Balikbayan Take-Home: Xtreme MagicSing

When you live abroad, it's a must na may sarili kang karaoke mic sa bahay lol. Aside from personal enjoyment, importante yan kapag may bisita ka sa bahay, pang-entertain kumbaga. Kaya naman ang isa sa agenda ko sa pag-uwi dito sa Pinas this year ay ang makabili ng Magic Sing hehe.

Most of our friends in Edmonton have this already, kaya siyempre nakikigaya kami. Ford and I are not bibo when it comes to karaoke singing, shy kami sa mga tao. Pero kapag kaming dalawa lang, kanta kami ng kanta haha!

Noon pa namin gustong bumili nito kaso nag-apartment lang kami the past 2 years. Sabi namin kapag nagkabahay na lang uli. At eto na nga, nakalipat na kami last November! =)

I knew that there are so many karaoke microphones now but I only wanted to buy in SM. Wala na akong energy na maghanap-hanap pa, saka mas credible for me ang nabibili sa mall kesa Lazada o Shopee.

While waiting for TanTan to finish his train ride in SM Marilao last May 1, ayun nakita ko ito. Yung presyo na lang talaga ang tiningnan ko haha. Less than Php15,000 so pwede na. Wala akong balak bumili ng mahal kasi nga hindi naman nga kami "pro" ng asawa ko sa kantahan.

When I asked the saleslady, parehas lang naman daw halos ang dalawang units na ito, wireless microphone lang yung mahal.  Lalo akong na-convince bilhin yung cheaper syempre. I asked the saleslady about their ongoing promo, less Php1,000 daw plus Php6,000-worth of hotel voucher (sa Ilocos at Baguio nga lang haha!). Then she suggested na sa May 23 daw, may 10% promo ang SM kaya malaking tipid din. Ayos, sabi ko babalik ako.

At syempre kelangan ko munang hingan ng pera ang asawa ko. My mother was volunteering to buy it for us kaso nahihiya na ako. Super dami na niyang gastos sa amin ni TanTan dito eh. Ford initially wanted me to get the cordless one, but I disagreed. Sobrang mahal na kako yun, doble ang halaga tapos "cord" lang ang difference. Ok na kako muna yung mura, we can always buy again next time kung magugustuhan namin.

A few days ago, a saleslady of another brand was convincing me to buy their product. Grand ang tatak (dating Wow daw). Their cheapest unit is more expensive than Magic Sing's so medyo turn-off ako (lol again). Pero medyo ginoogle ko pa rin kung ano ang mas ok. I also even asked a friend in Edmonton kung ano sa tingin niya ang ok based on their experience.

To cut the story short, Magic Sing won. So bumili na nga ako kahapon.

The salespersons were very happy with their sale hehe. Medyo madami nga raw bumibili nung Php14,900 unit lately, dinadala sa abroad. I think most nga ng bumibili ng karaoke microphones ay taga-abroad. Dito kasi Php500 lang ang rental ng videoke machine kapag may handaan so no need to buy your own.

This is the unit that I bought. Less Php500 lang pala ang summer promo nila. Yung Php1,000 discount is for the cordless one.

I only paid a total of Php12, 960. Not bad na rin. Sulit ang paga-antay ko ng May 23 kasi Php1,440 rin ang natipid ko.

And they were not kidding about the hotel vouchers! Meron talaga! The vouchers are valid for a year kaso kung kanino lang nakapangalan. I had the option to have it under a different name kaso sino naman. Kaloka, gusto ko tuloy mag-Baguio haha! Pero I wonder rin kung makakapag-book nga ba ako using these haha. Let's see.

Ayan, one item off my shopping list! Excited na akong gamitin ito kahit na na-info overload ako sa mga instructions na pinagsasabi nung saleslady. Oh well, bahala na ang asawa ko na magset-up nito. We don't have many friends yet in BC at hindi ko alam kung kelan kami magkakabisita sa bahay pero for sure masusulit pa rin ito. =)

Three diamond paintings finished

I spent the last week of February finishing these three diamond paintings (hence the lack of blog posts lol).

I remember getting very bored last August 2018 so I searched for some kits in Amazon.ca. Tapos I asked the hubby to buy them for me haha, tutal kako malapit na ang birthday ko. We paid $42.95 (or around Php1,700) these three. Medyo mahal kaso wala namang ibang mabilhan dito eh. Saka gusto ko talagang gumawa para maipa-frame at maisabit sa bagong bahay.

Very limited ang choices sa Amazon. Kaunting-kaunti lang ang ang mga fully beaded na designs kaya ito lang ang napili ko. At halos pare-parehas sila ng color scheme - pink, purple, light blue.

I started doing this kit in September 11, 2018. I normally finish a design this small (12x16in) in 2-3 days pero this February ko nga lang natapos. Tinamad kasi ako (plus andami naming pinagdaanang problema ng last quarter of 2018) kasi hindi ako nagandahan. Malabo kasi siya sa actual, hindi ganun ka-detalyado (malinaw lang tingnan sa picture). Nanghinayang lang ako kaya ko tinapos. I'll just give it to my mother haha.

Right after finishing the first one, tinapos ko na rin agad itong dalawa. Talagang kinarir ko, to the point na wala na akong ginawa sa bahay haha. Buti di ako napagalitan ng asawa ko.

Nice sila, in fairness.

Sayang hindi ma-capture ng picture ang kinang nila. 

I'll be bring these home para ipa-frame. Ang mahal kasing magpa-frame dito. Sa Pinas around Php400 (or $10) lang aabutin ang isa.

I am planning to finish a lot of diamond paintings in the Philippines. Yung malalaki sana kasi trip na trip yang gastusan ng nanay ko (iiwan ko rin naman sa kanya), kaso naman wala pa akong mahanap na ok na supplier. Actually, the best bumili sa Heavenly Stitchin' Moment sa SM North (yung original na bilihan ng crossstitch supplies) kasi sobrang gaganda at sososyal ng designs nila pero naman, sobrang pricey din. Nasa Php2,000-4,000 ang designs na gusto ko, hindi pa ganun kalalaki yun ha. Di kaya ng budget ko waaah. Sana talaga dumami pa ang suppliers para bumaba rin ang presyo.

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PS. Syempre dahil nakita ng little boy ko na gumagawa (uli) ako, he insisted to try. And I was impressed, ang dali niyang natuto. Great job, anak!

Nathan @ 4 years old

Addicted to diamond painting

Hello! I apologize for 'abandoning' this blog for the past three weeks. I became so busy kasi with diamond painting haha!

You see, I got so stressed out with the idea of house-hunting in BC so I deliberately searched for a new hobby to keep my mind off it. At para na rin malibang ako dito sa Pinas kasi sa totoo lang, bored na ako. Sakto naman na nakita ko ito sa posts ng isang IG mom that I stalk. Yep, whenever I am left with free time, I stalk people in IG. Mga random, ordinary people lang, because I am curious on how they conduct their daily lives. Siguro I will always be a Sociologist kahit hindi na ako practicing.

Anyway, I originally wanted to go back to cross stitching so I can produce some works that I could hang in our future house. Kaso wala ng nagtitinda ng cross stitch materials dito. Hindi na yata uso? I actually have a lot of unfinished projects pero nasa Canada naman, pinadala ko when I was pregnant kaso hindi ko naman nahipo. Pero yun nga, I learned na itong diamond painting (or rhinestone art) na pala ang "in" ngayon.

I had no idea where to buy a kit so I googled. Ayun, sa Lazada pala may mga nagbebenta. Naka-experience na akong bumili sa Lazada last year so alam ko na how to order. Cash on delivery naman. For my first diamong painting project, I chose a small but colorful design. Baka kasi hindi ko magustuhan kaya subok lang muna.

My package had arrived in less than 2 days. I was so excited that I started doing it right after I opened it. Finigure out ko pa nga how. It was only after finishing it that I realized na hindi ito ang design na inorder ko. It's a "spring" tree and I ordered a "summer" tree.

Tsk, nainis talaga ako. Kasi there are sellers na nagbebenta nito ng Php399, sa ibang seller ako bumili kahit mas mahal ng Php10 kasi nga may summer tree siya (na wala sa ibang sellers) tapos iba naman pala ang ipapadala. Out of stock na malamang kasi siya na lang ang nagpo-post ng summer tree eh. So there, lesson learned pag nag-order online -- icheck talaga ang item kung tama ba.

Anyway, I finished my first ever diamond painting in less than 3 days (pasingit-singit lang yun ha). They say I was fast, pero siguro sanay lang talaga ako magcross stitch kaya madali na para sa akin. Diamond painting is definitely so much easier, super addicting din. Talagang naaliw ako.

I immediately placed another order for a bigger design. Sobrang big nga, in fact, 4 feet by 2 feet siya. Namurahan kasi ako, Php1,169 lang (free shipping pa) eh ang mahal nyan sa iba.

I was so happy when I received it kasi nasa magandang box talaga at kumpleto sa gamit. My mother was so skeptic na matatapos ko. Ang dami ko raw kasing sinimulan na cross stitch na malalaki na hindi ko tinapos. I assured her na kaya ko, pero malamang na sa Canada na. Tamang-tama kako para sa bago naming bahay.

But because I knew na mahilig din si Mamoosh sa mga ganyan, I told her igagawa ko siya ng mas maliit (at realistic tapusin agad) ng konti. Ayaw daw niya kasi nung pink tree ko (the first that I made) kasi hindi niya maintindihan. So I showed her several designs so she could choose. Inorder ko uli sa Lazada (Php598, including shipping fee).

Kaso ang palpak naman. Hindi pala siya fully beaded. Yung four flowers lang ang lalagyan ng beads. Waaah asar-talo kami ni Mamoosh, sayang ang pera! Dapat ipapa-frame ko na rin ito tulad nung pink tree kaso I couldn't force myself to pay for another Php500+ para sa pangit na diamond painting na ito.

Another lesson learned -- make sure to know all the details of what you're ordering. Hindi ko kasi inalam kung fully beaded nga ba ito o hindi. Walang nakalagay sa site so I should have messaged the seller, tsk. Saka sana inalam ko kung pwede pa bang isoli. Ginawa ko kasi agad hoping na maganda pag natapos.

To make it up to Mamoosh, I told her I'll finish this na lang tapos iiwan ko na dito sa bahay. Kaya kinarir ko na talaga. Sabi ko alagaan nila si Nathan para matapos ko haha!

And here it is, done in two weeks (from February 24 to March 12, may days na hindi ko nagalaw). I am so happy because it turned out really nice. Mas maganda at makinang talaga siya sa actual. I can't wait to see it framed and hanged on the wall. We'll bring it to the framer later today.

Kaya yan po ang dahilhan ng kabusy-han ko the past days lol. The thing is, nagwi-withdrawal syndrome ako ngayon. I am itching to start another project again but I want to rest my eyes muna. Saka hindi ko pa alam kung anong design ang gusto kong gawin next. Sadly, walang masyadong choices sa Lazada. Maraming maganda pero hindi nga fully pasted. I researched and may mga sellers naman sa Facebook kaso out of stock din ang mga gusto kong designs tapos super pricey pa. Oh well, bahala na nga. Relatively new pa lang kasi ang diamond painting kaya  konti pa ang suppliers and designs.

O siya, I have so many kwentos na naipon. Stay tuned ha!

Got to Watch Got to Believe

What makes me excited to wake up in the morning is the thought of watching the latest episode of Got to Believe.  Haha, ang lakas kasing maka-bagets ng show na ito!

Picture taken from the Internet (credits to ABS-CBN)

My husband subscribed to TFC a few days before I came here and I was so happy that I can watch Joaquin and Chichay without the hassle. Last year, Please Be Careful With My Heart started airing while I was vacationing here in Canada and I had to search and search for websites where I can watch the episodes for free. Now I can watch teleseryes whenever I please.

I don't feel guilty nor ashamed watching Filipino TV shows anywmore. Now that I am abroad, it's a "necessity" haha! I hope ABS-CBN comes up with more better shows para masulit naman ang TFC subscription namin. =)