VA Trip

We're back (^_^) June 19th was the last day of school and Finn only had a 4-hour session so they were dismissed at 12.30pm. My mom, Finn and I left shortly after 1pm to drive to VA, and got there around 5.15pm, with no stops at all. I asked my passengers if they wanted to stop along the way but they kept saying no, so I didn't. Oh, if you're wondering where Jojo is, he went to VA on the 15th coz his training started on the 16th, and ran for 2 weeks. That's why we went there, free stay at the hotel and a chance to just relax, not worrying about chores and food (^_^)
We stayed at the Sheraton Reston Hotel and our room is on the 6th floor. Breakfast is not complimentary but there is a Club Lounge on our floor with free breakfast (bread, pastries, pancakes, coffee, milk, juice, soda, fruits) and cocktails (beer, wine, soda, juice, shrimp/mussels, fruits). We just leave a tip for the attendant there. Finn made a friend with the morning attendant. She kept giving him a present (cereal bars most of the time and a chocolate bar once) when he finishes his breakfast and the morning we left, she gave him a banana and 4 cereal bars (^_^) She even asked for a hug which Finn obliged.
If Finn isn't swimming in the pool, we're at the lobby where there are 5 computers for use of the guests. There's internet access in the rooms but they'll charge you so we just use the computers in the lobby .. they're free.
We would also go to the Reston Town Center, usually for dinner. There's a free shuttle from the hotel to anywhere within 2 miles, which includes the town center, so we took advantage of that as well (saves us from wasting our gas). One time though, we drove to http://www.shoptysons.com/, about 7 miles away, for a change of scenery.
My old friend, Melissa, took us to Glen Echo Park one time, and to the National Zoo in Washington, DC another day. We had fun at both places and we wouldn't have been able to go there if not for her.
We left VA yesterday at 10am, stopped for lunch, and got home at 3.15pm. There was heavy traffic at a few places so our trip took longer on the way home. Jojo left rigth after their training, at around 12pm and wasn't home until after 5pm. Was too tired to blog yesterday, and it's only now that I was able to upload some photos. Hopefully I'll be able to edit my other photos for you to see as well. Enjoy (^_^)

Walkman

We got our new phones yesterday (^_^) For free of course, and we're just extending our plan which is good. It's a Sony Ericsson w580i. I got the pink and Jojo has the green one. Both comes with the earphone that matches the color of the phone, USB cable and charger. We're still playing around with it but so far I'm liking it. I can even record a video to use as the ringtone! For our ringtones for each other, I asked Finn to be in the video saying to pick up the phone coz mommy/daddy is calling (^_^)
We need to buy a charger to use in the car and memory cards as the phone's memory is limited, that's why I haven't tried using it as an MP3 player. So I can't say anything about the shake-to-shuffle feature of the phone. The radio is good so that's what I use in the meantime. Voice quality is ok too and ringer volume is good. It even has different colored lights on the side when it rings which you can customize for each contact. I made Jojo's lights green (can you tell it's his favorite color?). So far we're happy with it. Ooops, I need to charge it. Been playing with it all the time (^-^) Later!

Double 3

For some reason, I was unable to access blogger for the past couple of days, hence my absence from the blogging world. So anyway, I celebrated my 33rd birthday 3 days ago (^_^) Jojo took the day off so we were out and about the whole morning with my mom (who arrived just before midnight on the 31st). Then we had lunch at Chipotle, a very good Mexican restaurant, then went shopping for a bit before picking Finn up from school. We had to go somewhere again (soo busy) then we had dinner at Minado (where else?) with my aunt. They gave me a cake and sang for me too.
Something came up so Jojo and I had to meet up with someone after dinner, but not before we left Finn, my mom and my aunt at her house. I think we got home after 10pm already. Good thing Finn didn't have school the next day, otherwise he would have had a hard time waking up. As for my gift, Jojo and Finn each gave me a gift card. Woohoo! Shopping (^_^) My mom gave me a cute dress but it's kinda warm so I can't wear it till temperatures drop again in the fall.
Busy birthday right? I haven't had the time to go shopping for myself either. Which reminds me ... have to check the balance on my gift cards to see how much I can spend (^_^) Later!

Table Tilt

Here's Finn doing the Table Tilt in Wii Fit (^_^)

Cupcakes and Sunflowers

Here's my second attempt at decorating cupcakes. I tried a different technique this time. Instead of rolling out the red fondant, I warmed it up and dipped my cupcakes into it. I can't seem to get the right consistency though, that's why it's so shiny and it's very sticky (think I added too much water). Takes soooo long to dry too. Anyway, I made different designs on top of it using fondant as well. When we finish eating these, I'll try the dipping technique again. Hopefully I'll get it right.
This little thing is Finn's sunflower. Each student in his class planted one in a cup in school and they brought it home today. Jojo transferred it to the garden and I hope it'll grow. I'll keep you updated on it's progress (^_^)

Gettting Fit

We've been waiting for the Wii Fit since we first heard of it. Jojo reserved ours at a nearby store last month and they released it yesterday. As soon as I picked it up, I started playing ... or working out (^_^)
Everyday the board will measure your weight and BMI and you can set a goal for yourself every 2 weeks ... either to lose or gain BMI. I was in the normal range but I feel I'm heavy so I set a goal to lose a few pounds in a month. My goal is still in the normal range, just lower ... I don't want to be underweight. Guess what, I already lost a tiny amount since yesterday (^_^) And I mean tiny, like maybe 1/10 of a pound ... hehehe. But it is a good sign right?
It's also recommended to take the Body Test everyday. It will give you a couple of tests to perform and based on your info, it will compute your Wii Fit Age. I was a 36 yesterday and today I'm a 33 which is great since I'll be turning 33 in less than 2 weeks (^_^) I hope to maintain this or even have a younger Wii Fit Age.
The Wii Fit has a lot of exercises in Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance. You get a set of exercises when you start, and then the more time you spend working out, you get to unlock more of the exercises. Either that or more reps for a particular exercise. I do everything available everyday. So compared to yesterday, I spent more time working out today coz I have more exercises available.
It feels good and they're pretty fun too (^_^) If you have a Wii, I suggest you get the Wii Fit. Go ... now! hehehe

Kinder Bear

Every student in the Kindergarten class gets to bring home Kinder Bear for one night. The kids (or the parents) should write in the Kinder Bear Journal what they did together. Today was Finn's day so Kinder Bear came in a bag with the journal inside. I took photos of Finn with Kinder Bear to put in the journal as well and here is what he wrote (I helped with the spelling of some words):

Cupcakes

It's my very first attempt at making cupcakes and I think I did a very good job! This morning I went to a craft store to buy fondant and circle cutters. I ended up getting a box of white and a box of 4 different colored ones - red, blue, green and yellow. Was thinking of making Super Mario mushrooms so I can practice for Finn's birthday next year (yes, I start preparing like 6 months before the party) since he wants to have a Mario party.

After lunch was when I baked the cupcakes and I was so happy they turned out well (^_^) The cupcakes had to cool but I didn't have enough time to decorate in the afternoon coz we did a lot of stuff after school. So after dinner I started preparing the materials for decorating and made sure I had containers ready for the unused fondant.

Super Mario mushrooms have a colored base and white spots but since I had less of the colored fondant, I decided to make a white base with colored spots, like Toad the character. And since this is only practice, I just used the red. Good thing too that I decided to use white for the base coz it was hard to dust off the powdered sugar from the red fondant ... probably coz I sprinkled a little too much on my work surface. But I still think it turned out well (^_^) Might also have to look for a lighter flavored cake (used a yellow cake mix) to offset the sweetness of the fondant. Or make one from scratch. We'll see what I do next year.