Occasions of Joy 2nd Anniversary at Grace to be Born

Last February 20, Occasions of Joy celebrated 2nd anniversary by holding an outreach program. Together with other friends and co-bloggers, I joined with Joy in the said activity for a good cause.

Giving a joyful party for moms and moms-to-be is just one activity worth supporting for. A medical mission was done in the morning.

Dr. Rodolfo Pascual Jr., OB Gyne

and Dr. Gilbert D' Asis, DMD

Photo credit: www.OccasionsofJoy.com

A baby shower was given in the afternoon where moms enjoyed a lot in the photo booth courtesy of FUNLIPIX. There were also games like Dress-up Pooh game, baby bottle drinking and Cupcake eating.

*Photos above were blurred to protect their identities.

Thank you Grace To Be Born for warmly welcoming us and allowing us to spend a day with you.
This outreach activity will not be made possible without the help of generous sponsors, namely Adong Shirt, Ainon Baby, Annesy Del Mundo, Baby Company, Baby Magazine, Bakersfresh, Cando-Florenda PR & Marketing Consultancy, Castle for Baby, Cherry Blossoms Cake, Darlyn Ty, Funlipix Photo Souvenir, Glecy Lopez, Mommy Matters, Myla & Sam Quional, Orient Merchants Inc., Pancake House, Shey Castillo, Soyami, The White Hat, Tot Couture and Water For Less.

Occasions of Joy would like to thank the following:


Alvin and Jannet for partnering with OJ's events.

Blogging community, namely, Bogs & Joy, Cza, Fedhz, Hon, Jeff & Mel, Jes, Jingke, Lace & Az, MarJonel, Olga and Tetcha for the support and sharing their blessings.

Agnes, Ainie, Bedz, Dr. Bert, Dr. Dolf, Jing, Lyn, and Robert for spending your precious time.

John, (Joy's husband) who's always supporting her endeavors.



About Grace To Be Born:


Grace To Be Born is one of the many ministries of Mr. Bo Sanchez, located at #53 Dr. Sixto Antonio Ave., Bgy. Kapasigan, Pasig City. The place is a temporary shelter for pregnant women in distress, confused and have no resources to provide throughout the pregnancy.


To those who wish to help the center, you may donate in cash (for electricity and water bills) and in kind (Bonna milk for babies 0-12 months, diapers, maternity clothes, baby clothes, toiletries, and food). For more information, you may email reylindo.ortega@gmail.com or myrna.ortega@gmail.com.


If you know a pregnant woman who needs a place of refuge,
please call Light of Jesus at 725-9999.

BPI and David’s Salon "Pay Easy, Be Gorgeous" Promo

How long does it takes you to pay your bills? It usually takes around half an hour or more right? Paying bills through BPI Express Online will only take you less than a minute. Now, that's a good news. What about paying your bills the easy way and be gorgeous at the same time?

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the country’s leader in electronic banking, and David’s Salon, the largest chain of salons, launched “Pay Easy, Be Gorgeous” Promo. By simply enrolling a deposit account, and paying a bill through BPI Express Online during the promo period which will run from December 5, 2011 to February 26, 2012, clients will get a free treatment at David’s Salon, including a haircut, manicure and pedicure at participating David’s Salon branches.




“At BPI, clients enjoy ‘less banking time and more me-time’. Now, with this partnership with David’s Salon, we encourage our clients to make more time for the things that really count by choosing to manage their accounts easily and conveniently with BPI Express Online,” shares Anj Mirasol, Senior Manager, BPI.

BPI takes pride in offering fast, easy and secure online financial transactions to every client. As the country’s top internet banking site (2011 Best Consumer Internet Bank, Global Finance) BPI gives clients more time that they need for themselves by providing them an easy and convenient banking lifestyle.

Some of the top merchants payable via BPI Express Online are: BPI Mastercard, Ateneo de Manila, Globe Handyphone, PLDT, Meralco, Manila Water Company, Sky Cable, and Philippine Red Cross.

David’s Salon is the largest partnership chain of hair, beauty and wellness salons in the Philippines! David’s Salon provides the highest quality of service at prices everyone can afford.


As "Pay Easy, Be Gorgeous" promo was launched, BPI and David's Salon gave us chance to experience pampering and bonding moment at the VIP Area of David's Salon at the David's Salon Building A of SM Megamall.

Happy faces at VIP Area of David's Salon.

Me and the gorgeous ladies Jing and Marjorie at the VIP Area of David's Salon having our Haircut, Manicure and Pedicure. I love this bonding time together!

Providing clients with efficient ways to do their financial transactions through BPI express Online, BPI gives clients more time for other things that count such as bonding together or pampering themselves at David’s Salon.

David's Salon has now 200 branches nationwide and 2 branches abroad.

The “Pay Easy, Be Gorgeous” Promo is open to existing BPI, BPI Family Savings Bank and BPI Direct clients. Promo runs until February 26, 2012. Per DTI-NCR Permit No. 9249, Series of 2011.

For more information about BPI 24/7 Banking, visit www.bpiexpressonline.com.

Moms Meet Moms at PMC

It was very hot the whole week, ironically on the day of the event, the rain started to pour but it didn't stop the mommies to attend the event. About 50 mommies came at the 2nd EB held at Aling Tonya's Seafood Restaurant, Seaside.

During the first part of the program, the founder of Pinay Mommies Community, Ruby Ricafrente made a short talk and shared us about the history of PMC. Mommies from different parts of the world, Canada, US and Germany attended the event. Other mommies traveled a hundred miles away just to meet other mommies whom we talk online, from Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Bicol and Rizal.

Mommy Rubz also shared us the vision and mission of the PMC and PRmoms was officially launched that day.

Photos below were evidently the fun filled moment we shared during the event. Pardon for the quality of the photos. I was confined in my seat and couldn't make a perfect angle because the venue was crowded. During the conducted ocular visit, we assessed that the venue could accommodate enough for the 50 mommies and other guests. The room became so crowded not because of the attendees but because of the big blessings that poured in from our generous sponsors. Imagine the eight loot bags for each mommies plus other raffle items.






PMC would like to thank the following sponsors who graciously gave away products for each of the mommies who attended the event.

Major Sponsors

Each mom got a loot bag from Unilab, aside from the raffle prizes they sent us. Loot bags include Ibuprofen Dolan, 500 ml of Ascorbic Acid Ceelin, a tumbler, Multivitamins Enervon, Rashfree for diaper rash and Loperamide Diatabs.

SmartSteps

Each mom received products from Smart Steps such as Smart Steps Baby Fabric Conditioner, Smart Steps Baby Bottle Cleanser, Smart Steps Baby Laundry Detergent, Holy Seat Disposable toilet seat cover and Holy Seat hand spray toilet seat sanitizer. Aside from that, they gave more items for raffle.

Minor Sponsors

Umami

Umami products that include Ajinomoto Umami Seasoning, Crispy Fry breading mix, SoQuick Marinade Mix, Aji-Sho seasoning mix (garlic and pepper), Fres-C concentrated drink mix, Tasty Boy all purpose breading mix, Ajinomoto Sinigang sa Sampalok, Ajinomoto Ginisa Flavor Mix and Pal Sweet Calorie Free Sweetener.

Scotch Brite

Included in Scotch-Brite loot bags are Kitchen Gloves, Scotch-Brite Easy Erasing Pad, Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Bathroom Scrub Sponge, Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Antibacterial Scrub Sponge and Scotch-Brite Light Duty Scrub Sponge.

Ariel Stain Lift and Pampers from Procter and Gamble

Procter and Gamble gave each mom a pack of Ariel Stain Lift with deep cleaning technology and Pampers Active Baby.

Krispy Kreme and Shirt from Geiser Mclang

As soon as I reached home after the event, I quickly took a photo of Krispy Kreme because I already called home while I was at the event and told them that I have a box of Krispy Kreme for them. Guess what? After a few minutes, donuts were all gone. I'm glad, I've done my photo op before they even started to eat them.

Ainon

I was one of the lucky moms who won extra items that day. I won Ainon products such as shirts, and school tumbler. Ainon also gave away two strollers but we all agreed to just give them our chosen charity event this December.

Avon also gave away gift packs that include Skin so Soft lotion, Avon Advance Techniques straight and sleek hair product, Avon Ultra Color Rich white gold lipstick, Avon Super Curlacious Mascara. Drypers Drypers also gave gift packs such as Drypers Weewee Dry Diapers, Libresse products and 1000 PhP McDo GC. Other sponsors like Richwell gave away some toys such as Barbie and Hotwheels. Grendha also gave away raffled items for the events. Goldquest Biotechnologies sent a gift in form of cash but PMC used the said amount for other expenses.

I can't help but call for a taxi cab to bring me home with these stuffs. I earlier planned to take a railway train but with all the badges I got, it was impossible for me to get the train ride going home.

Imagine the happiness in the eyes of my tweens seeing these exchanged tokens from other moms. Oh these cute stuffs are too pretty to keep.

Other raffle items came from mommies like Walis Tambo all the way from Baguio and other kitchen products from Levy and items from World of Wellness.

The photo above was featured in the local newspaper, People's Tonight and People's Journal. Just can't help but blog about it. I am a proud member of PMC!

Of course, the event wouldn't be complete without the photo booth sponsored by Krazy Pix Photobooth. Please visit the website for any inquiries about photobooth for any occasions like weddings, birthdays, baptismal parties, reunions, anniversaries, product launchings and corporate events.

I have enough words and photos here but I haven't done yet with my post. I'll post another story or a part 2 of this event about the detailed story, the laughter, mommy talks and everything we shared during the event. Special thanks to the event committee and to admins, Mommy Pehpot and Mommy Rubz for making this event possible.

The First Blogapalooza Event

Over 100 bloggers came at Blogapalooza yesterday held at the 5/F of Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street. I saw few bloggers standing at the back, all seats were occupied, an indication that the event was a big hit! We were not only Fully Booked but overly booked as well. Glad we made it early and got a very good view of the presenters and photo ops. I was one of the early birds. I was really excited as it was the first Blogapalooza event hosted by Radio DJ Vince Golangco of When In Manila. I already won few awards being an early bird in my previous events. It gave me a more relaxing time, more photo ops and I was able to met other bloggers before the proper event. I honestly had only a little idea on what to expect that day except for some info that I got in my email. What I only made sure is I have my camera with me. As soon as I arrived at the venue, I headed straight to the Blogapalooza wall and looked for my web address. There it goes. My first picture of the day next to photo op with DJ Vince Golangco.




Before the Blogapalooza started, Italianni's pasta was served to us along with a bottle of cold AQUABEST and juice from Healthy First. My camera alarmed a low bat status even before the event started. My battery quickly drained up but I managed to plug in my camera during few minutes break. I just wished I had a Kameraman with me, I am actually talking about the walking photo booth. Take a look at the photo below, isn't that amazing. For those who are tired of going to a photo booth and want to take a picture right at their place can have a photo like this. What a great idea! I thought of getting one for my daughters' birthday party. The bloggers were getting gaga over this Kameraman and we were like a grade school pupils falling in line ready with our pose. So here's mine from Kameraworld.

my picture coming out from the printer at the back of Kameraman.

The following are the sponsors and presenters at Blogapalooza.

Avira
Lay Bare
360° Fitness Club
Human Nature
Kameraworld
Jap-Ok
Aesthetic Science
Papa John's Pizza
Matabungkay Beach Resort
Galileo
Tree Hugger World
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Easy Pha-max Wheatgrass
Happy Fart
Lazer Xtreme
Freestyle Ballers
The Boudoir Dolls
Tripologie
AQUABEST
Healthy First
Unilever
Creative Voices
Sparkle
SIZE Matters
Regatta
Memo
For Me
Leslie's
Oryspa
Phiten
POLECATS Manila
CHANA
Shopinas.com
Blue Water Day Spa
HTC

View more photos Here.


All the presentors did their presentation well, only some stood out with their very creative presentations. Among them that caught my attention were SIZE Matters and Avira. First, Size really Matters a lot for me, not only the size of the burger but also I like it grilled. Second is AVIRA. I honestly became interested not only with their presentation but also because I badly needed an AntiVIR now. I can't blog much now because of the virus and my PC hangs every now and then, so often that it took me few hours only for this post. So please do watch out as soon as I'm done installing AVIRA in my PC. I got two, Premium Security Suite and ANTIVIR PREMIUM. I will soon blog my reviews of the products and as soon as I tried the GCs' from the sponsors.




Oh by the way, did I mention I won a Red Jefferson Torch Shoes? Oh yes, I did! I was luckier that day to have won the fab shoes. Now, I am excited to wear this with my favorite jeans.

DJ Vince Golangco is the Editor-in-Chief & Creative Director of WhenInManila.com. To all the staff behind When In Manila Blogapalooza, congratulations for a very successful event!

Miss Resorts World Manila 2011 Coronation Night

Only one stood out from the rest and was crowned as the Ms. Resorts World Manila 2011 last August 27 among the 28 beautiful ladies that gave their best during the competition held at Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila. These ladies presented themselves before the crowd in their swimsuit and evening gowns. All of them graciously and confidently did their best to take home the crown.

I know at first that my personal bet #17 will win and I was not wrong with my judgement. She was voted by the panelist as the princess, as her name says it, as she emerged from the rest of the contestants. I could compare such competition to the most prestigious beauty pageant as all the ladies ramped their evening gowns.

The crowd cheered when the name Princess Angela Abella, 23, was crowned as the Ms. Resorts World Manila 2011. Aside from P500,000 cash prize, she was awarded also as Miss Viva Talent in one of the biggest movie production outfit, Viva Films. Abella was also awarded as Darling of the Press during Media Presentation last August 15. (Photo credit: Rafael Mendiola, Jr.)

Only twelve of the the 28 contestants made it to semi-finalist with Princess Angela Abella, Ladylyn Riva and Kriza Charisse Argana. They are Jo Ann Peria, Reina Mae Maerina, Pamela Sue Nieva, Pauleen Conde, Cara Rodriguez, Liezl Verses, Sabrina Jane Watts, Angela Luz Abuallata, and Princess Leiza Manzon.

Special Awards were given to Pamela Sue Nieva as Miss Photogenic, Liezl Verses as Best in Long Gown and Angela Luz Abuallata as Miss Talent.



Ladylyn Riva who won the First Runner-up title won P250,000 worth of prizes. She was also awarded as Best in Swimsuit and Miss Maxims while the Second Runner Up title went to Kriza Charisse Argana, who took home P100,000 worth of prizes.

MTV VJ Sarah Meier and model and TV Host Rovilson Fernandez hosted the event that made the night even more alive with the witty and funny lines they made from time to time. Meanwhile, the panel of judges are; Philippine Daily Inquirer Showbiz Columnist Dolly Anne Carvajal, Azkals Star Player Anton del Rosario, RWM's Official Colin Kerr, Steve Reilly and Sviatlana Burkun, Tati Fortuna of Scribble Works Production, Inc., Charlie Yu of Empire East, and Vincent del Rosario of Viva Films.

During the intermission numbers, Kaos lead perfomer Martha Joy, Leo Valdez and the cast of The Sound of Music performed that night that gave the audience in awe with their jaw dropping performance.

The newly crowned Miss Resorts World Manila Princess Angela will serve as the ambassadress of the first integrated tourist destination of the Philippines, The Resorts World Manila.

Ms. Resorts World Manila 2010 Wendy Tabusalla in her farewell walk.

During casual and swimsuit parade

Click here for more photos!

Cheers!

I have posted in my previous entry a short "Bon Voyage" post for Jes, a blogger friend who's about to begin a new life in the US. Well, it didn't end there as I have yet to post another one. Last Friday, we surprised her with a Pajama Party organized by Joy, our joyful mom. Lyn, Bedai, Jenny, Pehpot, Fehdz, Techa, Jingke, Joy and myself prepared a little something and gave our best wishes for her. It was a fun filled afternoon with laughter. Full details to be posted in my other blog. More photos posted in my FB account.

Mellow Yellow Monday

Yellow filled the anniversary celebration of Occasions of Joy. Yellow means happiness and joy. All happy moms came in yellow too.

Me and Joyful mom as she celebrates her blog anniversary.
More stories posted here.

and more yellow...mellow yellow..

Me and Jenny. We actually have a surprise number but time prevented us in doing so. Lol. Don't ask why I had to wear jacket here. I just needed one, you know.


More yellow post here.
My Mellow Yellow Monday.