Joe Black, Stranger than Fiction, Roman Holiday and Thank You For Smoking.

10.) I loooooove Chilli’s Mash Potato, Gambas, Wagyu, Shawarma and Siomai in XO Sauce. — I still do!

11.) I hate liars and cheaters, plastic and social climbing people

12.) I most especially hate people who backstab. I say, fight your battles face-to-face.

13.) I used to be very attracted to “bad boy” types.

14.) My dream car is an AUDI – simple but classy.

15.) I spent my grade school and high school days in an all-girls private school.

17.) I used to watch WWF with my brothers when I was in the 6th grade and looooved Brutus the Barber Beefcake!

18.) Always Coca-Cola. Addicted to it. Don’t like drinking Coke Light or Pepsi… it’s just not the real thing!

19.) I read a lot of books but always go back to my comics: Snoopy, Calvin and Hobbes and the good ol’ Riverdale gang (Archie).

20.) I get good ideas while taking a shower or while I’m swimming.

21.) Good Times: Royal Carribean Cruise ’93, Beijing ’02, El Nido ’04, and New York ’08. A recent trip that I just have to add to this list – El Nido 2012 (Baby Bear’s first trip) — I blogged about the preps for that trip here.

22.) Can’t live without my ipod! I love a little bit of every type of music. There’s very little music that I cannot appreciate.

23.) I still can’t believe that there are some people who don’t know who the Beatles are. They are what all good songs are made of.

25.) I love taking pictures more than “being in” the pictures.

26.) If I didn’t have to worry about money, I would travel, take pictures, and write a novel, in that order.

27.) I love puppies and polar bears.

28.) Just this year, I have learned to love broccoli and can’t wait to make broccoli soup.

29.) I love to sing, have a knack for immediately memorizing lyrics of songs that I like, and once thought I could sing in a band for a living — just wish that I had the voice to go with the singing!

30.) When I was young, we’d go to HK for a family vacation at least once a year… and my most memorable year was my dad bringing me to Whimsy Land and winning a stuffed doll for me. I still have it to this day. (Update 1: It got washed away during Ondoy Update 2: The Bear Family tries to go to Hong Kong at least once a year, too!)

31.) I love the leg part of the chicken, so does the hubby. But he always gives it to me instead. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true!

32.) I’m allergic to lipstick. My lips crack when I apply them. Haven’t found the perfect hypoallergenic lipstick yet. So, for now, it’s lipgloss with color for me.

33.) I was part of the table tennis varsity team and we won first place.

34.) I was also a member of the swimming varsity team but for 2 days only… my mom made me quit because I kept falling asleep in class the day after swim practice.

35.) When i was young, my mom thought I would become an artist… turns out I don’t have the gift.

35.)  I wish i could see the 7 Wonders of the World.

36.) I feel that one of life’s greatest achievement would be to “be someone’s mentor”.

To be continued… if you still want me to…