Michi Photostory

The not so fun part of traveling via airplane is waiting. You need to be at the airport 3 to 4 hours before your flight. Sometimes there is delayed or canceled flight so you have no choice but to wait again. 

If you have a connecting flight, you need to wait or run to the next boarding gate to catch your next flight. Or the worst case is sleeping at the airport. It happened to my husband when he went to Yangon, Myanmar.

Read: Glimpse of Yangon, Myanmar



There is no direct flight to and from Yangon, Myanmar so he has no choice but to have a layover in Bangkok, Thailand. Going to Yangon, Myanmar is not a problem but going back to the Philippines is the problem. 

Yangon to Bangkok Friday 

19:50 Yangon, Myanmar, Union of Mingaladon 
21:45 Bangkok, Thailand Suvarnabhumi International Airport 

Bangkok to Manila Saturday 

07:45 Bangkok, Thailand Suvarnabhumi International Airport 
11:55 Manila, Philippines Ninoy International Airport 

He has no other option but to wait for his connecting flight which is the following day. A 10-hour layover is no joke, I experienced that too at Thai Airways. Weird noh, same experience namin but different destination. Hehehe! However my experience was different because I waited from afternoon till my midnight flight but my husband needed to sleep.

I did not search for day rooms in Bangkok Airport because I’m confident that there is a transit hotel there sa laki ba naman ng airport nila. He can also go to Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel which is 0.15 kilometer away from the airport. 

The good thing about the Novotel Bangkok Aiport Hotel is they have no set check-in time, so you can arrive anytime you want and check out 24 hours later. They also have a 24-hour shuttle that transports guests to and from the airport every 10 minutes. 

According to my husband, he needs to pay 700 baht (not sure if travel tax) if he goes out the airport and comes back the following day so he chose to look for a transit hotel in the airport.

He found one at Concourse G but unfortunately, it was already fully booked. Thank God, there is available room for him at Louis’ Tavern Transit Hotel Dayrooms Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. It is situated in Suvarnabhumi Airport’s transit area on Level 4 Concourse A. Lesson learned, do not forget to book accommodation. 

What is nice about this transit hotel is you don’t need to go through immigration again. You are literally sleeping at the airport because of your view. 



The rate is 137USD for 6 hours use + set breakfast meal. Yes, it is not affordable. It is expected na when you’re inside the airport, everything is expensive even bottled water. 


So in case you need a room for your layover, you can stay in this dayroom.

Traveling is really fun, I always look forward to visiting new places and experience new things. Our family loves to travel if time and budget permit but I guess traveling for work is not fun at all.

It’s been more than a year that my husband travels a lot because of work and I am not really happy about it because he is always miles away from us. I am thankful before that he did not choose to be an OFW but now it seems that I have an OFW husband.

Whenever people hear that my husband travels a lot, the initial reaction is “Wow, ang saya naman” or “Wow, ang suwerte naman ang dami napupuntahan”. If my husband is still young and single, maybe work traveling can be fun.


But for someone who has a family, it is not amazing at all. The truth is a family trip is very different from a business trip. So I will share with you why travel for work is not fun at all, the way I see it.

1. Less Time for the Family  

Yes, this is the first reason why work travel is not enjoyable because you will be away from your family. Even there is a technology that connects you like video call, nothing beats the personal presence.

If my husband has a business trip, most of the time he is not home either Saturday or Sunday because he needs to travel the day before or the day after his work schedule.

Weekends = Family Day, but he is not with us so most of the time we just stayed at home when my husband is not at home.

2. Irregular Work Schedule  

If you will not travel for work, the regular working hours is 8-5PM except if you need to render overtime without pay or with pay if your company offers that. But if you have a business trip, you need to wake up as early as 12AM because as a general rule, you need to be at the airport 3 to 4 hours before your flight.

Then sometimes you can’t sleep yet because you are waiting for your boarding time which is 12MN or 1AM. The worst-case scenario is you need to sleep at the airport because the next connecting flight is the following morning.

You need to adjust to different time zones. It is not enjoyable to adjust your body clock. Sleeping and waking time is very much affected.

3. You Have No Time to Enjoy 

Work travels allow you to stay in luxury hotels but the problem is, you have no time to enjoy the amenities and facilities of the hotel. Most of the time you will just sleep and eat in your hotel because you are already tired. You tend to work longer hours if you are on a business trip because you need to finish your agenda.

4. You Miss Home Cooked Meals 

Yes, you can eat in the restaurant but the problem is, you are not sure if you will eat those foods. If you travel, expect that foods are not the same. Sometimes you will eat the same hotel breakfast food every single day.

So when my husband is home, he eats a lot and missed my home-cooked meals even it is already our leftover food. Especially if he came from a non-pork eating country.

5. You Missed Important Occasion, Events and Holidays 

If you have a business trip, you can’t just say “No, I can’t go because it is my wife’s birthday, my son’s recognition or whatever reason you have”. So there are times that you will miss the important occasions, events and holidays. Yes, even holidays because you already booked the flight before the government announced that it was a special non-working holiday. I experienced that a lot of times like APEC and EDSA holiday.

6. You Cannot Just File Sick Leave 

Even you are not feeling well, you can’t just message your boss that you will file a sick leave. You have work to do that needs to be finished before you went back to your home country.

It is not easy to buy over the counter medicine if you are overseas. Good thing my husband was able to buy medicine when he was in Thailand. Lesson learned, do not forget the medicine kit.

Update: March 2020 
7. You Can’t Say NO When You Need to GO 

Lastly, you cannot say no when you need to go because if you don’t travel, it means you are not doing your job. As of this writing, there is a coronavirus that greatly affected several countries around the world and because of this, there were canceled business trips. But it’s been two months already and there is still coronavirus.

There are works that need to be done so my husband and other employees who need to travel for work have no choice but to travel despite the coronavirus health scare. Life must go on!

Here are my 7 reasons why travel for work is not fun. Despite all of these reasons, my husband is not looking for a new job and he does not need to check out ORB for sales associate resumes.

I have to admit that there are perks in traveling for work because you can visit different countries and places for free. You can stay in luxury hotels and try different foods. We can expect pasalubongs. Hehehe! But the bottom line is traveling for work is not as glamorous as it sounds.

Myanmar is not on our bucket list so we really have no idea about this country. A few weeks ago, my husband told me that he might go to Myanmar and he asked me, ano bang meron don? Hehehe! 

Honestly, the only thing I know about Myanmar is the famous Hot Air Balloon in Bagan. But my husband is going to Yangon, Myanmar so I searched for this place and I said, parang puro temples don. 


There is no direct flight from the Philippines. He checked the different options and Thai Airways has a nice flight schedule. Manila to Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar. It was a long flight including the layover. 


If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know for sure that my husband doesn’t like taking pictures. So even if he’s been to different places, there are no souvenir photos. The last time I blogged about his trip was four years ago, ang tagal na nung Shanghai so now I will share some photos about his recent trip. There is a miracle, he took some photos so we can see Myanmar.  

Read: Glimpse of Shanghai, China  

Hotel in Myanmar: Taw Win Garden Hotel 

My husband stayed in Taw Win Garden Hotel which is 30 minutes away from Yangon International Airport and 10 minutes away from the city center and Shwedagon Pagoda. 

Taw Win Garden Hotel is a 4-star hotel that offers gymnasium, sauna, indoor jacuzzi, salon services, spa treatment and salon services. There are four restaurants in the hotel; Thiri restaurant, Su Chinese restaurant, K Khine Restaurant and Lobby Bar, and Lounge. 

This is the room. 




There is free wifi but the connection is very unstable hindi man lang kami makapagvideo call. When my husband was out, he could not have a good phone connection too. 

Shwedagon Pagoda

Since this is a business trip, my husband has really no time to explore the tourist spots so after 4 years, now lang ulit siya natour. After work, his officemate brought him at Shwedagon Pagoda which is few minutes from his hotel. 


You need to remember to dress conservatively when you visit pagodas, temples, and monasteries. In addition, you need to remove socks and shoes when entering religious buildings, restaurants, or even entering someone’s home.


From the parking lot, my husband was surprised because they would walk barefooted. So they left their shoes in the car and walked to Shwedagon Pagoda. This is also known as Golden Pagoda, a famous and most sacred site in Yangon.


It is 326 ft tall and made of bricks but covered with gold and the crown has gems. My husband informed me that people all over the country, rich or poor donate gold and gems to maintain the pagoda. According to his officemate, mas maganda daw sa gabi kasi may light which I’ve seen on the internet. 

Entrance Fee: 8000 kyat

Salient points to be observed by the pilgrims/visitors

1. Must not wear ladies blouse with wide or deep hives.
2. Must not wear above knee short pants and skirts.
3. Must not wear shoes.
4. Must not wear socks and stockings.


White Elephant Garden

Then they went to the White Asian Elephants. It is not the usual elephant that we see in the zoo. It is an albino elephant but mukha siyang pink elephant sa kin. Hehehe! There are three elephants here but at that time, hubby only saw two elephants. 


Some people said that this white elephant is a symbol of royal prosperity, and power and brings good luck to the country. The elephant looks like a statue maybe because they have chained in their paw so very limited movement lang.

Well, that’s it! I hope my husband will take photos again on his next trip. Hehehe! 

The currency is Burmese Kyat

Taw Win Garden Hotel 
45 Pyay Road Dagon Township, 
Yangon, Myanmar

Shwedagon Pagoda
Yangon Division,Myanmar

Four Entrances

South - Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Kandaw Min Road, Arzarni Road. 
West - U Wisara Road
North - Arzarni Road
East - Arzarni Road, Gyatawya Road

Read: Parkroyal Yangon Hotel

Two years ago when I first started making DIY Advent Calendar and my son really enjoyed the everyday activities. But this year I was not planning to make Advent calendar because I don’t think my son is still interested and we have very limited time during weekdays. Blame it to homeworks, quizzes and exams.

So I was really surprised when my son mentioned “Next month, we will change this calendar, we will put the Advent Calendar”. He was referring to our calendar hanging at the back of the door. Waah! I thought graduate na kami sa Advent thing, hindi pa pala. 

Here I am, cramming again to finish my project before December 1. Thank God for Pinterest where you can search for Advent Calendar Ideas. I've already used the old Advent Calendar for the last two years so this time, I made a new one so I don’t have to remove our calendar. 



Christmas Countdown in a Box 

I used the free printables of Dating Divas that I received on email. I printed the blank countdown cards so I can write my own activities. I just put labels on the old box where I will place my countdown cards. Sharing with you our activities next month. 



December 

1 Measure your Christmas Tree 
2 Make Christmas Card 
3 Sing the 12 Days of Christmas 
4 Bake a Cupcake 
5 Drink Hot Chocolate 
6 Read a Christmas Story 
7 Go to Bed Early Tonight 
8 Read “Legend of the Candy Cane” 
9 DIY Paper Star (origami) 
10 Do a Chore 
11 Name all of Santa’s Reindeer 
12 A Special Christmas Treat 
13 Listen to fun Christmas Music 
14 Study about Advent Wreath 
15 Use Tissue Tubes and Construction Paper to Make Santa or Elf 
16 Watch Christmas Movie 
17 Make Homemade Ornaments (Polymer Clay) 
18 Read “Legend of St Nicholas” 
19 Play a Video Game for 40 minutes 
20 Learn “Merry Christmas” in different language. 
21 Learn How USA Celebrates their Holidays
22 Play a Board Game 
23 Unwrap One Present Early 
24 Read Luke 2; 1-20 



Check my previous DIY Advent Calendar 

Advent Calendar 2014
Advent Calendar 2015

If you don't like to make your own Advent Calendar, you can just buy. I saw this Advent Calendar at H&M, but I forgot how much. 

Advent Calendar at H&M. #momfinds #michifinds #adventcalendar

A photo posted by michisolee (@michisolee) on Nov 24, 2016 at 6:47pm PST

How about you? Do you also do Christmas countdown?

Ever since I transferred my son in traditional school, I always treat him every grading period. In the previous school kasi wala naman grades so when we moved to his new school, my son doesn’t care about his grades. 

So in order to motivate him to study hard, I told him that I will treat him if he has an eagle seal on his card. At that time, Happy Meal nga lang ok na kami but things change when he entered grade school. 

Now, he really says what he wanted when he gets an eagle seal. Last grading, he wanted a Power Rangers Dino Charge Megazord but I said no. I said, it is so expensive even though I really have no idea how much it is. But I treated him in Kidzania Manila.  



Last month, my son said he wanted to play bowling when he gets a gold eagle seal. I did not take it seriously since ang tagal pa ng kuhaan ng card but last week, he told me about it again. But I said, gold eagle seal + general average should not below (insert gen.ave of 1st grading).

Since lumelevel-up request niya, level up din ang condition ko. Hehehe! Actually, I totally forgot about the school card so when he went home last Friday, all out smile siya and hawak na niya card niya. (2nd and 3rd grading, binibigay na lang sa kids) He was so happy because he met my condition. 

My husband was asking him kung san kami magbowling and he said, SM Southmall. Honestly, we have no idea that Southmall has bowling center but we still went to Southmall at meron daw sabi ng anak ko. 



True enough, there is bowling center there so wala kami ligtas. We ate early lunch at Pizza Hut para recharge ang energy. Hahaha! We ordered Meal 6 P699 + SC, it includes 1 Family Pizza, 2 pastas, 4 pcs wingstreet, 4 soups and 1 picther of drinks. 

After lunch, we went to the bowling alley. Hubby and I played bowling before but this is the first time that we played bowling with my son. I was in grade 3 when I started playing this with my family. Yan madalas bonding namin with my mom pag nasa Pinas siya. Yun lang yata alam ng nanay ko na mag-enjoy kami, movie or bowling game every weekend. 

They don’t have bowling balls for kids so nabibigatan anak ko, he was surprised siguro sa bigat hindi tulad nung plastic bowling balls and pins sa bahay. Hehehe!



My husband was teaching him how to hold and release the ball pero hirap talaga sa bigat. The staff even suggested to use a metal bar (don’t know what it is called) na ngayon ko lang alam na may ganun. Pero nakakanal pa rin yung balls, naawa tuloy ako pero my son looks happy kahit hindi natatamaan yung bowling pins. 



So we continued playing it as long as happy siya and hindi siya affected sa score niya. He enjoyed it and said sa third grading daw, bowling daw ulit kami. Well, sa February ko pa makikita yun card so let’s see kung magbago pa. 

Click here for our video. 

SM Southmall Bowling Center 
Bowling Rates 

P165 per game/per person 
P50 shoes rental

Reading the title alone, makes you raise your eyebrow. Seriously? How can you save money by using your credit card? I know that some people dislike credit cards because they may lead them to temptation but for me, I like having a credit card because I don’t need to bring a lot of cash. It is very useful if you have emergencies and have not enough funds. There are also perks if you have a credit card.

No credit card yet? Read my Credit Card Tips here.

If you have a credit card, read my personal tips on how you can save money.


1. Waive your Annual Fee 

The annual fee is not cheap so as much as possible I try to maintain one card only so less temptation and less annual fee. Every year, we call our credit card company to waive our annual fee, which is always granted.

But the time came that they don’t want to waive our annual fee, they only offered 50% which we accepted. But because of that, we decided to apply to other credit card companies and they always waive our annual fee, with no conditions, and no questions asked.

So we stopped using our old credit cards and we even called them to cancel the cards but they are offering now free annual fees, just don’t cancel the card. Weird noh?

There are cases where they want you to use your points to waive the annual fee. So I feel like I'm just saving points for the annual fee, what if my points are not enough? I stopped using that card too.

2. If possible, always use your credit card 

As much as possible I always use my credit card because I can earn ...

A. Points - points that I can use to redeem products. I was able to redeem stand fan using my points.

POINTS = FREE PRODUCTS 

B. Cash Rebates - yes, cash rebates. You can earn a certain percentage when you use your cards in the supermarket, bills payment, and more. We use our points to pay for our bills.

POINTS = CASH 

Read: Save Money Using Citi Cashback Card 

C. Miles - if you love to travel, earn more miles by using your credit card. Transfer these miles to your preferred airline, in our case we transfer them to Mabuhay Miles (Philippine Airlines).

POINTS = FREE TICKETS 

D. FREE eGift Credits 

We are not aware of the existing promos so we were surprised when we received SMS stating that we have free eGift credits worth P10,000 that we can use to purchase eGift vouchers from any participating merchants.

SPEND = FREE SHOPPING CREDITS 

Read: Spending our Free P10,000 eGift Credits 

3. Save some centavos

As you will notice whenever we buy stuff or pay for meals, we don’t get an EXACT CHANGE. For example, I ate in one restaurant and my bill is P689.11, I gave them P1000 and I only received P310, I lost the P0.89 centavos. I understand if the cashier gave me P310.75 but she didn’t. I know it is just centavos but if it will happen every time I eat and buy stuff, those centavos can add to my savings.

4. Earn some pesos

In buying appliances or furniture, always ask if there are discounts if you will pay in cash. If there are no discounts, take advantage of the installment plan so you can earn some pesos. How? Several years ago, I bought my laptop on an installment basis, I have the money to pay the laptop in cash but I chose the installment plan. I only withdraw the amount that I need for the installment every month, in that way, my money is still earning interest in my savings account.

5. Promo 

Be updated with all the credit card promos. In the past, we were able to get FREE Starbucks Beverage, free meals from KFC and Yellow Cab, and Caltex gas rebate by just using our card. Sometimes free entrance fee at travel expos.

6. Discount 

Nowadays, there are so many discounts that you can avail of because your credit card companies have different partners. There are hotels, restaurants, and airline discounts that you can take advantage of. Several years ago we bought a gas range and the Service Staff informed us that if we will buy it using our card and avail of the installment promo, we can get an additional 2% discount.

7. Free Airport Lounge Access 

Traveling is costly if you have a long layover because you have to buy drinks and food. We all know that the foods and drinks at the airport are all expensive. So having a priority pass in airport lounges is a good perk because you can have comfortable seats, free food and drinks, free wifi, and many more. If you like to travel, choose a credit card that has free airport lounge access.

Read: Miascor Airport Lounge at NAIA 1
Skyview Lounge at NAIA 3

8. Free Entrance 

There are a lot of travel fairs or travel expos that you can visit to score cheap airfare, discounted hotel or resort packages, and affordable tour packages. Sometimes you can avail yourself of the FREE entrance by showing your credit card. Just check the bank partners of the travel expo.

Sometimes you will not only get a free entrance but there is a special lane for you and if you are lucky, an early bird sale. You can get the first dibs of the sale, promo, and discount before the expo will be opened to the public.

Read: Philippines Travel Tour Expo Tips and Guides

Here are my personal tips and hope this helps. Feel free to share your personal tips.

Note: Do not use your credit card if you do not have the money to pay your due. Be careful in using it to avoid hackers.

Read: My Credit Card was Hacked

I’ve been blogging since 2011 but most of my posts only include pictures because honestly, I don’t know how to put videos on my blog before. Hehehe! I tried uploading in YouTube but it takes time because I have very slow internet (up to 2MBPS only) so tinatamad ko.



My son is a fan of YouTube and he really likes watching videos. Ever since he was a kid, I always filmed his performance in school then I will upload on my Facebook (for family). He always asks me, “Did you video me, Mommy?” or “May I see my video?”. He will watch his videos for the nth time. 

But I feel that my videos are low quality so I don’t share it in my social media but when my husband gifted me iPhone 6 last year (birthday gift), feeling ko, ok na videos ko, HD quality na. Lol. Who will watch blurred videos di ba? So that’s the time that I shared videos on my Instagram. 

Last February, my husband gifted me Fuji XA2. Yehey, I can now record 15 minutes video so that is the start of my Michi Photostory Channel. I started uploading videos last summer, so far I have 45 videos.

I’m not a pro so I’m still learning how to edit videos but my son is satisfied in watching his YouTube videos. There was one time, he went home and he said, his classmates said to him, “I saw you on YouTube”. So I was happy na may “reach” na videos ko even I have few subscribers. 

But last month, out of the blue I searched for my website and then I discovered that there are two websites that uploaded my videos. I tried to report it na but when I visited the site again, nandun pa rin. As in, one page, nandun yung videos ko and take note ang title talaga “Michi Photostory Channel”. 

I don’t know why there are people who will do this. I don’t know how he can earn from uploading all my videos on his site. The site is in different language pa so I don’t really understand why. This makes me sad, so I asked helped in “Ask Pinoy Bloggers” FB group and they are generous enough to give me tips.

One person advised me to turn off my embed code in my You Tube videos. I have 40+ videos at that time so it took me hours just to remove the embed code. In addition, I have to edit my blog posts too, because it will also affect my videos. 

Nakakainis di ba, hindi ko na tuloy magamit yung own video ko sa blog ko because I will turn off the embed code. But this is the only way I know to prevent bad guys to use my videos in their website. So if you have YouTube, you might want to turn off the embed code. 

How to Turn off Embed Code in YouTube Video

1. Sign-in to your YouTube Account 
2. Go to Creator Studio, Video Manager and Videos. 
3. Choose the Video and click Edit Button 
4. At Info & Setting Tab, click Advance settings. 
5. Look for Distribution Options and uncheck the “Allow Embedding” 
6. Save Changes.

If you have Playlist

1. Click on Edit Button. 
2. Click Playlist Settings. 
3. Uncheck the “Allow Embedding” 
4. Click Save 

Hope this helps.

It is not easy to earn money, you need to work hard for it so it is very important that you spend it wisely. As Charles Jaffe said “It’s not your salary that makes you rich, it’s your spending habits”. 

So as a wife, I need to make sure that my husband’s salary will not be to put into waste. I need to be a smart shopper because it will save money. 

How to be a Smart Shopper 

1. Stick to List 

Whenever I’m in the grocery, I don’t just get anything I see in the market. I always have a list of what we need to buy just to make sure that I will not forget anything and also I will not make unnecessary purchase. 

There are times that I also check for new products that we can try. Yes, stick to list + extra products, but I make sure that it will fit the budget. 

2. Read labels 

It is very significant to check the labels of the product especially if it will be your first time to try it. Read the labels and necessary details, make sure that you or your family does not have any food allergies.

3. Check the Expiration Date 

Yes, expiration date. Check the shelf life, if you will not use or consume it immediately, do not hoard even it is buy one take one. 

4. Condition of the Product 

Check the condition of the product. I have my own experiences before that when I got home, the stuff that I bought were not in good condition. There is a hole in my loaf bread, a pack of sugar, noodles and even milk. Things that you will not notice if you are in a hurry.

I learned my lesson. Now, I carefully check the packaging of the items. I make sure that there is no hole in the packaging, canned goods have no dent, bottled stuff are sealed and boxes are in good condition.

5. Double-check the price 

Always check the price. If there are sale items, make sure that you can save from it. 

6. Be watchful at the counter

Yes, monitor the cash register and make sure that the price is correct. 

7. Check and keep your receipt

Check the price, double posting and number of items. 



Know Your Consumer Rights 

But sometimes, no matter how careful you are, you will still encounter defective products. I have my own experiences like 

1. I bought a pack of candies, I notice few pieces have no candy inside. Yes, empty wrapper only. 

2. I bought a pack of noodles and when I opened the pack, there is no flavoring or seasoning inside. 

3. I bought a fresh milk, the box was in good condition and months before pa expiration date but when you pour it, I saw a curdled milk not fresh milk.

I was disappointed because you paid for these products but you cannot eat or drink it. I cannot return because I don’t have the receipt anymore and sometimes the cost of returning the goods are much higher than the actual price of the product. Yes, wasted money. 

My husband loves Duncan Hines Brownie Mix because it has walnuts. So last Sunday, I was about to cook brownies but when I opened the box, the pack of brownies was not sealed. Waah! The box was in good condition so I was really surprised when I opened it, may small insect pa na lumabas. Eww! 

About to cook brownies today but when I opened the box, bukas na yung brownie pack. Eww and grrr, wasted money. Kabibili ko lang last Friday at #snralabang @snr_official

A photo posted by michisolee (@michisolee) on Nov 12, 2016 at 5:27pm PST

I was disappointed because the price is not cheap, P179.95. I was thinking if we can return the item because we haven’t returned any consumable goods before. But S&R Alabang is far, gagastos pa ng gas and toll. 

So yesterday, my husband tried to return the item. Before he went home, he dropped by at S&R Alabang. He gave the box and the receipt, the staff checked the item and he was asked kung same item din ba. Of course, he said yes, favorite nga niya. hehehe!

I was glad that they replaced the defective product. My husband even asked them to open the box just to make sure na ok ang loob and walang butas. 

November 11 - Grocery 
November 13 - Discovered the defective product 
November 14 - Return and Exchange the item

For Return and Exchange of Items

Items must be returned within 7 days from date of purchase. No receipt, No return. 

Good thing, that I immediately opened it because according to receipt, I can only return the item within 7 days. What if, hindi ko agad niluto, goodbye P179.95? 

Sponsored Post

Living in a single paycheck is not easy so we really try our best to live within our means. We need to be smart in spending our money so as much as possible, we only shop if there are sales or discounts. We look for promos or packages if we want to have a staycation. We wait for seat sales so we can buy cheap airline tickets for our travel trips. 

There are so many ways to save money but sometimes, waiting for sales and promos can be a tedious task. Going to a mall sale is stressful because of the crowded store and long lines in the cashier. So why wait if there are Groupon Coupons that you can avail every day.



Yes, no need to wait for a coupon. You can just visit Groupon site and browse the different coupons that you need in the comfort of your home. You can use your laptop or mobile in searching for coupons. Coupons that you can use online or in-store. 

Since Christmas is near, I’m looking for gifts for my family. I checked if there are available coupon for Skechers and I found 5 available coupons and Steve Madden has 18 available coupons. Awesome! 

Here are the samples of coupons. 

20% Off Join Skechers Elite at Skechers 
Skechers Black Friday Deals 
Cyber Monday up to 35% Off
Up to 79% Off | Last Chance Clearance Event

So before you shop, eat or travel, don’t forget to visit Groupon site. Look for promo codes that you can use to save money. Christmas is near, spend your bonus wisely.

Commercial flights are definitely not the best way to travel. You have to deal with time-consuming procedures and the flight conditions are definitely not as great as you would want them to be. This is why so many are now looking online for popular jet charters in Florida or in other parts of the world. The truth is that private chartered flights will be very interesting but you cannot choose the very first one that you find on a Google search. These are not going to be cheap but because of the benefits, you are going to seriously consider the opportunity.


Many different benefits can be highlighted when looking at private jet charters. For instance, you can get a flight whenever you want it as opposed to according to a specific schedule. In almost all airports in the world, you can arrange the transfers you want. Paperwork and formalities will no longer be necessary. You get to fly in complete luxury so choosing the best charter is something you will definitely appreciate.

Company Reputation 

The very first thing you will have to take into account when you choose the private jet charter company is reputation. As opposed to simply focusing on the prices, company reputation is something that helps you to make a much better choice. In fact, costs should never be the very first of the factors you have to take into account. You basically want to compare the prices with the amenities and facilities that are offered. Prices are used to compare services of different jet charters that have similar services.

When I was a kid, I was looking forward for holidays, semestral break and summer break because there is no classes. When I became a full time mom, I also look forward to no classes because I don’t need to wake-up early. Hehehe!

The problem of having no classes is, to make sure that my son is also productive. We have rules in the house that there will be no gadgets during weekdays so even it is school break, no Ipad. 

My son is okay with it as long as he can watch TV, so ako naman ngayon ang di makasingit sa TV. But I don’t let him watch the whole day because it is not good so I need to give him activities or hayaan siya mabored. (which is good daw so they can decide on what to do). 



My son likes folding paper, he always use my scratch paper in making airplanes. So when we went to Japan, I bought chiyogami paper at Daiso 108yen but it was only last week that I remembered about it. The paper is nice, there are 4 colors and two designs (stripes and polka dots). 

So I told my son that he can use the paper, he waited for his daddy so they can play with it. He knew that his dad can make paper crane and I can only make boat, polo, ball and airplane. Hehehe! He was happy with his paper crane.

The following day, he wanted me to make more paper crane. Since my husband left to Singapore, I have no choice but to get the Ipad so he can watch video tutorials under my supervision. 



I told him to choose origami for beginners so he can pratice folding paper. He even make a heart for me. 



He really enjoyed the activity na halos maubos na yung papel. This reminds me to buy origami book so he can practice more. 

Gone are the days that you can only try products if there are free samples or demos in the supermarket or malls. Now, there is an online site where you can get freebies. Yes, free sample products that you can try.


I registered at Sample Room site on July 2014 but it took me a long time to try it. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about it in social media and I’ve been receiving emails regarding the new samples but I did not mind it.

What is Sample Room? 

Sample Room is a sampling site that offers products for you to try for FREE. Yes, the product is free but you have to shoulder the handling and shipping fee which is P110 (Metro Manila) P150 (Outside NCR) or more, it depends on the weight of your order. The good thing about this is you can try the product before buying it in the market. You don’t need to buy a full-sized product that you might not like in the end. It will save you from wasting your hard-earned money.

What are the Products? 

They have products for the skin, hair, body, fragrance, cosmetics, tools, health, slimming, lifestyle, baby and even for the home.

How to Avail the Free Products? 

1. Start your sampling journey by creating your Sample Room account at sampleroom.ph for FREE.
2. Upon registration, you get 100 points that you can use to get your samples.
3. Using your points, choose and select 1 to 3 samples that you want to try per transaction.
4. Pay the shipping and handling fee.
5. Wait for your samples.
6. Use the free samples for at least 5 days.
7. Lastly, rate and review the sample products in order for you to earn more points.

October 26, 2016

So after two years, I placed my order in Sample Room. I ordered last October 26, 2016 and paid P150 shipping fee via Paypal. I did not have a hard time in using their site.

October 27, 2016 

I received an email that my order is complete. I checked my account for more information but there is no other information aside from COMPLETE status.

October 28, 2016 

The following day, I emailed Sample Room because as far as I know once payment is confirmed, they will provide a tracking number.

October 29, 2016 

They replied with my tracking number so I immediately track my order at XEND website.

October 27, 2016 

Still no update so I emailed XEND to know the status of my order. I was informed....

Good day! Thank you for contacting Xend. Upon checking, your package is out for delivery today. Kindly anticipate our courier within the day. 

And because of this, I did not go out of the house waiting for the package. My husband and son went to Ophtha without me. They went home and still no package.

October 30, 2016 

Though I'm not sure if they deliver on Sunday, I did not go to the cemetery just to make sure that I’m home when the package arrives. But still, no package.

October 31 and November 1 are holidays so I was not expecting any deliveries.

November 2, 2016

I’ve made a follow-up again and I was advised

Good day! On behalf of Xend Team, would like to sincerely apologize for the delays of your shipments. Will coordinate this and make a follow up with them. 

November 3, 2016 

Good day! On behalf of Xend Team, would like to sincerely apologize for the delays of your shipments. Upon checking, your shipment is already out for delivery today. Please anticipate the arrival of our courier anytime within the day. 

But still, no package. I was already thinking that I wasted P150 for an order that I don’t know if I will receive.

November 4, 2016 

Your shipment was already transferred to one of our operation head and it is now in process of re-delivery. May I have your mobile number so we can contact you if our rider can't find the shipping address. 

November 6, 2016 

Thanks for the speedy reply for providing us your mobile number. Our dispatch team told me that they got some issue on our rider that's why your package was undelivered on 11/04/16. They will just re-delivery it to your shipping address and should contact you as soon as possible if they got some issue on the location. I did not receive any call. 

November 7, 2016 

Your shipment with a tracking number of XXX has been transferred to D&G. We are already coordinating with them to expedite the delivery of your shipment asap. We will keep you posted. Sorry for the inconveniences this has caused you. 

November 9, 2016

I did not receive any update on November 8, 2016 so the following day, November 9, I already informed Sample Room regarding my order and I was advised.

We'll follow up this to our courier and will inform you once we got a feedback from them. Thank you! 

On the same day, my order came. It was not a delivery guy from Xend because the lady is riding a private car. I was happy that after 12 days, my order came. Finally, tapos na rin. The package was not in good condition, sira na nga yung plastic. Good thing may paper bag pa yung Sample Room so wala naman nawala.


This is not the first time that I ordered online, we’re not living in the mountain para hindi madeliver yung package. To think kakadeliver lang ng XEND sa bahay ng October 27, (next day delivery order from Candy Shop Prints). So yes, my first order with Sample Room is not a good one. Nastress ko kakahintay, kakatrack, kakafollow-up. I cannot go out of the house because I’m waiting for the delivery guy.

I got Zenuntrients Shampoo and Conditioner. For now, no more online shopping muna. On a positive note, at least I received it, di nasayang ang P150 ko. I experienced lost packages na rin (winnings from giveaways).

Update: 

November 28 - Ordered and pay via Paypal
November 30 - Bonifacio Holiday
December 1 - Received my order

Last October was my first time to try Sample Room. My first experience was not pleasant because it took them almost 2 wks to deliver the package. I believe in second chances so I ordered last Monday and got 3 samples today. Hay salamat, wala ng stress sa pagfollow up. :) All for 100 points again. Hehehe! I ordered Hygienix Hand care, Zenutirents Spahnitizer and Zenutrients lip scrub.
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I took advantage the Free Shipping last February 14, 2017 so I got all 3 samples for FREE.  I received LipIce lip balm, Maxipeel Zero and Belo Baby Hand Sanitizer.

February 14, 2017 - ordered at Sample Room
February 20, 2017 - received my order
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I ordered one sample which is Belo Body Cream Spray last September 4, 2017 paid via Paypal and I received my order last September 6, 2017. The courier is no longer Xend, it was Ninja Van. Same experience with Beauty MNL.
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I ordered last October 16, 2017 paid via Paypal and I received my order last October 18, 2017. Mukhang mabilis itong Ninja Van Courier compared pag Xend ang nagdeliver. I got Johnson's Baby Lotion, Himalaya Complete Care Toothpaste and Himalaya Sparkling White Toothpaste.