the canDIshhh tales

I remember during my half a year stay in Beijing, I would constantly dread going to the bathroom during school hours.  Not only are most of the toilets there on the floor but they stink so bad even if there were cleaners every so often. One time, the attendant saw my facial reaction when I entered the bathroom.  She brazenly said out loud in Mandarin (thinking I couldn't understand what she was saying) *Where do you find a toilet that is not stinky?* since I understood what she was saying I said out loud *In my house in the Philippines!* She looked surprised.   Having an OC mom, you can say that I have set certain standards when it comes to a clean bathrooms.  Yes, I confess that I use a multiple of products for cleaning the bathroom.  Mind you, I know how to clean a bathroom.  There was a class in ICA that taught us how to clean the whole house.  Let's just say that I was very attentive then and I've kept those learnings with me until now. ...

Years ago - 2013 to be exact.   I won a prize - and the prize were two (2) pieces of this #BagsGoReusable bags - I won it via Tita K's Live Love Lolz .  It made such a good impression on me that I brought it with me to Tokyo (which I gave to my friend She).  Since I was left with a lone piece, I decided to contact the brand to buy more - and I did.  Since I soooo love the product, I think after a couple of months, I bought another batch - and even gave it to my friends for Christmas.   I have at least one piece with me in my bag.  I've instructed my yayas to keep one in their bags when we go out.  I bring ALL my #BagsGoReusable bags whenever I travel (local and international).  It has been Kailee's diaper bag since we started bringing her along whenever we travel (that was in 2013!)  So imagine the YEARS I have been using this product. Two things that I love about this bag: First - you can fold it FLAT - you don't need to roll it i...

Christmas is just around the corner when you learn that the Kids Craze sale starts THIS WEEKEND!  The most exciting time of the year is almost Hear - and what best way to welcome it, is with a GREAT SALE!! It's starting this weekend!! PRESS RELEASE: Enjoy buy 1 take 1, freebies and discounts up to 80% off on your favorite toys, baby products, apparel, shoes and more! Participating brands are Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Mega Bloks, Thomas & Friends, Shopkins, VTech, Chicco, Paw Patrol, Angry Birds,  Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Big&Small, Ollie and a whole lot more! Mark your calendars now and be sure to swing by RGI Corporate Center, #34 Sct. Torillo cor. Sct. Limbaga, Quezon City. The warehouse sale event will be open to public on  Nov 18-20 , 25-27, 30 and  Dec 1-4 , 9-11, 15-22 (Mon-Fri,  1-6pm  and Sat-Sun,  9am-6pm ). Visit  Richwell Club on Facebook  to know more details. See you there...

Every year, it has been my tradition to raffle off a Starbucks Planner.  This is my way to sharing the joy and thanking YOU for supporting me all these years.  Starbucks has supported and loved all these years and this my simple gesture of paying it forward. So here's the (picture) unboxing of the Starbuck 2017 Planner. This is the box the Starbucks 2017 Planner comes in, it's plastic sealed. The back of the box.  I'm glad that Starbucks is supporting Teach Philippines and PETA ( Philippine Educational Theater Association ) I opened the plastic to see which planner I got! It's the BLUE and the BROWN!! :) The BROWN is still brown, while the BLUE is a Green! Both comes with the Starbucks Erasable pen! Voila!  Here they are! I like that this planner has a lot of room for writing.  The coupons are attached at the back (as pages in a planner, it's perforated so you can easily just cut them out.  It's attached ...

So, when we got back to Manila - it was midnight.  I was trying to call the driver assigned to us but both his numbers were not reachable.  To make the long story short - we didn't have anyone picking us up from the airport. So what's the solution?  Get an Uber. Unfortunately, all I saw on my app were UberX vehicles - we won't fit.  We had to get an UberBlack.  The map on the app was empty - there were no UberBlack cars around.  There was a message to check back after a few minutes. I tried to book via Grab but it was always small cars available. Then lo and behold - a lone UberBlack car - so I booked him immediately.  On his profile was the car make - Ford Everest.  I asked my Panget and he said - we'd fit.  So we waited for about 10 minutes and our car arrived. I'm very used to riding Uber.  So I was just relaxed - while my Panget was anxious.  The ride was very smooth - our Uber driver was very careful in driving. ...

Whenever I travel with kids, I try my best not to get stressed and so most of the time, I arrange for a car pick up service (to and from the airport), that way - I won't need to worry if we can fit the bus or what time we'll arrive at our destination and etc.  Most will say I'm maarte - but I say, I'm practical and smart.  Hahaha!! During my last 2 trips to Tokyo - I've had different car service pick ups, one was Tokyo Asahi Kotsu and last year was Yen.  Both have been very good - it was just that with Yen, we had other passengers with us during our trip back to the airport - I assumed it was private, but I guess - he was just trying to make money, but that's okay. This trip - I asked Yen how much he charged for a pick up, he sent me a reply via Line Messenger that it was JPY15,000.00.  To be honest, I expected that much since he charges at least JPY3,000.00 per head per way.  But I made sure to ask around for a lower rate, so I emailed here and there. ...

Whenever I'm out of the country, and it falls on a Sunday - I make sure to research where I can hear Sunday Mass.  Two Sundays ago, I was in Tokyo.  Last year, I heard Mass in the Franciscan Chapel Center in Rippongi and the community there was so warm.  As much as I wanted to hear Mass there, it was a bit of a distance to where I was staying.  Researching led me to St. Patrick's Church in Ikebukuro and they have a Mass schedule at 7am. I left our place at 6:40am, I was praying hard to have a taxi swing by where I was standing and true enough, after just saying a short prayer a taxi was there.  I gave the address in by 6:55am I was at St. Patrick's Church. At the courtyard were tables and tents, nuns cleaning and arranging stuff.  It looked like they were having an event.  I didn't mind it as I was used to those kinds of things here in Manila.  I found it odd though, that when I entered the Church, it was still dim.  I thought to myse...

Whenever I'm out of the country, and it falls on a Sunday - I make sure to research where I can hear Sunday Mass.  Two Sundays ago, I was in Tokyo.  Last year, I heard Mass in the Franciscan Chapel Center in Rippongi and the community there was so warm.  As much as I wanted to hear Mass there, it was a bit of a distance to where I was staying.  Researching led me to St. Patrick's Church in Ikebukuro and they have a Mass schedule at 7am. I left our place at 6:40am, I was praying hard to have a taxi swing by where I was standing and true enough, after just saying a short prayer a taxi was there.  I gave the address in by 6:55am I was at St. Patrick's Church. At the courtyard were tables and tents, nuns cleaning and arranging stuff.  It looked like they were having an event.  I didn't mind it as I was used to those kinds of things here in Manila.  I found it odd though, that when I entered the Church, it was still dim.  I thought to myse...