C'est la vie!

New Moon by Bunnies

2010-05-25T16:16:00.001+02:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Zachary!

2010-03-10T19:58:00.010+01:00

Today, we celebrated Zach's special day with her Grand-maman, Marie. Raphaël came from work in time for lunch, I'm glad he didn't have to work this afternoon. I cooked pancit bihon and siomai. I cooked a lot of pancit, I can feed 10 more person! Too bad Zach's birthday fell on wednesday, people are working, friends and family can't come over. Zach blew his birthday cake candle 4 times (or five, can't remember). We're still halfway till the end of the song and he already blew the candle! So we have to start all over again...

Zach received a lot of birthday gifts from his parents and grand parents. We, his parents, gave him an assortment of playmobil and lego vehicles. His grand parents gave him clothes and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! He's crazy about Mickey Mouse these days! Oh toodles!

Again, happy 3rd birthday to you, my sweet boy! I can't believe how time flies! 3 yrs ago, you came into our life, you are such a wonderful blessing. Je t'aime mon amour!

I love March!

2010-03-01T16:10:00.003+01:00

It's March already! :) This is my favorite month because:

March 10- Zachary's birthday! He's turning 3 :)
March 11- My Mom's birthday, she would be 54 if she were alive.
March 14- My mom and dad's wedding anniversary... should be their 29th!
March 19- My dad's birthday. He'll be 54 this year :)
March 24- My birthday! I will be turning 28! OMG! I always forget my age nowadays... I feel like I'm just 22!

Trek

2010-02-25T23:30:00.003+01:00

One of our vacation highlights in the Philippines will be the Mt. Pinatubo trek. For those who don't know, volcanoes happen to be Raphaël's passion. He wanted to be a volcanologist since he was young. He knows a lot of things about world's volcanoes. This time, we will all go to Mt. Pinatubo! :) It will be a great adventure. We just bought a kid carrier today for Zachary.

We should have bought one long ago. Anyway, we just paid it half price! It cost 120 € brand new, but we bought it from somebody (2nd hand, but as good as new!) for only 60€! Great deal! Zachary loves it!

45 Days To Go!

2010-02-23T00:49:00.003+01:00

... and we'll be in the Philippines!!! :) We are all so excited to come home, even Zach. Everytime he sees a plane, he say "avion Philippim" (airplane Philippim... bulol pa kasi hehe). I can't wait to pack our bags already... I already prepared Zach's summer clothes in a bag, since he's not wearing them at the moment. Today, I spent the whole day preparing our itinerary for the 3 weeks we'll be there. Nakakaloka! We'll be having a very hectic schedule to follow! 1st week in Mindoro, 2nd week in Bohol and 3rd week in Tarlac (Mt. Pinatubo Trek) and Pangasinan (the Hundred Islands). We'll be in Manila during weekends to see family and friends... (Spice friends, you know who you are, ok ba ang April 25 sa inyo? yun na lang ang natitirang date eh, fully booked na!)

2010!

2010-01-02T01:06:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year everyone! We wish you just the best for this year. Cheers!

Santa's Presents

2009-12-25T17:27:00.008+01:00

Zachary woke up at 5 am coz he accidentally fell off from his bed (his bed chez my in-laws). He woke us up and told us he wants to open Santa's gifts... at 5 AM!!! I convinced him to sleep again, I told him Santa didn't pass yet, and he won't pass to bring any gift if there's somebody awake in the house. At 10:30 AM, we discovered what Santa brought for all of us! :) Ofcourse, Zachary has the most gifts! He got 2 sets of Playmobil, 2 sets of puzzle, clothes, chocolates, and a giant Lego airplane! :) I got 3 books (Her Fearful Symmetry, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest and a recipe book of chocolates), a box of chocolate, coffee/cappuccino/milka capsules for my Tassimo machine, and an assortment of Benefit cosmetics :) Raphaël got 3 books about volcanoes, Toblerones, a recipe book. Santa was very generous this year. Hope he'll be the same next year! :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T17:20:00.003+01:00

We wish you all, A Merry Christmas!!!

---Lynnette, Raphaël and Zachary

ps: no picture yet with Raphaël coz he's our photographer :)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2009-11-07T01:10:00.004+01:00

Book 1

Katniss & Peeta

Book 2

Another addition to my favorite books :) I love it! I have read the first two books of the trilogy, "The Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire". I finished the books in 3 days. I brought the 2 books for our holiday in Burgundy, I was reading in the car the whole time on our way there. (I almost threw up one time! LOL!)... These books are really unputdownable :) I can't wait to read the last book! Though, I will have to wait for next year...

St. Zach

2009-11-07T00:57:00.007+01:00

Last thursday was St. Zachary's day again (November 5). We were in Macon (600 kms. from where we live) chez Raph's grandparents. We were there since November 1, Raphaël had a week of holiday (finally!). For Zach's fête, we got him a chocolate cake with Lightning Mcqueen on it. He was sooo happy! He loves Cars so much. We just came home tonight after our 10 hour drive. Happy to be back home but I got tons of laundry to do!

After 6 Years...

2009-10-07T23:52:00.003+02:00

... I finally became french! I just knew this last saturday, when I got a letter from the Tribunal d'Instance that they have registered my declaration of french nationality. This means that, as of now, I am officially french and not a filipino. Ofcourse, it's possible to have the double nationality... but I have to apply for it in the Philippine Embassy. I will do it later, ofcourse, when I get the chance to go to Paris again. Do I feel less of a filipino now?

Ofcourse, No!

Kakanin

2009-10-05T14:03:00.005+02:00

I would love to eat these! Aside from my family and friends back in the Philippines, I really miss eating pinoy food. There's nothing Filipino (when it comes to food) here in Nantes. I heard there's a shop in Paris that sells pinoy stuffs (itlog na maalat, daing na bangus, balut etc).... but unfortunately, nothing like that exists here in Nantes. When I have time, I try to cook filipino dishes like chicken arroz caldo, sopas, adobo, sinigang at tocino (There's an asian market near my in-laws and they sell tocino mix and sinigang mix!). That's as close as I can get eating pinoy food here. Sad to say, I can't make kakanin myself...I am missing them terribly!

how do I recusitate a dead blog?

2009-10-03T22:51:00.003+02:00

I'm so sorry for not posting anything for quite sometime now. I don't have any excuse for it. I'm just lazy. I don't even know how to make my blog alive again. I will try my best... again...

How am I these days? I'm fine... I'm busy reviewing road codes here. I am just starting my driving lessons, and I have to pass the code test soon. The test consists 40 questions (about road signs, driving priorities, parking rules, etc.) and I am just allowed to do 5 mistakes. I am not yet ready to pass the test, but I'm getting good day by day :) I had my first driving lesson last tuesday. I started driving in a parking lot first, then on our way back, the instructor let me stay in the driver's seat. So I had my first experience driving a car on the road (almost, since he was the one doing all the feet work). It was kind of scary at first... but I got the hang of it after a while. Next driving lesson will be on wednesday. Goodluck to me!

I'm very thankful my family's safe from the typhoon/flooding that happened last week in the Philippines. Until now, it's so hard for me to believe that something like this happened. I remember experiencing strong typhoons when I was young, but not this much. And I remember a few times being happy whenever there's a typhoon because the classes will be suspended, I can just stay sleeping and watch TV all day. Now, when I heard that there will be another typhoon coming to the Philippines, I felt scared.

It's already October. Christmas will be just in a few weeks. I really wish we can go to the Philippines for the holidays. But we don't have plane tickets yet!!! I wish we can still get plane tickets on November. I have to get a new passport first, my old one expired last month. And it's very complicated to renew it here in France (meaning, I have to go to Paris just for that). But I think, I don't have to do it that way now... you'll know why next time ;)

xoxo

Buffy Slays Edward Cullen :(

2009-06-24T00:44:00.001+02:00

... but this video is funny! :)

A Week in a Mobile Home

2009-05-21T14:45:00.008+02:00

I am now writing this entry inside the mobile home that we rented for a week.

We came here last saturday.

The site is located in Ronce-les-bains (Charente Maritime). When we arrived, it was raining very much and we thought that we won't be having a nice time at all during our vacation. But the sun shined the next day, and now, I feel like it's summer already :)

We did a lot of stuff since we came here. We went to the beach not so far from here. Zachary loves to run on the sand. Raphael is having a good time with his kite. I am so enjoying this time away from home. How I wish we can have vacation more often.

We went to a zoo last monday then tuesday,to an island, Ile d'Oléron, connected to the mainland by bridge.

Yesterday, we were with friends: Sebastien and Catherine together with Catherine's parents. They came here all the way from where we live.

Catherine's parents have a camping car and they arrived here last tuesday. We had barbeque together. Then the next day, which was yesterday, we met in Royan to visit Jardins du Monde (Gardens of the World).

We ate lunch with them outside their camping car. After the visit, we headed to the beach. Raphael and Sebastien did kite flying. We went back home late and all of us are tired.

Today, we are just here in the mobile home. Zach is finally having his afternoon nap again. We woke up at 11 am, we were really tired. We'll go back to the beach this afternoon with Chris. Tomorrow, we'll be taking a boat to go to L'ile d'Aix and Fort Boyard and on saturday, we'll be going back home.

May

2009-05-05T19:44:00.011+02:00

It's been quite a while since I last made an entry here. As usual, I am too lazy to blog. There's nothing much going on in our lives these days. I am just reading when I'm free. Right now, I'm reading The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle by L.J. SMith. I still can't get enough of Edward and Bella's love story! I know, I'm desperate lol! But this book is printed in the 90's, long before Twilight... so it's not a Twilight wannabe :) so far, so good... but I still can't help to compare it with Twilight.

Last weekend, we were at my in-laws. It was the birthday of Raph's mom and we celebrated his dad's birthday at the same time (his bday is in 2 weeks!). We ate in a crêperie last saturday and in a brasserie the next day. My diet was suspended for two whole days hehe :) Here's what I ate in the brasserie:

seafood in thai sauce

ile flottante

happy family

Zach after eating his mousse au chocolat :)

Twilight... with cheeseburger

2009-04-29T23:21:00.000+02:00

Watch this... it's funny :)

Slide

2009-04-21T00:26:00.003+02:00

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T16:27:00.006+02:00

Advance Happy Easter :) I won't have time to greet you tomorrow, that's why I'm doing it now.

Finally, I am now enrolled in a driving school. Hoorah! I signed up for conduite accompagnée. I don't know how to explain it all but with this way, I will have to wait one year to pass a driving test, but I can drive our car already after 20 hrs of lesson, with the presence of Raphaël. I will be learning to drive a manual car, coz it's a bit useless to just drive automatic here in France. Everybody's got manual geared car. Let's say, I have an automatic geared car, and I have the driver's license for automatic car... probably, I won't be driving another car in my life other than my car. So what's the point... Anyway, today, I did a practice test for road codes. I did 6 mistakes out of 40 questions :) It's my best score! But it's still not enough to pass the test... I can only do 5 mistakes I think. But I'm happy, I'm progressing!

When I came back home, I found Zachary like this:

Ain't he cute;)

Reading Mode

2009-03-30T13:56:00.002+02:00

These days, I've been in my reading mode. Here are the books that I've read this month:

Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella:

*Confessions of a Shopaholic
*Shopaholic takes Manhattan
*Shopaholic Ties the Knot
*Shopaholic and Sister
*Shopaholic and Baby

I love Becky Bloomwood, the protagonist... I can relate to her though I'm not as shopaholic than she is. I enjoyed Shopaholic and Baby the most... maybe because I'm a yummy mummy like her too! ;)

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

It's funny, I enjoyed reading this. Sophie Kinsella's humor really humors me!!! I remember bursting with laughs as I read the book. Sophie Kinsella is definitely one of my favorite authors now.

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Gosh, It's one of the most interesting books I've ever read. I am recommending this book to all of you... you all must read this! :) You'll miss half of your life if you don't read this!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Captivating! Story took place in Afghanistan, then and now. Definitely one of my favorite books now. It's sad, but wonderful story. I've read how Afghanistan lost it's glory. This book is very touching. I am reading , as of this moment, A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author, a story of 2 Afghan women.

Before March Ends...

2009-03-30T12:42:00.004+02:00

This month, Zachary and I celebrated our birthdays (2nd & 27th). I'm thankful for having this cute and sweet kid, although sometimes "makulit"! Though I think it's really often for a 2 yr. old to be like that (remember, terrible twos!) He talks a lot but we don't undertstand all of what he's saying... He's bilingual, so french and english get mixed up always (thanks to me)... I can't talk tagalog to him, I really tried... but I just can't... It's a shame to admit that I am not used to speak tagalog anymore. I still know tagalog, ofcourse, I won't forget it, it's my tongue that is not responding to it that well. I don't have somebody I can speak tagalog with here in France, and I don't call often to the Philippines... so after 5 1/2 yrs of not practicing it, tagalog doesn't come out naturally as before.

In April, I will finally sign up to a driving school. This has been long overdue! I promise I'll do it this coming month (and go to the dentist too).

Cinnamon Rolls

2009-02-17T00:17:00.002+01:00

I just want to share this recipe of cinnamon rolls. I got addicted to cinnamon rolls because of IKEA :) They have cinnamon rolls in their restaurant and everytime we go there to eat, I always end up taking home some of their Kanelbulle. I used to hate cinnamon when I was young (I really feel so old these days... I can't even remember my age anymore!) So anyway, I tried this recipe I found on the internet. This was the 2nd time I tried making my own cinnamon rolls, the first time was a disaster, they were hard as biscuits! This time, I got it good and I can't stop eating them! Too bad for my diet ...

Classic:How To Make Cinnamon Rolls

Bonne Année 2009!

2009-01-06T01:41:00.004+01:00

Bonne Année!

Maligayang Bagong Taon!

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the late greeting. I'll try to make up for it next time :) Hope this new year will be good for everyone. Cheers!

Noël 2008

2008-12-29T17:10:00.009+01:00

Happy holidays everyone! :) I hope you all have a wonderful christmas. We spent our christmas with Raphaël's family. Zachary was very happy to spend it with his cousins, Louise and Clément. We arrived at my inlaws the night before christmas and had lobsters for dinner! Yummy! :) We left our shoes by the christmas tree (they really put shoes and not just stockings here!) and found our christmas presents beside them the next day! Zachary got toys from everybody :) He played a lot with Louise, her 3 year-old (almost) cousin. This is the very first time that they played together, because before they were just really ignoring each other :)

Back To The Real World... Am I?

2008-12-10T15:52:00.003+01:00

Hi! It's been quite a while since my last post here. I was just being too lazy to blog, really. Anyway, here I am, let me update you of the news about me :)

I am trying a new diet this time! Haha! So last attempt of south beach didn't really work to me since Raphaël left me alone to do it!!! This time I am trying a new one called Sonoma diet (californian diet). I started it 2 weeks ago, but right now, I felt like I'm not really following it anymore. I'm still dieting but I'm just following what I feel like eating... and I'm lucky! I don't crave for anything anymore since I've started with sonoma. Even if there are bars of snickers and twix and chips infront of me, I don't like to eat them anymore :) I'm not eating anything fat and sweet, just mainly salads, eggs, shrimps, fat free yoghurt and complete cereals. So far, I've lost 2.5 kgs already in just 2 weeks. I'm just happy and still continuing up to my target weight.

A week ago, I got my slipcased set of the Twilight saga. I asked for Raph to buy it for my Fete (you know, the so-called "name day" here) since he still don't know what present to give me. We ordered it on Amazon US even if there's Amazon France but the price is really interesting to import it from the US (45 euros, shipping included rather than 65 euros if I buy it here!) Since it came from the US, I waited 2 weeks to get it rather than two days. I almost lost the parcel coz the mailman just left it downstairs rather than handing it to me personally!!! I was lucky our neighbors were honest for not stealing it!!! Anyway, I didn't read it right away, I waited the next day before hitting the first pages... and then I just can't stop! That book was crazy! I've spent 5 days reading the books, all four of them, whenever I can (whenever Zach permits me to read!). Until now, I still have Edward Cullen hangover LOL! The first tome Twilight is the best, I really liked it a lot, my favorite of all 4. It made my bones melt and reverted me back to my teens! Haha! The 2nd book was ok, though it was kind of dragging in the middle since I was terribly missing Edward in the story! I hate Jacob Black! I was very bored reading Bella's life without Edward. The 3rd book was nice, since Edward is back in it :) But I really hated Bella at the end (don't want to post spoilers, I think I've said enough of already!) The 4th and last book was longggg.... and I still hate Jacob Black!! LOL!!! I hate to read him. I was glad to be back to reading Bella again in the 3rd part. The end was not as I expected it to be, but it's still a good ending anyway :). Now it's been 2 days since I finished the saga, and I feel like I'm still in it. I've seen the movie too! I watched it just after I've read the first book. Since I saw the trailer before I read the books, I have Robert Pattinson already in my mind for Edward. The movie was nice. I don't really like Bella in the movie. I think it's the way she talks.. anyway, I enjoyed the film. Can't wait to watch New Moon!

Bienvenue Clément!

2008-11-10T00:54:00.003+01:00

Welcome to the world Clément!

He is Raphaël's newest nephew, son of Edouard (Raph's bro) and Céline. Clément was born last saturday, November 8, at 2:59 am, weighing 4.230 kg (9.31 lbs)!!! A big baby isn't he? Raph and I just saw him this morning in the hospital and he's very cute. He cried a bit but he stopped by himself after 2 minutes. Congratulations again to his proud parents! Hope you liked our gift :)

ST. ZACHARY!!!

2008-11-05T02:08:00.002+01:00

Bonne fête Zachary!!!

Here in France, they celebrate their saint's day, or name day... like today, November 5, is St. Zachary's day! :) It's like a 2nd birthday here. You can get greeting cards, wishes and gifts! Since I arrived in France, I celebrate my name day every October 20, St. Line's day (they don't have St. Lynnette!!!) I find it very cool to have a name day. There's another day in the year when people think about you more :)

Kavana

2008-10-28T16:25:00.002+01:00

Almost everybody knows that I am a Kavana fan. He's a british pop singer back in the late 90's, Anthony Kavanagh (his real name) was the singer behind Crazy Chance, MFEO, I can make you feel good, Special kind of something and Will you wait for me. After some year of absence, I finally found him again on the internet. I've been trying to get news of him long ago but since there's another "Anthony Kavanagh" out there (a canadian/french comedian), it was not easy at all. A year ago, he participated in a tv contest, genre American Idol meets broadway, called "Grease is the word". They are searching for the next Danny and Sandy to play in a Grease musical. Too bad this show is just shown in the UK, so I just watched some videos in youtube to see Kavana singing again. Unfortunately, he didn't win the Danny part, but he came as a runner up! He's still as good as before :) I just bought his latest album "Special Kind Of Something: The Best Of ...Kavana". I wish this time he won't leave the scene anymore.

Here are some videos from Grease is the word:

During the promo of his latest album:

Le Cirque Pinder

2008-10-06T16:43:00.008+02:00

We went to the circus last saturday, Le Cirque Pinder , the most famous circus in France. Le Cirque Pinder started in year 1854! I think this is my first time to go to a real circus :) hehehe We got free pass courtesy of Edouard (Merci encore!). Our seats are just 1 meter from the scene, the most expensive seats (45 € per seat!) The show lasted for 1h30. When we took our seats, I didn't really like the smell LOL! On the scene, there were things (I don't know how to call them) that absorb the poop and pee of animals. It smelled disgusting at first, but I got used to it after a while. I guess the smell sticked on me too, that I didn't feel any difference after hehehe. Zachary was sitting on his stroller eating popcorn almost the whole time! He wasn't scared of the animals. The only thing that scared him was the clown! I loved the animal shows: camels, horses, llamas, dogs, donkey, tigers, lions, and the two amazing elephants! I was a bit disappointed because there was not the magic show of Sophie Edelstein. Other than the animals, there were like 7 acrobatic shows. They did amazing stunts but I prefer to watch magic :)

Bath Time

2008-10-02T16:31:00.004+02:00

This is the latest LO I've made. I would love to scrapbook again, I just can't find the time anymore. Zachary's growing up and he needs me to be there for him always. He is phasing out one of his naps, the morning one. So the only time I'm able to do some chores is when he's napping in the afternoon. Another thing is that I can't work anymore on the dining table because Zachary can now climb on the chairs and touch everything that's on the table. Really a hassle when you don't have a work place. Maybe I can try to have a small place in our bedroom, where I can work. I just have to have time for that too!

Planete Sauvage (Wild Planet)

2008-09-29T13:53:00.007+02:00

We went to Planete Sauvage last saturday. It's not so far from where we live but it was our first time to go there. I found discounted tickets on the internet :) The normal price for an adult is 18 € and I just paid 7.50 € per person! Quite a catch! Planet Sauvage is a zoo but not just like any ordinary zoo. It's like a safari, well, almost! You enter the park with your car, and the animals are just there waiting for you! :) There are 16 mini-parks inside, divided by gates to segregate the animals. A 10 km safari trail will show you almost 150 species from 5 continents. It was my very first time to touch a zebra! Zachary was laughing so much everytime an animal will put his head inside the car. They also offer overnight camping in bivouacs just like in a real african safari. I wish we could try it but its so expensive, 150 per adult! We were very happy with our safari adventure :) I hope next safari that we will do will be a real one... in Botswana, Kenya or Tanzanie, I wish!

Cuneo, Italy

2008-08-22T11:58:00.009+02:00

Last wednesday, we drove ourselves to Cuneo, Italy! Cuneo is a provincial capital in western Italy. We left Les Orres at 11 AM, we passed the same route of Tour de France 2008 (Embrun-Cuneo), which took us 5 hours to reach the destination (including stop overs : lunch and picture taking). It's funny coz we don't speak italian at all! LOL :) We passed the Italian border,the Col Agnel, located at 2,744 meters above sea level. We stopped there for a minute to take pictures, then head down to Italy. At Pontechianale, we had our lunch. Good thing there was a girl who can speak french to take our orders. It still amazes me to think that people there doesn't speak french, knowing that we're just a few kilometers from France! We arrived at Cuneo at 4 PM, went to the Galimberti Square, visit the old shops around and ate some gelato (italian ice cream). Their ice cream was delicious! Really! And cheap compared to the price of ice cream here in France. I ate 2 scoops of gelato twice! After the holiday, I will be doing southbeach diet again for sure!

Entering Italy
Col Agnel: altitude- 2,744 M
ciao!
at the italian side
gelato after shopping in a supermarket

Cuneo- Galimberti Square

We left Cuneo at around 6:30 PM and ate in a pizzeria in Vinadio on our way home. Pizza were great! and CHEAP! I had a pizza with frankfurts in it for only 5 €. Cappucinno was good too! The only thing I didn't like was that they make you pay for using their fork and knife! Bizarre ano? We passed another col, the Col de Vars which is 2,108 above sea level. It was almost mignight when we got back home. The mountain route was less scary coz we just see the road and not the cliffs :)

Les Orres

2008-08-18T12:08:00.003+02:00

Les Orres
Les Mélèzes d'Or (ski resort)
Zach et moi
swimming
Patou's escapade!

We're 1800 m above sea level right now! :) Last saturday, we arrived here in Les Orres for a week of vacation. Located in Alpes du Sud (south east of France), it is chiefly known for it's ski resort. But since it's summer, there's no snow here. The landscape is beautiful. Mountains are everywhere. It's cold outside. We didn't do anything yesterday besides swimming in the resort's pool. Water was at 30° but it's not hot enough for me! It feel's good to be in holiday, finally!

Our Weekend in Versailles

2008-08-06T17:05:00.008+02:00

Last weekend, we went in Versailles which is not so far from Paris. We slept for a night at my sister-in-law's parents (Encore un grand MERCI à la famille QUELO!!!) We first went to the Castle of Versailles, where the ancient king of France, Louis XIV lived. It'w magnificent! We didn't visit the inside of the castle coz we arrived late and there are too many people. We just strolled in the immense garden. They were having a spactacle for the night, they had to close the park earlier than usual. Our 2-hour stay in the garden didn't permit us to see all of it. Anyway, next time we're planning to rent a golf cart to facilitate our visit!!!

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

a not too interested Zachary

Raph & Me

This garden is BIG, It's crazy!!!

The real reason why we went in Versailles is that, Raphaël will drive a Lamborghini Gallardo!!! Yey!! hehe It was my birthday gift for him. The track is located near Versailles. We went to the track the next day. There were lots of people! The activities were being handled by Pilotage Passion. Edouard, Raph's brother, were with us to film. It was my job to take pictures :) We waited so long there! Raphaël's briefing didn't started right away, and it lasted for almost an hour! Zachary was crying, coz he missed his afternoon nap. He wasn't able to sleep coz of the cars' noise! At the end of his turn, Raphaël was very happy :) His dream came true: to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo, which is according to him, his very dream car! :) He's a bit disappointed though coz it didn't last for so long.... BITIN DAW! lol At 7 P.M., we left the track and drove home. After 5 hours, we're back at our place... really tired of our weekend. Luckily, Raph doesn't have to go to work the next day :)

Watch this!

Koh-Lanta: Caramoan

2008-06-30T16:52:00.003+02:00

This coming friday, July 4, a new season of the french version of Survivor will be shown. Koh- Lanta will be having their 8 season and they shot it in the Philippines, AGAIN! Last year it was in Palawan. This time it will be in Caramoan, Camarines Sur. I personally am not familiar with the island, in fact, I've never heard of it before. I searched on the internet about this island, and found out that it's really beautiful. I know there are lots of amazing places in the Philippines, but it's just so hard to visit them all. (Transportation is such a hassle in the Philippines, thanks to the 7,107 islands we have! hehe) Next time we go back to Pinas, We'll try to go to Caramoan. I saw some affordable promo packages in Caramoan Island's Blog.

Koh Lanta Caramoan
par Raikko

Happy Father's Day :)

2008-06-15T11:58:00.005+02:00

Happy father's day to all the dads, most specially to my Tatay and to Zach's dad, Raphaël. This morning, Zach and I gave our gift to Raph. We gave him 1.5 kg of candies! :) Zach cannot even carry it by himself so he just hold on to the bag while I was carrying it in front of him. Raphaël was so happy (Candy is his weakness!).

I used a Pamper's paper bag to put 1.5 Kg of candies inside.

Our gift bag :) hehe

My BDAY LOs

2008-06-14T12:48:00.005+02:00

While we were watching football on TV last night (EURO 2008: France vs. Netherlands), I decided to divert in scrapbooking. Halfway through the game, I saw that the dutch team will probably win, so to save myself from shouting and getting frustrated watching the game, I went scrapbooking :) I made 2 LOs of my birthday pictures.

P.S.

The french team lost (4-1).

My Scrap Area A.K.A. Our Dining Table :)

2008-06-13T01:57:00.007+02:00

Voila! Here's where I do my scrapbookin :) I really wish to have my own room/corner/space to scrapbook but because we don't have much space (we just have 70 m²!), I'm contented in occupying our dining table from time to time. You can see also my 4 layer plastic drawer that Raphaël bought me last week. I really needed this, you just can't imagine what I was doing before, where I was keeping all these stuffs! I made it sure that this drawer can contain my 30x30 papers. The wheels are very useful since I'm just squatting this place, I can move around my drawer in a second :)

Spring LO's

2008-06-01T02:50:00.008+02:00

Today, I finally got myself scrapbooking again :) I just received Raphaël's mother's day gift (Mother's day here in France was last week, May 25). Actually, he let me shop for what I want, he just paid them hehe :) I ordered my goodies at Scrapmalin, as usual, plus I ordered EK Success' Cutter Bee Piercing Bugs on Ebay :)

And here are the 2 Los I made today.

I'm not happy with my first LO. It's my first time to use Distress Ink! I have no idea how it works! :) I'm still trying! I don't know why I used the forest green paper! It sucks! and so are the stickers! I think I'll change them.

This one's OK. It's about Printemps (Spring). I bought the DDDesign 7 cut outs long ago! This layout is 100% french :)

Again, I'm tagged!

2008-06-01T02:38:00.003+02:00

Tagged again!
Participants: 1. Me and Mine 2.Creative In Me 3.Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. All Things Me 7. Because Life Is Fun 8. My BIG Picture 9. A Handful of Surprises 10. My Paper Scraps 11. Digitally Diane 12. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. 13. My Scrappylife. 14. Ourlifetogether 15. Hello Kittylynn

Firsts

* First real job: I don't have yet

* First screen name: Kavanette (crush ko kasi noon si Kavana! LOL!)

* First funeral: My Lolo Intsik, my dad's father

* First pet: Dog, si Charlie... kaso pumunta sya ng America when I was 3

* First piercing: ears lang.

* First tattoo: wala pa. I'm thinking of having a Hello Kitty tattoo.. (imagining pala hindi thinking!)

* First credit card: Visa

* First kiss: Raphaël :)

*First enemy: can't remember! i kasi ako pala-away...

Lasts

* Last car ride: Kaninang hapon... nagshopping kami ng food sa Casino (supermarket yun!)

* Last kiss: Si Raphaël pa din :)

Thanks for the tag Sandra! I'm not tagging anybody, la naman kasi gusto sumagot eh...

Help me meet my Daemon :)

2008-05-31T02:38:00.001+02:00

I would like to ask your help to finally meet my Daemon (not Matt Daemon!) hehe :) This is from the movie, The Golden Compass which is based on a book entitled "His Dark Materials". I am reading it now. It's a trilogy and I'm halfway now through reading the 3rd book. It's a very nice book... kind of dark... They arranged the movie well so that kids can watch it. By the way, a daemon is the soul of a person. In Lyra's (the kid heroine) world, their souls are outside their body, in a form of an animal. Before puberty, daemons can change their forms... they can be any animal they wish to be, after puberty their daemon settles in its definite form. I would like to see my daemon too! hehe I answered 20 questions and that gave me a daemon named Andreas, a fox! Please help me meet my daemon by answering 4 (or 5) questions about me (very simple questions). This will help my daemon settle in its true form. It will just take a minute, so friends, please take a look a the questions :) I will help you meet your daemon too if you like :p

After a week of South Beach...

2008-05-27T00:36:00.002+02:00

I already lost 2 kg!!! :) Yey! Raphaël already stopped dieting and left me alone in the battle! grrr! He said he lost all the weight he wanted to lose... and now, he's back into eating junk foods! As for me, I am still faithful to my diet. It's kind of hard but I am still very motivated. I lost more weight this time than the first coz I also weigh more now (I'm heavier than I was 2 yrs ago!) One more week of strict Phase 1 regime. Next week, I can eat back a bit of carbo foods which I really miss eating.

May the force be with me!

Tagged! AGAIN!

2008-05-19T00:39:00.003+02:00

By Maricel, my highschool friend, and is one of my bestfriends. Check out her blog here .Here are the rules that I'm supposed to follow:
Link back to the person that tagged you. (Done!)
Post these rules on your blog. (Done!)
Share six unimportant things about yourself. (Done!)
Tag six people at the end of the entry. (Done!)

1. I love grocery shopping. I am really excited everytime we go to the supermarket. I love reading labels, comparing their nutrition facts and ingredients.
2. I hate ironning the clothes.
3. I love eating Lucky Me Pancit Canton (Kalamansi and the normal one only!)
4. I want to have a Tiffany sterling bracelet and choker...The one with "Please return to Tiffany and Co." I discovered this by watching MTVs Super Sweet Sixteen. I don't have any idea of what this fashion is before!
5. I love wearing makeups... but I'm just too lazy to put them on my face!
6. I prefer using tampons than sanitary pads.

I'm tagging Myra , Kala , Lynneth , Lea , Madie, Alecz
Thanks cel for the tag...

South Beach Diet

2008-05-19T00:12:00.003+02:00

Starting tomorrow, Raph and I will be starting a new regimen... the South Beach diet! Since my pregnancy, I never really tried to shed off the extra kilograms I got. And with the health problem I had these past few months, diet is really not in my to-do list. South beach diet is not new to me. I tried it already 2 yrs ago... and it really works! In 2 weeks, I lost 2.5 kg! I just had to stop South Beach before because I became pregnant of Zachary, and with all the cravings I underwent, it's impossible to be in a regimen! Raphaël wanted to try this diet with me, and I'm really glad that I'm not doing it alone this time. We already did some shopping of what we should eat during the first few days of our diet. The first 2 weeks will be the hardest. This is the Phase 1 where we shouldn't eat any carbo foods (no rice, pasta, potatoes, bread) and just protein and veggies. Carbo foods will come back in small quantities after the 1st phase. I am very happy to start this diet again, I bid farewell to chocolates and chips a few hours ago :)

I can't wait to fit in my old jeans!

Le parc du Grand Blottereau

2008-05-12T12:03:00.009+02:00

Yesterday was a sunny day. During the last 4 days, the temperature here is rising, but most of the days, the sun is hidden by the clouds. Except yesterday. The sun is out so we decided to go for a walk at the park. There are many parks here in Nantes. This time, Raphaël drove us to a park that we've never visited before, Le parc du Grand Blottereau. It's BIG! There's a castle at the entrance and a korean garden. There are many people sun bathing! Here in France, all is closed on sundays. You can't go shopping, all the shops and supermarkets are closed. You can't go malling, all the malls are closed. The only thing you can do on sundays, if you want to go out, is to go to a park. So after lunch, we hopped in the car and drove ourselves to Grand Blottereau park.

Le chateau au parc du Grand Blottereau

Spring Photos

2008-05-10T03:10:00.001+02:00

J'suis deg!

2008-05-08T01:14:00.002+02:00

J'ai regardé Nouvelle Star ce soir. Thomas a été eliminé!!! Je suis dégoutée!!!Franchement, pour moi, c'est lui qui a le meilleur voix de tous... et en plus il a assuré ce soir!!! Il a eu que des bleus de la part de jury... les autres ont des rouges!!! J'ai vraiment aimé sa version de Louxor j'adore (de Philippe Katerine) et Goodbye Philadelphia (de Peter Cincotti). C'est vraiment pas juste!!! J'suis trop deg!

Funny Faces

2008-04-30T13:41:00.008+02:00

Hey!

I'm serious!

Nah!!! I'm kidding!!!

Buh Bye! :)

August Rush

2008-04-25T00:58:00.003+02:00

We just watched this film, August Rush. Nakakaiyak! Medyo bitin ending but it's ok :) It's better than a bad ending naman eh. The kid who played August/Evan is Freddie Highmore. Very adorable kid. He was in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Arthur and the invisibles (les minimoys). I saw him on french tv to plug his movie, and boy, he's so big now! He speaks french too :)

August Rush is a movie about a boy named Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore) who lives in an orphanage, all the while believing that his parents are alive. He believes the music that he hears all around him is his parents communicating with him. Evan meets a counselor, Richard Jeffries (Terrence Howard), of the New York Child Services Department. Evan tells him he does not want to be adopted because he believes his parents are still alive.
Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that his parents are a famous concert cellist named Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell), and Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an Irish guitarist and lead singer from a rock band. While Evan has believed his parents have wanted him all along, his mother only lately comes to find out that her son is alive and sets out to find him. His father has never forgotten Lyla and doesn't know about Evan.
Evan comes to play music for money on the streets, taken in by "Wizard" played by Robin Williams, who gives him the name "August Rush." Eventually, Evan ends up enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music. Plot conflict occurs when Wizard shows up to take him back to his life of playing on the streets.

I was very affected by Keri Russels character. Being a mother, to know that your son is out there somewhere.. not knowing if he's still alive or not, if he's cold, or sick or hungry... or maybe is already happy with his new family... It just breaks my heart. I love being a mother. Zachary changed me a lot. I am so blessed to have him with me. Life has never been this good before Zachary came.

I can play guitar now!!! :)

2008-04-22T02:19:00.002+02:00

Yeah!!! :) I learned how to play "Anyone else but you" by The Moldy Peaches. It was the song that I posted yesterday here in my blog. I heard that song last year from a telecom ad, I think... and I liked it then and there! There was Zinedine Zidane in the commercial, I even thought it was him who sang it! hehehe! Anyway, I just heard this song again the other day when we watch the dvd of Juno. I fell in love with the movie... very touching... and the song at the end was just "la cerise sur le gateau"! Yesterday, I had the song again in my mind, for the whole day... I can't help it! So, I took Raphael's Hello Kitty guitar and looked up the chords on the internet, hoping to learn playing the song all by myself! And guess what... I made it!!! Haha!!! I was lucky coz there's just 2 chords to learn... G and Cmaj7 :) It was really easy and I was singing the song while playing... It's just amazing!!! When Raphael returned in the evening, I showed him and he was surprised! He guessed the song right away! I never imagined that one day, I'll learn how the guitar works.. mostly all by myself! This makes me want to learn more now...

Anyone Else But You

2008-04-21T13:40:00.003+02:00

From the movie JUNO. Song sang by Michael Cera and Ellen Page at the end of the movie. A heartwarming story... definitely a must-see!

You're a part time lover and a full time friend

The monkey on you're back is the latest trend

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

Here is the church and here is the steeple

We sure are cute for two ugly people

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

We both have shiny happy fits of rage

I want more fans, you want more stage

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

You are always trying to keep it real

I'm in love with how you feel

don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of a train

I kiss you all starry eyed, my body's swinging from side to side

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

The pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me

So why can't, you forgive me?

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

Du du du du du du dudu

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you

Guitar Hero :)

2008-04-14T20:54:00.010+02:00

Raph and I were invited by our close friends, Sebastien and Catherine, over their place 2 weeks ago:) We came there for lunch and had a "pierrade de poisson". You cook your own food coz there's a stone (actually, it's electric) that is heating where you cook your food ... kind of like a plancha. There were slices of fishes (Salmon, Cabillaud and I forgot the name of the other), shrimps and bell pepper. It's yummy! They say that we always eat it there when they invite us for a meal, but I don't care! It's super! I love eating that :) C'est trop bon!

After the meal, Zach went off to bed for his afternoon nap. We, the adults, had the time to play Guitar Hero on PS3. Ofcourse, you all know that I don't play guitar. I wish I do! Anyway, I thought that you have to know how to play a guitar in order to play Guitar Hero, but no! :) Sebastien was good in it (Ofcourse, it's his game!) Raphaël played good too. I tried playing 2 songs and it was a disaster. I didn't even finish the songs, coz I suck! :) hehe I don't care, I enjoyed playing it and that's all that matters! :)

Guitar Heroine ;)

screen shot

Bé, don't laugh at me!

Raph and Seb

People I Miss...

2008-04-11T12:48:00.005+02:00

I Miss....

Tatay - I know, he was here in France for like, 4 months. But ofcourse, I miss him coz he's the only real family I got in the Philippines. How I wish we can visit him every week end!

Tita Adeth and my cousins: Robby Ray, Bernalee, and Jennyfer -they are like my real family in the Philippines. Tita Adeth is like my 2nd mom, and her kids are like brother and sisters to me. I'm glad coz they take care of Tatay while I'm gone. :)

My friends in highschool : Sandra, Flory Ann, Andrea, Jenny, Maricel and Rachelle - I miss the times when we go out... overnight at Rachelle's place, kwentuhan, kulitan, shopping, kainan... How I wish we can go out again... all 7 of us! I miss so many get togethers now that I'm here in France. Sana one day, you can all come and visit me here! (di naman ako demanding no?)

My college friends in PLM : Kristine, Marilen, Liza, Marianne - the only girls in the Electrical Engineering block! I'm glad you are all engineers now (except for Marilen, she shifted to Business Administration I think). I heard that you're all working in Fluor... :) cool! Anyway, I'm really happy you succeed... Inggit ako sa inyo kasi mga engineer na kayo! :p

Ninong Eddie, Tita Dory and Tito Nato- Hope to see you again soon! They are Tatay's brothers and sister. They left for the US when I was really young. Since they went there, hindi ko na sila nakita, except for Ninong Eddie. He went back to pinas when my mom died noong 1999.

Tito Manding, Tita Nena, Ninang Necy, Ate Ivy and Kuya Jing - Tito Manding is my mom's cousin. He took care of her when my mom's parents died, that's why I'm super close to their family. We used to celebrate Christmas at their place, in Las Pinas.

Ninong Ed and Ninang Ellen: I met them at Alliance Française de Manille. They studied french there with me and they are really nice to me :) They treat me like their baby coz they don't have kids, inampon na nila ako :) Raph and I took them as our Ninong and Ninang on our wedding. Sana, one day, they can visit us here in France :)

Melissa Andaya- one of my highschool best friend! Grabe, pareho kaming baliw sa streetboys noon (eww!) Crush ko kasi si Spencer Reyes noon, si Jhong Hilario naman type nya! Super close kaming 2 talaga and nagsusulatan pa kami ng letters everyday.. kahit na maghapon kami magkasama, our letters should be read at home ha! para naman di namin ma miss isat isa! Wish ko lang, sana di kami nagkahiwalay ng section noon 3rd yr. When I go back to pinas, I want to see her again!

Lastly, My Mom- It will be 9 yrs (in august) since you've left us. I really really miss you, Ma. How I wish you can meet Zachary, your apo :) He's really cute and I'm sure you will love him! I remember everytime you see babies, you like to carry them around and have them always with you. I wish you can do the same with Zach. Anyway, I know you can see him from heaven. :) I love you!

Vroom! Vrooom!

2008-04-10T19:30:00.000+02:00

This week's scrabook layouts...

2008-04-10T17:33:00.010+02:00

I got my latest order of embellishments last tuesday :) Every week end, Scrapmalin always have a promo. Free shipping for orders above 15 € (instead of 24 €!) but everytime I want to profit of this promotion, I always ending up paying atleast 30 €! Bale wala lang yung promo na hinahabol ko! When I shop for scrap goodies, I just put all the things I want to buy in my shopping cart, then at the end, I eliminate some to reach my budget. How I wish I can buy all the scrapgoodies I want! Scrapmalin also have 15 % off on embellishments, stamps, inks, papers etc... It depends... Last time it was on embellishments... as usual, I spent 30 €! I don't like to count na all the money I spent in scrapbooking... It will just make me sick! Makokonsensya lang ako :)

So, Volia! Some of my latest LOs... :p

2 Month old Zachary

"Lift Off" - Zach and his swing

Precious Bébé

Mon Petit Pirate (My Small Pirate)

Mon Week End à Crevin (My week end at Crevin)

newest LOs

2008-04-08T01:11:00.006+02:00

Here are my newest scrapbook layouts :)

Like Father, Like Son

Mama's Little Boy

And I finally got the Provo Craft Silent Setter I ordered from the US. :) Now, I can put eyelets in my LOs! :) I'm so happy!

Un Jour au Jardin des Plantes

2008-04-07T00:53:00.007+02:00

These tulips are beautiful!

Zachary enjoyed walking on the grass, but he didn't like the feeling of touching the grass! Il n'a pas aimé toucher l'herbe, ça pique!!!

Une petite photo avec ma maman!

Zachary and his new stroller :)

ZACHARY IS WALKING!!!

2008-03-31T16:54:00.004+02:00

Easter and Birthday Presents

2008-03-25T18:11:00.009+01:00

Raphaël gave me a birthday card that he made the day before using my own scrapbooking stuffs! hehe :) He asked me if he can try scrapbooking while I was busy making a layout. I said "Okay, but don't use this.. that... and that... the others there, you can use them." So we worked together on our dining table but he was covering what he was doing... he said it will be a surprise! LOL! a day before my birthday, what can that be? and also letters saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY are missing in my alphabet punch!!! Anyway, I didn't look at his work coz I was busy doing mine. The next day, he said he got the mail already from the post box (even though there's no postman working yesterday coz it's "Lundi de Paques" aka. holiday) and handed me an envelope with heart punches on it :) hehe How sweeet!

He also gave me flowers plus a hen and her eggs in chocolate.

Me and my gateau :p

My best birthday present

as promised!

2008-03-25T00:36:00.010+01:00

I finally got time to do scrapbooking again! Hurray! :) Raphaël had a long week end of 4 days (friday-saturday-sunday-monday), so he was able to help me in taking care of Zachary. Yesterday, I decided to occupy our dining table to work on Christmas LOs. :) I did two yesterday and two today.

Secret Santa Zach

All I Want for Christmas

Xmas in Family

Mon Premier Noël

(My First Christmas)

I am running out of papers. I have to do an order again in Scrapmalin. I am thinking of buying Provo Silent Setter for eyelets. I think its a cool gadget ;) For anyone who wish to offer me a birthday gift, you can buy me ANYTHING! hehe Anything that I can use for scrapbooking, that is! :)

edit:

I already bought the Provo Craft Silent Eyelet Setter through ebay! Paid 23USD instead if 23.90 €!!!

Happy Birthday To Me! :)

2008-03-24T22:16:00.002+01:00

Oh my! I'm 26! :)

Thanks for all the people who greeted me today!

Bisous!

Happy 1st Birthday ZACHARY!

2008-03-10T23:14:00.004+01:00

Happy birthday my Zachary ! Mama and Papa loves you so much! We wish you good health and hope you grow well :) Soit gentil toujours! Nous t'aimons trop, notre bébé d'amour!!!

Larusso is back!

2008-03-07T01:51:00.003+01:00

I was watchin tv a while ago... (La Methode Cauet) and I saw Larusso for the first time on french tv! She was the singer of the famous song "On ne s'aimera plus jamais" (it's not famous at all here in France, but this song was a cult in the Philippines when I was still in college: 2001 i think) She's not a redhead anymore... her hair is deep brown now. She was promoting her new album which is still untitled... hehehe... They played a part of the first single and it's not that bad. Personally, I like her coz her songs are up beat, makes me wanna dance rightaway... I hate french rnb songs (though some are supportable: Amel and Shym are ok). Larusso talked about what she did during the time she left the scene... she said that she became famous in the Philippines :) hehe She said it was crazy, the way the filipinos adored her and her song... coz filipinos don't speak french at all but the people sing her song phonetically...It's funny coz when I was still in the Philippines, I had her album... and I can't understand a thing of what her songs are saying... but now, to see her talking on tv and understanding every word she's saying... it's crazy!

tagged!

2008-03-03T13:16:00.002+01:00

I've been tagged by Maricel !

So these are the rules. Read on...
A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was about to finish high school. I was probably getting ready to attend the Junior-Senior Prom (10 yrs ago tomorrow to be exact!) whew! I can't believe 10 yrs have passed!

Things on my to-do list today: feed Zach, change his nappy, send him off to bed for a nap, do a scrapbook page, have shower, do the laundry, play with Zachary... and shop for food :)

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: How I wish! well, I think I will buy houses: 1 in the Philippines, 1 here in France and 1 in the US. I wish to have an island also for holidays in the pacific. I will travel the whole world with my family. I will do charity works to prevent hunger in the world and I will help WWF to keep our planet living.

3 of my bad habits: sleeping late at night, compulsive buying, stays on the net too long!

3 places I have lived: Novaliches, Quezon City (where I grew up in the Philippines), Rennes France, then now in Nantes.. still in France.

5 jobs that I have had: if JOB means -A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or profession... then in that case, I've never had a job yet!!! well, I did babysitt a few times... does that count? I am really planning to have a mini baby day care at home when my health permits me:)

5 Things people don't know about me:1) I'm a natural born dancer! LOL! 2)I have a not so awful singing voice 3) I spent a month and a half in the hospital (October-November 2007) for spine infection. 4) I love Dawson's Creek so much and I collect their DVDs... I used to be a fan of Joshua and Katie love team... and I'm real sad of what happened to Katie now...I used to like her! 5) I cried watching the movie "The Lion King" in the cinema when I was 12! I really cried like a baby when Simba's dad died... so sad...

So now It's my turn to tag other people...

sorry, I don't have anybody to tag anymore, coz all the people I know has been tagged before me :) so this ends here. byebye!

Look Mama, No hands!

2008-03-03T12:45:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, Zachary finally began his first steps! I'm so happy... well, I can't say he's really walking now... but he managed to do 3 consecutive steps all alone, to come to me! I screamed of happiness, and I'm so proud of my baby! He'll be turning 1 next week... my little boy is really growing up. I hope he won't grow up too fast coz right now, I'm really enjoying being his mom. I love taking care of him, changing his nappy, feeding him, playing with him, talking to him, having breakfast in bed with him etc. :) I'm so lucky to have such a sweet, gentle, loving and cute baby.

As for now, I know that Zachary will be walking real soon! He's still working on his balance and I'm still working on baby proofing our home :)

Bon Appetit Zach!

2008-02-27T13:35:00.003+01:00

Zachary at 4 1/2 months
"My High Chair"

Zachary at 5 months

"C'est Bon"

NEW SOUL by Yael Naim

2008-02-23T12:25:00.004+01:00

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take.

But since I came here Felt the joy and the fear Finding myself making every possible mistake La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

I'm a young soul in this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit about what is true and fake.

But why all this hate? Try to communicate Finding trust and love is not always easy to make. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

This is a happy end cause' you don't understand everything you have done why's everything so wrong

This is a happy end come and give me your hand I'll take your far away.

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take But since I came here felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake

The new soul in this very strange world

Possible mistakes

Every possible mistakes

From mistakes

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la... La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

encore!

2008-02-21T20:38:00.005+01:00

I was feeling productive today! :) Here are two more LOs that I finished today during Zach's afternoon nap.

Famille GOIN

Zachary and Tatay

I am soooooooo enjoying scrapbooking!

Sleeping Baby

2008-02-20T16:42:00.008+01:00

Sssssh! Zachary's sleeping!

Mommy's Little Baby

Here are my 2 finished scrapbook layouts. Am I getting better at this? :)

Baby's Bath

2008-02-16T12:28:00.003+01:00

I made this layout the other day. It's so simple, and I didn't really think of decorating it so much. I got myself a perfect paper to put Zach's bath pictures, and just really tried my best to put the pictures well. My objective for this one was to put all these pictures in that paper without cutting them... (I don't like cutting pictures!) I think I can still add something later when I get the right embellishments for this.

Happy Hearts day!

2008-02-14T02:28:00.004+01:00

Here's my rush valentine's card for Raphaël. I already gave it to him an hour ago (it's 2:30 am now, I gave it before we entered the bed, now he's sleeping and I'm still blogging!). He's quite happy with it and I think he already forgave me for all the scrap shopping I did ;p hehe I just did a mistake on the inside. It should be "Joyeuse" not "Joyeux" (meaning HAPPY). In french, everything, every noun, has a gender... and I thought since Saint is a masculine, and so is the name Valentin (Valentine for girls), that the adjective to say Happy should be also masculine!!! I was wrong!!! Raph told me it should be "Joyeuse Saint Valentin"! I asked why... and he just said it's like that! He knows its stupid but it's like that... he can't even give me an explaination!

Front text says: "I have something that belongs to you..."

Interior text says: "my heart"... Happy Valentine's day Poopee, I Love You , Boobee

My Very First Scrapbook Layout

2008-02-14T02:05:00.003+01:00

Voila! So I finally made my debut in the world of scrapbooking! I know it's a simple one... probably, a gradeschooler can make a replica of it... but I'm happy of what I've done :) This is my favorite picture of Zachary. He was 1 month and a day old. It was really the first time that we caught his smile (a real social one) on cam. We used this photo as our thank you card for all the gifts we got. That's why there's MERCI written on it. :)

I used cut outs for the "smile" word (got it from different magazines, the letter E was from a cereal box!). I still don't have letter embellishments... I ordered letter stickers and cut outs from the US. It will take a while for them to come. Then I used sequins for the "1st". I bought them on sale last saturday at E.Leclerc for .50 cents each capsule. I didn't have the materials from scrapmalin yet when I started it, so I was like trying all the scraps I can find at home :) hehe

Finally! Scrap supplies are here! :)

2008-02-12T19:31:00.000+01:00

Yey! :) I finally got my first order of scrap goodies! Thanks to Scrapmalin for their fast preparation and shipping. I was super excited when I was opening the box, I already forgot what I bought so I was like opening a box full of surprises! Ofcourse, I'm so new in scrapbooking and some of the things are just not familiar to me:) All in all, I'm glad of what I bought. There were 71 items in the invoice... I didn't even check it, I'm just too lazy!

Sorry for the poor picture. I'm too lazy to show all the things inside the box. I don't have enough place to spread them coz our room is such a mess! Also, I didn't have time coz I had to bring Zachary to the doctor downstairs to show the abscess he got from his anti-tuberculose vaccine. Then I went to the dentist for a dental filling and cleaning... no time talaga today!

Next Car? ...PART 2

2008-02-12T19:27:00.000+01:00

I'm going crazy! Somebody help me! Raphaël wants to sell our Renault Scenic to buy a Renalt Scenic!!!

Au secours!!!

Next Car?

2008-02-10T01:52:00.000+01:00

I spent this day listening to Raphael's reasoning of why he would buy a Toyota Prius for our next car. Ofcourse, I would love to have a Prius, who wouldn't? It's ecologic and it doesn't look that bad :) Anyways, I was tired of having to talk about our next car mostly if we don't have the money to buy it... so probably, the next car would be for...... i-don't-know-when! :p

Though, it's funny to listen Raphael talking about cars... He does have an unending list of his futur car. Few weeks ago, his futur car was a BMW X5... then a Volkswagen Touareg... then a Mazda Rx8 and since yesterday, a Toyota Prius! I wonder what's next...

My First Scrapbooking Kit

2008-01-26T01:24:00.000+01:00

Because I have friends that are persuading me to go into scrapbooking, I finally got myself... a Scrapbooking kit! I found it chez E.Leclerc last tuesday, thought I'll make it for Zachary's 1st Birthday which is coming soon (March 10!). I already have a baby album for Zach... It's like scrapbooking also but it's almost done, you just have to put pictures and write notes on it. This one is an Anne Geddes kit. The price was 13€ but I paid it 3€ less coz we have their fidelity card. Here it is.

I actually don't know how to start! Being a newbie, I'm super scared to do a real SCRAP! hehe... I have to print photos of Zach for this and make sure I won't put the same photos than on my other baby album. I haven't started it yet... I hope I'll succeed in my first scrapbooking experience :)

Zach @ 10 months!

2008-01-24T15:30:00.000+01:00

Benefit

2008-01-24T01:24:00.000+01:00

I just got the Benefit makeups that I ordered chez Sephora! I've waited for so long to finally decide if I will buy BeneTint, their lip and cheek stain... I was still in the Philippines when it became famous and since then, I've been dying to have one. These makeups are pricey! If it weren't for the 20% off and a 7 € coupon (plus free shipping), I wouldn't buy them. Anyway, I also bought their High Beam illuminator... I tried it in their boutique 2 weeks ago and I was impressed :) Lastly, I took their Lip plump...It gives lips smoother, fuller look!

I tried them right away but you can't really notice here in this picture... I still don't know how to put them properly... I have to try more :) the Lip Plump was really good.. sobrang smooth ng lips.. nabawasan yung mga lines... and yung lipstick sobrang ganda ng pagka-apply .... I'm not disappointed!

I'm a Rock Star Kitty!

2008-01-14T00:32:00.000+01:00

This Kitty guitar's almost mine :) Actually, it's Raph's! He just got it yesterday. He have two other guitars that he's trying to sell right now. I was dreaming for this Hello Kitty guitar for so long... I could have bought it months ago but the problem is that I don't know how to play guitar... I was forcing Raph to sell his two guitars even before... then I said "What if you sell the Yamaha and the B.C. Rich to buy the Hello Kitty Guitar?". Ofcourse he said "NO!" but later on, he liked my idea :) He wanted to have a new guitar but he know he won't have it if I don't agree on it... so with the Hello Kitty, it's a win-win for both of us :) I told him I will borrow his guitar sometimes (there's an online tutorial at Fender Hello Kitty website: http://www.fenderhellokitty.com/).

Maintenant, je suis très motivée d'apprendre jouer la guitare! hehe <3<3<3

SOLDES!

2008-01-13T00:25:00.000+01:00

Yes!!! The nationwide sale has finally arrived! :) Since January 9, I was spending my day surfing internet shops to find something worth buying for. I was so disappointed of the sale of victoria couture. Their pre-sale promos were better than their promotions right now... so I pushed off the idea of buying something there(tant pis! maybe they will do another mark down). I already spent a lot buying stuffs at La Redoute (the best online/catalog shop!) I bought a cacharel duffle coat (even if I already have one) and 3 other Cacharel stuffs... It was 75 % off! Great catch ;)

Today, I got my D&G watch that I ordered (my christmas gift to me). La voila!

hehe...bling-bling daw sabi ni Raph!

Kitty by Victoria Couture

2008-01-05T23:14:00.000+01:00

I have another "coup de foudre" right now :) This Hello Kitty pullover 100 % cashmere by Victoria Couture!

Right now they're having a vente privée just before the nationwide sale (january 9, I can't wait anymore!) and their prices are so tempting. This pullover that I'm eyeing costs 260 euros... and right now, they sell it for 104 €!!! (I know, it's still expensive but for a cashmere it's OK... plus it's Hello Kitty!!! ohhh je l'adore tropppp!!!!) Here's Paris Hilton wearing the same pullover but in mint green :)

p.s. i don't like Paris Hilton... but what can I do? she loves Hello Kitty too!!!

Juicy Couture

2008-01-01T21:06:00.000+01:00

I suddenly crave for this Juicy Couture charm bracelet. It's soooo cute! :)

hay... it's another addition in my wishlist... hope 2008 won't pass without me having it!

2008!

2008-01-01T21:01:00.000+01:00

Bonne Année!

Happy New Year!

Maligayang Bagong Taon!

2008

Christmas Photos

2007-12-28T01:47:00.001+01:00

We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

2007-12-25T20:18:00.000+01:00

Me and my family wish you a wonderful Christmas! May God bless us all :)

lots of love,

Lynnette, Raphael and Zachary

Tatay's back! :)

2007-12-16T15:32:00.000+01:00

Yes it's true! He just arrived last saturday here in Nantes. We're all so happy coz this will be our first christmas with tatay. Tatay arrived at the airport of Nantes at almost 2PM. He should arrive at 10 AM but he missed his flight for Nantes coz the plane he took to go to Paris came late and it took him more than an hour to recover his luggage. He was so mad at Etihad Airways... me too! Anyway, after we got him from the airport (it was too cold! 2°C), we went to eat at KFC!!! (the only one in Nantes... coz KFC is soooo rare here). It was about 3PM, there weren't much people and we took a bucket of chicken tenders... yummy! I just wish they serve their chicken with gravy like they do in the Philippines. They just have barbeque, curry and sweet and sour sauce. We went home after and we all took a nap (except for Raphael, coz he was too busy trying his new HD handycam). Chris was happy to see tatay again :) They spent the night together like usual :p Tatay brought me soooo many pasalubong: polvoron, turones de mani, banana chips, egg crackers, pastillas de leche, Babyruth chocolates, and sarsa ni mang tomas! hehehe :)

Zachary's 9 months old :)

2007-12-10T13:03:00.000+01:00

Time passes by so quickly. 9 months ago, Zachary came into this world. He was so little, so fragile... and now, I feel like he grows up so fast! He just started to say "dadadada" and "babababa" a week ago. It was so funny coz now he's really trying to talk. Everytime he's talking, my heart melts :) It's just soooo cute! My baby's really growing up. He can also sit alone for a long time now. Zachary's development is amazing. He'll be crawling soon and before I know it, he'll be running around in our house already :)

Desperate Desperate Housewives

2007-10-03T19:10:00.000+02:00

After months of waiting for the 4th season of the Desperate Housewives tv series, I was quite disapponted with the season's first episode. There's this scene where Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) was told by a gynecoligist that she might be hitting menopause, she was furious and replied "Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines." Huh? What did she say again? I was shocked of what she had just said. Are the script writers soooo desperate to be funny that's why they use that kind of joke? Well, it really didn't made me laugh. There's this petition online going on to ask ABC and Desperate Housewives to apologize to all the Filipinos who were watching and for all the Filipino doctors who work in the US. Here's the link: http://www.petitiononline.com/FilABC/petition.html

It made me hate Susan Mayer much more!

Funny quotes (tagalog)

2007-09-29T19:09:00.000+02:00

"Pinapaikot mo lang ako. Nagsasawa na ako. Mabuti pang patayin mo na lang ako."
-electric fan

"Hindi lahat ng walang salawal ay bastos."
-Winnie d' Pooh

"Alam mo ba wala akong ibang hinangad kundi ang mapalapit sayo. Pero patuloy ang pag-iwas mo."
-ipis

"Hala! Sige magpakasasa ka! Alam ko namang katawan ko lang ang habol mo."
-hipon

"Ayoko na! Pag nagmamahal ako lagi na lang maraming tao ang nagagalit! Wala ba akong karapatang magmahal?!?"
-gasolina

"Hindi lahat ng green ay masustansya."
-plema

"Hindi ko hinahangad na ipagmalaki mo na ako'y sa'yo. Ayoko lang naman na sa harap ng maraming tao, ganun mo na lang ako itanggi.."
-utot

"Sawang sawa na ako. Palagi na lang akong pinagpapasa-pasahan, pagod na pagod na ako."
-bola

"You never know what you have till you lose it. And once you lose it, you can never get it back
-snatcher

"Ginawa ko naman lahat para sumaya ka. Mahirap ba talagang makontento sa isa? Bakit palipat-lipat ka?
-TV

"Hindi lahat ng maasim may vitamin c"
-kili kili

"Sige, batihin mo ako.... Sigeee.....BATEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
-omelette

Pilitin mo man na alisin ako sa buhay mo, babalik at babalik ako!
-libag

"Huwag mo na akong bilugin.."
-kulangot

Paano tayo makakabuo kung hindi ako papatong sa iyo?
-Lego

"Hindi lahat ng dugo pwedeng i-donate"
-regla

Zachary in his Jumperoo!

2007-09-27T11:43:00.000+02:00

My Vaio

2007-09-27T11:36:00.001+02:00

Just want to show you my new toy :) hehehe

Buhayin ang blog!!!

2007-09-24T20:25:00.000+02:00

Oh di ba? Sobrang tagal na wala akong entry dito sa blog ko na 'to. Akala nyo siguro inabandona ko na 'tong blog ko ano? hehehe Pasensya na kase sobrang naging busy ako pag-aalaga kay Zachary, ngayong medyo malaki na sya, medyo nagkaka-oras na ulit akong mag-internet. Meron na din pala akong sariling laptop kaya mas madali na akong makakapag-post ng messages dito.

O sya, maghintay muna kayo ng konti ;) Hanggang sa susunod!

I'm a mom!

2007-03-20T14:26:00.000+01:00

Zachary Angelo GOIN, born March 10, 2007 at 7: 17 pm (Paris time).

Oh boy, oh boy, oh BOY!

2006-11-08T19:43:00.000+01:00

We're having a baby boy!

=)

2006-10-19T15:07:00.000+02:00

Louise, Ma Niece Preferee :)

I'm 3 months pregnant!

2006-08-29T11:56:00.000+02:00

The title says it all :) Sorry for not giving you any news for so long... we have been very busy. 2 weeks before leaving for the Philippines, Raphael and I were surprised to know that I'm pregnant. Anyway, so we spent 3 weeks in the Philippines (sorry for those who I promised to meet during our stay in the Philippines! We've been able to meet some of you... pasensya na sa mga hindi namin nakita!) After our vacation there, we went straight to Macon (in Burgundy) where the grandparents of Raphael live and during our 3rd year anniversary (August 10), we've announced them the great news :)

I am enjoying my pregnancy right now (though I gained 3 kilos already! that was all the weight I lost during my South Beach dieting… yeah, I was on South beach diet the time I found out I was pregnant). My pants are starting to get smaller now. Yesterday, I had my first trimester ultrasound. Raphael and I were so happy to see our baby for the first time! It was amazing! The doctor told us everything seems normal so there’s nothing to worry about. She handed us some pictures of our baby before leaving. Raphael and I were so happy when we left the clinic. We’ll be coming back there on the 6th or November for the 2nd ultrasound. That’s the time we’ll know if it’s a boy or a girl.

So here she/he is:

Happy 25th birthday Raphael!!!

2006-06-26T23:05:00.000+02:00

Happy birthday honey! Je t'aime trop!!!! :)

1st day of summer

2006-06-21T14:12:00.000+02:00

Finally, summer has officially arrived!!! C'est la fête de la musique aujourd'hui :)

Another thing I'm happy about is that I passed the DELF B2 exam:) et, oui!!! je suis très contente! regardez mes notes :) (yabang ko daw!)

ECRIT
Comprehension : 20/25
Production : 19/25

ORAL
Comprehension : 19/25
Production : 15/25

Note finale : 73/100

Yesterday, I invited Raquel, my Peruvian friend (half peruvian, half japanese, she looks like a Filipina) for a drink. She'll be leaving this afternoon for Switzerland. I'm gonna miss her:(

Tout le monde part sauf moi... my friends in french class are going back to their countries... I hope to see them again somewhere...someday...

Ricard Live 2006

2006-05-19T00:26:00.000+02:00

Last tuesday, I had a chance to see Amel Bent and Daniel Powter live in a free concert by Ricard. Nantes was the first city where they performed (they'll be touring around France).

Nantes : Mardi 16 Mai (Parking de l'Ile Gloriette)
Amiens : Vendredi 19 Mai (Parc de la Hotoie)
Pau : Mardi 23 Mai (Place de Verdun)
Bordeaux : Mardi 30 Mai (Place de la Victoire)
Toulouse : 1 Juin (Parking du Zenith)
Marseille : Vendredi 2 Juin (Parvis du Stade Vélodrome - entrée Jean Bouin)
Grenoble : Mardi 6 Juin (Parc Mistral)
Besançon : Jeudi 8 Juin (Parking Chamars)

We had a great time :) Sulit na sulit hehe (syempre, libre kasi) :p

Spectacle Dance 2006

2006-05-14T02:33:00.000+02:00

Spectacle de Danse d'Ecole de Danse Blanche Burlin; 13 Mai 2006 au Conservatoire de Nantes

Click Here For Pictures