Michi Photostory

These Bear Insert Greeting Cards are from Digital Gems; the square version is from Cricut Design Space, you can do this if you have Access Subscription. The rectangle version is available on her website and other design stores.

The Flower and Heart Card is a score, draw, and cut project. I am trying other colors of my Cricut Pens so I didn’t use a black one. I didn’t like the pen that I used here. 

I like this Valentine's Insert Greeting Card design but I am also not happy with the result, next time I will use a different color of pen, or maybe I will try foiling. 

And finally, the I Totally Dig You easel card using the 3D Construction Site of Digital Gems. 

Anyway, we went to Festival Mall last weekend because we needed to buy costumes for my son’s MAPEH class; they will be having a dance competition per class. When my son showed the picture, akala ko wala na ko problem kasi ganun din yung sinuot niya sa wedding ng brother-in-law ko but he said, black pants and black suspender daw. Waah! So I need to buy pa pala. 

But before looking for the costume, we had an early lunch at Ramen Nagi. In my mind, I’ve already tried this restaurant before but when I checked their menu, ooh, first time pala. On the table, there is an order sheet and menu but in the end, the staff was the one who answered the sheet when we placed our order. Nahalata siguro na first time namin. Hehehe! 

Nung nagsabihan kami ng order, pare-pareho pala kami na Butao King ang order so I just changed my order na lang. We ordered Butao King PHP430, Limited King PHP650, Pork Tonkatsu PHP290, Gyoza PHP250, and Coke PHP88 + Service Charge. 

Paano naman hindi kami magkakapareho, according to their menu Butao King is an award-winning tonkotsu pork broth prepared in the traditional method. Mouth-wateringly rich, fresh, and aromatic; special handcrafted noodles and classic Nagi pork chashu. 

They served the ramen first and for me, it was already a big serving but my two boys finished their bowl of ramen, magkaiba yung thickness ng noodles nila. When my order came, I was surprised because it was only Pork Tonkatsu, I thought meal na. Toink! But I did not order rice na since may cabbage and bean sprouts. We’re all satisfied with our meal.

By the way, I checked my old blog posts, Ramen Kuroda and Ramen Young Wasabi pala yung nakainan namin dati. Puro Ramen kasi yung first word. Hehehe! 

 

1. Free One Butao King for the birthday celebrator who will dine in at any Ramen Nagi branch within his/her birthday month. 

2. The birthday celebrator must be physically present and accompanied by at least two full-paying customers who will get any two bowls of ramen from the following: Butao King, Green King, Red King, Black King, Wonder Kakuni King, Limited King. 

3. Promo is valid from January 1 to December 31, 2024 

4. The promo can be availed multiple times within the birth month. Strictly one transaction per day per branch.

I found the box template at Cricut Design Space, the file is for brownies but when I checked the size, it could fit 6 pieces of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I only cut the box template and I added an extra layer of acetate. 

Then using my Christmas Colors scrap paper, I cut and assembled the dragon. I am so happy with the result, I like the combination of glitter and mirror foil cardstock. 

2024 is year of the dragon daw, taon ng mga dragon na misis so bigyan ng chocolates pampakalma. Hehehe!

Since lunchtime nga, marami na tao so we ended up with Texas Roadhouse. It’s been years since the last time we ate here and namimiss ko na rin yung bread nila. I was happy that Texas Roadhouse has already a branch in the province, first time namin sa branch na ito. 

Upon being seated, the staff gave us the menu and informed us about their 50% off promo. They asked us to show our credit cards to confirm that it is part of the list. After verification, we started browsing the menu, yung promo nila is pang regular price lang so we cannot order the bundles or set meals if we want to avail of the promo. 

Since Texas Roadhouse is known for steak, we ordered their Legendary Combos, 6oz Sirloin & Baby Back Ribs PHP1,595 + SC, and 6oz Sirloin & Shrimp PHP1,495 + SC. The combo meal includes two side dishes, we chose, garlic rice, mashed potato, and buttered corn, We ate bread and peanuts while waiting for our order.

I was excited about our order because we already tried Texas Roadhouse steak before and ito rin yung binalikan ni hubby na restaurant when he went to Texas, USA. But unfortunately, my excitement turned into disappointment, we ordered two combos, pero yung steak na kasama ng Baby Back Ribs, ang kunat at ang hirap ichew. Good thing, okay yung steak na kasama nung shrimp. Pero sayang pa rin kung hindi mo maenjoy yung steak na inorder mo. 

The baby back ribs and shrimp tasted good but we were disappointed with the steak, we ordered medium steak but it was not tender. This was the first time that I was not satisfied with our Texas Roadhouse experience. We did not complain about it kasi naslice at nakain na yung iba, hindi nga lang naubos. Good thing that there is a 50% discount. I mentioned pa naman in one of my posts na if I want steak, I would consider Texas Roadhouse but because of our recent experience, napapaisip na ko. I just hope it is an isolated case. 

I’ve mentioned before that we got sick during Christmas break and buti na lang umaayos na pakiramdam namin so we were able to go to the mall before the year 2023 ended. We had last-minute shopping for gifts and grocery na rin. 

I can’t remember the last time that we went to Alabang Town Center so when I saw Watami Grill & Sushi Bar, mukhang bago sa paningin ko. According to my research, Watami is a Japanese casual restaurant that has 700 + branches in Japan and Asia Pacific. 

We were the first diners so we just took our time browsing the menu pero sa first page din pala kami pipili. Hehehe! We decided to try the Yakiniku Set Meal, there are four choices but Sirloin is not available so we ordered Top Blade PHP375, Chuck Roll P395, Cube Roll PHP395, and Tuna Sashimi PHP400. 

The set meal comes with rice, miso soup, and 3 kinds of side dishes. I thought we were going to cook the meat pa pero hindi pala, luto na pala siya. Among the meat, yung top blade ang hindi namin type, mas tender yung chuck roll, and cube roll. Also, they served complimentary tea din pala while waiting for our order.

I’ve been seeing a lot of magnetic bookmark craft projects in the craft community but it never crossed my mind to try this because I already have a magnetic bookmark. The magnetic bookmark that I am currently using is already more than a decade old, sulit yung bili ko. 

Anyway, because of the challenge, I finally made my first magnetic bookmark. Good thing that I have a magnetic sheet at home since I am using that for my dies. I found this LOVE SVG file on Cricut Design Space and I decided to use it for my bookmark. You can use photosticker or photopaper + phototop and of course magnetic sheet to recreate this project.

I just realized na wala pa kami gaanong mirror sa bahay so it took me a long time na gawin itong project na ito, hindi ko kasi alam kung saan ididikit. Good thing that I found this mirror, so I cut “Do What You Love” SVG file using Frosted Glitter vinyl. 

I don’t have a sublimation printer and mug press but I like this Cute Couple Bear so I printed it using Vinyl Sticker and added Glitter Phototop. 

Now, I only keep one clear plastic container where I dump all my scrap and if I have extra time, I will sort those scraps into my file folders so I can arrange per color or shades. One of my goals this year is to limit my scrap so for the past few weeks, I have been trying my best to use my leftovers.

This week, I joined “Bee Happy Weeklies Week 4: Save that Scrap” so since Valentine’s Day is near, I decided to make a gift tag using my scraps. I used pink, red, and white cardstock for this project. Remember my Heart Shape Treat Box, I also used that paper so no more leftovers. 

I love making layered paper craft so it is not surprising that I made 3D Love Gift Tag. I found this 3D Love Shadow Box on Cricut Design Space but I reduced the size to 2.5 inches so it can fit to my scrap paper. 

I cut the design, assembled and attached it to my gift tag base. At first, I wanted to use an eyelet but in the end, I used a Hole Reinforcer Puncher so I could still use my scrap paper.

My first project is the I Heart U card, This is an insert card but I tweaked the design a little bit so I can make 3 different cards. 

For the first card, I just cut the original design and added an insert card. 

The second card is the I Heart U Shaker Card; using contour, I removed the corners and attached it to a 4.25 x 5.25 inches rectangle. I cut the design and embossed it using die cutting machine. Add acetate 4.25 x 5.25 inches, foam tape, and heart elements. Attached to the card base which is 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches and scored at 4.25 inches. 

And for the third card; I cut "I Heart U" in red color and attached to the white "I Heart U" of the first two cards for dimension. I die-cut 4.25x5.25 inches of white cardstock for the heart design. Attached to the card base and glued the "I Heart U". 

My second craft project is the Heart Shape Treat Box, this project is part of the community project that I just recreated. I already shared this project on this post. 

My last craft project is the "I'm Crazy aBAO You" couple shirt. This is an easy project because I just cut, weed, and iron the design on our t-shirts. This is the first project that I did using the Cricut Easy Press 3 prize that I got last year. I am just not sure if my husband will wear this. hehehe!

So this month, I searched about Passport Renewal for Minors kasi every time naman na nagrerenew kami, lagi may bago. Like this year, nasa Festival Mall na pala yung DFA NCR South, wala ng Saturday appointment and I can pay online na rin, before kasi nagBayad Center pa kami. 

I want to renew his passport as soon as possible because I know na mahirap makakuha ng appointment and ayaw ko naman maabutan pa ng expiration, what if need namin umalis. So I’ve been checking my son’s class schedule and DFA schedule so I can book an appointment. 

I checked the different DFA sites and I narrowed down my choices to these sites. 

But after checking their calendars, San Pedro Laguna site ang marami available na dates. Yung DFA NCR South, February na ang earliest pero sa San Pedro Laguna, I can book for the second week of January. My son has two days offline classes kaso si hubby naman ang hindi pwede mag Vacation Leave. Good thing half day lang sila kapag exam so tinapat ko doon yung appointment niya. 

1. Go to DFA site https://www.passport.gov.ph/appointment 

2. Check the box “I have read and understood the instructions and information on this page…”

3. Choose an Individual Appointment or Group Appointment 

4. Choose your Preferred Site 

5. Check the box “I have read, understood, and agree to the above conditions”

6. Choose the date and time 

7. Fill out Personal Information, Family Information, Application Information, and Contact Information

8. Choose the Processing Type. Wala naman ibang option kundi Special Processing 

9. Choose payment method 

10. Choose Pick-up or Courier 

I chose pick-up and the designated passport pick-up location is at DFA NCR South at Festival Mall. 

I chose a debit/credit card and the amount I paid is PHP1,250. The passport processing fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. 

Passport Fee is PHP950 

PRF Fee is PHP250 

Convenience Fee PHP50 

11. Check email and print the attached application forms and email confirmations. (A4-size paper)

1. Confirmed Online Appointment 

2. Accomplished Application Form 

3. Personal Appearance of minor applicant and either parent or authorized adult companion 

4. Current ePassport with a photocopy of the data page 

5. A Marriage Certificate is required if only one parent is accompanying the child. 

If parents are unmarried, a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) executed by the Mother will be required if she is not accompanying the child 

If a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) is executed abroad, it must be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate Original and photocopy of proof of filiation and/or guardianship 

6. Passport or Valid Government-issued ID of either parent with one (1) photocopy  

7. School ID (if applicable) 

The PSA Birth Certificate was not on the list pero sinama ko kasi yung last na renewal namin, hinanap pa e. I photocopied the PSA certificates and sinama ko pa rin yung original PSA certificates. Kinuha nila both photocopy of birth and marriage certificates, pero yung photocopy ng school ID ng anak ko hindi. 

Also, niremind ko si hubby na huwag pabutasan yung passport, kapag claim na lang namin ng passport saka butasan. Valid pa yung passport so we can still use it habang wala pa yung new passport. We can claim his passport after 2 weeks.