Pinay WAHM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in the early 90s, a friend and I got our very first term life insurance policies through a former co-worker. My reason in getting a life insurance at that time were my parents who were my primary dependents. I wanted to make sure that they will be taken cared of financially if something happened to me. My friend? I had no idea why he got it...but I'm guessing he had the same reason as mine since he wasn't married yet when we got it. A few years after we got the insurance, my friend came here in the US to teach. He was already married then with a daughter. He was able to bring his wife and daughter here on his second year of teaching in a public school in San Francisco. A few months after his family arrived here, an unfortunate event happened. He, his wife and their roommate were killed when their neighbor went into a shooting rampage. My friend's daughter survived. My friend may not know it at that time, but his decision to get an insurance...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this time of uncertainty, I decided to play it safe and save as much as I can just in case. Since it appears that banks are the ones highly affected by the economic crisis, I am taking matters into my own hands. Don't worry, I still deposit money in the bank. I just make sure that it does not exceed the $100k limit for insurance. As for the rest of my savings...it's here. I wish I really have this much green [and pink, blue, purple, orange, etc]...!!!!!!!!!!!! hik hik hik

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Wal-Mart employee got trampled to death by eager shoppers at a New York Wal-Mart store. This is what I read in the news this morning while I was doing my usual news surfing. If I am not mistaken, this is not the first time something like this happen. I really don't know what could be in stores during this Black Friday madness but I know one thing...it isn't enough reason for somebody to be trampled to death. The guy was just doing his job but because some people can't wait to get their hands on those so-called deals, they didn't care if someone gets hurt in the process. According to the news, they are now reviewing the surveillance cameras at that Wal-Mart store. I don't know if they will ever find all those who contributed to the death of this man [since there were about 2,000 people barging in the store when it happened] but I hope to God that they would. The man was the only one who died but there were a few people who were broug...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with, we can now concentrate on another important occasion that’s coming up in less than a month…Christmas. We fondly call this as the season of giving simply because this is the time when we literally give the most. Back when I was younger, Christmas meant going to our relatives and friends to pay respect as well as receive our Christmas presents which was mostly money. As I got a bit older, that of course changed. When I started working, I was the one that younger kids go to for their Christmas present. A few years into my job, my brothers and I started some kind of a tradition. We started packing some basic necessities like canned goods and rice which we would distribute to our less fortunate neighbors. The happiness in the face of those who receive the goods is the gift that I would look forward to every Christmas. The fulfillment I felt was just beyond words. So every Christmas season, I look for a way to somehow g...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ family and a lot of other things. It's the time when family comes together and celebrate and be thankful for everything they have...or do they? Come together, I mean? Read on.... I'm Thankful For Family... A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough. "Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this," She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT gett...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buying a gift for a man has always been a challenge for me. Ties, socks, shirts seem to be so common I choose not to use them as gifts anymore. Christmas has to be the toughest because we don’t only get a gift for one man but a lot of men relatives and/or friends. Now that I’m married, there are even more men to think of when buying gifts for Christmas. The husband already knows what to give his older brother though, anything that has something to do with hunting because he’s an avid hunter and since I came across the Nikon Ultimate Hunter's Package Promo , we already know what to pick out for him. This promo package contains everything that an avid hunter like my BIL dreams of like Prostaff 3 9x40 Riflescope with BDC Reticle, ProStaff Laser Rangefinder and a number of other equipments that he can use for his hunting hobby. So if you are still looking for that perfect gift for a loved one who is a hunter, check this promo out. I’m sure you’ll be a b...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What can I say, it's one relaxed thanksgiving day for us. No fuss, no stress since it's just the 3 of us, at our favorite place...H-O-M-E.... We had the usual bird, mashed potatoes, green beans, baked sweet potatoes and a peanut butter pie. It's a traditional meal I guess. Pumpkin pie was not in the menu because the little one wanted 'yam'....so yam it was. After dinner we had hot cocoa since it was kinda' chilly. Today, the husband is in the shop doing some things that need done before next week. It's only half day and he's on his way to the grocery store now for the weekly grocery shopping. Black Friday shopping....not something we would do. We'd rather chill out than brave the crowd that comes with it. The little one is doing some school work while I am here blogging while waiting for my load of laundry to finish. Can you say back to normal? LOL... Anyway, I hope you had a good thanksgiving...

I have always considered my being a WAHM such a blessing. Aside from being able to raise our little one myself, I can earn without leaving the confines of my home. I am not directly affected when the gas prices went through the roof since I don’t have to drive to work. But having a reliable internet service is a must for a work-at-home-mom like me. If my internet connection fails, it means I don’t make any money. This is the reason why I try to look for the best providers out there. I was lucky the first 6 years because my provider was very reliable. Not so with my present provider. This is actually the second one since we moved in our new house and it looks like it’s not going to be the last. While looking for another provider, I came across Charter Communications. Charter has some really great offers which I would love to have. And I would love to have the Ultimate Service Bundle for only $165.97 which includes a 10 Mbps High Speed internet, unlimited calling & all the viewing pl...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ....are underway here. Well, kinda. I already cleaned the bird so all that's left to do with it is put some butter on it and pop it in the roasting bag then pop it in the oven. No stuffing?? No stuffing...well, maybe an apple. I have also made the peanut butter pie that the little one loves. It's now in the freezer to set in. For the other pie, I am still debating if I should make an apple pie or a pumpkin pie. I haven't tried making apple pie so I'm a bit unsure if I should do it now or try it when there's no occasion. Pumpkin pie is the husband's favorite so I've made it a couple of times already. We'll see. As for the sides, I am thinking of making some 'smashed potatoes' with a twist....I'm going to twist the potatoes...LOL. I make mashed potatoes on a regular basis, sometimes once a week, so I don't feel like making it for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, the husband will be able to find the baby potatoes I us...

I’ve always had short nails. I think one of the first things my father gave me when I was old enough to clip my nails was a nail clipper. Since then, this piece of ‘equipment’ is almost always in my purse or backpack. Short nails became a necessity when I started to play the guitar though as it’s very uncomfortable to do that with sharp claws. With that being said I do not deny the fact that I also think of having long polished nails. And that was realized when I started working. I didn’t have to play the guitar that much anymore and I was, anyway, a professional already, right? LOL… During those years that nail polish became a part of my wardrobe, my nails had the chance to be ‘dressed’ in different shades. From natural to bright red to the very famous French manicure. I guess the latter has to be my favorite hands down, I mean nails down. So I was kinda’ biased with light colored polish. I just thought my nails looked better with French tips. I'm thinking of having my nails don...

I know it's not until tomorrow but let me just greet those who are in the US a very happy Thanksgiving a day early. Our thanksgiving will probably be spent here at home. I already have the 'bird' thawed out. I just need to clean it and pop it in the oven. Wish me luck on that. As usual the little one is extra excited because it's another 'celebration'. She actually made a list of her own on what she wants for Thanksgiving....but we're not getting most of it [she put 'chili' in her list....why oh why?]. I am planning in making peanut butter pie and a pumpkin pie. Not quite sure what to make for the sides though. I'll probably need to do some research. Btw, thanks much for those who wished our little one to get well.....she is well already. She's more careful now on how she eats. You know....that she has to actually chew her food before swallowing it. Anyway, I have to start that 'research' already. Wish me luck again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My plan of going out to get me some winter gears last Saturday had been put off indefinitely. I was not feeling well for some reason so I told the husband that we can probably do it some other time. We just stayed in the house of course and watched our favorite shows…alternately. We only have 2 TV sets and there are 3 of us with different preferences so we took turns. Anyway, since my planned ‘shopping spree’ for my winter clothes had been put off, I decided to just check out the website of Kmart for some good deals. This store always has some great deals so I’m never disappointed when I visit it on site or online. Right now until November 26, there is a 10% off on the Attention Women's Kimono Wrap Sweater. Just what I need! Maybe I can get me 3 or 4 of this wrap sweater and I’m good to go. Another product that is on sale and is on a whopping 30% off online is Abbey Hill bedding Medallion Dream bedding collection. That is such us a steal. Kmart alr...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The little one had an indigestion yesterday. She started complaining of a headache about 3 PM...after I let her watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. I actually wasn't happy with her because her headache seems to happen when she watches TV for an extended time. On school days, I only let her watch during her lunch break but since she really wanted to watch the movie airing on Disney, I let her watch with the condition that she'd finish all her work after. That of course didn't happen. Dinner time, she didn't feel like eating because her belly started hurting. That's when I had the feeling that it might be indigestion because this is not the first time it happened. She took an early shower because she wanted to go to bed early. She went to bed around 7:30. A few minutes after she did, I heard her gagging already...she was throwing up. Yep, it's indigestion alright. She did that a couple more times [the last one while I was in the ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, we are ‘almost’ done in getting the little one’s wishes for the holidays. Like in the past years, we usually find the things she wants then get her some extra gifts that we know will make her eyes light up. She has a lot of toys already but we still get her some just because her expression is priceless whenever she gets something she does not expect. I guess that’s what truly matter, eh? Last year one of the ‘surprise gifts’ we got her was this big Smart Easel from MegaBrands because she likes to draw a lot. It was a big hit of course and she’s still using it until this day. This year, I am thinking of getting her a mickey mouse figurine because she’s such a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. How big of a fan. Let's just say that she will do anything you ask her just to be able to watch the show whenever it’s on. So I’m sure that anything that has to do with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will be a big hit to her ...

This is one of the little one's item in her Christmas list. We already got most of what she wants. They are all easy to find and not too expensive either. But this one? I have searched the internet, wait that's wrong, WE - both my husband and I searched the net but we can't find one that is at a reasonable price. The cheapest I've seen is $50 + shipping! There is one that's in eBay and the starting bid is $10,000 !!!! Yes, 10 thousand dollars . Hmmm...maybe I can start bidding now, eh? So what's left to do? I am seriously considering this...

A few weeks before moving into our house now, two young men tried to burglarize our car parked in front of the old house. They didn’t succeed because I was still awake when they tried. I was able to scare them away by turning on the light in front of our house. That was probably one of the scariest nights of my life. The next day, my husband started researching on different home security systems we can put in this house we’re residing in right now. We didn’t have any kind of a security system in the old house so I shiver everytime I think about that incident. What if I wasn't awake and they also tried to get in the house? What could have happened? These are only some of the questions I keep playing in my mind. Needless to say I have become paranoid and jumps at the slightest noise I hear at night and during the day. I cannot wait until we get all the things we need for our security system. Then and only then will I be able to have a complete peace of mind.

Yep, that kimchi. I had a lot of Korean students when I was tutoring in the Philippines. My students were mostly adults and a lot of them were mothers who were in the country because their husbands had businesses around the country. One of the things they would bring us, their tutors, were jars of this pungent vegetable. At first I didn't really like it. Aside from its smell, it's a bit too spicy for my taste. But I learned to like it especially if I eat it with fried fish and rice. Yum... Anyway, I was browsing Yahoo and I saw this picture where Korean volunteers were making kimchi to donate to the needy in preparation for winter. Here's the picture... Like I said, I like kimchi now but I cannot imagine how it must have smelled in that place where they were preparing that much kimchi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's the weekend again and what do we do? Eat every chance we get. That's basically how our weekends are spent. We stay home most of the time so we usually raid our pantry on what we can munch on while hanging around the house. Today is no different. My plan of going out to get me some winter gears is on hold since I don't feel like going out. It's the time of the month so I'm just lazy to go anywhere. It's the weekend so we usually have a big breakfast since Dad is home. He wanted some French toast so I made that for breakfast plus some sausage which the little one loves. Lunch is 'anything you want to eat time'. The little one had cream stuffed pretzel that Dad got from the store yesterday while I had rice and chicken, more food. Dinner was pizza followed with cookies and milk. Here I am sitting here all stuffed from a day of eating with very little movements. Arrggh...I think I may need an appetite suppressant if I want to l...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have this email in Yahoo that used to be my main email account. When I started looking for a work at home job, it's the email I used for contact. I applied to a lot of 'potential' jobs. Because I applied to anything and everything [that I 'thought' were legit ventures], that email became a dumping site for Spam emails. There's not a day that I don't have about 100 emails there....and I'd be lucky if a couple will be worth reading. Anyway, since I have been so busy in the last few weeks I haven't had the chance to check that email...until early this week. It's been about a month since I last checked it. Guess what? I have thousands of emails in my inbox and thousands more in the spam folder. Since I rarely check this email account now, I want to get rid of it but I have some accounts that are connected to that email so I can't. So now I have this task of checking it to sift through the numerous junks to get to the ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day in, day out, all we hear in the news is how the economy is taking a tumble. If there’s anybody affected by this tumble, it couldn’t be more us, the regular people. Getting the basic necessities is getting harder and harder as the days go by so how can we get those items we’ve been wishing and hoping to get for Christmas? How about doing the Kmart Layaway for the Holidays program? Yep, Kmart has the Layaway program that everyone can avail of. I believe that doing a layaway is a wise decision during the holiday season since you don't need to deplete your bank account to get the products you want. So how does it work? Go to a Kmart store and check out the products eligible for layaway then pick out the products that you want. As soon as you have all the products you want, just deposit them in the Layaway counter where you will be asked to pay a minimal down payment which includes a Service Fee of $5. After that, you can start paying the products you pu...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of my new favorite songs. I just stumbled upon it in VH1 about a few weeks ago. I don't usually listen to the radio so not quite sure how new [or old] this song is. I also haven't watched MTV or VH1 in months so I wasn't aware of the song. Anyway, it seems like all I do nowadays is to search You Tubes for songs I hear. Here's the You Tube video I found for this one.A band called OAR sings it. Here it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in college, one of the requirements I had to do was take a class called Lay Apostolate. Basically, the class was geared towards community service. We had a few choices as to where we wanted to do the community service. One of the places I chose to do my community service is Payatas also known as the ‘Smokey Mountain’ . I went there with a group and we were all floored with the kind of life people had [still have] there. The place is a dump site and they basically live & work on top and around the garbage dumped in the place. But what we consider dump or garbage is sometimes food or clothing to them. During the course of my community service, we visited the place several times to bring necessities, teach some kids and just hang around with them for a couple of hours once a week for a semester. Being able to witness the lives of those who live in Payatas made me realize how lucky I am to have the life I have and made me stop complaining about trivial ...

What's your plan? As usual, we don't have any plans but I am thinking of getting me some clothes fit for this crazy weather. I was garbed in my favorite piece of clothing the whole week, my night robe. I realized I didn't have any warm enough day clothes so I stayed in my jammies most of the time. Attractive, eh? LOL.... Anyway, here's wishing you all a great and relaxing weekend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not sure if it has something to do with age but I started noticing that I forget things a lot easily now. I am a member of a lot of sites and to be safe, I usually use different passwords. More than half the time, I have to really pick my brain to remember what password I have for a site. A lot of times, I couldn’t remember it is so I end up emailing support to either send it to me or give me a new one. If can’t remember 10 or so passwords, I can only imagine how big companies recover lost passwords. I’m sure they have more passwords than a regular person. Could it be that they use the excel password recovery software from Passware, Inc.? It’s possible because a lot of big companies like Hewlett-Packard and government agencies like NASA use this software to recover their lost passwords. Almost everyone can actually use this software since it’s compatible with a lot of major software products. I wonder if I need to get this software for my personal use i...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It seems there's some kind of a singing competition going on between Taylor and the little one. How? The little one is doing her work on the other table while I'm here on kitchen table. She asked me to play Taylor's Love Story song. So I did. I have to play it really loud so she can hear it from where she is. Now she's singing along...as loud as the one on my computer. She's been singing this song for a few days now. I printed the lyrics of the song because she said she couldn't understand the words. Now all she sings is this song. Can you imagine a 6-year old singing on top of her lungs: "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'" She has a 'Romeo'??????????? No!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the downside of being a WAHM is the limited mobility. Unlike when I was still teaching where I had to walk from one classroom to another at least 5x a day, I now barely move from my chair. If I didn't have the little one calling me every chance she gets, I'd probably be glued to my chair already. As a result, I've been gaining weight slowly but surely. I tried exercising but my motivation usually wanes after a couple of weeks. Diet? That's something I have yet to try. I don't eat much actually but with me being stationary most of the time, even if I only eat once a day, I'd still gain some weight. Do I need to resort to fat burners like Leptorexin to help me get rid of my unwanted fats? Why not? But only after I've done my research on its pros and cons. Why does it have to be this hard to get rid of unwanted pounds when it wasn't that hard to put it all on?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do they ever stop coming? Not until we're six feet under I guess. Even if your mortgage is all paid up, there's going to be other bills that will come no matter what. I just finished writing checks for some bills due next month and I just can't help but think of my good ole' days where I didn't have to worry much about bills. I used to have only 2 bills to pay...rent & electric and I shared the bills with 2 roommates so it wasn't so bad. But since coming over here, I've been overwhelmed with all the bills that never fail to come in our mailbox. The husband is the one that pays all of them but I write the checks now so I just feel the 'pain' of forking out that much money every single month. Hay....oh well, I guess I just have to learn to live with it. I'm lucky I have a husband who works his bee-hind off so we can pay all these bills that come our way. How I wish we have this...and lots of it....

It’s been a week of nothing but cold weather here in our neck of the woods. The little one and I are cooped up in the house because it’s just way too cold to go out there. She couldn’t even go biking in the driveway because she’s way too cold to do so. But you know what I realized during this week of cold weather? I do not have any day clothes that are warm enough to wear around the house. If I remember it right, it wasn’t this cold in the last few years. That’s probably why I just didn’t see the need to buy me some then. So here I am walking around in my pajamas with my robe on. Yesterday, I decided to wear my normal day clothes of shorts and shirt. As a result, I was sneezing the whole day. So this weekend, Nov. 22, I will be dragging my husband and the little one to go to Sears Super Saturday Sale ! There will be 60% off outerwear & sweaters for the family during the doorbuster sale from 7 AM to 12 Noon! A bit early for me but I’m willing to wake up early to get there on time a...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess you know that already, huh? I'm just happy it's almost the weekend again....and the temperature is getting a bit less cold....don't want to use warm because it's still far from being warm so I'll just say: Less Cold. My day has been busy...with housework. I've been doing laundry and cleaning in between the loads. It's helping to keep me warm...LOL. I also have some things to order online which can't wait anymore. I've been putting it off for weeks now. I finally did it this morning...yay! I have not bloghopped in a while so I'll try and do that later...hopefully. Speaking of which, I'd like to thank all of you who never get tired visiting me here and those that hand me different tags/awards. I got so many in the past couple of weeks that I can't remember all of them. Sorry about that. Anyway, here are some of them. Thanks to Rose of Rose's Adventure , Lynn of Sweet Temptation , Nedekcir of Girls are Mad...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Monday, my driver's license replacement came in the mail. Yep, I finally had the guts to have it replaced to reflect our new address. It took me months to do it because I was under the impression that I had to take the written test again since my learner's permit was issued 2 years ago. I just didn't feel like taking another test so I tried to postpone it until I can find otherwise. I went to our states DMV site and voila...I found out that I could actually have my license replaced online....and no test to take, yay! So I did. What now? I guess I have to get serious in learning how drive. Like I said, I've never tried driving, not even once. So you can just imagine the hesitance, apprehension, fear[?], and those emotions I can't describe anymore. But, I am not actually afraid of the driving itself. I am more afraid of getting lost. Seriously. I am so bad in directions I may not be able to find my way back home once I start drivi...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ....continues to go down! It seems the sunny state will have to change its name because it's been nothing but here since this weekend. Oh wait...it's still sunny but the temperature is not letting Mr. Sun get on its way because it keeps going down. We just had the lowest temperature this morning at 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Ugh! It's not really that bad for us because we have the heater. The husband, who thrives in cold weather by the way, put the heater in 79F last Monday. Why? Because when he checked on the little one early Monday morning before leaving for work, she was laying on her blanket. Yep, the Daddy in him took over and adjusted it from 70 to 79. LOL...Right now, it's probably in the 30s or 40s outside. Here inside it's about 73 so it's comfortable. Anyway, I'm blogging a bit early since I have a lot of things to do. Yep, my lazy days are over...well, since yesterday actually. I was able to do some work and clean some ye...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If there’s one word that I can describe gift shopping for Christmas it has to be challenging. I am not much of a shopper so that’s probably one factor why I find it challenging. Well, that coupled with the financial crunch that we’re all facing right now. It has been my practice to buy the gifts throughout the year so it won’t be too daunting for me when Christmas arrives. But I wasn’t able to do that this year because of the move. I tried to limit what I bought before that because I didn’t want to add more stuff to take with us from one house to another. So here I am cramming in finding gifts for loved ones and friends. Sigh... Last year, I got personalized gifts for the most part. We also got some gift cards which by the way is no longer in my list this year because of the uncertainty of some stores' fate. So I have to find other things to give as gifts. Holiday frames are on top of my list for my sister and for one of my sister-in-law. I’ve been rea...

As in super lazy day...hay. It's a bit cold today so I was just too lazy to do anything. I blogged a little bit...and did very little coding. I just don't feel like working. Ugh! I hope I'd be motivated tomorrow so if work is released, I'd be on it until it runs out. My shingles are shingles no more...they're now boo-boos....and they hurt! I'm not sure how long it will take before they heal but I'm hoping it will be soon. I still have some pain on my leg but it's not that bad anymore. I'm still thinking if I should take a pain reliever or not. Anyway, I better stop here and hit the hay. I'm just yawning here non-stop. Let's hope my day will be livelier tomorrow...which I doubt because the temperature will even be lower than today....like 30s only. Maybe I should spike up the heater to 78...then it will feel like it's summer again....LOL.. Night y'all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have a couple of friends who are currently expecting. One will be a mother for the third time around while the other one will be a first time Mom. Regardless of whether it’s their first or not, both are thrilled about their pregnancies. They are still on the early stages but they’re already planning, shopping and just being excited. I actually feel envious because I loved being pregnant. I had a very smooth pregnancy and only if I can, I’d definitely do it over again. Anyway, the only problem I had when I was pregnant was looking for maternity clothes that would fit me, much less ones that I really liked. As a result I was always in overalls especially during the last couple of months. They’re the only ones that would fit me so I had no other choice. That was more than 6 years ago. Today there is a store that sells really nice and affordable maternity clothes. It’s called Due Maternity. The wide selection of tops, pants and dresses which will be perfec...

This is the title of Taylor Swift's new song. I heard it a few times already since she's been promoting it non-stop. But the version that she sang with Def Leppard is probably my favorite. They sang it during the CMT Crossroads program that aired last week I believe. Here's the You Tube video of that duet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few days after my birthday, a good friend from out of state gave me a call. She wanted to greet me a happy belated birthday. She’s usually the first to call me on my birthday but because of our move, she got confused about the phone number. Anyway, she finally got it right 3 days after my birthday so she called and greeted me. But her reason for calling was not only to greet me on my birthday. She had some really great news to share…she’s expecting her third child! I was so happy to learn about it. She and her husband are my childhood friends. We went to the same grade school and high school so we have gone through a lot of things together. This baby is more like a surprise to them because their youngest is already 7 years old and they had no plans of having another one. Just the same, they’re very happy about it. Since Christmas is just around the corner, I have been thinking of the perfect gift I can give them. What could be more perfect than the Cr...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just thought I'd check in a bit earlier today. I'm in the middle of doing some laundry so while waiting for the load to be done, I am here blogging. We just had breakfast. Now the little one and the Dad are in our bed watching TV together. Nothing much is planned today. It's Sunday so it's Football day here. That means I will be staying away from the H who will be watching his team play...LOL. Work has slowed down this weekend so I have time to do some blogging. I have some pending tasks that need done ASAP so I better start doing them. But before I do that, let me post this cute "The Pink Sisterhood" badge that Michelle of Life here and there ....handed yesterday. Thanks much Mitch. I know that Breast Cancer Awareness was last month but being reminded of it has to be year-round so I'm still posting it here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s November 15 already? That means that in about a month, we will be celebrating Christmas 2008. Some people already started putting up their Christmas decorations I'm sure. Here in the US though, most choose to do that right after Thanksgiving which falls on November 27 this year. Shopping for Christmas gifts though can start as soon as one feels the need to do so. Our little one already wrote her Christmas list which the Dad already ‘mailed’ to Santa. I also have a list prepared but it’s not the list of what I want but what I should give to friends and family. I guess the list changes as we get older, eh? Since 'Santa' is going to take care of the little one's list, I will have to take care of Santa, right? So, I have a list of toys for Santa... and his ‘toys’ are not cheap. But with Sears Layaway I can get him a Craftsman Garage and Tool Storage that he needs badly for the garage. It’s a war zone in there that's why I am getting t...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The weekend is 'almost' halfway through. It's amazing how fast it seems to fly. We wait for it for 5 days, then it just passes us by. Anyway, nothing much going on here. I've been taking it easy since I still have my lovely 'S'. The little one and the Dad went to the park late this afternoon. I opted to stay home since I am still contagious and the park is the kids' haven...don't want to spread the virus to them. I did some work while my father/daughter tandem were out. It slow at the blogsphere as usual. I guess everyone's taking it easy. Anyway, just want to check in here and post this 'Friendship Flower' that Richelle of My Life's Journey in Italy handed to me a few days ago. Thanks much Richelle.....appreciate the thought!

Finally, the candies that we bought for Halloween [and the ones we got from the T&T] are all gone. We didn't know how 'busy' Halloween would be around our new neighborhood so the husband got 2 bags of candies to hand out just in case kids come knocking our door. Guess what? No kids! That meant all the candies were for our own consumption....and consume them was what we did every chance we got. Lovely! Well, the candies are all gone now and I'm happy they are. My 'make-believe diet' has been in jeopardy for those couple of weeks because I could hear the candies calling me every 5 seconds. So now I am on a hunt for the best diet pill out there to help me get rid of the 'candy fat' I put on in the last 2 weeks ...err the last 6 years. Even the husband said that we have to go on a diet now since we obviously look a little 'thicker'....hmmmm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On what??? LOL...I just couldn't think of a more appropriate title, well, a title period. I just thought I'd pop in here to give you an, yes, update before I get on with my day. My shingles are slowly going away already. I'm almost done with my medication - a week's worth. They somehow helped to decrease the severity of the symptoms. Thankfully I didn't have the 'extreme' pain brought about by shingles. I was bracing myself for that just the same. I still have some aches and pains especially on my left leg and around the area of the 'mother ship'...well, the area where the shingles started. That's about it. Enjoy the rest of the week....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I so need a vacation after this bout with shingles. The shingles itself is not so bad, it's the inconvenience it brings with the daily activities. It makes it even harder because I'm trying so hard not to get close to the little one. I told her not to touch anything I touched, or sit on the chairs I sat on, etc etc...to the point that she's already getting paranoid...not fun actually. So yes, I need to go somewhere away from home. Where is the big question. Maybe I should go to California and visit my several friends out there. Then we can probably go to Las Vegas to have some fun. I'm sure we will be able to find very affordable las vegas hotels once we're there. Hmmm....nice plan, eh? Ok...time to wake up. I have some work to do.

Tada! The little one made this sign for her bedroom...well, one of the many signs she makes daily. What I particularly like about this one is the picture she put on it...LOL. She pulled that picture from her photo album so she can put it there. It's spare picture so it's okay. She says that her room is 'her home sweet home'. Hmm...I wonder what our house is for?

It's not my 'to do list'...it's the little one's. With my shingles and all that come with it, she figured she'd help me with the chores around the house [mostly here room actually]. So yesterday morning, she wrote down what she's going to do to help me out...thus, the list. And no, she didn't do them all...LOL! I just think she's so sweet to even come up with the idea of helping me out AND making a list. I showed the list to her Dad and he just burst out laughing when he saw what she wrote...especially # 8. Clean house & # 11. Clean Garage.... now, how hard can that be for a 6 year old....LOL! T hat's one thoughtful little one we have here, don't you think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being sick is not one of the plans I have this weekend. Unfortunately, things happen that are beyond our control, right? With what I have right now, there’s a possibility that I won’t be able to go anywhere not just in days but in weeks, even a month or more. So all the things I originally planned to do in the coming couple of weeks would have to wait or I will have to find a way to do them without leaving the comfort of home. Like what you may ask? Shopping for the holidays is one. The husband usually buys the ‘Santa’ gifts if you know what I mean. He will still do that but I am thinking of helping him out by consulting ‘Mr. Bluelight’, you know the one that gives us bright ideas when it comes to giving gifts? Yep, that one. One in my list to buy for Christmas is this one! Yes, a big screen TV. We still have not bought one because the couch is not here yet. In about a week though, it will be here. And I figured that if I use the Kmart Lay-Away progra...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nope, not the one used for roofing or siding of a house...I meant: Shingles - viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe. The initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes the acute (short-lived) illness chickenpox , and generally occurs in children and young people. Once an episode of chickenpox has resolved, the virus is not eliminated from the body but can go on to cause shingles—an illness with very different symptoms—often many years after the initial infection. Unfortunately, I have it right now. The pain that comes with it [more like ahead and along] started last week. I thought I was just having my usual aches and pains so I just started taking pain reliever like Tylenol and aspirin. Well, last Wednesday evening I noticed a rash on the right side of my left knee. I didn't know what to make of it so I just put some cream on it but it stayed the same. I s...

Yeah, yeah....those 'random' facts about me again. I probably did about a hundred random facts about me that I can't even remember what I've already 'exposed' here. And no, I'm not going through the past tags just to make sure I won't repeat whatever I wrote on those. I will just 'pretend' this is the first...hahaha. So thanks to Lynn & Gagay for passing this tag me. I'll try to be as random as possible. Here are the Rules: 1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog. 2. Share 8 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 8 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog. 4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. And here are the 'random facts'.. 1) I just turned a year 'wiser'...hmmm... 2) I am the 4th in a family of 5. 3) I don't have a lot of hobbies. As a matter of fact, my husband wants me to have at least...

The weather here in our neck of the woods has been sporadic. One day it's freezing, the next day it's hot. The past few days though has been neither of those two...it's been gloomy which makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning. It's a good thing I don't need to work outside the house or I will be calling in sick every single day...LOL. When the weather is like this, all I want to do is sit in front of the TV and watch whatever is on. Wouldn't it be nice if we have a home theater with home theater seating ? I'd probably sleep in that room if ever we have it. Our house is not that big to accommodate a home theater yet but maybe in the future, eh? No one knows what the future holds so I'm dreaming [fantasizing?] that one day, we will have that big house with its own home theater. That will the day when I will NEVER leave the comfort of my home. Yep, I'm actually daydreaming right now...LOL!

This is what the husband brought home last night...a KitchenAid Stand Mixer . I asked him to go to Linen 'n' Things to look for a robe for the little one and to get some towels as well because they're really cheap [like 4 bucks each for the bath towels]. While he was there he called me to tell me that they don't have the robe but he got the towels....then mentioned that the stand mixers are now 20% off. Followed with: "Should I get one already? Maybe they won't have it anymore next week and we won't find it at this price. " So I gave him the go signal to go get it already. Now, is it a late [additional] birthday present? Or is he telling me something? Maybe bake him a cake or something? Ha! I got the mixer and that's all that matters, right?

Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. My siblings and I were provided for with the basic necessities but we didn’t get the extra things that some of our playmates got from their parents or relatives. They would make sure that we got what we needed first before giving us what we wanted. As a child, that wasn't a hit to us but it taught us, me, to be more responsible especially in spending our hard earned money. Now that I have a family of my own, I tend to understand more why my parents did what they did. Fortunately my husband and I believe in the same things and principles especially when it comes to money and how we're supposed to spend it. We never buy things without letting the other one know so there are no surprises...well, there are some on special occasions of course. But if and when we need to buy something, be it big or small, we try to find the best deals around. Since I am an online shopper, online coupons are something I always look for. Not all the coupons ...

It's November 4, 2008 and it's the US Presidential election day. Am I going to vote? No. Why not? Because I can't. I am not a US citizen...yet. If and when I choose to become one, I'll definitely take part in something as important as this one because I know it's not only for me but for my child's future. If you are in the US soil and is eligible to vote, make sure you do your part and get out there to vote. Your vote is never unimportant. Sometimes it's all that's needed to put the deserving candidate in office.

When we moved in this house, we decided not to take the old furniture we have in the other house. The only pieces we took with us are the ones for our bedroom like the bed, armoire for the TV and the night stands, as well as the recliner I got the husband one Christmas. We've been in this house for about 5 months now and we're slowly filling up the house with the things we need [and want]. We don't believe in using credit cards to get what we want so it's been a slow process for us. Since it's not cheap to buy the things we need, we're always on the lookout for discount furniture . We've bought our dining set with a hutch at a very low price that my husband's friend got green with envy...LOL. We are still waiting for the living room set to be delivered which we also got at a very good price. We could have easily bought all the furniture we need before moving in here but it would have meant depleting our savings or using our credit cards. We just didn...

This is from Ruby of Pinay Mommy Online . Thanks much Mommy Ruby. Even if you're going through some tough times in your life at the moment, you still find the time to share this one with us, your fellow mommies! Stay strong my dear. Remember, He does not give anything that we can't handle.

About a week ago, I just discovered that my husband used to be a big time gamer. I was not aware of this because in the almost 8 years that we’ve been married, I rarely see him play games on the computer. It was only when he said something about a game while we’re watching TV that I learned about his ‘past’ as far as playing games online or on the computer is concerned. Anyway, a friend’s husband is also a big time online game aficionado. He spends most of his free time playing online that is until recently. They moved so they had to change providers. Unfortunately, the one they have right now is not very reliable so her husband hasn’t been playing for a little while now. When my friend called to greet me on my birthday, she asked me if I know of any provider that’s reliable. I could only think of Charter because I’ve been reading about it. Charter’s prices are very competitive and their reliable service is something to look forward to. Aside from that she will automatically be entered...