Houselements

April 19-20, 2013 was the date for our company's summer outing. This year was quite different because the summer outing and family day was combined and it was the first time the company has done so. It was also the first time that my family had joined to a company event so it's a mixture fun and excitement. Anyways, the event was really a success and very fun thanks to the efforts of the committee behind this event.

Canyon Cove Beach Resort was the chosen venue for this year's summer outing. It was a stunning beachfront resort located in Nasugbu, Batangas. It's probably at least 2 and a half hours ride from Metro Manila via SLEX. Our route took us about 3 and a half hours trip because we took the route across Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. It's a route that is more familiar to the driver, my co-worker, and it's also the shortest distance to our destination but heavy traffic really slowed us down. Another route will cross SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) and is the fastest route to travel but I think (based on Google Earth) is the farthest.

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Beach Front

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Pool Side

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Pool Side

We arrived at Canyon Cove Beach Resort around 12:30 pm and everyone has already finished their lunch and are listening to the seminar about Work-Life Coaching. We immediately signed up the registration form to confirm our attendance then the itinerary for this two-day event was given to us. We placed our bags to the luggage counter and headed to the function hall to eat our lunch. We are really starving and exhausted for the long trip and to our dismay, we had read that the check-in time was at 3 pm so that means we have to wait for a couple of hours to get into our rooms. 

Fortunately, the company has prepared series of activities that my family and I can join. It was fun and stress-relieving activities that my family had enjoyed. We even won a souvenir item from one of the activities and that's a plus happiness. After completing some of the activities, we had decided to just walk around the resort and took some photos and check out what this resort has to offer. A stretch of white-sand beach, a calm and clean ocean and a huge wonderful swimming pool, that are the things worth boasting about this place. The exhausting long trip was really worth it.

Shoot-the-Ball Activity at Tobacco Cessation Booth

Price won at Shoot-the-Ball Activity

At 3:00 pm, they had started distributing the key cards for the room. Again, we had waited for about 30 minutes to get our key card. 331 was the room that we land on. The room looks comfy and feels homey. My daughter quickly climbed up the bed after getting in the room. Probably, she was amazed as to how huge it is. The room has two beds which can accommodate 3 to 4 persons. It has a huge cable TV, a mini ref, coffee maker and a closet with an electronic safe. It also has a huge bathroom with hot and cold shower and a blower for drying your hair. What I love the most is the balcony where you can see the beautiful beach and is a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Canyon Cove Beach Resort Room 331

Aya enjoying the comfy bed at Canyon Cove Beach Resort

After changing our clothes and resting for a while we headed down the beach. It was my daughter's first time to go to a beach and it was really disappointing. Even the beach is calm, she's so scared and she didn't like the feeling of the sand on her feet. So we headed to the pool to bath for a while. We have watched the sunset along the beach and it was really beautiful. That was the part that I really love the most.

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Sunset by the Beach

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Sunset at the Poolside

Canyon Cove Beach Resort - Lights go on at the poolside as the sun sets in

The dinner was entertaining but most of the activities are dedicated for the kids. There are two clowns performing their tricks, a magician that really impressed me and the kids around, and some of our colleagues that showcased their talents. A photo booth was also placed outside the function hall so we could have a souvenir photo from this event. After an hour, we headed back to our room to rest because we are really exhausted that time.

A clown performing his stunts during dinner

Magician performing his magic tricks during dinner

The next day was spent mostly on swimming, eating and picture taking. Zomba, walking and jogging are the activities organized by the company for that day. But we haven't joined in because we wanted to spend the remaining time enjoying the waters (pool and beach) of Canyon Cove. We checked out after lunch and travelled back home at around 1:30 pm.

My daughter Aya, poolside model?

My daughter Aya and Mommy Belle

Me and Aya - Japan Japan pose

Family shot with colleagues and their families

It was fun spending company outing with my family. And it was great that we had spent it at Canyon Cove. It may be far from home and really exhausting to reach, but this place will surely be miss. Hoping to come back here someday.

Canyon Cove Residential Beach Resort

Address: Far East Road, Piloto Wawa, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines

It’s been a long time since I posted something on the craft section. I made this project a long time ago but I was so focused in writing about other stuffs that I already forgot about it. Anyways, I got this idea when I was organizing some stuff in our house. I found out that my wife kept the old puzzle mats of my daughter. The puzzle mats still looks good but they are already dirty. So I clean it up, I brushed it with soap and water and they are good as new again.

I love plants. I love animals. I love beautiful sceneries. I love all the people around me. Basically, I love life. And these lives can be destroyed because of climate change. Nowadays, we are experiencing strong typhoons, massive earthquakes and skyscraper tsunamis. Climate change may have played a major role on these events.

My wife and I went to Tayug, Pangasinan (our hometown) to have a week vacation. After three years of not visiting this town, there are lots of noticeable improvements that we have observed. But only one thing doesn't change to this place, and that is the hot weather during summer. And since it is hot, we have decided to chill in Baguio City.

Baguio City is the summer capital of the Philippines. It is one of the common places that Filipinos visit to escape the summer heat. There are lots of places to visit here that a single day tour is not enough to check them all, especially if you are going to commute. The places that we have visited are: Burnham Park; Botanical Garden; Wright Park; The Mansion and Mines View Park and spent the rest of the day in SM City Baguio.

First stop, Burnham Park. The famous attraction in Burnham Park is its man-made lagoon. You can rent a boat for PHP100 to sail around the lagoon for a whole day. There are also bicycles for rent if you want to roam around the Burnham Park on wheels. Or you can simply walk around or sit on the benches provided and watch other tourists while riding their boats.

I'm working in an oil refinery. Aside from the different pollution in the air that I smell all the time, noise pollution is also present that we have to wear ear plugs to protect our ears from loud noises. Imagine yourself in a noisy area for 12 hours a day. By just merely reading it might be painful to your ears what more if you're experiencing it.

According to Wikipedia, noise can cause hearing impairment. It is also link to hypertension, ischemic heart disease, sleep disturbance, and also, can create stress. Therefore, after 12 hours of work, I need to relax and recharge to maintain a healthy body, stress free and peaceful life.

To maintain a healthy body, my wife always sees to it that she is preparing healthy meals like vegetables, some fruits or fruit juices. She loves making fresh fruit shake like mango shake, her favorite. But most of the time preparing fruit shake is disturbing because the blender that we are using is so noisy.

One weekend while I was on a deep slumber, it was my day off but I came from a night shift duty so I have to sleep in the morning, she was preparing fruit shake for lunch. The loud noise from the blender woke me up. I still had slept for about three hours. It's really disturbing and I can't go back to sleep anymore so I have decided to go downstairs to eat lunch. I didn't enjoy eating lunch especially the fruit shake, even if it’s delicious because I'm already stressed out due to incomplete sleep. When my sleep is incomplete the level of my patience is also low that I can't avoid scolding my daughter when she's forcing me to play with her. Weekends are supposed to be celebrated with your family. It has to be a day full of laughter. It should be stress free and relaxing but it didn't turned out that way just because of the noise from our blender.

Having a quiet and relaxing weekend is really important:

1. So that my body can fully recharge from busy working days.

2. Because my ears needs to recover from the noisy environment at work.

3. Because it’s weekend and it should be spent with my family. If I can rest well I won’t be moody anymore, therefore, I can play with my daughter all day long.

4. So that I won’t be distracted while writing blog posts or while reading books.

Electrolux Powermix Silent Blender

Get a chance to win PHP 10,000 worth of Sulit.com.ph GC by simply posting a comment below listing down your 10 Sulit Must Have’s. This is a contest sponsored by Sulit.com.ph. It’s called “Start the Year Right with Sulit.com.ph”. Five lucky winners will be picked via electronic raffle. Each will get PHP 10,000. Contest period is from January 21 to March 5, 2013 and winners will be announced on March 10, 2013. So what are you waiting for? Start listing down your 10 Sulit Must-Have’s. Just follow the instructions below.


1. Provide your full name.
2. Facebook profile URL or Twitter ID.
3. List of your 10 Sulit Must-Have items found on Sulit.com.ph. Please include the link to the item. (i.e. LED TV – http://sulit.com.ph/1234567). See example format below.
4. Place them on the comment box at the bottom of this post.


As simple as that you'll get a chance to win PHP 10,000 Sulit.com.ph GC. Don't forget to spread the news. Use the buttons below to share this to your families and friends. Or copy this link and send it to them. http://houselements.blogspot.com/2013/02/start-year-right-with-sulitcomph.html. Good Luck to all!

My 10 Sulit Must-Have's

1. Kiddie Books – I have a two-year-old bright daughter. As early as now, my wife and I are investing on books that she can use as she grows. Spending your money on books is definitely a wise choice. Someday we will be harvesting what we are planting today. And that makes it a sulit must-have.

2. Refrigerator – Going to the grocery store or supermarket several times a week is I think more expensive than paying for the monthly bill of the electricity that is consumed by the refrigerator. Just imagine the traffic, the gas for your vehicle, your effort plus the time that you are wasting instead of spending them to your family. That is worth a lot of money. Not to mention the foods that are left after each meal that you have to throw away because of not having a refrigerator at home. Refrigerator is certainly a sulit must-have for me.

3. Sofa bed – Nowadays, things that are multi-purpose are in. Just like this sofa bed. You can sit on it while watching your favorite TV series or perhaps a movie. It can also serve as extra bed if you have guest that will stay over night. If you are living in a small apartment, this sofa bed can be your perfect mate. It serves you being a sofa in the morning and it can easily be converted into a bed at night. Without a doubt it’s a sulit must-have.

4. Non- Stick Cookware – The myths about non-stick cookware has already been debunked. It’s safe to use as long as you do not expose it on too high heat. Non-stick cookware lessens your oil consumption. Oily foods are sometimes linked to diseases. If you consume less oil, the risk of having a disease is also decreased. You can save in consuming less oil and, most probably, on hospital bills and medications later in your life. It’s a sulit must-have indeed.

5. Electric Lunch Box – I always carry pack breakfast and lunch at work. It’s part of our budgeting plan because the cooked foods at the cafeteria are much expensive than home cooked meals. The problem is that I always eat cold food. Good thing I have stumbled on this electric lunch box, which keeps my food warm. I’m going to enjoy home cooked meals and saved at the same time. Certainly, it’s a sulit must-have.

6. LED TV – How many hours are you spending in front of your television? I’m probably spending 5 hours a day on the average. And to some it could be more than that. Old TV model does consume a lot of electricity. In our community, most of the household still uses this kind of TV’s. Having a LED TV at home will definitely save a lot of money because the electric consume is lesser as compared with old TV models. That makes it a sulit must-have.

7. Laptop – Before, I only use our personal computer for playing games and doing reports and schoolwork. Now, I have lots of activities in the Internet like blogging, Facebook, checking different deals online, etc. I badly need one and I guess it’s one of the basic necessities now a days. It’s a sulit must-have because you’ll definitely gonna save a lot from gadgets, furniture, vacation trips and a lot more through online deals. Through skype, phone bills will be lessen and that means additional savings.

8. Samsung Galaxy Note – This is probably one of the lightest and easiest things that could get you online. I must admit laptop is heavy and you can’t carry it with you all the time. While cellular phones are capable of getting you online, the screen is so small that Internet browsing is sometimes a burden. With a Galaxy Note on hand, checking out deals online will be effortless, anytime, anywhere (well, as long as there's internet connection). And that again makes it a sulit must-have.

9. Pocket Wi-Fi – Of course, before you can surf online you must need an Internet connection. To connect to the Internet, laptop needs a wireless internet dongle, cellular phone needs a SIM with a data plan (also with Galaxy Note and tablets). Having separate data plans with each gadget that you have is not practical. With a pocket Wi-Fi, you can connect up to five devices all at the same time and that will definitely saves you a lot. Therefore, pocket Wi-Fi is certainly a sulit must-have nowadays.

10. Electricity Power Saver – Lastly, another sulit must have that I definitely need is an electric power saver. We use many appliances at home like TV, kitchen equipments, etc. For a family with a tight budget, we definitely need an electric power saver to save even more. With the promise of 20% - 40% savings on electric bill, it’s definitely a sulit must have.