In my Shoes....

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zenni Optical for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been wearing glasses ever since I was in high school.  Some people think that eyeglasses can ruin someone's look because of its nerdy factor at times.  

I was very hesitant when my doctor advised me to start wearing eyeglasses at first since I didn't want to be teased or something like that.  Kids in high school were pretty mean during my days.  I tried the contact lenses, but somehow the feeling of having to stick my finger up my eyeball didn't please me at all.  So, I ended up shopping for eyeglasses instead anyway.

It was then when I discovered cheap eyeglasses from Zenni Optical.  They have a long listing of eyeglasses that can match any face-shape and occasion.  Since Christmas is just around the corner, a great way for you to express the holiday spirit is by gearing up with a rockin' pair.

 

 

If I went to a different store, the same style of eyeglasses would probably cost me $50 to $120.  With the big savings I had, I will have a greater chance to get my family nice gifts for Christmas.  The $30 to $70 extra money is a huge help for me to finally get the camera my husband always wanted.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gift Card Weekend for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There's still a week left before Christmas!  Even though I did my Christmas shopping early this year, I wasn't able to avoid the last minute purchases I had to make sure that I get the best deals.  

Fortunately, gift card giving just got a lot better with Gift Card Weekend brought to us by "Gilbert, the Gift card Machine".  Get a chance to win a $20 gift card from SEPHORA from December 19 to 23.  You can join by clicking like on their Facebook Fan Page.  They are giving away more than 100 gift cards a week!

You can increase your chances of winning when you share this with friends and by getting them to like the page as well.  Make sure to check their site all the time because they are giving away gift cards all through out this month from great stores.

Give and save more with Gift Card Weekend!  This promotion gets you more value on the gift card you purchased for Gift Card Weekend which is on January 6 - 8, 2012.  Special offers vary with each participating store like JCPenny, Regal Cinema, Subway, Sephora, Applebee's, Bass Pro Shops, Adidas, Buca di Beppo, Lowe's, Spa Finder, Marriot, and Giant Eagle.

Happy Holidays everyone!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Puppies and babies are so cute!  I think they are the most adorable creatures in the world!  However, there is a show going on right now where they made the two go against each other to settle which one is really cuter than the other.

I love them both.  I have three dogs right now whom I had ever since they were still puppies.  Then my husband and I just had our own baby boy last September.  It's really going to be tough to choose which is cuter than them...  But one thing for sure is that, the combination of the two created a TOTAL CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!  

There is a Puppies vs. Babies online contest happening right now where contestants have a chance of winning $5000 after entering their funny and adorable photos of babies and puppies.  The contest is closed for new entries but the voting for whoever wins is still ongoing until November 23.  Check out Puppies vs. Babies and cast your vote up to the final bracket.

Despite of the fact that I had dogs al my life, I know for sure that the babies will be sweeping the puppies off by a great deal of votes.  No one can resist a human baby especially when they've seen my Eli.  He has the most contagious laugh and he's very smart too!  He does a lot of advance stuffs that's normally beyond his age.  But with puppies, they can only grasp a few tricks even up to when they become more older!  This is a great picture of my baby which can surely settle this feud once and for all! :)

  

 

Cast your votes today and feel free to comment or share who you want to win in this post.

My skin before was not easily irritated nor did it develop any scarring from any wound that I got. But as time passed by, dramatic changes happened. It all started with chicken pox... I had the virus at 22, so I'm sure you can just imagine how devastated I was to have the disgusting spots all over my body. I tried everything I know to prevent any scarring, up to the point where I spent thousands! Some of the things worked, but some of my scars were just so severe that there was no way I could get rid of them anymore.

Just when I thought the worse is over, I was wrong! I got pregnant and delivered my perfect little baby boy last September. I was very careful with my skin since I already have an idea as to what my happen if I get too bug during the pregnancy. I applied lotion and cocoa butter to my skin to avoid stretchmarks. But, I was too lazy to do my whole my body everyday! It was very hard to put it all over me since my belly was mostly on the way. So, I have red and purplish stretchmarks from the back of my legs up to my belly.

I don't know what to do with stretchmarks. I was okay with the ones on my stomach however, I am really bothered with the long thin ones behind my legs. First I thought they were just varicose veins so I didn't mind them and thought that they would eventually go away... Unfortunately, as I got a better look at them... I found out that they were stretchmarks too! I didn't know people can get stretchmarks on the legs too. I am really frustrated with they look since I am light skinned for a Filipina, so the stretchmarks really stand out. It's so hard to hide them because I rarely wear pants.

Can somebody there help me with this? I know stretchmarks are most probably permanent... But is there a way where I can help it blend in my skin tone?

Don't let this happen to you. Take good care of your skin, it's the largest organ of your body...

If it weren't for my husband, I wouldn't realize that it has been one month since my baby Eli was born. I guess Eli has really gotten us very busy over him over the past weeks. We're somehow adjusted by now, but I feel like he's changing his routines every now and then too, so it's kind of hard to keep up.

He's getting to the stage where he doesn't sleep as long as before. We consulted that with his doctor since we thought that he might be feeling something uncomfortable. But the doctor told us that it's normal because this is the time when he's taking in the fact that he is no longer inside mommy's womb. Now, he's starting to wander and look around since everything is new to him.

I feel like he has grown a lot. He's been gaining weight every week which is good because I read that newborns generally lose weight for the first 2 weeks of their lives. But our Eli seemed to have missed that note.

As I was reviewing his pictures, I was able to notice the change with how he looked. I was so surprise to realize hoe much he grew over the days. I think his face is changing as well. He looked so much like my husband when he was born, but now that he has fats, he's starting to look like me. :D

I wish our family and friends can see you soon. Everyone is very excited for you.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I generally believe in the saying that "You are what you wear."  How you present yourself says a lot of your character.  It may not be entirely true to some people who wishes to take a break from their normal, tidy lives and decide to stay in their pajamas over the weekend, so l'm sure most of us will agree if I just say, " We Express with how we dress" instead.

Because of this, it's important that we create a good impression on any business event.  For job interviews, network gatherings, and work, nothing expresses professionalism like a great set of suit.  Express is one of the leading company's here in the US that offers this kind to both men and women.

Some women do not feel comfortable whenever they wear a suit because they think that it doesn't quite show their body. However, Express has a variety of women's suits that will fit any body type and personality.  Now, you can look sexy without looking trashy at your work place.   

Another factor of Express women's suits is that you can go straight to a party after work without having to change anymore because of it's elegant, functional, and trendy style.

Feel free to visit their website and get the chance to win a 500 USD suiting makeover with the Express sweepstakes.  Let's talk about how exciting it is to suit up with Express by sharing comments about why you love them too. 

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to talk about on how we can save.  In this day and age, it's wiser to be more practical on our decisions, especially if you have a growing family like I do.  Having a baby does not come cheap, and since my husband and I are both new at this without having any increase with our source of income or whatsoever, we're reviewing our all our expenses to see where we can cut down.

We are now taking our time to do a little research before actually buying an item or service.  And believe me, it works!  Our phone bill is a great example.  My husband and I are paying almost 300 USD for the usage of our cellphones and internet at home.  We sought these services from one provider who was billing us separately for each thing only to find out that other networks offers the same thing for a cheaper price because it's bundled.  We should've been saving months ago if we weren't caught with other company's Hook, line and sinker.  

Another option to save on cellphones is to consider getting the pre-paid plans.  This service does not have any contracts, credit check, activation, and termination fees.  Straight talk is one of the leading service providers who offers great deals for this as well.  Their unlimited text, call, and web can be as low as 45 USD per month.  Other services such as calling 411 and international numbers are available to.  I was paying 80 USD (tax excluded) to my previous provider so because of this shift, I was able to have more budget on baby stuffs now compared to before.

Aside from this, Straight talk is also affiliated with well known cellphone brands such as Nokia, Motorola,Samsung, and etc.  You can get a unit starting at 10 USD, or go bold with Android on Straight Talk and have an Android phone for a low price as well.  

Now you can Call a friend or a loved one without ever having to worry about  how much more minutes you have left.

 

Apparently, I did not realize how hard it is to really take care of a baby until now. Before I would usually say, "How hard can it be? All we have to do is change the diapers, feed him, and make him go to sleep." Every single word sounded so easy! I forgot to consider the time element of it all.

Yes, you just got to do the three basic things I've just mentioned to keep a healthy baby... However, it is not as simple as it sounds. Imagine doing all of these stuffs every 3 hours (round the clock). Then, there's the crying and the stink of dirty diapers. LOL! When my baby cries, he wants to make sure he gets heard. :))

Having a kid really tests one's patience. But every single time your baby smiles and stares at you, you suddenly forget how smelly his diapers are, how loud his cries are, and how often he wakes you up in the middle of the night. You feel very happy.

This is why I think that nature made babies look cute and all for the purpose of being irresistible to adults. Who would want to put up with them if they weren't so beautifula nd magical to begin with?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall is right around the corner.  I can feel the cold breeze here in Illinois as early as the first week of September.  So it's time to put away the summer dresses, shorts, and tees.  I think this is the perfect season to dress up because you get to mix and match more clothes and accessories in your everyday wardrobe.

However, one essential fashion item all year round that would be seen more during this cold weather would be your light jacket and pair of jeans.  Check out Express jeans to get great deals on various types of apparels for men and women.  Don't miss the Express giveaway of 50 pair of jeans for free to winners that could be rockin' on the sidewalk in a limited time.

women's jeans that comes in different styles such as leggings, flares, straight, skinny and wide are available in all sizes on their website.

 

Aside from getting a chance of winning free pair of jeans, there are certain pants that are on sale as well.  You can actually shop for your perfect pair of jeans and get 50% off the regular price on the second one. Feel free to share what your favorite design is.  Leave your comments and let's talk about what's in or out this season!

Just basing from the title, it's easy to guess that I had given birth already. It was a very memorable experience for my husband and I. And we are very thankful that we chose to deliver here in Chicago, specifically at Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern instead of anywhere else.

My aunt works in that hospital in the psychiatric unit and she told me that their Maternity and Child Division is the best in the United States.

On September 8, 2011, I gave birth to Eli Santiago at around 8:54 pm. He weighed 6 lbs and measured 19 inches in height. I was in labor for more than 24 hours. Before realizing that I was actually in labor, I had the energy to come to downtown Chicago with my husband which is an hour and a half away from where we live via bus and train. The commute included a lot of walking, but I didn't mind because I was always active during my whole pregnancy.

Then, when we got home at night, my stomach began to hurt. I couldn't tell where the pain was coming from. I was pretty sure that I wasn't having any contractions at first since the same feeling happened to me before and the experience only turned out to be gastroenteritis. The pain was tolerable that I was even able to sleep. I was peeing and pooping more than usual but I didn't mind because I thought I just ate something bad.

Finally, I woke up at 1 am and felt that my underwear was really soaked with something. So, I went to the bathroom and checked what it was. I was surprise to see that I had a lot of clear discharge that was accompanied by blood. After finding that out, I had made time to clean myself up at first then I woke my husband up and told him that I might be having the baby already.

We quickly went to the hospital after that. Fortunately, my husband had a feeling that I might be giving birth that night too so he took care of all the stuffs we need for the baby and me. When I got to the hospital, the nurse midwife was already waiting for me since I called in before we left the house. After doing my first internal examination, we found out that I was 2 cm dilated already. I was really going into labor and she told us straight that I will be having the baby within the day for sure.

As mentioned earlier, Northwestern Hospital is considered as one of the biggest hospital in the US. All their rooms, gadgets, and personnel were all state of the art. Given the chance that I can give birth there, I wanted to try everything they had to support me through a natural (drug-free) delivery. I rocked myself on the yoga ball, I stayed on the tub, walked, and did breathing exercises. But everything they had didn't seem to work at all!

I was getting really frustrated because my contractions were 3 - 4 minutes apart, lasting 1 - 2 minutes long but my labor wasn't progressing as much as we've hoped for.

Dilated at 5 cm, my husband finally said that I should just go with the epidural already since he knew how much pain I was bearing for the last 16 hours. So, I did that and a whole team of anesthesiologist came into my room and gave me the epidural.

Everything else felt good after that. I was no longer screaming and angry. I even had a little nap since my waist down was numb. Because my body was already relaxed, my contraction came in fewer so the doctor decided to purposely break my bag of water. She believes that it may be one of the causes why I was having a hard time to dully dilate.

5 hours later, I felt great pressure between the vagina and rectum despite of the anesthesia. I told the doctor that I was still feeling uncomfortable because I shouldn't be having any of that due to the drugs. She checked me again, and discovered that I was already fully dilated.

A nurse came in the room soon after that and prepared everything that we might need during the delivery. Then, I realized that I was on the bed, finally pushing at each contraction until the baby came out. After becoming fully dilated, I pushed the baby out at less than an hour. The staffs were really impressed with how smooth and fast the whole thing went. I told them I had practice with the pushing ;)

The midwife was telling me that I shouldn't feel less of a good mom for choosing to go with the drugs. It's just that every woman is different, and we all have our own ability to tolerate pain. Plus, choosing just the epidural had less complication to the baby and I.