#Christmas2014 Part 1

Hi Mommsies!

I missed all of you. How was your week?

I know your all very excited right? It is Christmas once again. As for us here in the Philippines,
Christmas is a Fun-filled Celebration.
It is the most exciting wonderful time of the year as we get to spend more time with our loved ones. Celebrate the season of love and giving.
A time of the year where we get to give and receive gifts. Spend our bonuses and enjoy it with our families.

As for me, I'd spend it by paying off my debt first. Here is to hoping a debt-free 2015, ayt?
Yeah, much of my Christmas bonus gets to that. But I'm hoping I get to save some too for Adi.

As a working mom it is inevitable to not be part of the ever famous and much-anticipated Christmas Party. In the Compnay where I work for, I had the chance to be able to join and enjoy three awesome parties!
There were 3 parties. Yes, not one but 3. Year-end Party, Departmental Party and the Area Party. Woohoo! Amazing noh?

So much of the merry making, I got one problem.
I just can't seem to get a hold of time. I have been busy with family-life and my work. That is why I have not been blogging for quite some time. I was also thinking of doing another giveaway but didn't make it so maybe I'll try again by January 2015. *fingers-crossed*

Since then, I have been hooked to IG (instagram) on my mobile phone. I love the app soo much!
I can easily share my photos and updates to my 3Fs (friends, family, followers). It saves me so much time. I can easily tap the buttons and off they go sync to my FB and twitter accounts. See? isn't it just a breeze.

the boss' gift from cafe george (what's inside: cassava cake that's soo tasty) =)

the party poppers. colorful balloons for our department party at Handuraw

my gift for my kris kringle =)

paper boat for our nautical party theme. Cute DIY idea 

cute bear from Baby Bench given to us by our TL. =)

What i got. Wish truly granted. I loved it!

the great food. Than you Lord for this awesome meal

The place and the food at Handuraw was bliss. I truly enjoyed our NAUTICAL PARTY there!

P.S. Bonus Post:
 when I got home this Hubby was just super happy. I guess it is because he won the raffle from their Company Christmas Party. Well, my inner guts are really to be trusted. As he was texting me about it I said 'you should join the party, pa. you'll never know you might win in the raffle. just shake off the thing (he will leave his job by Jan 2015 since he was terminated by his employer.' As for me, I am partly happy and sad. Happy that he will get to spend more time with me and Adi and sad that I will have to shoulder now most of our household expenses. More challenges and we only get even stronger as a family. Right mommsies?

Excuse this photo, of Adi and our bed so much of a havock I was trying to capture my hubby's new toy.
He got it from their Company party raffle. It was just the most exciting Christmas for him, Coz aside from that he also got himself a brand new Samsung S4. Yeah, Spell Jealous of me.

Over all, I am still blessed and I'm grateful for all the blessings!
Stay blessed Mommsies! Enjoy your #Christmas2014 and thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the Part 2 of this series, ha?

Don't forget to follow me on IG: @yomommainthetropics

Mwah!

Don't forget to Follow me:

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Bloglovin

[Repost Thursday] Fourteen Tips for Running a Good Meeting.

Nothing can drain the happiness from you faster than a long, unproductive meeting. You’re bored; you’re not getting anything done; emails are piling up while you sit, trapped.

On the other hand, a productive meeting is exhilarating. A long time ago, when I was working in Washington, D.C., I remember a friend who worked at the Department of Justice saying, “Jamie Gorelick runs a meeting so well, it brings tears to my eyes.”

Meetings come in all shapes and sizes, so not all of these strategies will be useful, but here are some things I try to remember when I’m in or running a meeting:

1. Very obvious: Start on time, and end on time. Once people see that meetings are starting late, the bad habit builds, because people see there’s no point in showing up promptly. Here’s one solution for late starts: a friend worked at a law firm that started fining partners $100 if they were late to a meeting, which turned out to be very effective. If the meeting has to run long, say, “We’re not through with the seven points, so can everyone stay fifteen extra minutes to wrap up?” That way, people know that the end is in sight.

2. At the same time, remember that it’s helpful to spend a little time in chit-chat. For a long time, I didn’t believe this to be true, and I tried to be hyper-efficient, but now I realize that it’s important – and productive – for people to have a chance to relate on a personal level. People need to build friendships, they need a chance to show their personalities, they need to establish rapport. Meetings are very important for this process.

3. If some people hesitate to jump in, find a way to draw them out. Ability to grab the floor doesn’t necessarily correlate with capacity to contribute.

4. One of the most insightful things my father ever told me was, “If you’re willing to take the blame, people will give you the responsibility.” Meetings often involve blame-giving and blame-taking, and although it’s not pleasant to accept blame, it’s a necessary aspect of getting responsibility (if deserved, of course). Proving my father’s point, one of my best meeting experiences ever was a time when I took the blame – rightly – for something done by a team of people working with me. Doing this ended up dramatically increasing my organizational credibility on all sides.

5. Share the credit. Along with blame, a meeting is also a great place to give people credit for their ideas and accomplishments. Be quick to point out great work or to call for a round of applause for a colleague. For some reason, people often act as though credit is a zero-sum goody, and if they share credit, they’ll get less themselves. From what I’ve seen, sharing credit not only doesn’t diminish the number of gold stars you get, but adds to them – because people so admire the ability to give credit. (Gold star junkie that I am, I pay close attention in this area.)

6. Making people feel stupid isn’t productive, and it isn’t kind. A friend has a good suggestion: “Be cheerfully, impersonally decisive.”

7. Have an agenda and stick to it. If possible, circulate the agenda in advance, along with anything else that needs to be read to prepare for the meeting. Make sure people know if they should bring anything. Along the same lines…

8. Never go to a meeting if you don’t know why you’re supposed to be there! This seems obvious, but it’s a situation that arises surprisingly frequently.

9. Standing meetings should be kept as short as possible and very structured. Have rules for canceling the meeting when appropriate – if such-and-such doesn’t happen; if only a certain number of people can attend, etc.

10. Don’t say things that will undermine or antagonize other people. Turns out they do in fact notice this, and they don’t appreciate it. If you wonder if you’re an offender, check yourself against this list.

11. Be very specific about what the “action items” are (to use the business-school term). Who is agreeing to do what, by when? Make sure someone is keeping track of what is supposed to happen as a consequence of the meeting, and at the meeting’s end, review these items so it’s crystal clear to everyone. Follow up by email.

12. If a meeting is long, schedule breaks when people can check their email and phones. Otherwise, they get very distracted by feeling they’ve been out of touch for too long (for some people, this takes about ten minutes), and they start sneakily emailing under the table. As if no one will notice. Which they do.

13. Meetings should stay tightly focused. If people want a chance to discuss side issues, theoretical problems, or philosophical questions that aren’t relevant to the purpose of the meeting, they should set up a separate meeting.

14. Here’s a radical solution: no chairs. In Bob Sutton’s terrific book, The No A**** Rule, (printed that way not out of prudery but to avoid spamblockers), he points to a study that showed that people in meetings where everyone stood took 34% less time to make an assigned decision, with decisions that were just as good as those made by groups who were sitting down.

What am I missing? What are some other strategies for improving meetings?

* BoingBoing is a “directory of wonderful things,” and it truly is. You never know what you’ll find, but there’s always a lot of interesting stuff there.

* For more discussions about happiness, join the Facebook Page.

Source: http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2009/07/14-tips-for-running-a-good-meeting/

Join my Link Party:

[STYLE] On Stripes and Wedges

Dress: Bazaar; Shoes: Follie

Hi Mommsies!
How's your day today?

It's been a while since I posted an OOTD.
So Now let me ha....forgive my tummy I guess I had eaten too much carbs lately and haven't gone back to running for quite a long while I guess for the last 2 months.  =)

Thanks to my sister S who purchased this dress for me.
I am in a dilemma almost everyday on deciding what to wear.
She just bought this dress for 200 pesos. amazing right? and it really fits me perfectly.

Don't get me wrong, I am not really that great in donning fashion ensembles but at least I tried.

For the shoes, I love that it is white and it goes perfectly well with the dress. =)
I bought this pair for only 300 pesos at Pacific Mall Mandaue, because it was on SALE at 50% off.

Save save din pag may time. =)
I liked the over all design of the sandals, wedge kasi and perfect for the office.
Here is a closer look at the design.

Nails: Wondernails Salon (Revlon)

Hope you all have a great day today.
Good vibes to all!

LOTD (Lipstick of the Day): Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Love That Red

I have been using Ever Bilena Lipsticks for a month now. The matte lipsticks have really got me hooked since the day I heard the matte lipstick line.

Ever since I got into the world of beauty blogging, I wanted to try out some really good products out there in the market. I am in search for affordable ones but one that does not put it off quality wise.

i love matte lipsticks, if you haven’t noticed i am into matte lipsticks lately since i have oily skin and putting it on does not add on the shine i have on my face. Lol  .

good thing i found ever bilena in love that red. it is the my go to lippie for those stressful days and moments in the office.

here is a closer look at the product:

what i like:

• affordable (for only 155 pesos)
• good color pay off for a matte lipstick (really red)
• easy to apply and glide on the lips

what i don’t like:

• packaging (aesthetically wise not so girly looking) 
• dries off easily 
• does not last long you may need to reapply
• blots, stains on my coffee mug used in the office

My over all rating: 3 out 5

so far i am loving this lipstick. it transforms my look with just one application without being too quirky. =)

you may grab one at the stores near you or you may visit Ever Bilena on facebook and like their facebook page for their product updates and promos.

how about you? have you tried this lipstick too?

do leave your comments. 

♥lots,

PETC Christmas Launching

It's the Launching of  PETC Christmas Celebration!

And the display of Christmas Card Making was a sure hit!

Here are some of the pics....

US... with our unique card...

our entry...