Getting Harder...

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It's been a while now since we've been noticing how much our grcery bills have been going up. We tried switching grocery stores to see if one is cheaper than the other but we always end up going back to our original choice of store because the price difference between the stores is not really that much...which only means their products are all expensive. With the sky rocketing price of gas lately, I can only imagine it can only get worse.

Hubby has a small business. I work at home which is more like a part-time job. We're making it but we definitely feel the burden of the soaring prices of everything especially the basic commodities. A lot of people don't have jobs. Some depend only on unemployment benefit which does not last forever while the older generation depends on social security benefits which I heard is not that much as well. How do these people even make it till they get the next check? Right now, it kinda' scares me to even think about the future. I am just hoping that time will come when things get a lot better. That's all we can do...hope...

Looking Forward to A....

Time A-Wasting...

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Do you ever find yourself spending hours browsing through pictures of people you don't even know in some social network sites? Because I do. I don't why. It usually starts with me looking at friends' latest picture uploads...then boom! I'll be at some random people's page looking at some pictures of people I don't even know. Ugh! Yep, time a-wasting alright. Don't I have anything else to do then? I do. I still have to look for a web hosting company for my other blog I was talking about a few days ago. I already have a few names in mind for my new website but I don't have a hosting company yet.

Hubby also gave me a website where I can look at the different web hosting rating. It has the top 10 Web Hosting companies complete with prices and customers feedbacks. There's a lot of good information on this website so I may just end up choosing their recommended best budget hosting for 2011 since I also don't really have a lot of money to invest. Hopefully I'll be able to split my time between this blog and the other 2 so the money I'll pay both for hosting and domain won't go to waste. Fingers crossed...

This IS it....

I've been a WAHM for about 8 years now...more or less. I started when the little one was a few months old only. I've blogged a few times about it...how I started and what kinds of WAJs I've had so far but my very first post in this blog probably sums it all up pretty good.

Every now and then I get asked by some people I meet how I ended up with the gigs/jobs I now have.

I searched.

Isn't that how one finds a job, usually? I don't really have any secrets. I didn't know anybody who was a WAHM when I started. I just knew I wanted to find something I could do at home to help augment hubby's income especially when the baby came. I spent countless hours searching online. Then I got lucky. That was the break I needed because after that one lucky break, I was able to get my foot in the door of the WAH community.

Perseverance. That's probably the most important thing when one is looking for a job...whether something to do at home or outside the home. Even now that I already the jobs that I have, I don't stop looking. I still search regularly hoping something pops-up. I don't really know what I'm looking for. I'm just looking. Who knows one day I might just stumble upon that one perfect WAHJ that will make me say...this is it.

Homebody

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I have always been a homebody. When I say that, I truly mean it. Many people that don’t know me just don’t get that about me…well some don’t understand how I do it actually. An example….when I went to teach overseas my co-teacher who was also my landlady at that time would phone those that she knew were close to me at school so they could convince me to go out. She thought it’s unusual for a single woman like me to be cooped up in my room on the weekends instead of being out partying just like some of my former co-teachers there who were single. I had to explain to her, I’m just like that. I told her I was perfectly happy having Satellite TV at home so I could watch all the shows I want on days when I don’t have to think of work. She finally got it after almost one year of having me in her house and just let me be after that.

Anyway, when I got here my husband’s family also started wondering how I could just stay home when he’s working. Hubby knew from the start that I was fine being home so he made sure Direct TV was hooked up when I got here. His family didn’t know me well so during the first few months I was left home alone I would get call from them asking if I wanted to go somewhere. I tried to decline as politely as possible although there were times I’d feel like I was being anti-social since they’re going out of their way but that’s the way it was. After a while they started to understand that I am just really fine being home. They even joke now that I am not really anti-social, I am just a Satellite TV addict. Maybe, maybe not.

Gorgeous Day

I didn't want to let such a good day pass with us cooped up in the house so I dragged the other 2 stooges out of the house so we could enjoy it together. There wasn't a lot of struggle on their part when I 'dragged' them so I guess they were up to it as well. eh? LOL...

Our first stop...a park near our place. It's mostly a park for sports and there were games being played while we were there too....soccer and baseball I think. We didn't watch the games...instead we let the little one ran around this mini-playground in the park while we stayed under the shades in the sandbox. I took this picture of my father-daughter tandem while they're on the swing. See how blue the sky is? No clouds in sight at all.

After staying in the park for more than an hour, we decided to look for a place to feed our hungry 'pets'. We ended up to Ruby Tuesday which I chose because I want to eat some of their buffalo shrimp quesadilla. It became one of my favorite dishes since the husband introduced it to me. We were all stuffed in the middle of our meal so we decided to head home right after and skip on the dessert. Besides we still have some cake left from our 'party' last night.

Birthday Party

The little one decorated her girly bedroom for a simple birthday party for the main man in her life. She did all the 'decorating' herself because mommy was busy doing her chores around the house. We were supposed to do it tonight but since Daddy went to the other house to fix some leak on the roof, I decided to do it yesterday evening. It was easier to go about things knowing he won't be walking in on us while doing some preps.

The little one really got busy. She pulled out all her paraphernalia. She has a "bag of tricks" for times like this and it really makes her very excited to do it. She was pulling one of our 2 step stools around her bedroom so she could hang stuff around up the walls and even tried putting something on the ceiling fan. She was quite disappointed though because she ran out of balloons and she wasn't able to tell us. Balloons to her are the 'life' of the party but there was nothing we could do about it so she had to make do with what she has.

But even without the balloons she was quite happy with how it turned out. The birthday boy liked his 'surprise'[?] party and the presents he got... I think anyway. The little one said she couldn't wait for the next 'celebration'...her birthday party and there better be balloons that time. Uh-oh...

Weekend Birthday

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Tired! That probably sums up everything that I feel right now. I’ve been sleeping pretty good the last few days though so I don’t know why I feel tired. I guess the nights I wasn’t able to sleep well prior to few days ago are probably creeping up on my system. It’s a good thing it’s the weekend tomorrow which means I can just sit back and relax. Before I do that though, I need to check out the different local restaurants around here. It’s somebody’s birthday on Monday and I’m thinking we should dine out either tomorrow or on Sunday to celebrate. We have a ‘party’ on Sunday evening per the little one’s invites to us but that’s all her plan. We’d probably just stay in her bedroom and listen to her talk non-stop. That’s her kind of party…LOL.

Anyway, I’ve done a local search already earlier to see what pops up and there are quite a few restaurants we can choose from. I want one that’s not too far from where we are because I don’t like to travel far just to eat. If it’s for sight-seeing then I’m fine with it. That’s what I like about local search engines like local yellowpages. The results it brings up are the ones I’m interested in checking. At least I don’t have to waste time going through results not even relevant to what I’m looking for. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick a restaurant with good food with reasonable prices as well.

Finally!

What A Great News....

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I can now say I have a nephew who is a doctor! Yep, one of my nephews just passed the recent medical board exams and is now a certified physician. Guess what he's doing now? Writing a thesis for his Special Education masters degree. I called him earlier to congratulate him and he was busy writing so he can finish his paper before he goes to his first duty next week. Ha! He is of course over the moon passing the exam but I know someone who is over the moon and beyond....my brother! It's always been his dream to have a child who is a doctor and now it's a reality.

I haven't talked to my brother yet after hearing about this good news but I talked to his wife, my sister in law earlier. I told her my brother can now think about retirement since he is done sending his son to school. But my brother has no plans of slowing down. He is currently looking at different online degree programs because he wants to go back to school. He has a few years left in his current job before he retires. After that, he is thinking of either teaching part-time or work as a consultant. I'm glad to hear that since I know that being idle is not always the best thing for somebody. So when I talk to him, I'd definitely tell him to go for it!

Lost Another...

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Tooth! The little one's, of course.

The tooth fairy is just reeling from all the money coming out of her fairy pocket because the little one has been losing her teeth like crazy. In the last month, she lost all her premolars...I think that's what they are anyway. Unlike before, Mommy didn't have to pull them because she can pull them herself now. I still remember the time when I had to pull one [or was it two] of her front teeth 'accidentally' because she won't pull them herself. Now she decides when she wants them out...LOL.

Time is really flying fast. I can just tell with all these teeth falling off her mouth. Her baby teeth are going one at a time...quite fast if you ask me. Those teeth are the only 'baby' part of her...and now almost all of them are gone as well. Sigh...I guess there's just no stopping her from becoming a young adult, eh?

Last Resort

One of the few complaints I have about this house is the lack of cupboards and cabinets. That's the big difference between this house and the other one. Beside the many cabinets in the old house, we also had a spacious pantry. It’s big enough that the little one would hide in it when she was playing hide and seek with us when she was younger. I remember dumping almost everything in there including spices I rarely used because there were spice racks on the door of the pantry itself. In this house, I don’t have enough space for everything. Hubby’s constantly at a loss when he’s looking for some spices specially.

I really want to get some kitchen spice racks ASAP but we haven’t had a chance to do that. I thought I could do that last weekend when we went to a store but I couldn’t find any spice rack in that store…and it’s supposed to be a store that sells everything for the home. Not quite. The only thing I was able to buy in that store was a binder notebook…so much for their ‘home store’ advertisement. Anyway, if I won’t be able to find the spice rack I want in the stores around here, then I’ll go to one place I know that sells everything…online! I haven’t started looking yet but I have a feeling that’s what I’m going to do sooner or later. That’s just the way it is…it's always my last resort...

Ironic?

Yesterday morning hubby called to let me know that a volcano erupted in the Philippines. He asked if I've heard/read about it already. Not really. It seems that if there's any big news about the Philippines, he is always the one to read about it first...then he'd let me know so I can read more about it. Ironic, eh?

But that's not the 'irony' I'm talking about here now.

As soon as he got home last night, he asked me if I contacted any of my relatives back home to see how they're doing. Ummm...nope. First, it was night time there when I/we learned about the eruption. Second, I didn't think they're affected since they are quite far from the location of the eruption....hundreds of miles. I still called though just because. I got a hold of my nephew-in-law.

And here's the bigger irony...

I asked him if they're affected by the eruption? His reply? A volcano erupted here? LOL....yep, he wasn't even aware. I couldn't blame him though because he just came home from an overnight shift at work. My niece on the other hand knows about it but they're not concerned about it simply because of the distance. So instead of talking about the volcano, we ended up chatting about other things.

As for the husband, I'm sure he had a good night sleep knowing my family is not in danger. Ha! Seriously...I'm glad he has that much concern about them. At least I know he thinks about them, eh? More than I do, maybe? Whoopppsss....

Early Start

For a change...

I was able to go to bed and fall asleep at a decent time last night so I was up earlier than usual this morning. I normally get up before 8 [the perk of being a WAHM] which was becoming really hard due to my problem falling asleep but this morning I was able to get up around 7 with no problem. Yay!

I was able to make the little one some porridge for breakfast before she even got up and I was able to have breakfast myself all before 8 in the morning. I was also able to do my 30-minute elliptical 'duty'....err work-out already. And I don't feel sluggish at all. I guess a good night sleep really makes all the difference, eh?

Right now I'm just reading some adapexin reviews online...not for me but for my nephew who *thinks* he may need to take some of it to lose his unwanted belly. He used to be a gym rat but he stopped going when school got busy. How busy? He was going to medical school and taking a masters degree in Education at the same time. I guess it became overwhelming that he had to stop going to the gym...and started not watching his diet. I have no idea how big he has become but I'm hoping not that big...although I'm guessing he may be because of his plan to take some kind of a drastic measure to lose the pounds. Oh well...I'm hoping it will all be just plans. I'd rather he loses the weight the old fashion way...exercise and diet. But that's up to him...and he's no longer a child so he can make his own decisions already.

Looking

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I have 3 different blogs. Two of them used to be my own domains while the other one, my original blog, is not. Now it's the other way around, 2 are free while one is my own domain, this blog. I could have easily renewed my other blog’s domain but I opted to let it expire instead for several reasons. First, I’ve neglected it for months because I just don’t have the time to attend to 3 blogs as work got busy last year. Maintaining 3 blogs is not as easy as I thought it would be so it’s my bad. It’s only been weeks since I let that domain expired but guess what…I’m thinking of resurrecting it. This time I won’t only get my domain but I’m also looking for a web hosting company that’s affordable enough.

Hubby suggested the one his company uses for webhosting but I decided to look around myself before I do that. What do you know…it’s literally overwhelming to just look because there’s like a million companies out there that offer web site hosting. I should have known since I’m I’ve been doing this for about 5 years now, I think? So to make things a lot easier for me, I decided to look into web hosting reviews. Aren’t reviews great? I know they’re not 100% accurate but it’s good to see what other people are saying about something I’m interested in. I feel like I know a little bit everytime I finish reading some reviews…and I probably do. I just hope I’ll be able to decide which site to pick before very soon so I can start working on my other blog before work becomes crazy again. But that’s my life….as soon as I start something, life gets busy. What else is new, eh?

Computer Drawing

Just like her Momma, the little one has the talent when it comes to drawing. Ha! That's actually an outright lie....Momma cannot draw! So the talent is all HER. None from my genes...some from the Dad though.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I posted the others here but this is probably one of her 1st drawing using the Paint program on her laptop. It's not perfect but I think she's doing a pretty good job manipulating the mouse to be able to come up with something like this. The details on the drawing is pretty good if you ask me. She also has pretty good hands with paper and pen and on her Magna Doodle [and other Doodles] as well...see my post here.

I know I sound like a typical Mom bragging about her child...but hey....I can brag, right? After all she's mine....bow!

Another Visit

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To the Philippine store that is. I think we've been going to it twice a month now. That means I also bought things that I don't really need...just want. I had no plans of going there actually, the husband asked if I wanted to go and I originally said no...but I wanted to go somewhere. I just didn't know where I wanted to go. After breakfast...more like 'brunch'...we all got ready and headed out. What do you know...before we know it we were heading that direction.

So what did I get from the store this time? Same stuff....chocolate cookies and some bottled sweets. Hubby also wanted to get some sticky rice so we did. He hasn't had sticky rice ever so he wants to try it. If he doesn't like it, then we'll make something [sweet most probably] else with it. I can already feel me gaining some extra 10 pounds just thinking about the things I can make with that sticky rice like rice cakes I haven't had in years. I better get out here and start reading some hydroxycut reviews before I gained more 'imaginary' pounds. Who knows, I may be able to get it off by just reading the reviews. Hmmm...unlikely, eh?

DVD Ripper

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Another tough night for me as far as falling asleep is concerned. I have no clue what’s causing it but I’m getting tired [and IS very tired] of it. Since it’s the weekend anyway I slept in until a little bit later this morning. The husband knew I didn’t get enough sleep last night so he closed the door when he went out knowing the little one will just march in there if he didn’t. I kept waking up though so it’s like I didn’t really sleep in. At around 9:30 my 2 ward came in to see if I was awake…and I was. We spent a few minutes chatting until I decided to get up to make some breakfast.

While I was preparing breakfast, the husband was busy window shopping for a laptop. He’s thinking of getting one to replace his old PC. This time, he wants to get a Mac. That’s been the plan if he gets rid of the PC. We’re not buying one anytime soon but he wants to know what to expect if he decides to switch from PC to a Mac. This would be our first Mac if ever and we know we need to get a lot of other things along with like a DVD Ripper Mac since we’ll definitely need it to rip DVDs to a different format using this new computer. Aside from that, a Video Converter mac will also be in order since our video cam is only compatible with a PC.

Buying a Mac is probably a good step for us right now although we can’t deny the fact that when we buy one, it's obvious that we’re also buying a whole bunch of other things along with it since it’s not compatible with a lot of other things that we’re using. We know that a DVD Ripper is not the only one we need for it if ever we go forward with it but it may be worth it in the long run. I am not thinking of switching myself. My job requires me to use a software and the software company hasn’t come up with one that’s compatible with a Mac yet. So even if I want to switch myself, I just can’t do it yet. Maybe in the near future…

Word of Advice!

I know you can do it. It's TGIF and that alone is reason enough to celebrate! Right?

Anything planned for the weekend? Here...nope. One thing is for sure though...we will have a GORGEOUS weather throughout the weekend unless mother nature decides to change her mind...which I'm hoping she won't.

It will be a great day just to sit on the back porch watching the birds fly by and the squirrels chase each other. I'm sure the little one will be spending a lot of time on her swing as well.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Exercising

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I'm trying anyway. I think I'm on my second month already. It's not really exercising but more like 'ellitical-ing'. I know that's not a word...just trying to make it more fun? LOL. Anyway, I've been using the elliptical machine that Santa gave [okay, I demanded for it] me for Christmas. I've been trying to stay consistent and focused. It was really hard during the first few times. So hard that I actually attempted to use it several times before I finally stuck to it. I didn't think I would be able to stay on it for more than 5 minutes. I'm proud to say, I can stay on it for....drum rolls please....6 minutes now. LOL...kidding. I can now stay on it for 30 minutes. I can even stay longer if I want to but I have to get off at some point since I have things to do.

After more than a month of being on it, I see some little changes. Nothing to brag about but changes nonetheless. I have to admit thought that there are days when I feel like it's not working out for me since I still feel like I weigh the same. I'm tempted to just stop doing it and just read more about sensa reviews or try other faster ways to lose the weight but I get over it quick. I know that using the elliptical as well as exercising does not only make one lose weight, it also makes one healthier. With that alone, I'm sticking to what I have started. Hopefully in the months to come, I'll be able to 'brag' that I finally did it. Fingers crossed...

The 3 Stooges

I'm sure many people are familiar with these 3 and their very popular shows. I remember watching them when I was still a lot younger. I just don't remember how old I was.

The little one is kinda' obssessed with them right now. I think she saw some of their shows on TV a few months ago with Dad and that's when it started. When we went to Walmart one time, we got her a DVD of the show. She's been watching it over and over again since then. She really laughs out loud when she's watching them.

Every morning she does a lap on the elliptical. Guess what? She does it on the time that an episode of '3 stooges' is on AMC. Yep, she's that big of a fan of these 3 slapsticks and from the looks of it, it will stay like that for a while.

Late Night Shows

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So what do you do when you can't catch that much needed snooze late at night? Watch late night shows of course. That's what I've been doing since I started having trouble falling asleep. I tried for the first couple of nights not to do it since it will just keep me more awake but it gets really frustrating laying in bed wide awake. The latest I've actually stayed awake just to watch TV before was midnight I think so watching TV after midnight is quite an experience. For one, the commercials or TV ads are very different. There's a bunch of for 'adults' ads at this time of night [or early morning] such as male enhancement supplements such as www.extenzesideeffects.com. Hmmm...I'm glad these ads don't come on during the day because I don't want to be answering questions about them from a very inquiring mind of an 8-year old. She has loads of questions already as it is which are getting harder to answer by the minute. I'm just hoping I won't run out of answer before she figures out Mommy doesn't really know everything....Daddy does!

Elusive

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Sleep that is. I've been battling with it for the last few nights. I thought I knew what's making it hard to catch it at night but I may be wrong. Well, maybe not totally. For the last few weeks I've been working late again. Most of those late night 'works' are usually writing. Unlike my other work/s I have to think more when I write since I'm not really a 'writer' It just does not come easy to me so I really have to sit down and motivate myself to come up with something. The problem is when I'm finally motivated, it's hard to shut down my brain. That's when I have a hard catching the elusive sleep. I would toss and turn for hours some nights before I doze off. I tried to stop working an hour or so before bedtime the past couple of nights but I'm still having some troubles. I'm sure I'll be needing anti wrinkle creams and loads of it in no time if this 'sleeplessness' continues. I really don't like it because I like my sleep. Hopefully it's just a phase which I highly doubt because I'm too old to go through phases like this one but I can hope, right?

Killing Time

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If yesterday was a slow day for me, today is even slower. I haven’t done much work because work is not available. I’m tired of checking the social network sites because that’s all I’ve been doing since yesterday. To kills time I thought I’d browse my favorite shopping sites online but there’s nothing much that looks interesting enough for me to keep browsing...for now anyway since I’m still waiting for a certain product to be available. So in the meantime I decided to look for a laptop bag. We don’t really need it right now but I thought I’d look anyway since we will need it IF our plan for a trip pushes through. I still have my old laptop bag but it’s an odd size. It’s too small for this laptop but too big for the other one so we really need to look for one.

The old laptop bag I have actually came with the old laptop so I never really shopped for one before. I am quite overwhelmed with all the available bags for laptops. I’m not sure now if I should go with just a laptop bag or get one that is a laptop messenger bag instead. There’s definitely a difference in price [at least with those I’m looking at] but it may be worth it to go with the latter since we can still use it as just a bag. Also, hubby mentioned he needs a bag for his organizer when he travels for business so this will serve the purpose. My only problem is…when should I get it? Should I wait until we’re sure about the trip or get it now? Decisions…decisions…

Down Memory Lane

It's been a slow day today so I've been browsing FB. A friend and former co-teacher posted some not-so-new pictures...antiques if you may....from way back when we were still teaching in the same school. What can I say...spray net was abundant during those years because my hair was through the roof ~ literally. I think I was pushing 6 ft tall because of how high my 'fringe' was. Fortunately this picture I'm posting does not show that.

But the fringe or the 'bangin' bangs' was almost trampled by my glasses though ~ shades or sunglasses. This pair was so big you could barely see my face. But then again, if you compare them with how big the sunglasses are today....those were actually tiny. But still...I looked like an 'outcast' dragonfly ... really! Basing on how big my smile was in those pictures I probably thought I looked really cool then, eh? The horror! LOL...

I'm glad that my friend posted the pictures though. I'm sure our former students [who are in our friends' list] are probably having a ball making fun of us. But who cares...it's all for fun...I hope? I'm sure there will be more pictures coming...and I must say I can't wait to see them. I have my own collection actually...I just don't have them in my possession right now. Maybe in the future I can post my own 'revenge'.....err memories....

Activity Tree

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Being a homeschool parent, I am always on the look-out for activities – school and otherwise - for the little one probably more so than those who have kids that go to regular schools. In the past, the activities I’ve been looking for were mostly worksheets or interactive online activities that I know would be enjoyable for her. But as she gets older, I have started to look into other things besides the usual worksheets or online activities. I am now looking for kids’ lessons, classes and camps that she can participate in. I am interested mostly in local activities since we still believe she’s too young to be on her own right now. It is in one of these searches that I came across ActivityTree.com.

ActivityTree.com has more than 18,000 providers of kid’s lessons, classes and camps that can help develop not only the minds but the body of kids as well. Finding this website is truly a blessing for me because I know that our daughter is missing out on some things that kids who go to school get to do especially in group activities. I really want her to experience such activities but I didn’t know where to start and where to find activities that she can participate in locally. With the help of this website, that is no longer a problem for me. All I have to do is log in and provide my zip code and numerous activities pop up. It's that easy. So if you’re like me and you want your kid to be active, go to Get Kids Active! Facebook Campaign and be part of this worthy campaign. I'm glad I did.

Great Weather on the Way....

No rain at all in the forecast...and highest are all in the 70s. Woot! Hopefully the forecast stays true through the weekend!

Last weekend was also good. It was a bit chilly when we started working around the garage/yard that I was bouncing around while I was cutting up boxes to keep me warm but that didn't last long. It stayed pretty much in the 60s throughout the day so it was really comfortable.

It's only Tuesday but I'm already looking forward to the weekend only because of this great weather forecast. Well, not only that of course but it helps knowing the weather will be almost perfect...hehe.

Hockey Fan

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Not too many people I know can tell you where to find Chicago Blackhawks Tickets or even New York Rangers Tickets. The reason for this is simple…I don’t know a lot of people who follow hockey, unfortunately. I think in my 10 years here in the US, I’ve only come across one person who actually watches this game on TV on a regular basis. That’s just the reality around here. Majority of the people would rather watch football, baseball or basketball. But that doesn’t mean I know nothing about hockey myself. I may not watch or follow this sport regularly now but I used to know [I still know him actually, I just haven’t had any contact with him in a while] someone who is a big fan of hockey. We became fast friends when we were teaching in the same school in the late 90s and he was the one who introduced the game to me. Can you guess where he’s from? Yep, Canada…which makes him a Canadian, eh? Ha!

I’m pretty sure that if ever I get in touch with this friend of mine and ask him where to find Calgary Flames Tickets, Boston Bruins Tickets or even Anaheim Ducks Tickets he will be able to point exactly where to get them. He’s that big of a fan of the game. He used to teach PE or Physical Education when we were working in the same school and he incorporated ‘floor hockey’ in his lessons. There’s no snow or ice in Taiwan that’s why so they used roller blades instead of ice skates and the basketball court as their ‘rink’ instead of an ice rink. It was fun watching them actually. My friend had a lot of fun teaching those kids the game even if they weren’t playing on real ice. This friend wanted really badly to introduce this game in Asia but came up short because he didn’t have enough people to back him up financially. He had to shelve that project indefinitely but I’m hoping it will become a reality someday because I know it means a lot to him.

Hour Glass Pendant

This is our simple valentine's day gift for the little one. She's into jewelry right now so I thought it's perfect for her. She's been wearing it around her neck since she got it this morning. I had to ask her to take if off before going to be for it might break if she accidentally lays on it while she's sleeping since it's made of glass. The pendant itself is very small...about an inch and a half in length so you can barely see it. She likes it though because inside is diamond dust and she knows that diamond is her birthstone.

Hopefully she won't break it before she can fully enjoy it.

With Age...Comes [Extra] Poundage?

I have this really good friend of mine who I was with during the years when first started teaching. This friend and I used to have the same problem…we were stick thin. We could eat anything and everything from sweets to carbohydrates to fats and the weighing scale wouldn’t budge one iota. There was even this time when we were both bridesmaid to a friend’s wedding. Some of the other women in the entourage were starving themselves to fit in their dresses while we were stuffing everything in our mouth because we looked like sticks in long dresses and let me tell you…it wasn’t very pretty. Anyway, that was then. Now, my friend has been talking about taking diet pills. Yep, just like me, my friend has gained some weight as well. What can I say…with age, comes extra poundage. LOL.

Anyway, I haven’t tried any diet pills myself so I can’t really tell her which ones to take. I’ve been trying to lose the weight the old fashion way and that’s sweating it out. It’s very challenging to do it because I’m not really used to it but I have to do it or I’ll just continue in getting bigger if I don’t. Luckily, my work time is very flexible unlike my friend. She has a regular job plus a part-time job. Sometimes she’s even working on the weekend. This is why she’s considering pills instead. All I can do is to refer her to some sites that list the best diet pills around. All she has to do is to read through the reviews and make her choice from there. I can hope that we’ll both be successful in our quest to go back to our original ‘shape’….LOL.

Wishing Each & EveryOne to...

Keep on smiling....it's contagious...

Golf Balls Buying Guide

Shopping is not easy for me believe it or not…especially if I’m shopping for men. It’s a lot easier for me to shop for women because I am a woman so in a way I have a feel as to what a woman would want. Not only that, there is a wide array of things to choose from when it comes to women. It’s the total opposite for men because I can count with my fingers the things that I can think of to give men as presents. Right now, I am really at a loss as to what I should get for my brothers & nephews back home. I already finished buying the things for my sisters & nieces but none yet for the boys. I have 3 brothers and 5 nephews. So far I only know what to give to 1 brother…something for golf. He is the only one with a hobby that I know of so it’s not that hard to decide what to give him.

Now, even for this brother I have a tiny bit problem as what to exactly to give him. Aside from not knowing much about the sport itself, I don’t really have any idea what he already has. I may just take my chances and get him some golf balls hoping he wouldn’t mind adding 6 more balls in his collection. I decided to check Shopwiki for the different brands of golf balls. It’s there that I found this Golf Balls Buying Guide. According to the guide the ‘best’ brand of golf ball is not about the brand itself but the personal preference of the player. Sigh. I thought I could just pick out any brand that may tickle my fancy. I guess I’m wrong. Now I have to find out what brand my brother likes. So much for surprising him then. Oh well…that’s the way it is. I’m just glad I read that guide before I decided to buy the golf balls.

Cyrstal Grandfather Clock

The latest addition to my curio. I actually got this about 2 months ago. The first one was defective. The minute hand does not go past 5:30 so the seller had to send me another one. Between the time I purchased it to the time I got the one that works, almost a month passed already. Thankfully, it's not a gift or anything or it would have been very frustrating.

The seller didn't want me to send the defective one back probably because they had to pay for the shipping back so I still have it. Hubby said we can probably get a new machine for the clock and it'll probably be work. I haven't had the chance to look for the machine but if we get it fixed, then I'll have 2 of thse babies...LOL. I have the defective one displayed in the china cabinet in the dining room right now....tee hee.

Next in my list....a crystal baby piano. We have this mini [very mini] fiddle/violin in the curio so I thought a little piano will go along nicely with it. Before we know it we will have a mini-orchestra in our curio. Ha!

Buying Used Cars

If and when the time comes I have to ‘finally’ choose a car I will be driving myself, I’d probably choose a Chrysler Town car. Hubby’s brother used to work for the company so he and his siblings usually buy the brand out of respect to their oldest brother. Well, getting the discount that they get because of their brother does not hurt either. But aside from the reasons I mentioned, I also like the way this car look. It looks sturdy and just big enough to make me feel secure while I’m driving out there. Hubby’s brother no longer works for Chrysler. He retired a few years ago but I think the family of retired employees still gets the family discount that their current employees get.

I have to say lucky for those who have relatives that work for car companies for getting the discount. For those that are not so lucky, used cars is the way to go. Even hubby said that he’d definitely consider buying used cars if he’s not getting the discount from his brother. Luckily, things like Chicago used cars are easy to find. I think there is a used car dealer in every city in every state so it’s not really hard to find one. Since there are a lot of dealers to choose from, one needs to be knowledgeable when buying a used car. For reference, this blog from UsedCarsChicago101.com may com in handy. Check it out.

Half-Awake Nap = Headache

I felt a little sleepy a while ago so I decided to take a nap. Wrong move. I was half-awake the whole time but my eyelids were so 'heavy' I didn't want to get up so kept trying. I finally gave up trying after, maybe 20 minutes [or more]. As soon as I got up, I felt the dull pain on the back of my head. Before I know, it's a full blown headache. Ugh! Hopefully the 2 Tylenol I just took will do the trick. It's too early to go to bed and too late to take another nap...LOL.

Anyway...the weekend is almost over again. We had a pretty productive weekend...well, the hubby did actually. Yesterday, he was able to mow the yard so everything is all evened out now then put some weed kller afterwards. Today, he cleaned the glass windows on the outside. Good boy, eh? LOL...Me? I did my usual stuff, clean here inside the house. The little one did her weekly chore and cleaned her bathroom. Oh...we also baked some peanut butter cookies. Want some?

Excited!

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Who won't be? It's Valentine's day tomorrow? Let me clarify that...it's not me who is excited. Care to take a guess? It's the little one. who else? She keeps asking me if I'm excited it's Valentine's day tomorrow. My reply is usually...'yeah, sure.' LOL. I think she gets the hint because she'd stop asking me afterwards...only to repeat the question again after an hour or so. She's just really excited about it and we just let her be excited. We take pleasure in knowing she gets all worked up when something is coming up...it doesn't matter what it is. It can be Christmas or Canada day...and we're not even in Canada, eh?

Anyway, Daddy always gives her something on Valentine's Day. I think his very first gift for her besides a card were those heart-shaped candies that have little notes on them. She was thrilled to get those from him. Every year she looks forward to this little present from her 'Valentino'. Last year, got her and me a chocolate. This year, I have no clue. The card is a given...what goes with it is the little surprise. I have a little surprise for her myself actually. I got this hour glass necklace with diamond dust in it and I'm planning in giving it to her as a Valentine's gift. She's into jewelry right now so I'm pretty sure she'll be thrilled to get it.

How about you? Are excited yet for Valentine's Day?

Tired!

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Like sleepy tired as well as tired 'tired'. Does that make sense? Anyway, I just finished my daily elliptical 'work out' a few minutes ago and my legs are a bit umm...yeah, tired. LOL. I've been on my 4th week and I'm starting to look forward to it. It's still a bit hard to get on it but I try to force myself first thing in the morning - as much as possible to get it out of the way - but sometimes I have other things to do in the morning like today so I do it late in the afternoon.

Anyway, it's finally Friday! That can only mean one thing.....the weekend is just a sleep away. It's been cold and soggy this week so I'm looking forward to at least a rain-free weekend. It will still be bit cold but as long as the rain stays at bay....then I'll be a happy camper. As usual we don't have any concrete plans for the weekend. We may or may not head out some time over the weekend but definitely not tomorrow because we have an appointment with someone to come here and do some measurements. So maybe on Sunday we can go somewhere to pass the time...or maybe we'll do that at home. Whichever way it goes....I'll be happy.

To one and all....

glitter-graphics.com

Gas Logs

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One feature of our current house that my husband misses is a fireplace. Our former house has one and he specifically had it built when that house was under construction. As much as he loves to also have a fireplace here, it wasn’t part of the layout. We could probably had it added but with all the problems we’ve had just having it built, we didn’t want to rock the boat when things started happening. Anyway, we still have plans in having a fireplace. We just have to decide where and when we want it put. It may be in the house or it may be an outdoor fireplace. In the old house, we had it in the den. We used duraflame for that one. But for the one we’re planning in having in this house, we’re thinking maybe we can have one for Gas Logs. We’re also going with Vented Gas Logs this time because hubby likes the fact that they burn much like real wood fire and he likes the ambience that real firewood gives.

I personally don’t know much about Gas Logs so I’ve been reading the Gas Logs FAQs at Hansen Wholesale website because it covers all the information that someone like me needs to know about Fireplace Gas Logs. This site does not only have all valuable information I should know about gas logs but it also sells one of the most sought after Peterson gas logs. How I wish we have the fireplace already because the site is currently offering a $75 off on all their gas logs as well as free shipping. That’s quite a deal which we can all use especially during this time where nothing is free or cheap anymore. But we may not be able to avail of that deal right now but I’m going to bookmark the site for future reference and hope that they run the same promotion down the road so we can enjoy R. H. Peterson Real Fyre Gas Logs ourselves once our fireplace is built.

Good Weather on the Way?

Hopefully it's accurate. But it's the weather and if there's something that's the antithesis of accuracy then it has to be the weather.

We've been having some on and off rain this week but according to this 7 day forecast, the weekend will be rain-free which is good because we're expecting somebody to do some measurements for the gutter. The rain will definitely put a damper on that so I'm hoping it stays clear.

Aside from that, no other plans for the weekend. We may or may not stay cooped up in the house...who knows. But we'll see...

In the meantime, it's time for me to park my keyboard for the day. Looking forward to TGIF! Yay~!

Research is the Key

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In a few days, my nephew will taking one of the most important test of his life...medical board exam. I spoke with him about a month ago and he seemed confident and ready. I told him not be overly confident because anything can happen during exams...and he understood, of course. He's only complaint at that time...he's oldest problem...acne! Of all my nephews and nieces, he is the only suffering from acne. I think it started even before he started high school and it's been an ongoing saga for him. He tried every cream he could get his hands own but nothing really worked for him. He was this close in trying accutane but I asked him to research first before taking it. He did and he found one Accuntane Lawsuit after another so he decided against it.

I feel bad about him and the others who have to go through this phase, which for him is no longer a phase if you ask me. But I feel a lot worse for those who used accutane and got some even worse problem afterwards. I cannot imagine how devastating it must be for those people thinking they're being cured of acne only realizing later on they're on for a much bigger problem. I just hope that people do their research before taking any medication. Because no matter how good they advertise something, there is always that possibility that they are not telling us everything we need to know.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

American Idol Season 10

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It's almost been a month now since the season premier. I posted a video of the 'bad' auditions of the season premier but I won't be posting anymore today. But if you want to see more of the bad auditions, check them out here. I think it's going to be Hollywood week already next week but I'm not certain about that yet. The hubby has been watching it regularly and his comment...it's a lot less stressful watching it. He said he likes the new 'aura' of the show and he likes the 2 new judges. I guess he got tired watching & listening to Simon's biting remarks.

And Simon Cowell? Of course he doesn't like the new AI without him. Big surprise! Not! He actually said that the new AI is like the musical version of Home Make Over or was it Extreme Home Makeover? His new show...the X-Factor will be premiering soon as well so he's been all over the media circuit promoting it. He said his new show will definitely be better than American Idol...again.....big surprise!

I wonder if the husband will also be watching this new show. Maybe. Maybe not. He usually watches one show then goes from there so we'll see...

New Printer or New Ink?

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That is the million dollar question!! Some 3 years ago, we opted to get new printer instead of new ink. Reason being...we wanted to have the 4-in-1 feature...copier, fax, scanner, printer combo. But that's NOT the only reason, the price of the ink for our older printer got ridiculously high since it's an older model. Well, guess what? It seems that's a trend. The ink for our 4 in 1 printer is starting to get really expensive now that we're seriously considering getting a new wireless printer. We already looked around for one a couple of months ago but the wireless printers are still way out of our budget...for now. In the meantime, we've started to look for cheap printer ink. We decided that we should save first unil we're able to afford the wireless printer that we want or wait until it's within our price range. Hopefully, it won't take very long.

Looking for cheap ink cartridges is not an easy task though. One thing we learned as we were looking for it, we cannot find anything cheap in our local store...especially not printer ink. I think we spent 2 separate days going around and we didn't find much difference in the prices from store to store. Our last resort is of course to go online and do some search. Fortunately we found some cheap ink for printers in one website. Hopefully the money that we'll save will be enough to buy as that wireless printer we want in a few months.

Cellphone-Free

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This may come as a big surprise to some...but I don't have a cellphone. Some may ask why...and my answer is simple....I don't need one. I am a WAHM which means I am home for the most part which also means I can be reached through my home phone. I used to have one in my former life since I was working outside the house then. But even back then, it took a while before I got one. I didn't see the need for it as well. My reasoning then was if it's really important, then I can be reached through my home phone. But social pressure got into me and so I got one. After that, it was almost impossible for me to go out the house without it. It's like a lifeline of some kind. But that was then.

Today I am cellphone free...well, sort of. Hubby has one and I wouldn't have it any other way. I like to be able to contact him whenever I want to...and vice versa. He used to be a big Nokia fan. Then he switched to Blackberry. He's been with the same provider for more than 10 years so it would be easy for him to get new phones without paying anything but he refuses to do that. He'd rather buy one on his own instead of being tied down with a contract. He's had his phone for years now and he's considering in replacing it soon. He may buy iphone this time because he's been hearing a lot of good things about it. As for me, I may not be cellphone-free for long. I'm thinking of getting one if and when I decide to finally go out there and learn the 'D' word....aka...driving. Woot!

Unending Search

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One of the things that kinda' shocked me when I first moved here in this country was the 'vicious cycle of bills'. Yep, I call it vicious because as soon as your done paying the monthly bills, you're practically broke. I never experienced that before. My monthly bill back then was just rent, phone/internet & electricity. Yes I would also be broke more often than not but that's because I would sometimes go on a shopping spree...LOL. Now, no shopping spree but we're broke. Ha! Anyway, a big chunk of our income goes to something I never paid for before ... insurance ... specifically car, health & home insurance. We have no choice because they are vital to us in this country. It has become something like a habit already that when any of those insurance needs renewed, we'd go searching for better deals in places like cheapestautoinsurance.net. It's the only way we can save sometimes. If we can find something cheaper & better, then we switch. If not, then we stay with whatever we have. It's an unending search but sometimes, it's worth it...

Soggy Weekend

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...for the most part of it anyway but were able to go out for an hour or so and headed to the Phil. store to pick up some smoked milkfish. Remember my post about rellenong bangus & this smoked fish a few weeks ago? Well, the verdict came in just a day or so after we got them...I just didn't have the chance to blog about it. The stuffed milk fish [rellenong bangus] wasn't bad but it didn't pass the taste test. One of the ingredients I don't like in a rellenong bangus is the raisins. It makes it too sweet for my taste...and the one I got from the store had raisins...and plenty of it. The flavor of the 'relleno' is still there and it tasted fresh so that's good...but I couldn't get past the 'sweetness'. This is why I decided not to get another one.

The smoked fish [tinapa in Tagalog] on the other hand was a big hit to the hubby. The little one didn't rave about it but she ate a few bites. I didn't fry the fish...instead I baked it and it came out great. I was afraid that if I fry it, the smell will be all over the house that's why I baked it...and it worked! No smell whatsoever. As a result of the 'hit' smoked fish, I got 3 more bags last weekend. We already ate one bag so I still have 2 more left. Should I share it or not...that IS the question!

Exercise Routine

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It’s been almost 2 months since the holiday season ended. I bet a lot of people already forgot about it, eh? But not all is forgotten I’m sure as there are 2 things that would probably remind us of it for the months to come…bills [from all the shopping] and excess weight [from all the eating]. Both needs work to ‘fix’. If you ask me bills are easier to fix compared to weight. I like to work but I don’t like to work-out! It’s just so hard to get in the groove of working out everyday in order to shed those extra tires around our middle but something has to be done. There are weight loss pills we can turn to. But these are not for everybody…it’s just a fact. I for one would rather try exercising first and probably a little dieting before I turn to weight loss pills…but that’s just me. Many people have had successes in them so to each his own in this case.

As for me I’m trying to get into a routine when it comes to exercising. I’ve never been big on exercise because I was always thin…almost underweight actually. I was also quite healthy so I was never advised to exercise for health reasons either. But times changed…obviously. I am now a bit heavy. Not terribly heavy but heavier than I should be. I actually like my current weight pe se…I just don’t like where the excess weight is located…my middle & my thighs…and some on my chin. Now if the weight went to some other parts of my body, I’d probably be happier and wouldn’t have to consider taking some of the best weight loss pills I see being promoted everywhere. But such is not the case so I’m trying really hard to get into this exercise routine and hopes it works for me. If not…then it’s time to consider some other alternatives. Maybe.

It's Gone...

I'm not sure how many times I've blogged about it here and in my other blog - Teacher's Corner - but the tree that's been causing eye sore in our back yard during fall/winter because of all the dry leaves from it is gone. The owner decided to have it cut down. I'm not sure if that's something I should be happy about or not. I know we need to plant and not cut down trees but the owner of the tree can no longer afford to maintain it as far as cleaning the fallen leaves everytime fall comes.

Anyway, I used to get really upset about the leaves especially when they would come flying to our backyard right after I raked. But now that it's gone, I'm not sure it's such a good idea. Even the husband is wondering why the owner decided to have it cut down. He thought he'd hang on to it even if it's causing eye sore not only in our backyard but around the neighborhood. Maybe they'll replace it with some other tree that don't make such a mess. I hope they do actually.

Golden Idea

When I was still teaching in Taiwan, one of the very popular thing to do for overseas worker like me was to buy as much gold as possible. Most of the jewelry that I got are 24-karat gold so they’re quite soft and easy to break like a couple of bracelets that I used to wear all the time. During the time I was there the only gold I was able to buy were pieces of jewelry because they were quite expensive considering their karats. I would have loved to buy gold bullion but I don’t think it was within my budget. Aside from that I don’t think I would feel safe traveling with a gold bullion in my suitcase.

Anyway, going back to my broken bracelets…I wanted to have them repaired so I can wear them again. The husband said that it may not be a good idea to do that since they’ll break again anyway. I actually agree since they’re really soft. He said we can either have them melted and turn them into a gold nugget and make it into a pendant or maybe exchange them with other pieces of jewelry that don't break as easily. I’m seriously considering just having them melted and turn them into a nugget or maybe a small bullion? LOL…maybe not. Or maybe I’ll just sell them since the price of gold is quite high now then I’ll turn around and buy bullion myself for investment. Now…that’s a golden idea…

Woot!

I hope you have a relaxing one...

Address Plaques

I’m not sure if I mentioned it here in this blog or in my other about the broken address plaque we had in the other house which is currently in the market. Hubby and I were trying to decide if we should replace the broken one or just let it stay as it is because we can’t watch the place as often as we want to. Well, after considering all the factors, we decided to replace the broken one. We haven’t replaced it yet because we’re still looking at different home address plaques. For one, I don’t want to spend a lot of money for a replacement. I think we should just get one that is decent enough so the house doesn’t look like it’s run down to potential buyers. As it is, it’s been in the market for more than 2 years and we don’t want it to stay idle for another 2 so we’re trying to keep it presentable and pleasing to the eyes.

Anyway, we are also thinking of buying one for this house. The one we have right now is too small and it can barely be seen from across the road much less across the street. We’ve been planning to replace it since we moved in here but it wasn’t on top of our list so we never really got around to it. But now that we’re looking at house address plaques anyway, I think it’s the best time to finally replace it. Maybe we can even get some kind of deal with the seller if we order 2 at the same time.

As Always...

Don't tell me you don't feel the same? I'm so ready for the weekend. I have no idea why but that's how I feel right now. I just want to relax and not think of anything but relaxing...and just being lazy...

PS...I had to hunt for this little guy because I miss posting his picture. I forgot where I found him the first time so I had to do some googling to track him own. Cute, isn't he?

Graduation Cards

Graduation is always a happy occasion. It marks the end of endless homeworks, late nights and pop quizzes...well, that is if you're not planning in pursuing any higher studies of course. Ha!

One of the things I notice in today's world, more and more students are going into higher education. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing though. I guess it depends on whether they [or their parents] can afford it or not. A very good example of this are my brother's 2 younger kids. Both of them already finished their college degrees. I thought they would go straight to applying for jobs but boy was I wrong. The older one decided to pursue medical school while the younger one is going to law school. I'm sure my brother is proud of them but I'm not sure how he's coping financially. They're still surviving as I write this so I guess they're doing okay in that division, eh?

Anyway, the medical student graduated [a nephew] sometime last year and is now preparing for his board exams. The law student [a niece] is about to graduate in a few months. I don't have any gift for her yet so I'm thinking of giving her some graduation cards similar to these cards.

She will be the last to graduate in her family so I thought sending out cards inviting/informing close friends and family will a good way to culminate everything. I don't remember them sending out cards during their college graduations so this will something new for them. Hopefully I can order them before I run out of time.

Within Reach...

The weekend of course!

I have been a bit stressed for no apparent reason...well, there is a reason, it's just not enough to be stressed about. Does that even make sense? I'm trying to forget about it but not hearing from people that I emailed about it is making it bigger than it is. I have to meet a deadline and their reply would really make a difference...but so far...NADA! I think I sent 3 emails already and I none of them has been answered. Ugh! That's the problem with working online...issues have to be resolved, well, online. No face to face resolution. I'm at their mercy when it comes to resolving whatever it is that needs resolved. Not fun at all...but it come with the territory so I have no choice. 'Nuff said.

We have no plans for the weekend...well, not for Saturday anyway. Sunday is BOOKED! It's the Superbowl weekend so there is no way the husband is going anywhere because of it. One of the teams he's rooting for - Green Bay Packers - is playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers so this would interesting. I'm not rooting for any of them so I'd probably sit this one out. I may just spend sometime on Sunday going back to my old hobby....WEEDING! LOL. My most hated weed has been overtaking the backyard since I stopped doing it and I think it's high time to take the challenge and TERMINATE these pesky weeds once again...well, only one them anyway. Ha!

Slowly Decorating

Eversince we got the curio, we've started to slowly do some decorating in the house. We actually did some before we got it but it was a bit hard to do it when there is this big empty spot right in the living room. So we decided to wait until we got or until we got a replacement for it in case it didn't make it here. Anyway, aside from the things we buy for the curio itself - figurines, etc - we also started buying things we can put on the wall. We've also started shopping for a coffee table which would have been one of the first furniture we bought...but we didn't. We went to a furniture store a few weeks ago to check their coffee tables. Instead we ended up looking at barstools that caught the husband's attention. Originally, we were planning to buy some barstools but we later realized they won't fit in the area where we thought they would [fit] so we scratched it off the plan. But the stools that we saw look like they 'may' fit after all. We still haven't bought them but we're seriously considering it. I just don't know if it's practical to do so since we don't really need them right now.

A Wedding to Remember?

Mine was...but not for the reasons one might think. It wasn't a grand wedding and there were no guests because there was no reception afterwards. All because I chose not to. I had no family around when I got married so I didn't really see the reason for a grand wedding. We could have had it in the Philippines but that would mean hubby and I would be separated for months while waiting for documentations. Instead, we flew together and got married a few months after. We've never been apart from each other since the day we met [in person]...well, aside from the usual business trips he has to take every so often.

So why was it memorable? On the day of the wedding itself, we spent the final hours before the ceremony itself looking at wedding dresses that didn't fit me...not the traditional wedding dresses anyway. So I settled for a non-traditional white wedding dress that had to be altered right there and then so it would fit me. It wasn't a big bridal shop and the owner and her seamstress were the ones that helped alter the dress to fit my size. The whole thing was actually hilarious which eased up the tension since we were so pressed for time already. Fortunately, everything was fixed and we made it just in the nick of time to our own wedding. Exciting? You bet it was...I wouldn't do it again though....