Awards, Tags and Whatnots

During my 3 consecutive blogging years, I have been noticing that the more I keep myself silent, the more I receive fabulous awards from blogger friends. Is that a sign that these friends prefer when I’m not talking about my nonsense life? Or is it to say that even during my absence – read: dealing with my busy life, they still think of me? Uhum, I personally prefer to think of the latter.

Want to know more about the awards? Visit Rachel, Feng and Mitch, my fellow PMN mommies for details!

And oh, MegaMom hinted it right and wanted to see what makes me real busy. She wants evidence that I’m indeed busy and wants a peek of my workplace. Ok. Here it is. No cleaning or arranging whatsoever. See the whiteboard on the left? It has already witnessed a lot of brainstorming and starts to be not-so-white.. board, lol. My laptop is of course, my best buddy. The old telephone (yes, it’s old!) gives me direct access to our plants worldwide. And the heater right next to the not-so-comfortable chair helps me beat this early winter we are experiencing right now (yes, the thermometer already displayed freezing degrees!).

Well, if you’re expecting a stylish office French-style, really sorry to disappoint you guys. But engineers generally do dirty jobs in dirty workplaces. Oppps. That’s not a general rule, by the way. That’s probably just me.

Whatnots. Well, nothing. I’m just.. well, smiling less and less. Hmmm, that’s what Frenchguy told me. And he’s probably right. I don’t know. Probably yes. Ewan. Winter na kasi.

I will be going to Bangkok next month (or later) and he thought a little stop-over in the Philippines would do me good. I could bring Louna with me, ask somebody from my family to do babysitting in Bangkok while I work, then go home with them to the Philippines for a little pre-Christmas holiday. That would be a lot of organization to do but..

Why not? Bibili ako ng maraming smiles sa Pinas, promise. (that is, kung matutuloy ako syempre).

She Said Goodbye to Daytime Diapers

Oh yes ! The trick is, we have to remove her diapers at daytime for her to tell us it’s time to do the potty. When she’s with her diapers, most of the time, she won’t even bother to inform us that it’s poo time. So here are the tricks which worked for us:

- Encouragement. Kids love to be applauded and praised – and know what, this doesn’t cost a thing. Louna is just so proud when she does it. There was one afternoon when she wanted to keep her potty because Papa hadn’t seen it yet. And Papa was still at work! So I tried to negotiate to keep the potty chair inside the toilet, without 'flushing’ the content, but she wanted it to be near her inside her playroom. She doesn’t trust Maman when it comes to potty matters. Imagine the odor propagating everywhere inside the house! Panic! I called up her Papa and explained the situation. They talked over the phone and Papa said Bravo Louna. After then, she took her potty chair and headed to the toilet. It was ok to flush her business. Whew.

Continue reading.

If Only..

…all toddlers, at a worldwide level, would be raised in a pro-environment attitude, little by little, at a sure pace, even mother Earth could breath fresh air. The world would be a better place to live in.

It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks so aside from worldwide global warming awareness programs already available, we should equally give focus to these kids who will be the main players of the future. Imagine if parents inculcate this value to the core of their being at their very young age, protecting environment would become a worldwide culture and tradition which could surpass religion, race, nationality, skin color, beliefs or anything categorizing an individual to a group. Environment protection would be as natural as breathing air.. and since it will be a part of the future generation’s core values, it would cross generations to generations. Wouldn’t it be great?

Kids generally imitate what they observe from adults. And the best way to teach them is to show them examples. So you see, teaching kids is a circular logic. Everybody benefits from the process.

Think about this.
- What if, at the age of 2, with the help of their parents, all of these kids don’t allow water from the faucet running while they brush their teeth? Imagine the volume of water saved?

- What if at the age of 2, none of these kids throw anything anywhere anymore but instead, put the garbage in Mommy’s bag when there’s no garbage can around? These kids will surely grow up with the good habit.

- What if, at the age of 2, instead of allowing them to watch hours of tv or dvd, parents set a limit and spend saved hours in playing building blocks or any activity toys to develop their skills? Or why not spend the hours outside smelling the flowers or observing ants? Not only we save hours of electricity but we allow our kids to be closer to nature.

Tiny little gestures, when multiplied a million times become a huge contribution in preserving nature. The list is endless on how we could start our toddlers to be environment friendly. Start now.

Picture from this site.

It’s My Big Day Today

31 years. Wow. When I was still a student, I envisioned my 30th year with a lot of material successes. That’s typical, right? We want to finish our studies and have financial independence the earliest time possible. I dreamt about having my own car, my own house and a debit/credit card which I could swipe anytime without worrying for overdrafts. Know what? I have all of that now.

But real happiness for me is when my daughter asks me when she wants to go potty and does it, when she wipes the table and gathers food crumbles with her tiny little hands, when she requests for nose-to-nose and when she says av-you (I love you) during bedtime.

And now that I’m 31, and to be more honest, I’m happy with what I have, who wouldn’t? But I would be much happier if these freaking pimples stop popping out of my 31-year-old-freaking-face each time I lack sleep because my freaking job stresses me out! Hay buhay.

And oh, by the way. Now that I’m 31, and a responsible citizen at that, I’ve just registered My Hideaway at the Blog Action Day site. You know, I hardly am a member of any web organizations. Or if so, it’s because they really capture my interest. I am a member of PMN for parenting, and now Blog Action Day because I’m concerned with the environment.

So if you want to make me happier today because it’s my birthday, go click Blog Action Day and give it a thought.

Project Management

Evolution in a workplace is a continual process which slowly but surely changes company culture and traditions in a given entity. Current technical and economic pressures drive industries to an increasingly competitive environment which pushes them to restructure and reorganize their work methods to increase productivity.

Downsizing is a famous product of this evolution. The challenge is then to manage existing workload with less people. Competence development within an organization has been industries’ response to attaining this goal – multi-skilling in a high performance workplace. Functional flexibility has somewhat became the standard.

My 2-day training in Paris two weeks ago was in fact an introduction to the ins and outs of project management.

Project management, as described in the Free Management Library is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are needed, and associating budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan. Project management usually follows major phases (with various titles for these phases), including feasibility study, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.

Aside from my normal tasks, the big bosses had this brilliant idea of naming me as a Project Manager (PM) to validate a new machine loaded with new technology from a new supplier – without the salary increase, bien sûr - and before I had the training. At first, I didn’t really give it a budge. I will have a dual role on this subject, as a technical resource and a PM. Easy. I started working on the process conception taking into account the complexity of the new machine - thinking I would restart working on the subject once the machine is installed (I was still thinking like a technical resource and not at all as a PM). Wrong.

Now, aside from my usual monthly report,
- I have to do a specific report on this subject too.
- I have to attend to a lot of meetings – talking about Civil and Electrical Engineering (building conception phase) but never Chemical Engineering which is my line – and worst, write the meeting minutes at the end of the session.
- I have to take major decisions impacting quality, cost and delay – or negotiate everything with the big bosses – and take every blow imaginable.
- I have to monitor that we don’t exceed the 1M€ mark.
- I have to kick butts to get information from different actors of the project.
- and lastly, I have to work for myself because, not to forget, I’m a technical resource on this project too.

This new task is draining the whole of me. I’m a newbie and I’ve always been conscientious on whatever I do. Frenchguy’s out for business travel for 2 long weeks now and handling an active toddler after a long day of work is sometimes more difficult than talking technical matters with experienced men (*$¤#! Just wondering what these big bosses had in mind when they named a Filipina Mom to handle the job? – I mean, I’m the only girl in the team! And a foreigner at that!).

Next week, I will be somewhere around Germany with a supplier followed by Italy before the end of the month - again with a supplier. Then probably, just probably, to Thailand mid-November.

Now, how in the world would my immediate boss think that I’m not loaded? I can’t even blog, lol.

Blog and Earn

I have been seeing a lot of PayPerPost proud members roaming the blogosphere and honestly, I had this growing curiosity on the question Do they really earn something from blogging? How in the world would somebody pay someone for blogging on topics this someone loves? Is there any logic on that?

I started indexing the PPP site on my favourites a few months back. I was always blocked by the fact that I might not have the time. A good friend of mine who is a PPP member, what else, assured me that I could manage my time, no pressure. Then I had this urge to browse the site last week – lazy browsing, you know. That lazy browsing ended up with me signing up, registering my blog.. and some 3 working days checking my emails for a possible good news.

When I saw the subject Your blog has been approved, I excitedly logged in and checked for some opps. Wow, there are just a lot of opportunities waiting to be grabbed and reviewed. And since with PayPerPost, members are encouraged to talk about the things they love, I don’t think there are better ways to motivate and inspire these members to write with gusto.

So what are you waiting for? Get paid to blog. Click on the site and see for yourselves.

Les Bleus vs All Blacks

Allez les bleus! The French Rugby Team has just been qualified for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, 20-18. They will be defending the title next week against England at St. Denis, France. Whew, that was a steal considering that New Zealand's All Blacks Team had always been crowd's favorite. I have always been fascinated by the All Blacks Haka craze which they perform before every match. Watch the video here.

The French President and the Prime Minister were present during the match. What a way to give support to the French Team. I'm sure everybody's proud to go home with the trophy. I could still hear noises outside, people celebrating this victory.

Here's a video of the winning dive which gave way to France's 18th point. Galing!

Check for more action here:

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Well, if you think these rugbymen look trash and push like bulls, check their 2008 calendar here and think again.

Engineers..

If you're wondering what I do at work (or at least know my job description), click on the image for a bigger view then discover.

The Colors of Burgundy

12th century church overlooking the vineyard.

Today is PMN Fam Pics Day and the chosen theme is GREEN. Outdoor lovers as we are, the first thing which came into mind to interprete this month's theme is nature! I have loads of pictures displaying green sceneries of different paysages and I thought, why not show you the colors of Burgundy - the region famous for wine, escargot (snails) and Dijon mustard - where I live.

Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region. The good thing about living in this town is that, we get the advantage of a city while keeping close distance to nature. After a stressful week, it's so easy to unwind and breath fresh air in the nearby wine country which is Burgundy.

Like most of the hike/stroll areas in France, a walk in this breathtaking decor also starts with the direction sign. The yellow and red stripes signify a trail or circuit which could be completed in several days to discover a region. One sole yellow stripe signifies easy and short hike do-able within a day. Longer and more difficult hikes are designated by white and red stripes which not only trails France, but most of the European countries as well. They normally accompany itinerary hikers on their adventures. More on hiker's direction sign here.

The extraordinary part of doing a leisure hike in this wine country is that you could come across old villages and old churches dating back to the XII century (a wine press in one of the cellars dates back to the Charlemagne days!) and end the day with a wine tasting in one of the hundred wine cellars around the area. A festive ambiance is a guarantee during harvest season around August to September. Wine bottles on a barrel are typical displays outside a wine store or a wine cellar where wine tasters/buyers are of course, welcome.

This GREEN carpet is not forever tho. It only stays from Spring to Summer season. Just before the harvest, these green leaves will slowly turn into red, giving another magical atmosphere in the valley. This announces the coming of Autumn. Photographers - professionals and neophytes alike, gather in this area during this season, not only to witness the harvest, but also to catch this beautiful transformation. But like a superstar who gives in to several encores before leaving the grand scene, these leaves turn into golden yellow before they totally wither and fall - to give way to the Winter season.

Note: Dijon is the capital of Côte d'Or, a province of the Burgundy (Bourgogne) region. Côte d'Or which literally means Golden Coast gets its name from the golden yellow color of the wine valley during Autumn. Or so they say. Imagine a valley of these leaves kissed by the sun's rays - you get captivated while you capture its beauty.

It's NON Time

Louna, go to bed now. NON.

Let's go do the potty. NON.

Drink your milk. NON.

What happened to my sweet, ever obeying little Louna?

Find out here.

FrenchED

My 6 years existence in this country is starting to take its toll on me. Somebody told me that I could be considered integrated in this country when I start to think French and I start to dream French. My gowd, didn't I encounter Richard Gomez in my dreams last night? What was he saying? Mais, il parlait français? .. Oh my, he was speaking French and I was answering back.. in French!

...

I was whiling away my time at the café this afternoon with my colleagues, after lunch, and the conversation was directed to the gift check being received by parents from our Comité d'Entreprise (CE) for the school opening (that adds up to what they receive from the government). I timidly asked the amount and my colleague told me that I'll receive 15€ gift check next year, when I decide to enroll Louna to pre-school (the amount increases progressively depending on the child's age). My unguarded reaction was C'est tout? (that's all?).

People, when I first knew about this amount received from the CE and the government every school opening - and the Frenchies were still complaining, I had a totally different reaction. It was some kind of revolte for me that this population couldn't appreciate the beauty of their system anymore because they're so spoiled with all the financial aid they receive from their government. I even reiterated to them that in the Philippines, there's no such thing as gift checks so grade schoolers could buy a new bag, notebooks and pens. Let alone parents solve their own problems.

6 years after, a baby, loads of tax money paid and minimum incentives received, I finally start to realize that like all the French restaurants, the more you pay, the less you get on your plate. Can you blame me if I get carried away sometimes and be FrenchED?

Busy Working Mom

Life has been sooooo busy and complicated since my last stint in the Philippines. At times like these, either I cope up or I break down. I was actually coping up till my health said stop. I felt sick, contaminated Louna.. then Frenchguy (who just left this morning for Boston to contaminate in turn his colleagues hehe). Life’s great!

At times like these, as usual, blogging becomes my least priority. I haven’t been bloghopping lately so I didn’t notice that somebody named Francine wanted a peek of my desk. Well, there’s no surprise, I always put a picture of my daughter for my wallpaper. I just can’t get enough of her. Icons displayed are the strict minimum, I hate messy workstations.

A good surprise for this week (or is that last week?) is that Gracita, for I don’t know what reason, named me as one of her favourite reads - on two categories! Well, she just declared that she loves my blog and what I write are nice matters. Oh, she’s always been a suki I guess. I even proclaimed her as Louna’s fan club manager because she’s read every detail of Ma Crèche Privée. Ask her about Louna’s latest development and you’ll get the answer hehe. We probably love to read each others blog because we both talk about our very ordinary life, nothing else. Ain’t that boring?

Well, I think all of my fave reads already got this award so I won’t name all of you guys. My list is not exhaustive. I’ve always been meaning to update my blogroll but hmmm, no time. What I could say is that, aside from my list, I’m becoming addicted to the PMN site and the sexy moms behind it.

Oh by the way, you might want to read about my take on mixed couples and their adventure in nurturing their kid. Read here.

40.5°C / 105°F

That was Louna's (rectal) temperature this afternoon when our Nanny called up Frenchguy. He in turn called me up and informed me to ready myself because we will be rushing our daughter to the hospital. On our way to the Nanny's place, I was already imagining the worst scenario - I never saw a child with a temperature that high, 40.5°C!

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Ang Pranses na Mukhang Pinay, Bow.

So ok, KK wanted to know how my last stint in the Philippines went. For a little history, read this entry, on I'm Living on a Jetplane part.

My first encounter was with the guy at the hotel counter at the airport. His first question was of course, Filipina? To which I answered opo. Then he continued by saying Akala ko po kasi hindi Pinay, kadalasan po kasi hindi nagpapahatid sa hotel dahil me sundo. I just smiled and said Wala kasing gustong sumundo sa kin e.

Then the hotel car came. Apparently, the hotel counter guy told the driver P're, mukha lang mataray pero Pinay yan. How did I know what he said? Well, I think I have this bad habit of talking a lot with all the hotel drivers that I almost know all their driver stories - from abusive employers to generous guests.

On our way to the hotel, the driver started to radio one of his colleagues to check on traffic situation. At that time, I knew that they just started the construction of the Skyway
extension and traffic jam was of course, heavy. Not wanting to spend most of my evenings with the driver, baka kasi maubusan sya ng kwento, I asked him to drive me instead directly at my sister's place in Manila.

So the radio-ing with the hotel started. They exchanged too much blah blahs that in the end, they were able to cancel my hotel reservation and inform our sister company that I didn't arrive in the Philippines. Just a picture of how messages could be distorted and twisted that fast.

Another bad habit that I started to develop is checking my emails at home, at the airport, at internet centers... well, practically everywhere. A day after my arrival in Manila, I started checking my emails and there I learned that the secretary was helplessly searching for me (and it was Sunday!), asking if she had to re-book me to another flight and offered her number in case of emergency. Oh by the way, she already informed everybody, from the Plant Director to their Engineers that I missed my flight.

I rapidly dialled her number and tried to explain to her that I was already in Manila, that the hotel should be informed and the reservation was still on. Well, I think she did not digest properly why I was in Manila, where I was staying and this and that even when I said I was at my sister's place and everything was ok. She ended up by asking me if I was a Filipina. And I said yes. She then asked Marunong po kayong mag-tagalog? To which I answered Oo naman.

Right there and then, I guess everybody in that company knew I was a Filipina even before I set foot inside their premises. The news was just a text away.

Everybody was actually friendly and I saw some familiar faces - my classmates from Mapua. Somebody braved himself to ask why I was there, and when I said that it was their Plant Director's request to our Central Department, I think I saw some worried faces.

Working with them was a breeze, they were very cooperative and really willing to learn. I think I made a good impression (nope, di po ako nagyayabang, promise). Everybody thanked me and wished to see me again in the future. I was just surprised that 2 managers wanted to see me before I left - the HR and Training managers - telling me that they heard good reviews about me from their engineers so they wanted to thank me personally. Pwede rin po akong i-pirate hehehe.

Well, that experience, tho tiring was very enriching for me. My sole regret was that I didn't have the chance to shop (as if I love shopping!) and I missed my EB with the PMN moms. The only time I was available (because I needed to dine with them too - twice!), I was too tired that I stayed inside the hotel room and had my dinner room-serviced. The rest of my after-work time, I spent.. working! I was even too tired to even ask for a room-serviced massage. No wonder, I was sick when I arrived in France.

re: the title. That's how my former colleagues in our Philippine site fondly call me.

I'm on Sick Leave

For the first time! I always boasted that inspite of my underweight, skinny physique, nobody could really charge me as unhealthy. I was never sick... till today.

In fact, I was already feeling heavy and exhausted since last week (I was still in the Philippines then). Blame it to too much work. I was obliged to shrink all the jobs I had to accomplish in the Philippines in 5 days instead of 6 - and that included auditing our sister company's machine and process, training their engineers and auditing formulation procedures in our company. Yes, I was in two companies at the same time - all in one week. Top it with jetlag and yes, I was dead tired.

A friend of mine warned me against burnout, but no, I'm not yet at this level and I won't allow myself to fall in this trap. I'm just tired and a little stressed out, me thinks. The fact that I was asked to work with our sister company wherein big bosses (from both companies) held high expectations from me was quite a challenge. Though I worked normally without really trying to gain their wows, I nevertheless 'extremely impressed' (got that straight from the director's email to my boss) the Plant Director who openly expressed that my results and proposals, though showed a big drift in their process, would definitely help them improve their productivity. I even heard that he would again ask my boss for my assistance once they start a new process. I just had to warn them na malaki na ang talent fee ko by that time hehe.

At my last day in the company, aside from the engineers and technical managers who wanted to wish me bon voyage, the HR and Training Managers wanted to meet me in person to express how happy they were to meet me and that they've heard good reviews about me. I was tired but I was smiling up to my ears.

Arriving here in France, I went directly to Dijon because I had an important meeting the next day. I just can't be absent in that meeting because I'm the project manager and I just can't say I still have a jetlag after missing 2 or 3 meetings already.

Louna and Frenchguy were still out when I arrived. Louna was on vacation at her grandparent's place while Frenchguy was on a business trip in Boston. They just arrived last night when I was already zombie-like because of fatigue.

I had a medical check-up this morning and of all the things I should forget, I forgot to ask for a medical certificate. Darn! It just shows how newbie I am when it comes to sick leave. Kainis.

Tidbits: I was carrying some measuring instruments (one with some chemicals which produces smoke at the contact with air) when I went to the Philippines and I was so nervous that customs might stop and question me. Arriving at the airport, waiting for my only luggage, I heard my name being paged, asking me to go directly at the right side of the arrival area. I was already imagining the worst scenario, convinced that it was because of the instruments in my luggage. But in fact, it was because it was my first time in the hotel where I was supposed to stay and they thought I didn't know where hotel counters were. Naman, ninerbyos kaya ako dun!

Summer Vacation Part II

Les Pyrénées

Hautes Pyrénées, our second vacation destination is situated at the southern end of France, at the Spanish border and almost 900 km away from Dijon. But you know what? That long drive is all worth it! Just check out the pictures below:

The beauty of the place is simply captivating. No wonder, nature is the biggest architect ever.

A lot of outdoor activities were proposed in that area and our one-week stay was actually sort of bitin. Mountain hiking was number one in our list but we needed to plan our activities to allow rest time for Louna. There was a day when Frenchguy did canyoning while Louna and I just visited the small village where we stayed.

A daycare tho was available in that little town for parents who wanted to do adventure sports without worrying for their kids. Of course, Frenchguy and I promptly jumped into the idea and did our new-found adventure - via ferrata. But this time, a bonus adventure awaited us - we had our dose of tyrolienne too. That was 100% fun.

Another sport activity which is quite famous there is cycling - anybody heard about Le Tour de France? Lance Armstrong? Col du Tourmalet? Well, Frenchguy did his Lance-Armstrong-experience at the Col de Tourmalet (18 km with 7-9% slope and 1450m elevation change) with his basketball top, football shorts and running shoes while I played Sheryl Crow (Armstrong's fiancée) - that is, follow him with the car and give him water from time to time. What a professional! I have to be proud of him. For somebody who is not a cyclist at all, bravo! Well, okay, he did it twice the time as the professionals but HE DID IT! That matters.

This vacation, though we didn't really have that great summer weather, was such a blast. We had fun. We were far from worries. We were stress-free. If only we could be on vacation everyday!

PMN Fam Pics

Do I have to be happy that the editors of PMN are up to their necks with work in improving the site that I had the time to dig on Louna's site for a great entry?? Yay, that really sounds selfish. Let's just call it, blessing in disguise.

Now, take a peek on my Anything Potted entry by clicking here and let me know what you think. The picture was taken when Louna was still 5 months old and already a nomad. It was her first time at her Grandparents' place.

And here are other mom's take on Anything Potted. Go visit them too.

Julie's flowers
Raqgold's Potted Memory
Cookie's different kind of pot :razz:
KK's indoor and outdoor pots
Rach's Flowers and a Smile
Lynn's Pot Shots
Lady Cess' The Best Tea
Feng's Tagaytay Pics
Analyse's Life isn't easy being a nomad
Purple Girl's Coffee Alamid
Mitch's very edible photos
Noemi's Ceramic Fondue Pot
Vicky's Potted Fruits and Vegetables
Dine's anything potted in Bhutan and Capalonga

Summer Vacation 2007 Part I

So we are finally out on vacation.. and loving it, what else. Though summer temperature is not really at our rendez-vous, we are nevertheless having the fun of our life with what our destination reserves for us.

Since our second-week-destination is at the Midi-Pyrenees (~885 km from Dijon), we tried to organize our vacation so as to have our stopover in some place where we could do a little visit. Long drives are not really advisable to impatient toddlers, unless you’re really patient. Our first stop was at Safari de Peaugres where Louna had fun not only on imitating animal sounds, but also on mimicking them. Look at how cute she mimics pink flamingos.

We then drove up to Lac de Salagou the next day, known for its environment carpeted with its rich red soil.

Unfortunately, it was too windy that day so we ended up hiking instead. It was a fun hike because Louna walked at the start of the trail and finally discovered her shadow. She was quite blocked at first, probably wondering what that black image was so we explained (and showed) to her that Maman and Papa have their own shadows too. The trick worked when we told her that she had to follow her shadow. Toddler life is full of discoveries.

We then stopped at Carcassonne to visit this majestic fortress constructed during the Middle Ages. I’m not a history buff so let me describe the place through pictures instead.

Next stop will be at the Midi-Pyrenees.

Les Dijonnais

The Frenchies are still here - blame it on the capricious weather. Our designated destination displays cloudy weather today so since we had no reservations this week, we decided to stay put in our little chez nous and enjoy what Dijon has to offer.

First on the list was Louna's haircut. Since it's vacation time, we finally decided to say bye-bye to her baby-hair and she gamely obliged. I think that she even enjoyed her pampering time at the salon, she talked non-stop while her coiffeuse cut her hair. A promising talkative little girl.

We were also able to enjoy our little garden which is most often neglected because of our busy everyday lives. Some little pleasures like going to the restaurants, leisure-walking at the town center, walking at the nearby forest, eating out with friends, watching DVDs with Louna and simply doing siesta every afternoon are already priceless rewards for us. Who would say we aren't on vacation yet?

Tomorrow, we will probably load our car with our stuffs and finally hit vacation... did I said probably?

PMN Fam Pics

Credits: Verena Karolyi for the Papers and Suzanne C. Walker of DSP for the WordArt.

Here's my official entry to the PMN Fam Pics saga’s August theme – Glossy. Here’s my little darling with her Glossy Apple Cheeks. This picture was taken after our summer vacation last year.

Here are how PMN members interpret “glossy.”

Glossy Writing Table by Noemi
Glossy Appeal by Rachel
Attack II by Leah
Glossy by raqgold
PMN Fam Pics Series 1 : GLOSSY by Cookie de Guzman-Lugue (Kongkong622)
GlossyMonday--My World Turning Upside Down by Sexy Mom
Glossy by Mitch
Glossy by Chats (iMom)
Glossy Apple Cheeks by Analyse
PMN Fam Pics, 1st edition: A very glossy story by Connie
Mommy's girl by Lady Cess
GLOSSY Topped Cupcakes by Dexie the FeistyMomma
Glossy from the garden by KK
Glossy Plastic Covers by Feng

All My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready To Go...

Aoûtiens

Camping Advocates

After a lot of last minute changes and hesitations, we're finally leaving for vacation this weekend. It will be a 3-weeks getaway, starting off at the Ardeche area where we will most probably mount our newly-bought tent for the first time. As a growing family, Frenchguy and I both agreed that our miniature tent will not be spacious enough to hold Louna alone so we ended up buying a new one. Tho it won’t be Louna’s first camping experience, we still prepare ourselves to a roller coaster ride with a toddler in tow.

Mountain Climbers

Next in line will be the Pyrenees where we will stay in a nice vacation village situated atop the mountains. We took the option Pension Complete which means everything will be prepared for us, from breakfast to dinner. We deserve a break, okay? A lot of outdoor activities are also proposed everyday so it will be a busy week for us. An in-house day-care is available in case we want to do some sporty adventure sans Louna.

Ocean Adventurers

Next and last stopover will be at my BIL’s beach house at the Vendée area. The house is reserved only for us so it will be a cool moment to spend family time together without worrying about community activities. I particularly dig the ice cream eating session every afternoon.

Back-Packers

All these vacation itineraries had been a pain to organize and I hope everything will turn out alright, that we’ll have a great weather and Louna will go home to Dijon fully potty trained. Frenchguy and I would take separate work destinations direct from our vacation hideaway and the little Miss will spend a week more at her grandparent’s place. Yes, aside from the vacation must-haves that we packed, we’re adding two laptops and our passports on the list.


I’m Living on a Jetplane.

If you have to gauge yourself, what is your competence with process A using machine B ?

That was my boss’ welcome question when I arrived back from a 3-weeks business travel last month.

Bosing, to tell you frankly, I could work with that process using that machine with my eyes closed.

Yabang ko no? But apparently, I hit the right answer. Before I knew it, I got myself named for another assignment and with that came an air ticket and loads of emails. I tried to protest from my boss, telling him that he could surely name somebody from our Asian team with the same expertise, so we could save from air tickets, that I could always act as a support through emails, chat, call conference, video conference yada yada yada, to which he answered :

The request is from our sister company and they’re paying all of your expenses. I’m even checking on how I could charge them your travel incentives and your one week salary. With that said, they’re expecting a credible and reliable support from you…

Oh. Thanks for the added pressure. I really appreciate it.

Now here’s the catch. The sister company is based in the Philippines and I don’t think they know that I’m a Filipina. I just hope they won’t ask their money back because they’re expecting a French expert and all they could get is dark-brown Pinay.


PMN Fam Pics

But before I finally close my bags and hit the road to vacation, I’d like to share to you my un-official entry to the PMN Fam Pics saga’s August theme – Glossy. Here’s my little darling with her Glossy Apple Cheeks. This picture was taken after our summer vacation last year.

Credits: Verena Karolyi for the Papers and Suzanne C. Walker of DSP for the WordArt.

A Star in the Making

And before I end this already long post, please visit this site and listen to the group Plastiq Passion (Jessica Chaos) under the Music category. The woman behind the guitar is a cool mom who rocks between work, family and her passion - music. As she said, some moms do cross-stitching. She plays with her guitar. Ain't that cool? And would you believe that inspite of that seemingly hectic schedule, she still has time to meet blogger friends who lost their way to NY?

And oh, before I forget, please vote for the group ;).


Temporary Hiatus

This blog will officially be on temporary hiatus starting Sunday, August 5. All work and no play make John a dull boy. You wouldn’t want to see me get bored of my everyday life, would you?

See you in September.

High School Life

I was again Tagged - by Mitch. She's starting to be my Tag suki :D and I'm willingly playing along. This même suddenly reminded me of fond memories of my favourite episode during my younger years.

1. Who was your best friend? I was actually part of a group of 5 girls who promised to be Ninangs to our first-born child. Since they had their kids earlier than me, I was the Ninang to their eldest child and Louna was left without nobody to be called Ninang from my group of best friends.

2. Did you play any sports? A what? What’s that?

3. What kind of car did you drive? During HS? Nah. I only knew bicycles and tricycles then.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? At home most of the time. Or watching a film in one of my bestfriends house. What I love are Saturdays where a surprise visit of jeepneys and tricycles loaded with HS classmates embark in our place to take me away with them – destination – beach. It’s not necessarily in a resort. Most of the time, we squat in a private vacant lot where we spend the whole day chatting and eating. Ah, I miss this moment.

5. Were you a party animal? Sort of. Expect to see me in most of the parties organized by our group.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Not at all. You could actually see me hanging out with male barkadas most of the time.. but we call each other P’re (pare).

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Nope.

8. Were you a nerd? Nah. I was an average student from 1st to 3rd year, then started to aspire for the top 10 during my 4th year. If ever this counts, I was the Math genius of the batch.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Never.

10. Can you sing the fight song? Ngek, what’s this?

11. Who was your favorite teacher? My Math teacher for obvious reasons. She’s using class cards to ask her students to go to the board and solve a problem. It was exciting and at the same time, nerve wrecking.

12. What was your school mascot? Nada.

13. Did you go to the Prom? Syempre.

14. If you could go back, would you? I would really love to.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I wasn’t happy with the results. In fact, they considered our grades from 1st year to 4th year, took percentages from each then added some points for extracurricular activities. From a 3rd placer (during my 4th year), I ended up without nothing during the graduation rites.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? Ano yun? Wala yata nyan sa probinsya namin.

17. Did you have a job during your senior year? Wala po.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? Home.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Hmmm, I think so. But the last time I saw my classmates (Dec 2006), everybody agreed that I haven’t changed.

20. What did you do after graduation? I was accepted in MIT and I settled with my dream school.

21. What year did you graduate? 1993.

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? He was not actually a date. He was my designated escort and he happened to be my bestfriend-turned-suitor-whom-I-haven’t-talked-to-since-then.

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? There was no 10 year reunion for our batch, simply because most of us are out of the country and it’s quite impossible to organize one. Now we’re talking about the 15th year reunion and I hope it will push through. Otherwise, we have a group-email as a means to keep up with each other.

Tagged: What were you thinking?

I got tagged by KK:

What Were You Thinking when you first met your current main squeeze? (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, sex partner, WHATEVER!)

Quite irritated. I don't know what has gotten in his mind but he decided to call me Monalisa from the first meeting.

A little background. Frenchguy and I met inside the premises of our Philippine production site end of 1999. It was during the start-up of the company. I was the 4th person hired in our department and Frenchguy was there to supervise the installation of the machines. My boss didn't formally introduce me to him so I didn't really care who he was. The very first meeting was at the stairs leading to the workshop. He introduced himself to me so I did the same. He called me Monalisa. Grrrr.

The rest is history.

And what was HE thinking when he first saw me?

He thought I was beautiful. Walang aangal. I was the only girl in the department at that time. :D

So now, I'd like to tag Haze and Francine.

The Face Behind The Blog

There's no secret. Browse a little bit more and you'll see pictures of her and her daughter posted on most of the entries. This blog started August of 2004. It talks about the author's observations, her views, her life.. no wonder, it's HER blog. Barely a year later, March 2005 to be exact, a big milestone dawned on her. Came with it is the creation of another blog - Ma Crèche Privée - literally translated to My Private Nursery, which tackles her daughter's life, from in vitro to today. It's her way to communicate her child's development to families and friends all over the globe.

The woman behind the blog is a first-time mom and a career woman rolled into one - in short, a SAHM wannabe. She's blogging from France and she's dreaming of winning the EuroMillion (lotto) to be able to stop working - but without betting a single euro. While waiting for that big jackpot, she's working her a** out as a Chemical Process Engineer in a French-owned multinational company where she's given free air tickets to solve machine and process problems in their production sites worldwide.


The woman who tagged me - Francine. She's a newbie in the French environment and she's adapting quite well. She's at the moment preparing for a big event and realizing all the more the difference between her culture and the new culture she's trying to embrace. Feel free to check her page.

And here's the instruction to this meme :

1st step - Post a short blog article that includes a photograph (or a series of photos) showing the face behind your blog. If you already showed a photo somewhere on your site (such as in your about page), then make your post more interesting and choose a photo that’s not currently online.

2nd step - Include links to other people that have displayed a photo, or include their photos in your post, adding a reference.

3rd step - Tag as many others as you like in your post to spread the meme.

4th step - If you link back to me here and send an email I’ll be sure to include links back to you. Each person tagged should create their own post and repeat the process.

I'd Love to Tag:

Auee - Same reason as Francine, i don't think I already 'saw' you.
Mitch - I always see you 'blurred'.
ScroochChronicles - I'd like to know you too.
Feng - You're tagged!

I Rock, My Mom Too

And what about that? After blogging and bloghopping at a slower pace lately due to inevitable everyday errands, Mitch still thinks I rock. Thank you, thank you. I'm not prepared for this. I'm speechless.

Still from Mitch, I was tagged on 10 Random Facts about my Mom. In fact, I could list a lot more than that, but OK, I'll limit myself to 10.

1. She's a proud Mom. And she's got all the right to be one. She's raised 6 kids (with my Dad of course) with two meager salaries of elementary school teachers. With the expensive education in the Philippines (add to that the boarding house, telephone, water, electricity fees and the monthly allowances), she's obliged to follow a strict financial scheme. They are insurance agents and rice farmers on the side. And by the way, she was obliged to sell a beach lot which she bought when she was still single - for our precious education.

2. When she starts to brag, she brags. She would start with 'Yung panganay ko... yung pangalawa naman... yung pangatlo.. yada yada yada.' She would normally talk about her kids and their achievements. No wonder, we are her pride. And of course, when we are with her and she starts to brag, nagtatago na kami. Ang yabang ni Ma-Dear e.

3. She's equally proud of her grandkids. She's got 4 from 4 of her children, and obviously, she wants more.

4. She helped for the education of her youngest sister-in-law. My Dad is the oldest child in the family and with that, the salary of my Mom became a part of the family money. Inspite of that, she still feels indebted to my Dad's family by the fact that our house is built on their ancestral land. By the way, that youngest SIL just gave them a Toyota Revo as a gift this year. Not bad. Good deeds pay off.

5. She never knew her parents. They died when she was still young. So her eldest brother raised her. But this eldest brother married a very strict wife who obliged her to work all the time except on Good Friday. And yes, she feels indebted to this SIL too.

6. She's an utang-na-loob slave and I don't know how to move her out of that.

7. Loving Mom as she is, she never wanted her children to be morally indebted to anybody. Not even to her. She doesn't want her children suffer because of utang-na-loob. She never obliged us to send her monthly remittances - she just doesn't like the idea. To those who don't understand her concept, she just shrugs her shoulders and say 'Pinaghirapan naman ng mga anak ko kung ano man ang meron sila ngayon. Dapat lang na para sa kanila na yun.'

8. She is the 'Mommy' to all her children's friends and all her co-teachers. My ex even continued calling her 'mommy' even after we parted ways.

9. She waves her hand to everybody when she's out to go to the market. She knows almost everybody in our little town. They even tease her to run for Mayor of the town to which she answers 'Naku, ngayon at retired na ako, I will dedicate my time to my children and their kids.'

10. She's 64 years old and enjoying her retirement with my Dad (who is 7 years her senior). They still do farming and work as part-time insurance agents. They consider that work as their sole social outlet.

As you noticed, it was hard for me to dissociate my Mom from my Dad. They are partners, through good and bad times.

Job Applicant - French Style

The engineer trainée in our department is currently applying for a job and is chaining interviews one after another. One day, she would be somewhere around Paris, the next, she would be somewhere in the south. She have a rendez-vous with ANPE next week, for her to have all her travel expenses be reimbursed.

Sarap buhay!

*ANPE - Agence Nationale Pour l'Emploi (National Employment Agency)

Note: New graduates have to register to Assedic (National Unemployment Insurance) as job applicants. Assedic will then study the applicant's case to evaluate the amount he is entitled to. Most of the time, almost 95% of the travel expenses related to job-hunting is being shouldered by this government office. The papers will then be transfered to ANPE. ANPE will then provide all the services available for the new graduate, from job propositions to trainings with pay.

A Day in a Life of a Working Mom

She woke up at the irritating sound of her phone which she set at 6:40 am the other night. It’s Monday. She turned carefully and gave a warm kiss to her daughter then moved out of bed slowly, wary not to wake her up. She decided to sleep with her daughter last night, longing for her daughter’s presence after few weeks of business trip.

It would be a long day today. She had to move double time. The usual 20 more minutes of sleep extension is not for today. Her husband left early this morning for a week-long business trip. She had to do everything alone… and for the next 4 days.

She hurried downstairs and had the usual toasted bread topped with Nutella and a mug of café au lait for breakfast. She tried to eat faster but the only way to do it is to eat less - she only had half of her usual dose. At 7:00 am, she was already brushing her teeth, ready to take a quick shower afterwards.

7:20 am. She poured 210 ml of fresh milk in the feeding bottle, placed it inside the microwave oven and pushed quick-start. She hurried again upstairs while saying ‘Good morning baby.’ repeatedly. She starts to hate the stairs which seems to take minutes of her precious time everyday. She peeped inside the room and checked if her daughter started to move. She smiled. She suddenly remembered her daughter when she was younger. Mornings had always been a pleasure.

After a morning ritual of hugs and kisses, she instinctively looked at her watch. 7:25 am. She carried her daughter up and zoomed downstairs to give her daughter her bottle, checked if the flow is okay, then ran again upstairs. She started preparing herself while her daughter took her breakfast.

At 7:35 am, she settled her daughter on her potty chair and she continued dressing up. Oppps, she forgot to give her daughter a toy. Potties are boring places for busy toddlers.

7:40 am. She started to change her daughter’s diapers. Her daughter just discovered playing boxing with her feet so dressing her up is all the more difficult. Add to that that her daughter wanted to put on her own shoes and didn’t want to brush her hair.

At 8:00 am, doors and gate closed, she started buckling her daughter up inside the car. She needs to be at her Nanny’s place before 8:20 am, or else, she would need to take the road to the school. In fact, the Nanny had to bring her son to the school at 8:30 am so she, together with the kids, needs to leave the house before 8:20 am. Too much constraints. At the fourth day, she was reminded that it’s summer vacation and rushing in the morning was not really necessary – Mommies forget things.

She arrived at the office before 8:30 am. Life went on as usual. At 5:30 pm, she was already preparing herself to leave the office because at 5:45 pm, the clock would start ticking overtime pay over at the Nanny’s place.

After a quick update on how her daughter was during the day, mother and daughter geared up and hit home at 6:00 pm. Their day has just started. Upon arriving at home, she placed her daughter on her potty chair while she did her potty too. Mothers and daughters do things together. Bonding and learning starts from there. They then started to play mommy-baby role-playing. Her, as the baby, her daughter, the mommy. At 7:00 pm, it was bath time. Bath time with toddlers always takes time - her daughter had this good habit of brushing the tub floor and wiping the tiles during bath time lately. And she just can’t tell her daughter ‘Stop that baby. That’s bad.’

At 7:30 pm, she was already preparing dinner while her daughter continued playing. Her husband called up and after a quick update of how the day was, she passed the telephone on to her daughter who took the phone and started talking while walking. Exactly like what her Dad does. She’s a copycat.

At 8:00 pm, it was dinner time. Her daughter is a good example of a toddler with a good mealtime manners – she eats on her own neatly. She’s a real breath of fresh air.

After mealtime, she started cleaning up the kitchen while her daughter continued playing. At 8:45 pm, it was toothbrush time for both mother and daughter. They went upstairs afterwards. After the potty, they both headed to bed. Her daughter took her favourite Dora the Explorer book and she started to flip on the pages with her. Yes, her daughter will again sleep next to her.

Her daughter started to doze off. She checked her phone. It was 9:00 pm. The alarm was still set at 6:40 am. She needs to rest too. Tomorrow is a promise of another long day.

PMN E-Zine's Up

The fast growing Pinoy Moms Network is taking another height by launching the much awaited e-zine. The sexy new look is of course a product of blood, sweat and tears as Sexy Mom describes it. Credits to the founder of PMN, Connie and Noemi, and of course the section editors, Sexy Mom, PinayExpat, FeistyMomma and AnnaManila.

PMN has become one of my favorite tambayan lately. It's there where I met interesting people with the same interest and love as me - our children. So once the e-zine project was announced, I was quite excited to be a member writer. Too excited that I have my first two articles published at the same day. Read my take on Toddler Management and what your kids could benefit from camping.

See you there.

My Daughter just turned 20 Months Old

Check out her new tricks here.

Les Vacances en France

My vacation counter has been reset last month. On the list are:

Congés Payés : 25 days. That’s 5 weeks of Paid Leave.

Pont Payé : 1 day. Day between a legal holiday and a weekend. We have 1 day a year and we could take it anytime we want.

Réduction Temps de Travail (RTT) : 11 days. The RTT is the equivalent of 35-hour workweek. With that regime, I get 11 more days of vacation a year.

Congé d’Ancienneté : 2 days. Days added related to the length of service in the company. What? Who says I’m old?

Report Jour de Repos : 2 days. The days I wasn’t able to take last accounting year which I have to consume till the 31st of August this year. Another way to keep unconsumed vacation days is to transfer them to the Compte Epargne Temps. It’s like a bank where you place your vacation days without worrying when you have to consume them. A quota of 18 days a year has to be respected tho.

Jour de Récupération : 3 days. These days are linked to the number of Saturdays I worked during my business travels which I have to recover upon arriving in France.

Add to that the official holidays which are:

January 1 – New Year’s Day
April N – Easter Monday
May 1 – Labour Day
May 8 – 1945 Victory
May N – Ascension Day
June N – Whit Monday (Pentecost)
July 14 – Bastille Day
August 15 – Assumption Day
November 1 – All Saint’s Day
November 11 – Armistice Day
December 25 – Christmas Day

Now, let’s do the Math. How many non-working days do I have? 55 days. Yipee!

Let’s get to the more serious topic now. Frenchguy, Louna and I need to take a 3-weeks summer vacation this August. We started to think about spending it in Italy, starting in the Vallé d’Aoste (to do mountain activities), then go down south to Pisa, Florence and Rome, then drive up to Venice and spend some time whiling away at the Italian shores, Mediterranean side. The problem was, we just started to organize everything last week, a month before our actual vacation. Since we’re running out of time, the best way to do everything quick was to ask people around us for some tips on where to park the car, which hotel to stay, what other small villages to visit, etc. But after hearing stories like August is the worst month to visit Italy because of too much tourists etc etc, we decided to think about Plan B.

Plan B is to visit something authentic or why not exotic. Egypt was long considered - cruise in the Nile River, a stop at the Hurghada/Red Sea then a day tour at Cairo. A perfect getaway. But I need a visa and we’re 3 weeks from taking our luggage off. Add to that the fact that the mercury will most probably display 40°C at daytime and Louna’s vaccines has to be reviewed. Ok, this destination - cancelled.

I again restarted to browse the net to search for Plan C while Frenchguy leaf through the pages of travel magazines. After minutes of thorough checking, I shouted ‘Know what? I won’t need a visa to go to Morocco’ to which he responded ‘Yes but you will also melt there because of too much heat.’ This destination – cancelled.

On to plan D. Plan D is … not yet finalized. We have an idea where to go and what to do, but nothing is reserved yet. And everything could still change at the last minute because of various reasons.

So expect for plan E. Hayy, ang hirap din ng maraming bakasyon!

Is Your Kid Safe Inside the Car?

Have you ever experienced being absorbed by something leading you to commit serious errors and problems? Even fatal consequences?

A 19 month old toddler was found dead inside a car after a day of non-surveillance. In fact, his father forgot to drop the kid off at the day care center so he unconsciously left his son locked inside the car at his office’s parking area. He only realized the error at 4pm, when the day care administrator called up to ask why the kid was absent. When the father arrived, the kid was already dead of too much heat and dehydration.

The accident happened in a town not far from Dijon. It happened two weeks ago, when I was in the Philippines on a business travel. Imagine my fear when I heard the news and the images that crossed my mind... remember, I was away from my daughter. My first reflex was to imagine myself on that same scenario.

Louna is of the same age and I know that she’s not yet capable to unbuckle her safety belt nor open the window, nor open the car door. Imagine how helpless the kid was, and imagine the feeling of guilt his parents are into right now.

I know that this is a horrible news but I need to share it with you and be warned that such thing could happen.

I am listing some kid-friendly measures that could save lives:

- Wear seat belts. They’re there to save your kid’s and your life. An abrupt braking could literally project your kids pass the car windows to outside of the car.

- Use a car safety seat. The built-in seat belts are designed for adults. In cases where no car seat is available, stay at the back seat with somebody holding your kid.

- Never let small kids stay on the passenger’s seat. They could disturb your driving concentration when they start to push all those buttons. In case of accident, it is safer to have them at the back seat. I once saw a kid displaying half of his body outside of the car window while his mom was driving. The kid was of course, not attached. I saw two risks. Either the kid will fall down or be hit by a car.

- Lock car windows and doors. Most of the latest car models provide automatic lock system. Don’t hesitate to use it especially during long drives when kids start to be restless and try to open windows and doors. You know, kids learn at a very young age how to buckle and un-buckle up their seat belts.

- Never stay inside a stationed car with the air-con running. You risk carbon monoxide poisoning.

- Bring some water (and water spray). Here in Europe, summers could be very hot and dry. I’ve heard a lot of stories of infant death inside a car during long drives because of too much heat and dehydration. Car air-con is not yet generalized particularly here in France. In such cases, schedule the long drive at night when the temperature is lower. Use water sprays without moderation.

- And yes, don’t leave your kid alone inside the car. During summer, the temperature inside a car could go up to 45°C or more.

Some parents could just take these details for granted, especially the first 4 points, reasoning that their kids are well-disciplined and would never try such crazy deeds. But remember, kids don’t have the same notion of danger than you do. One prevention is better than a thousand cure. Take your pick.

More on defensive driving here.