Summer So Far

At the beginning of summer, during Holy Week to be exact, my family of five trooped to Jeju Island with extended family and friends. After preparation for a much colder weather, we were set to enjoy our first international travel together. We were part of a group tour and visited lots of places, including the very pink Hello Kitty Island.

And then, we enrolled the three kids in swimming school. For ten days I prepared their things, we waited for their scheduled time, I hanged out for an hour watching them through clear glass, they showered after, we went home and they had snacks. Swimming makes them hungry.

My birthday also rolled around during this time. I celebrated it with my side of the family with a filling dinner, and this cake...

On my birthday more than a week ago, I penned a poem on the blog. Thanks to my family for this cake! http://www.cymplified.com/2016/today-is-my-day/

A photo posted by Cym M (@ceemee) on Apr 23, 2016 at 3:24am PDT

So, that's our summer so far. These days, we just stay at home, with me cleaning up some clutter. 

I hope we could go to on a local trip soon, one that is accessible from Manila. Do you have any suggestion?

Sharing: Chocolate Lover's Travel Guide

Love chocolates? Love to travel? Sharing with you where to buy which chocolate. Yum!

You can also find more infographics at Visualistan.

Summer Sandals

In my part of the world, summer is almost done. The kids will start school next week. My heart will palpitate for no reason because I would suddenly worry that the little ones will lack something very important for school. You know, mama worries.

Well, I am glad that I got to experience Singapore again last April. Also, we went to Hotel Kimberly Tagaytay for a family summer getaway. In these two travels, I wore my lavender Spring Fling sandals. At first, the balls of my feet took a painful beating when breaking in these shoes. After that, this pair became my top choice when going out. Why is that?

• Because I have wide feet, I think the wide leather insoles are great. 
• The soles are non slip, in my opinion. 
• I like that this pair provides support since it's not super flat. 
• The heels are covered.

The brand claims that the straps are also made of genuine leather, the underside of which colored my tootsies in the beginning. Speaking of color, the light violet looks as if it was painted on.

Here's my OOTD:

@ Universal Studios Singapore | Hat: department store | Top: Mango | Pants: bespoke jeans | Bag: Longchamp | Scarf: gift from friend | Summer sandals: Spring Fling from Zalora

If you can't see it in my OOTD photo, here's what the design looks like, except for the color.

Next time, I wish to buy a waterproof one. Maybe jelly sandals, or Saltwater brand. What do you think?

What's the perfect summer sandals for you? Care to share a link?

Communication And Travel

Communication is important!

A wonderful present that us humans were bestowed with is the gift of communication. Communication is vital in building relationships and bridging cultures. Communication promotes understanding amongst people. There are various ways of communicating, and one of these is through language. 

The world is big, and languages vary. That's why there is a need for dictionaries and translation services. Now, with the innovation in technology, there are phone applications that translate the written and spoken words, even signboards with the use of the smartphone camera. Amazing, right? I still like the idea in the movie Click, though, that I could change the speech of a foreign person who's speaking, into a language that I could understand using a universal remote. Or, subtitles would suddenly appear below the person who's talking in a different tongue. Haha! Just kidding! It's easier to understand people from other places and communicating is now easier. 

Traveling is great!

And that makes traveling more convenient, too, especially if it's to a country that speaks little to no English. Traveling is a great way to collect one-of-a-kind experiences and to make exciting memories. Here we learn about others, their culture, their beliefs, and we sure could pick up something that we could apply to our lives, whether it's simplicity or discipline. I believe traveling enhances our appreciation of life, of beauty, of blessings and motivates us to be open, nonjudgmental, tolerant. When understanding and empathy springs in our hearts, when we value and utilize our gift of communication, the world is small.

Family Road Trip Destinations And Activities

I dream of traveling with my children to interesting places in the future. I read somewhere that travel is a good education, and I would love the little ones to experience different places. Here's a guest post by John Gower on great destinations where the family would enjoy. During the road trip, I am sure the kids would get bored, included are fun activities for them to while away the time on the road.

Top Road Trip Ideas 

Whether during summer break or winter holidays, traveling is one of the top activities that families do together year-round. Whether you’re going to a popular tourist place or an in-the-whole treasure trove, most likely, you’ll be driving from your home to your family vacation destination. If you have small and young children, it can be a bit challenging to entertain them for hours. In this list, you'll find example road trip places and travel destination suggestions plus activities kids will love while on the road.

1) Disney World Road Trip
Disney World is the number one place in the world for a family’s vacation. What better way to spend it than to revisit classic Disney movies on the way to the most magical place on Earth? Present your kids’ favorite Disney movies on portable DVD players or DVD players installed in your car. Here’s a compilation of great Disney classics in special edition 2-disc DVD sets at Amazon:

• The Jungle Book = $37.11
• Bambi = $20.17
• Pocahontas & Pocahontas II = $19.99
• Alice in Wonderland = $14.30

Another way to let your kids have fun on the way to Disney is by creating their own Disney Characters autograph books to get their favorite. Give them a blank, small, and hardcover journal, Disney stickers and embellishments, permanent markers, regular markers, crayons, and other crafting tools to create their own autograph book. They can make frames for the blank pages and personalize them for each Disney character they want an autograph from. Here are a few Disney stickers you can purchase for your children’s autograph books:

• Joann’s -- Disney Stickers/Borders = $2.14 (sale price) from $4.29
• Zazzle -- Disney Round Stickers = $5.25
• Walmart -- 4 Disney Sticker Sets = $12.00

discover more destinations and activities...

My Favorite Summer Experience

The Legend of the Seas

My favorite summer experience would without a doubt be

The Royal Caribbean Cruise with the family

Where we had more food than our tummies can hold

With activities and shows for guests young and old

Went down and visited Malaysia's Batu Cave, saw Petronas Towers

Rode elephants in Thailand, toured some places within a few hours

Bye to the Legend of the Seas, hello again to Singapore

Took photos with the Merlion, then a little shopping galore

One item on my bucket list was crossed out

An unforgettable summer experience no doubt

I have learned that I should always bring extra shirts and face towels for each of us during the land tours. The places that we visited were hot and humid like the summer weather in our country. Having drinking water at hand is very important, too. I also made sure that I have an umbrella in my bag, waterproof jackets if it would suddenly rain, and insect repellent patches. It helps to know the itinerary beforehand so I made sure to pack comfy shoes. You know what kind of shoes would be perfect for traveling? Native shoes! They are lightweight, comfortable, odor resistant and antimicrobial. Some designs are waterproof, washable and even shock absorbant. I wish to win GC's from Native Shoes for our next travel adventure!

The very recent lightning, thunder and raining episodes signal the end of our hot summer days. Soon, we would say hello to the teachers and classmates of our children. We would also say hi to muddy streets and increased traffic jams come wet season. I certainly hope the government and everyone who is concerned have prepared the Philippines for the onset of typhoons and floods. Surely, there were lessons learned from the past experiences? Anyway, Native shoes would be perfect for the rainy season as well! Actually, we could use Native shoes all year round.

But, I expect to go on more family trips out of town before my eldest's classes start. I certainly would appreciate the comfort of wearing Native shoes, especially as a mom to an active preschooler and two energetic toddlers.

Snippets Of My Extraordinary Royal Caribbean Vacation: Housekeeping Animals

What made us smile when we came back from our land tours and activities were these little fellows that greeted us. 

There were many Filipinos that were part of the crew. The one in charge of our deck was a very friendly and smiling Filipina. I felt at home with her greetings. We even chatted with Filipino waiters in the dining room. :-)

Souvenirs As Collection

When we travel, we would always love to have a souvenir to remind us of the great memories and experiences we acquired from our trip. For some, taking pictures in these places is good enough. Then there are those who buy something, anything to add to whatever collection they already have or are starting like paintings or home decor.
In my case, I collect keychains from various trips I had when I was younger, I even bought one when I visited Enchanted Kingdom for the first time.. I wish to organize that collection because it seems so messy at present. I also have keychains from trips that I myself did not go on. They were just gifts from my family. And I have keychains that were giveaways from companies or events. When I went on the Royal Caribbean cruise last March, I made sure I bought keychains from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and even from the cruise ship itself. I just need a good box to place all of them in.

Speaking of souvenirs, if you happen to go to Las Vegas, what better keepsakes to have than those that are casino-themed? The Victorian Casino Antiques would be wonderful for the really serious collectors of specialised or vintage items and for those that are well-traveled as well. 

Take for example this amazing painting of anything pertaining to Las Vegas. It even has real playing cards and chips on it!

image from icollector.com

Thinking of where to get awesome pieces such as this? Victorian Casino Auction offers a variety of collectors' items. One could also have the option of not being physically present during the auction since they have online auctions. Cool huh? 

I cannot seem to find any keychain on the site and since I love Disney, I would choose something small but memorable:

a vintage signed napier Mickey Mouse brooch

How about you? What kind of souvenir do you buy when you travel?

Snippets Of My Extraordinary Royal Caribbean Vacation: Shows On Board

When you're on board a cruise ship, there's never a shortage of entertainment for the guests. They would make sure that you don't get bored. Like I said before, they have a cruise compass, a sort of newsletter, a schedule of activities, they give out at the end of the day so you could plan your activities for the following day.

Here are some (three actually) shows I was able to catch. Glad there was an activity center for kids called Adventure Ocean where our Elle listened to stories and made crafts so I could have some time alone exploring and observing.

First was the Rock 'n' Roll Reunion Party with the Cruise Director's staff. They were teaching the guests how to dance the Jive with "pat/pat, clap/clap, shuffle/shuffle, mashed potato/mashed potato, hitchhike/hitchhike."


And then an Aerial Vignette, like an acrobatic show by aerialists. Below, there was a singer crooning the song A Whiter Shade of Pale.


The last one is a Farewell Variety Showtime, which featured an acrobatic (uber good-looking) couple performing stunts. They are Alan and Yulia Reva. :-)

I'm glad I convinced my hubby to watch it with me. It's really great to see live programs. And it was our last night on the Legend of the Seas. Here's a video of them in action.

If you get to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise, as much as possible, attend seminars, learn something new, join contests, dance with others and enjoy all the programs! 

Snippets Of My Extraordinary Royal Caribbean Vacation: Inside Legend Of The Seas

Our ship is called the Legend of the Seas. For one day, our itinerary was just sailing, that meant we got to stay on board the whole day. It would have been great to take advantage of the many activities and sales that were happening on the ship. There were bingo games, mini tournaments, sports activities, swimming, arcade, dancing, spa, casino, jewelry sale. There were daycare and activity centers where the kids could enjoy. When you get to go on a Royal Caribbean Vacation, read their cruise compass to get the dibs on programs and activities that were happening at particular times. There was even a Sexiest Man in the World contest!

I'm going to show you some photos of the inside of the ship.

arcade room

lounging on the deck

what is this called? uppermost part of the ship

wall-climbing

mini golf

sculpture of the ship

fast-moving elevator with view

Snippets Of My Extraordinary Royal Caribbean Vacation: Bus Shots

Last March, I had an extraordinary Royal Caribbean vacation and I wrote (and still writing) about it on Cymplified.com. While I haven't retired this blog, I will post some random photos here from my trip. :-)

on the bus in Singapore

on the bus in Malaysia

on the bus in Thailand

Sorry you cannot see the tour guide in Thailand because she seems to be the silent type and just stayed seated in front like one of the tourists. :-P

Summer Vacation Adventure Time Soon

Oh my gosh! How time flies! My eldest child Elle's summer vacation officially starts. She had her moving up and recognition day last Saturday. Her class performed the song I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing. I'm happy to report that she garnered a bronze medal. :-)

So now we're looking for an art class for her as that aligns with her interest. I also like for her to learn how to swim for that is important, but I have to practice driving first. Frankly, my heart beats so fast when cars move so close to ours.

But, before that, we have a trip to prepare for. A week to go and I'm still packing. I have to make sure I don't leave anything important. Some things that are important yet are not needed for the trip should to be kept in a fireproof safe. I guess it would be ideal if the safe is one of the biometric safes available, so that the security would be tight.

I wonder how frequent travelers do it. They must already have a cheat sheet or something on what kind of luggage is best, what needs to be checked in & what should be hand-carried, what clothes are suitable for certain countries, etc. I'm getting dizzy with all these details.

travel-themed box design, cute right?

I'm looking forward to the trip, but of course, I will surely miss the two little ones. It will be my first time to travel out of the country ever since I got married, the trip will be crossed off my life (bucket) list. It will be Elle's first time to ride in an airplane. 

Hopefully, I could make it educational for her. And hopefully, I could be done with the packing already!

Travel Checklist: Miscellaneous, Clothes+Accessories, Hygiene

So, here is the second installment of travel checklists. You can read about the first one here, it's for preparations and basics. Since these are pretty important things, this guide could also be a reference for  you when you plan to do a demenagement montreal or moving. These items could be packed separately so someone like a demenageur montreal would be more careful with these items.

Travel Checklist

Miscellaneous

• Laundry bag
• Stain remover
• Sewing kit
• Travel Iron
• Umbrella
• Flashlight
• Binoculars
• Cell phone & charger
• PDA & charger
• Laptop & charger
• Camera & charger
• Music & player
• Batteries
• Headphones
• Insurance cards
• List of prescriptions
• Travel locks & keys
• House keys
• Address book
• Calling card
• Notebook
• Hand bag
• Backpack
• Purses
• Money belt
• Shoulder straps
• Plastic bag (I would suggest using Ziploc or airtight plastic bags especially if traveling by ship or for boat-rides)
• Neck/back brace

Clothes and Accessories

• Underwear
• Socks
• Undershirts
• Bras
• Pantyhose
• Sleepwear
• Robe
• Glasses
• Sunglasses
• Hats
• Dress shirts
• Slacks
• Skirts
• Suits
• Tuxedo
• Belt
• Ties
• Jewelry
• Watches
• Dress shoes
• Blazers
• Sweaters
• Jackets
• Raincoat
• Hats
• Gloves
• Scarves
• Thermals
• Boots
• Sandals
• T-shirts
• Tank tops
• Sweatshirts
• Jeans
• Shorts
• Gym clothing
• Swimsuits
• Rubber shoes
• Slippers
• Casual flats

Hygiene

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• Mouthwash
• Soap
• Deodorant
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Brush
• Comb
• Hair dryer
• Curling/Flat iron
• Styling products
• Hair accessories
• Mirror
• Cleanser
• Sunscreen
• Moisturizer
• Lip balm
• Contact lenses & solution
• Shaving cream
• Razor
• Perfume/cologne
• Makeup
• Makeup remover
• Feminine hygiene
• Nail clippers
• Nail file
• Nail polish
• Nail polish remover
• Tissues
• Cotton balls/swabs
• Tweezers
• Lint roller
• Insect repellent
• Medications
• Pain relievers
• Vitamins
• First aid kit
• Band aids

Travel Checklist: Preparations and Basics

This coming summer season, most people would consider traveling as an escape from the heat, taking advantage of the children's summer vacation, for parents. My parents did that, too, when my siblings and I were still in school, from time to time. It is also on the summer season that the Holy Week falls, and the week had been synonymous to going places since working people would have plenty of days off during this time. If you are one of the fortunate ones who will be able to travel, I found some travel lists that could be helpful. I got these from a souvenir notebook from a debut I attended last year.

Travel Checklist

Preparations:

• Unplug all appliances
• Clean the house
• Empty all trash cans
• Arrange for pet care
• Check your passport and airline ticket (if by air)
• Change your email setting to "out of office"
• Make hotel reservations
• Buy event tickets
• Empty perishables in the refrigerator
• Pay bills
• Setup car rental
• Make an itinerary
• Stop mail, newspaper, home deliveries
• Exchange currency if needed
• Place valuables inside vault
• Secure windows, doors, garages (check if all locks are working, if not, there would be a need for Locksmith Calgary by Quick LockWorks to fix them. For security, someone like a good locksmith in Calgary should be called to ensure our homes would not be broken into while we're away) 
• Close all curtains and blinds
• Water plants before leaving

Basics:

• Wallet
• Cash
• Credit cards
• ATM card
• Driver's license
• Passport & Visas
• Travel tickets
• Itinerary
• Maps & Direction
• Travel guides
• Chewing gum (for the ear pressure I presume?)
• Bottled water
• Snacks
• Travel pillow
• Book
• Sleeping mask
• Sleeping pills (if taking)
• Motion sickness medicine
• Anxiety medications (if prescribed and needed)
• Earplugs

To frequent travelers, do you have anything to add? Next, I will post the lists for some miscellaneous things, clothes & accessories and hygiene stuff to bring.