Michi Photostory

When I was a kid I used to watch Doogie Howser M.D., if you were born in the 80’s I’m pretty sure you are familiar with the series. At the end of the day, Doogie will type his entry on his personal computer diary while I write my feelings, memories and random thoughts in my diary. But I stopped writing when I graduated from college and started working.




Some people may never understand why I blog but I have my own reasons why I love being a mom and blogger. I love being a mom because I know not all women can bear a child and I’m really thankful that God gave me a chance to become a mother.

I know there’s no place like home but if there is one place that I want to live in aside from my country that would be Norway. I was been in Norway several years ago, and I was fortunate to have a three-month vacation, and indeed it is one of my memorable vacations.

                                         
Happy Golden Birthday to you! It was sad that we couldn’t be with you on your special day for obvious reasons, the plane ticket is so expensive and is not yet vacation time. Thank God for technology because I can greet you in my post.

I rarely feature airports, in fact, Iloilo Airport is the second airport that I will post on my site. Well, I just want to share these photos with you. I don’t mind paying P200 for the terminal fee if the airport has good facilities and amenities.

dito ko nakaupo habang nagbabantay!

It is not a secret anymore that I love joining giveaways and last month I was so lucky because I won 5 giveaways and Bright Bakers kit is one of my winnings.

Two weeks ago I received the package but I was too lazy to bake. I supposed to bake this last weekend but when I read the recipe book, there’s one missing ingredient so I have to ask Bright Bakers first, thank God for twitter and facebook page.

I only use whisk and fork to mix the batter. I use mixer for the icing

After 30 minutes…

hindi pa presentable, hehe!

presentable na. =)

pwede pang regalo. =)

This is supposed to be my Day 2 itinerary but I have to move it to our last day and cancel my day 4 itinerary which is one day tour in El Dorado Waterpark. When I booked our Iloilo trip, I invited a friend if she wants to come with us but she said “anong meron sa Iloilo? Wala naman yata interesting sites dun”. Well, Iloilo is not known for tourist spots but you can have a side trip in Guimaras or visit old churches. Though I’m not a Catholic, I enjoyed visiting different churches because not all churches look the same. Each church has its own beauty and story to tell.

At 8AM, we started our Church Tour; we just took San Joaquin Jeep. First stop is San Joaquin church. It took 1 hour and 30 minutes before we reached the church. Biyaheng-langit pa nasakyan namin, I was really scared that time but thank God, we’re safe.















Construction of this church began in 1787 while fray Francisco M. Gonzales D.S.A. was parish priest of this town and Domingo Libo-on was Gobernadorcillo. The church was completed in 1797. It served as fortress against muslim raides. In 1898, during the revolution, the church was destroyed. Subsequently rebuitl, it was damaged by fire in 1910. It was badly damaged by earthquake in 1948. Restoration work began in 1960 and completed in 1962. During the term of office of most Rev. Jose Ma. Cuenco, D.D. Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro, of Msgr. Gernando S. Javillo D.P. parish priest of this town and Dioscoro Mueda, municipal mayor.

Guimbal Plaza

I’m pretty sure that we are all aware that our environment badly needs our help; we can no longer deny it because of climate change, global warming and different catastrophes that we’ve seen and experienced.



Sadly to say that not all people are practicing green living, I guess green living should no longer be a choice but it is a must for everyone. If we really want to improve our environment condition we should act now not only for our own benefits but for future generations. 


Green living is eliminating materialism, conserving energy, reducing waste, lowering consumption, recycling materials, supporting green projects and using organic products.

I’m trying my best to live a sustainable life and I’ll be sharing my little ways in helping our environment. 

1. I practice 3 R’s which is Reuse, Reduce and Recycle 

a. Reuse 

As much as possible we try to reuse some stuff in order to reduce waste and of course to eliminate buying new stuff. 

1. Plastic shopping bags use as a trash bag. 
2. I keep all paper bags for future use. 
3. I reuse bottles and containers of liquid soap, dishwashing soap, bathroom cleaner, and many more. I just buy refills. 
4. I reuse gift wrapper and gift boxes. 
5. I keep all paper bills, e-ticket, itinerary and other papers that we can use for my son’s artwork and scratch pad. I always make a scratch pad, see my sample here. 

b. Reduce 

Reducing our waste and practicing minimalist living. 

c. Recycle 

I segregate our trash, bottles, plastic containers, boxes, newspaper and any stuff that can be sold in a junkshop. We always go to the junkshop every month or if we already have more stuff to sell. 

We earn a minimum of P40 and our highest earning so far is P160. All earnings go to my son’s savings account via online banking. So in one year, he gets more or less P1000. 

2. Using Eco-bags 

I always have one in my bag. We are lucky that our city is very serious in helping our environment so we say no to plastics bags and straws.

3. Using Organic products 

Organic and natural products are now everywhere, I’ve tried Greencow, Ilog Maria and Human Nature products.

4. Using a rechargeable battery, CFL bulb, LED Christmas lights, energy saver, and other energy efficient appliances. 

5. Switching from paper bills to electronic billing 

I’ve been using electronic billing for our credit card, postpaid lines and I even stopped the SOA from our bank. Since there is no passbook, the bank sends monthly or quarterly Statement of Account so I request to stop mailing the SOA since I can check my balance online. 

6. If you have the budget, invest in solar panels so you can save more. 

Read: Energy Saving Tips

7. Lastly, always remember this when you travel. 

These are my little ways in helping the environment if you have additional tips, feel free to share.

It is no secret here that I’m a full-time mom, I resigned when I got pregnant, my pregnancy is not easy and we’re afraid to lose the baby again so I resigned. Of course, NO WORK = NO SALARY, so I searched the internet for possible opportunities if I can make money online.




1. Online Business

Michi Photostory just celebrated its first year anniversary last February and within that year some people asked me how to create a website even my family asked me this question. I admit I’m not an expert when it comes to this topic; the truth is I did not know anything when I started this blog. But with the help of some research, I was able to create my own blog.


How to Create a Website?

Choose Your Platform 

So if you want to have your own website, you can do it on your own. There are several free blogging providers that you can choose from;

A. Blogger
B. Tumbler
C. Wordpress
D. Livejournal

I first signed up with Wordpress but I find it too complicated for me so I switch to Blogger. Blogger is more user-friendly so I stick to this provider. But I'm still contemplating if I should try Wordpress because I have more options and opportunities to improve my site.

Choose Your Blog Name 

Once you choose your blogging provider, all you have to do is sign up and think about your website name. Sometimes this is the difficult part because most of the time, the name is already taken. Some website owners, use their personal names for their domain.

Another idea in choosing a name is, you have to consider your blog niche, are you creating a personal, lifestyle, travel or food blogs?. Make sure that your name will blend your niche.

Design Your Website 

Then choose your theme and arrange your layout. If you are just starting out, you can choose from free themes or if you want you can purchase a theme design or hire a website designer to do the work for you. Don't worry you can have a nice blogger theme for as low as $15.

You can check the $15 Blogger Templates here.
If you want a Wordpress theme, check it here.

Start Posting 

Everything is so easy and you don’t need to be an expert to start blogging. The exciting part is creating your first post. If you want to be organized, have a blog planner. This will help you in organizing your blog post, social media and tracking your blog opportunities.

Good luck and happy blogging!

** This post contains affiliate link/s. If you decide to make a purchase, I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

I have WOW (Wealth of Wonders) Philippines book, my mom gave it to me year 2005 and from that moment I wanted to visit Guimaras, according to the book, Guimaras is a dazzling island of sweet mangoes. I love mangoes, either unripe or ripe so it is really one of my goals to taste the sweetest mangoes in the world when I saw the PHP1 sale of Airphil Express last June, I didn’t think twice because it’s now my chance to visit Guimaras. It is the 1^st P1 sale that I booked.

We were supposed to stay in La Puerta Al Paraizo, one of the new resorts in Guimaras but I changed my mind so we just had one sweet day in Guimaras. I had a difficult time in deciding whether to contact a driver/tour guide or I will just go to the tourism kiosk when we get there but to avoid the hassle, a week before our trip, I contacted one driver/tour guide.

Ortiz Wharf

At exactly 7AM we left One Lourdes Dormitel and took La Paz Jeep (P7.50) to Ortiz Wharf. Then I bought the ticket (P14). Travel time from Ortiz Wharf to Jordan Wharf is around 15 to 20 minutes. Our driver/tour guide was already there waiting for us, I just informed him of the name of our boat. The first stop is Raymen Beach Resort for our Island Hopping; boat rental is P400 for the first hour and P150 for succeeding hours.

As much as we want to extend our stay in Bacolod for a food trip, we have to say goodbye because we have to move to our next leg. Arrived in Iloilo at past 1PM and we took a taxi going to One Lourdes Dormitel (fare P60). 

I chose One Lourdes Dormitel because of the price and location; we always travel on a shoestring so looking for affordable accommodation is a must. My husband always stays in MO2 hotel if he has business trip but it’s too expensive for me. =) I was glad that I stumbled on Noelizm blog and all his reviews are indeed right.

One Lourdes Dormitel is really affordable, very accessible if you are a commuter, and very near in Robinsons and market. Actually, I was not expecting much but I was amazed when I saw that they had elevator, security card key, free-wifi, mini café, vanity dresser, closet, and even fridge in our very cute room.

From Museo Iloilo we went to Jaro church, we just took Jaro jeep (P7.50). The belfry is on the other side of the road. It’s hard to take pictures without vehicles. 

If February is my busy month because of our two vacation trip then March would be a stressful month for me. Just last night while eating our dinner, my husband told me his upcoming business trips, “Hon, I’ll be in Zambales, Baguio, Davao and Cebu this month and tomorrow we have celebration so gabi na uwi ko”. Then I said give me the schedule, I get my planner and noted all the dates then I discovered that he won’t be home for 10 days. Starting Monday, there are 20 working days so imagining 10 out of 20 days he won’t be home. You know already that I do not have househelper or nanny so if my husband is out for his business trips, I cannot avoid stress but I have to.

packaging tape

post it that won't stick anymore

artwork

These are just some pictures but there are more stuff that he did that I was not able to document like baby powder, baby lotion and baby oil spilled over our bedsheet or floor, chocolates all over his face and clothes, scribbles and doodles everywhere and many more.  You know the story of our wall and his sofa bed. I always asked him “what did you do?”, he will just smile as if nothing happened. So if hubby was not home for few days or weeks and asked me “musta na?” I always say the same thing “I’m still alive, blah! blah! blah!” (susumbong na ko ng ginawa ng anak ko, hehe!)

Yesterday, while doing my blog hopping, I read Mel’s post about personality plus. I remember the quiz that I took in Facebook and my temperament is Choleric.




Mel also gave me the possible problems and resolutions of Powerful Choleric

· Problem: Powerful Choleric are compulsive worker: Learn to Relax, Enjoy the Relaxation Time, Take the pressure of Others, Plan Leisure Activities
· Problem: Powerful Choleric don’t know how to handle People: Practice Patience, Keep advise until asked, Tone down your approach, Stop arguing and causing trouble
· Problem: Powerful Choleric are right but unpopular: Let someone else be right, Learn to Apolologize, Admit you have some faults.