Disclosure Policy
This policy is valid from 20 December 2007.

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact daphnelaura@gmail.com

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This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

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Online bookings

Let's say it's the Christmas holidays, Holy Week break or simply an extended long weekend and you suddenly feel the urge to pack your bags and escape, Hotel Reservations is a good website to visit to book a trip.

HotelReservations.com offers more than 70,000 properties worldwide - from hotels to B&B's to condos to all inclusive resorts. They have the lowest Internet rate price guaranteed. You can save up to 70% off on their competitive prices. It isn't limited to accommodations, you can also book flights, cars, vacation rentals or check out their vacation packages. They are guaranteed to make your trip as hassle free as possible.

Bon voyage!

*This is a sponsored post*

Toys Store

D has 12 inaanaks ranging from 3 to 12 years old. He is the generous type of Ninong as opposed to me the scrooge Ninang who doesn't give gifts to her inaanaks. I have 7, most of them I haven't laid eyes on since they were conceived! So we have been making the rounds of the different toys store like Toys Kingdom, Toys R Us and the toys section of department stores.

I was shocked to discover the costs of toys - mucho expensive! I mean come on, most of these toys end up scattered all over the living room. They eventually start gathering dust after the kids have lost interest and move on to other distractions. Besides kids these days are tech savvy they won't settle for anything less. They want those Nintendo, PSP games or worse the latest cellphones. In short, very expensive items. Phew!

I told D why don't you just give cash instead? He tells me well (1) the cash go to the parents who won't spend it on the kids and (2) kids are easy to please just hand them a toy, they are happy for life. Ok fine, whatever. I guess he has a point. My only input - give toys which will nurture their skills and/or develop their physical activities. You know items such as badminton sets, Frisbees, almanacs, jigsaw puzzles, jewelry beads weaving machines - things that make use of their brains.

While D was pondering on what toy to give each child, I was tinkering with sketch o matic screens, little drum sets, remote controlled toy cars and flying helicopters and musical xylophones. I had so much fun. The fun part for D though ended when his wallet got a lot lighter. Heh!

Online blogging community

Thoughts.com is a free blogging network. A blogging community where you can post pictures, upload videos and podcasts, interact with other users, voice out your opinions in the forum section and of course blog to your heart's content. Their main page has a section where you can read interesting news articles covering different topics like news, life, sports, technology, business, politics and oddly enough news.

It has a very user-friendly site. Pictures, videos and podcasts can be organized into different categories. This allows for simple navigation through different photo albums. They have a one stop control panel where you upload everything. No pesky pop ups for each task.

Since July 2007, they have been giving away one free 6 month Netflix membership each month to an existing member that has referred a friend to become an active member of the thoughts.com community. All future winners are announced on the last Friday of the month.

Thoughts.com has a user rating system so members can rate each others posts and provide feedback in the form of comments. In addition to leaving blog comments, you can also rate each blog post, photos, video or podcast from 1 to 5 stars. This rating system helps determine your average user rating. Each year thoughts.com will be bringing top contributors on free vacation to exotic destinations. This year they flew 5 lucky users to Las Vegas! How grand is that?

Sign up and be part of an engaging blogging community at http://www.thoughts.com/!

*This is a paid review*

Did you know?

The Christmas card, probably the most popular way to express holiday sentiments, was started in England in 1843.

The first Christmas card was printed in the United States in 1875 by Louis Prang, a Massachusetts printer. By running nationwide contests for the best Christmas designs, Prang helped launch Christmas cards into a multi billion dollar industry.

I got my first Christmas card for this Yuletide season in the mail today. It came all the way from D.C c/o fellow blogger Kayni. Enclosed was a gold plated bookmark with the words "With God All Things are Possible". Very true, indeed!

Thanks, Kayni I appreciate it a lot. =)

Fun stuff

The Internet is full of interesting stuff that help boost our artistic senses. If you like tinkering with your pictures, then The Bubblenator would surely keep your creative mind busy, all day or night as the case may be.

It is a fun application which adds cartoon captions to your pictures. You know those cloud like thingies you see in comic books. Simply type in the full URL of your image. Very large or extremely small images though will give an error message. So make sure your image doesn't exceed 500kb in file size. The next step brings you to the bubblenator. Pick between 'spoken' or 'thought' bubbles. You can place up to three captions anywhere on your image. Simply type your text for each, choose the size and that's it! You have 'talking' images! Once you're done, simply copy and paste the HTML code of the captioned image on your web site, blog, Myspace page or just about anywhere else!

So jazz up those vacation pictures. Tell us what you really thought about the Boracay sunset or how you felt when you first laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower. I'm sure your imagination will run wild while it brings back pleasant memories of those happy photographic moments.

*This is a paid review*

Viva Espana

Spain is one country I didn't have the opportunity to visit among my numerous travels. Back in the 80s, we were set to go there for our next summer vacation but we got recalled back to home base. Our first stop would have been the capital, Madrid. A must see is the Palacio Real, the official residence of the Spanish Royal family. Another attraction is the Reina Sofia art museum which houses a huge collection of 20th and 21st century art pieces. Works of Picasso as well as Miro and Dali, famous Spanish artists are prominently displayed in this museum. Back then, the Internet was non existent but nowadays it would be easy to book online from hoteles en Madrid.

Barcelona, the birthplace of Pablo Picasso would have been part of our itinerary. His works can be seen in chronological order at the Picasso museum. A visit to Barcelona won't be complete with feasting your eyes on the Sagrada Familia, a massive edifice by master architect Antonio Gaudi and the magic fountain of Montjuic which showcases a light, music and water show every night. Hoteles en Barcelona offers a wide range of accommodations depending on one's budget.

It would have been great to visit the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, explore Alhambra in Granada, watch a bullfight in Pamplona or simply people watch while having tapas in some quaint Spanish restaurant. The possibilities are limitless as is the wide range of hotels, inns and accommodations one can avail from this hoteles en espana website.

I'm sure on our way back to Brussels where we were based during that period, we would have passed by Paris. It was like some travel custom we had back then. Prayed at the Notre Dame cathedral or the Sacre Coeur Basilica, wave each time we saw the Eiffel Tower and spend the night in some hoteles en Paris to rest our weary bones. Ah yes the good old days. =)

Fitting room chronicles

I have basically abandoned my quest for an affordable custom made bridal gown, because well I'm being practical or you can say I'm being cheap. So I've been making the rounds of the malls to find an appropriate evening gown which will satisfy both my mother and my sister. Seriously, all of sudden they have become experts in wedding gowns. Never mind that I specifically told them that I don't like lacy (read: first communion dress), beaded (read: Reyna Elena in a Santacruzan), sequined gowns (read: Miss Universe contestant) with a long train (read: Princess Diana's wedding gown). Frankly I am still sticking to my original plan to just wear jeans and tee. OK I'm just kidding, D might feel out of place in his fancy Barong Tagalog if I showed up in casual wear.

I've tried all sort of gowns (some of them weren't even white just for the heck of it) ranging from a price range of a whooping P29,000 to a mere P2,999.00. I was surprised to find out that (a) I didn't look like a midget in a long gown (b) I was having so much fun trying them on!

But the best part is hearing the snide remarks of the companions of the women who were in the other cubicles at the fitting room. I once heard a male voice say: "Ay ano ba yan labas ang didbdib mo, tanggalin mo yan. Di pwede yan!" The lady retorted: "Ganyan talaga ito, off the shoulder style". On another occasion, a male voice yet again said: "Ganda nyan, easy access". But I nearly peed in my jeans from laughter when D pointed out to me that the dress I tried made me look like a manghuhula (fortune teller) in Quiapo. Moments later when he insisted that a white santana long sleeved Barong would do, I told him he will look like the security guy who patrols the Shangri-la food court. Hah!

By the way, I totally fell in love with this off white chiffon gown which I tried at the Landmark in Trinoma. But they didn't have it in medium size. Blah!





The search continues.