We have hosted two Christmas parties at our house already. The first one was last December 10 with my embassy friends and former colleagues.

We have long been planning for a get together but since everybody is busy, we can’t seem to find one date where everybody will be free. Thankfully, we were finally able to agree on December 10 and since they haven’t been to our new house yet, we all decided to have the party at our place so it turned out to be a house warming cum Christmas party.

We just ordered food from CCME (we ordered Beef Roast, Baked macaroni, and Buco Pandan) and I asked my aunt, as per Dennis’ reques, to cook Crispy Pata.

They arrived a few hours late than what we agreed upon because of the Saturday holiday traffic but I am glad that they were still able to make it despite all the hurdles.

We had dinner as soon as they arrived and we have a good chat to catch up with the old times, especially with Timmy whom we haven’t seen for a year already. We had our exchange gifts after and a little boost.

It was a fun party and I am glad that the long-standing Christmas party of our group finally pushed through.

I was at the house of my friend the other night and she was so excited to give me the good news about the soon-to-be opening of her daughter’s small boutique.

It is just the hobby of her daughter to design and make clothes and since she really has the talent, her mom helped her with the funding and so she was able to create her first clothing line which she will feature in her boutique’s grand opening.

Her boutique is just located inside the compound of their property and it is just a small space, as they don’t want to rent a bigger place for now as they are just starting. Good thing they were able to maximize the space by putting Clothing Racks where they hang some of their stocks with the use of Wooden Hangers. This created an additional storage area which they really need ay they have a limited space inside the boutique.

They also checked out mannequins for sale as they would like to setup up a small display to showcase her daughter’s clothing line.

My friend is a real stage mom as she is giving her 100% support (time and money) for her daughter.

I wish them good luck and we know that she has the talent to make it big someday.

I have posted in my previous entry about the Kids from Ulingan village. Ever since I met them during the party of the daughter of my good friend Peachy, they have occupied a special place in my heart.

As much as I wanted to help them, I really can’t do much as I can only give a small monetary amount so the organization helping them, Project PEARLS, can sustain the projects that they have for the families in Ulingan. All I can do is volunteer my help during the Saturday reach outs of Project PEARLS (which I still have to do), and spread the awareness about Ulingan village to my friends and family so they can help too.

The families in Ulingan village need lots of things. We might think that they just need storm shelters, but they don’t even have a decent house to live in. For this coming Christmas, while we have our Noche Buena with our loved ones, the families in Ulingan doesn’t even know where to get their meal for the day.

Every child deserves to feel the magic of Christmas and so Project PEARLS is appealing for our help so they can distribute Noche Buena Gift Pack to each of the families in Ulingan village and each gift packs contains:

• spaghetti noodles and sauce
• sandwich spread and bread
• powdered juice

They will also be giving out Healthy Kid Gift Pack for one child per family which contains toiletries like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, food and vitamins, and a small toy so the kids can feel the spirit of Christmas.

Each Gift pack will cost $20 so they are appealing for donations. The gift packs will be distributed to the families during their Breakfast with Santa project on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Please check out the website of Project PEARLS for more details: www.projectpearls.org

My friend will be attending the Christmas party of their department and the theme for this year’s Christmas party is “Icons.”

She can’t think of a better character for this theme than the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. She was the most popular girl for 2011 because she made all girls believe that fairytales do come true when she got married to Prince Charles. I was one of the many individuals who tuned in to watch the royal wedding, as they want to see how one of the most important events in history will unfold.

My friend was able to complete the get up that she needs to better impersonate Kate as she found the perfect dress and the perfect hat to complete the look. The only problem is that my friend has short hair.

Thankfully, clip on hair extensions can come to her rescue. She can buy these extensions from the leading only beauty supply outlet, LeeBeauty so she will be able to get the last piece of accessory that she needs to complete her Kate Middleton look.

We are both excited to see how her overlook will turned out with the help of the real hair extensions from LeeBeauty.

You know that it is time to go on a diet when people still think that you are pregnant even if you have given birth a year ago. LOL.

Well this is the situation where I am at now as I still hear questions like “When are you due?” from acquaintances every time they see me. So I will just smile back in response to their questions as I know that they do not intend to hurt my feeling because I don’t need to look in the mirror to figure out that I still look pregnant.

And now that Christmas season is almost hear and it is time to shop for my Christmas outfit, I can’t help but check those trendy maternity dresses from Babies N’ Bellies as I know that they are the perfect fit for me (with my still bulging tummy that makes me look I am 5 months or more pregnant. LOL). At least if I shop from them, I will not feel depress as I am sure that I will find a sophisticated and fashionable dress that will perfectly fit me.

It all started when we had dinner at our house after our visit at Eternal gardens last All Soul’s Day. Almost everybody was present and my brother just had a brilliant idea to revive the old time tradition of enjoying dinner together at my grand mother’s house. So he suggested that it is a date every Sunday at dinner time.

It has been 3 Sundays already and none of us failed to miss the Sunday dinner at our place. Every Sunday, one of us will sponsor the dinner and my aunt, our resident cook, will prepare lovely meals for our family.

It was a good idea of my brother to revive an old family tradition. My cousins and I enjoyed those times during our childhood and it is one of our cherished childhood memories and now with the new generations of kids in our family, it would be nice that they enjoyed the same kind of family bonding too.

Do you have any tips on How to quit smoking? My dad is a chain smoker as he can’t live a day without smoking. I think he smokes one pack of cigarette a day which I know is really bad for his health.

He is not complaining about anything related to his health. He actually has normal blood pressure unlike my mom so I know he does not need any help on How to lower cholesterol as I am confident that this one area of his health that I should not worry about.

But he has been smoking for as long as I can remember so I am really concern at the extent of the damage that this bad habit has caused to his lungs. But my dad can be really stubborn and he will not listen to me if I requested for him to go to a doctor to have his lungs checked. He is one big man but he is actually scared to consult a doctor as he admitted that he is aware too of the bad effects that his bad habit has brought to his body. So he believes that seeing a doctor is like finding out how close he is to his death.

And I know my dad. There is nothing that I can do to change his mind that is why I am just trying other options like asking him to take supplements like Acai Berry which is rich in antioxidant which can help flush the bad toxins in his body.

My dad is not getting any younger so I really hope and pray that he will come to his senses and he will learn to take care of his health.

It is the Christmas season once again and in our small cell phone business, this month officially starts the busy month as people start to shop for gifts for their loved ones or for themselves after they have received their Christmas bonus.

That is why my brother and I have decided that this is the perfect time that we finally setup one of those POS Systems for our shop. We have been in this business for quite some time now and my brother personally manage the store so he is hands-on in terms of the money coming in and out of the shop. But this is manual work, which is very prone to human mistake and so to better improve our shop’s profitability and accuracy, installing a POS System is really a wise move for us.

Thankfully there is POS Geeks to offer us the best POS System solution for our need. They have different products like the SoftTouch iPos, iTable and more so there is always a solution that will match our business requirement. What we love about POS Geeks is they offer a very affordable POS System with no reoccurring annual license fee, which is perfect for a small business such as ours.

This POS System will definitely be a great tool to help us with our business.

Since the tenants of our 2 apartments is giving us so much stress and headache, hubby and I are thinking if we should just sell the property. I actually don’t want the location of that property. We just got it at a very affordable price that is why hubby decided to buy it. I did not even take a look at it when the seller was offering us the house. I told hubby that he take a look at it without me as I will surely say No if I see it.

And now we want to check for our credit report so we can get a new property instead after we sold the 2-door apartment. I told hubby that the stress that our two tenants is giving us is not worth it and I would rather get a new property to get rid of the two tenants that we currently have.

I actually wanted the two tenants to evacuate but unfortunately, Philippine law is more in favor of the tenants who does not know how to honor their obligations as the law dictates that we can’t force them to evacuate the property unless they fail to pay 3 months rent and after that, we should give them 3 months allowance, for them to find a new house where they can move to. So frustrating, that is why it would be wise and less stress for us if we will just sell the property.

We have the Pay-Per-View for the Pacquiao-Marquez fight next Sunday to hubby’s delight. He learned of the PPV offer of Sky Cable so he inquired about it. The offer is actually a good deal:

• We have to subscribe to their HD package of P750 per month (this is on top of the current plan that we have) so we can get the PPV for Pacquiao’s fight for free. Plan P750 has no lock in period so we can terminate it anytime (even after the fight of Pacquio. LOL).
• We have to upgrade our Digi Box to HD box and we have to pay P1500 for box. The original price of the box is P3000 but they will deduct the price that we paid for the digi box before so we only have to pay P1500 for the digi box.

So we are ready on the 13th for Pacquiao’s fight. I think my in-laws will also be coming to watch the fight her. A perfect opportunity again to make use of my Shakey’s Super card as I will surely order pizza again to feed our visitors.

Christmas is very fast approaching and as you can see along streets, buildings and houses, there are so many Christmas decors and Christmas songs are playing everywhere you go and these things excite most of the people a lot.

By now, you are probably looking for gifts for your relatives or perhaps you're trying to figure out great christmas gift ideas for your girlfriend or wife. It's been a tradition to almost everyone that we give gifts to other people in the spirit of thanksgiving but it doesn’t mean that we can only give material things because after all, love and respect are still the most important.

As for myself, I'm already starting to shop for Christmas for my family and friends. It will be easier to shop now because there are few people who are shopping as well compared to month of December, plus, prices will indeed go up as soon as December strikes.

I'm really excited for this season. This is my favorite holiday as our clan is very complete and we can definitely enjoy our bonding together.

Are you ready to do your Christmas shopping? If you are like me who have a very long Christmas shopping list, then you must prepare as early as now and start looking for the best credit card deals that you can apply.

We all know that December is the busiest time of the year as people start to cram to complete their shopping list. So it would be better to shop way in advance to avoid the crowds who are in a mad rush for their Christmas shopping. The only problem is, you don’t have a budget until the Christmas bonus has been released which happens on the 1st week of November, the earliest.

So the solution would then be to start with your credit card application so you will be armed with a good credit card like citibank credit cards so you have the means to shop even if your bonus hasn’t been released yet.

If you know how to manage your credit card right, then you don’t have to worry if you will use it for all your purchases as long as you will be able to pay for everything in full upon receipt of your much awaited Christmas bonus.

So what are you waiting for? Start your application for a credit card so you can begin shopping and so by December, you can just relax instead of joining the crowds who are stressing over their Christmas shopping.

I fell in love…..

We had a very fulfilling Sunday as we spent it with the kids from Ulingan. The daughter of my good friend Peachy celebrated her 3rd birthday, and instead of celebrating it with a grand party, my friend decided to invite the kids from Ulingan village for a party at Jollibee.

Ulingan (Charcoal City) is a community in Tondo, Manila where young kids gather charcoal as their livelihood to provide for their families. Most of the kids don’t go to school even if there is a nearby school in Ulingan since they believe that poverty and education don’t fit together. That is why a non-profit organization called Project PEARLS is helping this community.

Their mission is to help unprivileged Filipino children to have a better life by giving them PEARLS:
Peace
Education
Aspiration
Respect
Love
Smile

One of their priority projects is their feeding program to feed the hungry and malnourished children of Ulingan. Imagine these kids still working even with empty stomachs, so they can gather charcoal that they can sell to help their families earn a living. Project PEARLS also give scholarships so underprivileged kids can have an opportunity to have better education. They also have monthly medical and dental missions to look after the health of the families living in Ulingan.

I am so glad that I was able to meet the kids and some of the parents from Ulingan. I scoured over my discount coupons and vouchers so I can shop for a lot of grocery items that we will donate to the kids in lieu of the gifts to the birthday celebrant.

I like to say congratulations to my friend, Peachy. You truly made the kids happy that day and I am thankful to be a part of it. Now I can’t wait for the celebration of my daughter’s 6th birthday with the kids of Hospicio de San Jose orphanage as I am sure it will have the same effect on me.

Author's Bio: Melissa is a freelance blogger and article writer for You Love Coupons writing about weight watchers and ediets program. Her latest article is on where to get weight watchers coupon codes and ediets coupon codes.

That is how I am every time I go out. I don’t want to bring cash with me as I feel safer if I only have my credit cards in my bag.

And so I realized, since I am so dependent on credit cards and I use it for all my purchases, then I would get great benefit if I will get visa reward cards.

This is how Good Sam’s Credit Card Rewards work:
• I can get 5 points for every $1 of purchase on Good Sam products and services
• I can get 1 point for every $1 spent wherever Visa is accepted
• I can get free camping, Good Sam membership, free fuel and even cash back rewards

At least every time I use my card, I can get something like a freebie or rewards. How cool is that?

Too bad I only realized this now. If not, I have accumulated enough points already to redeem something big. But at least I can use this for my upcoming Christmas shopping which I am sure will max out my credit limit but at least I will get reward points in return.

Dessert Table, anyone?

This is the candy/dessert station that my SIL together with his brother, DIY for the birthday of her daughter last Sunday. So cute and so shabby looking. It just looks like those candy and dessert stations that I usually see online.

And since we realized that this could be a good business, my cousin, my siblings and I decided that we would start offering this service.

So for your party needs, contact us at:

Email: clod0327@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0917-5842934

So we can discuss the rates.

Aside from bags, traveling with my family is one of the things that I am addicted to. That is why my friends and families are teasing me that I can get Travel Counselor Jobs as I know where to get the good deals and the right information for a perfect vacation.

I have a dream of going around the globe and to conquer at least one city per continent. So far my husband and I have been to Asia, Europe and North America.

After watching the movie Rio, Brazil is now our top candidate for South America. My dad said that it is very affordable there and the value of their money is almost the same as here in the Philippines. The only problem is the steep airfare.

Santorini in Greece is also in my list. If we have a chance to go back to Europe, this will be my next take. I think I can spend 3 weeks here. Hehe.

But things are a bit tight for us financially as this is the first year for the monthly amortization of the property that we bought and so we are still adjusting. And after our US trip last May, I don’t think we still have a budget left for another major trip.

But I hope that in time we can travel around the world again especially now that we have our 2 kids to enjoy our vacations with.

People buy many products online each and every day. Thousands of dollars are spent on items and many people aren’t even aware that they can save money with psprint gift codesand a wewood discount code.

Coupon codes are available to anyone who desires to save money on the merchandise that they purchase online. Online consumers are under the false assumption that they have to have special privileges to use these codes. But it simply isn’t true.

If you are willing to do a bit of searching you can find coupon codes for virtually any item you desire to purchase online. It only takes a matter of moments to find these valuable codes and will save you a lot of money on your merchandise.

It may seem obvious that consumers would know that these valuable codes are available but recent studies have shown that they do not. Once you make a practice of searching for codes online for the merchandise that you buy, you will get accustomed to it in no time.

Psprint codes and wewood discount codes are available through Coupon Triumph online. They work diligently to offer consumers some of the most valuable coupon codes over the internet. You can find a discount code for almost any item imaginable. The codes they make available to consumers are from a wide variety of retailers and surely have something to offer any consumer.

PsPrint is an online company that specializes in printing services. They cater to small businesses across America and save them valuable time and money. They take pride in offering their customers many money saving options including such things as brochures, fliers, greeting cards and catalogs. You can go online and find the current promotional codes and savings from Psprint online today and start enjoying their savings right away. In these times of economic challenges who isn’t interested in having a little extra cash in their pockets?

WeWood is a brand new company that sells high quality and unique watches. They began selling their watches in Florence, Italy in the year 2010. Their one-of-a-kind timepieces are made of wood, and they have recently formed a unique partnership with a tree planting association by the name of American Forests. For every watch sold by WeWood a tree is planted with the goal of helping the environment.

There are valuable promotional coupons to be enjoyed by Wewood every day to help you save a lot of money on your purchases online. When you find a money-saving discount code by searching over the internet and then decide to make an order, you will see a handy box on the order form in which to type in your code. Simply enter your code and redeem your savings. It doesn’t get any easier than that to save extra cash on the purchases that you make online.

Author Bio:
Costea often writes about social marketing, web design and blogging tips. He also blogs about coupon and promo code offers such as psprint gift codes and wewood discount code. Currently, he is writing for CouponTriumph, a coupon blog that offers psprint gift codes and wewood discount code.

Samsung Infuse is one of the thinnest smartphones offered by AT&T. The phone also has one of the largest screens among all the smartphone available in the market. The only exception to this is the Kyocera Echo.

Design
The screen on this phone is so huge that it almost bridges the gap that exists between the tablets and phone worlds. It screen is 4.5 inches and is a Super AMOLED Plus screen that has an 800x480 pixel resolution. The overall size of the phone will take some time to get accustomed to and those who are looking for a phone that will conserve pocket space will be disappointed.
The phone has two cameras. An 8-megapixel camera along with a stylish flash is present in the back. It also has a 1.3-megapixel camera in the front that can be used for video chat. The plastic backpanel of this phone has a textured gunmetal gray color and also comes with dark chromed edges.

Software and Interface
The phone has a powerful 1.2 GHz processor. Despite the fact that a 1.2 GHz CPU may be outdated soon, the phone is quite fast. The phone also comes with features like 6-axis motion tracking, Bluetooth 3.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n. The phone can also connect with the HSPA+ network of AT&T.
Along the bottom edges of the phone you have the classic search, back, home, and menu buttons. The phone also has a drop down menu along with 7 customizable home screens. You can add widgets, folders, shortcuts or toggle the wallpaper. Despite the fact that the phone has no flashy graphics, it is highly functional and you can easily navigate it.

Internet
The phone has a polished and fast browser. The phone allows one to pinch and zoom with ease. You can also double tap to zoom as well as watch videos on this phone. The task of copying and highlighting is very easy with this phone. Its screen makes the task of reading text more enjoyable. The browsing experience on this phone is one of the best.

Multimedia and Productivity
The phones huge screen makes the very suitable for both playing games and watching movies. You can play 3D games on this phone. The phone comes with Angry Birds pre-loaded on it. You can also find Quickoffice on this phone. The phone has two different trace pads, both of which will allow you to trace numbers, letters and punctuations.

Call Quality and Life
The call facility on this phone is good both in terms of clarity and voice quality. Its battery performance was however very good.

Camera
The 8-megapixel camera comes with many features fun cartoon filter and scene modes. You can take 720p HD video with this camera. The video comes with a frame rate of 30fps which is better than the average smartphone.

Author Bio:

Author Bio:

Jey enjoys playing World of Warcraft or reading books when he's not finding new ways to do online marketing. He is also interested about broadband deals and mobile phone.

Before I check if the source has geocaching outdoor chirp by Garmin, let me post this first:

My second batch of Photo Books arrived already last week. These are the albums that I created for Bela’s 2nd to 5th birthday party (finally after almost 6 years).

I showed it to Bela and she was just so excited as she reminisce each of her birthday parties, especially now that her 6th birthday is coming soon. It’s so cute looking at how happy ad amazed Bela was with the photo books that I created for her.

The print out is a bit dull and yellowish, but for its price ($9.99 for 30 pages), I think this will do. I think it is better than just having the pictures stored on CD only. At least with these photo books, Bela can always take a look and reminisce her childhood.

My next project now are our travel pictures which I am hoping to finish next week so I can order it before the 60-page promo expires.

There are still quite a few things that needs to be checked in our house:

• The heater in our bathroom is not working. We are not sure if we are just missing something or it is already broken. My aunt will try to send his electrician on Sunday to check on it and we really wanted this done soon as we have to heat water for the kids every time they take a bath which they love more now since they love playing in the bath tub. (Almost everyday they take a bath in the bathtub and I think they consume half steel drum of water everyday. I know that is bad but I am just letting them enjoy it for now as we just moved in so they are still excited to try out new things in our house).
• The light bulb in the living room needs to be replaced too
• The window in the kitchen
• The door of the commercial space that we are renting out

I am sure hubby has more on his list. But I am glad we are a little settled now and all the things that we need often have already been unpacked and has been placed in their proper places already.

So a few more weekend left and we can start relaxing and enjoy our new home.

We had a very busy week last week.

Wednesday, we went to the parish of my brother-in-law as he is celebrating 12 years of his priesthood. He officiated the mass that we attended and my sister-in-law prepared a little surprise for him after the mass. Bela even offered a song number for his Tito Padi.

Saturday, was the institutioning of brother-in-law as the parish priest of Holy Cross. There was a concelebrated mass with Cardinal Rosales and brother-in-law’s priest friends. The church was so full during the mass and there was a small get together afterwards.

Sunday, we went malling with the kids as we promised Bela that we would treat her for doing good in her quarterly exams. We just had lunch in Don Henrico’s then we went shopping at Toys R’ Us.

I was so tired after that week that I was not able to do much work (so now I am swamped). But I am glad because I was able to spend some quality time with hubby and the kids and that’s what makes our weekend so special.

Miracle Fruit.
Super Fruit.
Magic Fruit.

These are just some of the descriptions that they use to describe acai berry. For many decades now, the natives of South America have been using acai berry for many of its healing power and health benefits. The acai berry is a fruit that can only be found in the Amazon rainforest of South America. This is a very special kind of fruit as it contains vitamins and minerals like Vitamin B1, B2, B3, C, E , Calcium, Fiber and more, and many claimed that it has numerous health benefits.

Though the locals of South America have known the benefits of this fruit for centuries now, it was only recently that the acai berry has gained its popularity. It is now being sold outside South America and is the major ingredient in making healthy fruit drinks like the ones being manufactured by Monavie. This fruit has gained so much popularity that even famous celebrity like Rachel Ray and Oprah Winfrey and other athletes have been promoting acai berry products.

So, why this fruit has created all this hype? Acai Berry is just an ordinary fruit like apples or oranges and peaches, right? But why did it gained so much popularity? The answer lies in the fact that it has been proven by research, laboratory tests and user testimonials that the acai berry fruit indeed has a lot of health benefits.

Let us take a look at the different vitamins and minerals that this fruit contains and what it does to our body and our health:

1. Omega 3 and Omega 6. Acai Berry is rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 which helps lower the bad cholesterol while increasing the good cholesterol which can help improve cardiovascular health to avoid health diseases like stroke and heart attacks.
2. Fiber. Fiber helps flush out all the waste through the digestive system that is why acai berry is said to help improve digestion. Because acai berry is a fiber rich food (it contains 14 grams of fiber in every 100 grams), it is also said to prevent the risk of acquiring cancer like colon cancer. If partnered also with proper diet and exercise, acai berry can also aid in losing weight.
3. Calcium. Calcium can make our bones strong and acai berry is one of the fruits that are rich in calcium. By taking acai berry products, it will help fight bone problems like osteoporosis.
4. Antioxidants. Acai Berry contains 10 to 30 times more antioxidants than grape or red wine and 2 times more than blueberries. Antioxidants help flush our harmful toxins in our body, thus it prevents diseases and boost our immune system.
5. Vitamin A. Acai Berry is also rich in Vitamin A, which is needed to improve eyesight. Because of this, acai berry is said to prevent degenerative eye diseases such as age related macular degeneration.
6. Vitamin E. Vitamin E is also one of the nutrients that can be found in acai berry and it prevents cell and tissue damage, which can help delay ageing to achieve a more youthful look.
7. Vitamin C. Acai Berry contains two times more Vitamin C than blueberries and we know that Vitamin C is important to improve our immune system.
8. Vitamin B1, B2, and B3. Acai berry is loaded with lots of B vitamins, which is used to convert the food that we eat to fuel to produce energy. This produces an energizing effect allowing the person to do more, be productive and enjoy life.

Miracle fruit, magic fruit, super fruit. No matter how they call it, acai berry is indeed the king of all fruit because of its nutritional value thereby bringing a lot of benefits to a person’s health.

My friend’s son will be celebrating his 13th birthday soon and my friend is a little bit in panic, as he doesn’t know what gift he will give his son. They call this stage as the “Tween” stage where the kid goes to a stage where he is somewhere between adolescence and middle childhood and so my friend is a little confuse as to what perfect gift he can give his son as she doesn’t really have an idea what a Tween can appreciate.

So we searched the net together and found these Gift Ideas for Son from the site of mensgiftideas.com. They have team jerseys, personalized baseball, cross necklace, charging station, gorillatorch flexible tripod flashlights, personalized poker set and more. They have gifts of every kind that is why my friend will surely find something, which interest his son.

My friend is really happy to have discovered this site. Now all she has to do is decide which gift to give his son and his orders will be shipped right at their doorstep just in time for his son’s birthday. I am sure his son will be really happy to receive any of the items from mensgiftideas.com.

I need to find an online battery store where I can purchase a replacement battery for Bela’s iTouch. You see, the battery is no longer good, as it will last only for a couple of hours when it should last for a whole day. This iTouch is Bela’s companion every time we go out, even for short drives, as it keeps her entertained as she watches here favorite movies or play her favorite games. So it really needs a good battery as Bela really uses it extensively (not to mention her grand dad too who uses it to play Solitaire).

It would be better if hubby will buy Bela an iPad to replace the iTouch (LOL) but I know that is impossible for now as we really have a lot of expenses lined up for the next three years.

So hubby’s solution: Batterymart.com. Batterymart.com is an online store where we can purchase replacement batteries like laptop batteries, motorcycle batteries, remote control batteries, camera batteries and more. They are really the one-stop shop if you need discount batteries as they have in their inventory almost all your battery needs, which they offer at a very affordable price.

I am sure Bela will be thankful once she gets a new battery for her iTouch as this will give her additional hours to watch her favorite movies or play her favorite application.

I nearly choked when my dad told me what our neighbor asked him when our former neighbor saw the house that we brought. Our neighbor was asking what the heck our work is, as he can’t believe how we can afford to buy a property. I find it rally insulting especially for someone like us who have been working day and night just to make both ends meet.

Well the secret is HARDWORK. Our friends can attest at how my husband and I have been working doubly hard just to make this dream come true for our kids. Hubby has been doing a lot of sideline work and has been doing a lot of overtime work so we can come up with the money that we need for our monthly amortization. Even I am doing my share as I have a lot of sideline jobs too so I can give my share for the monthly amortization of this house. Hubby was even scolding me the other day because my left eye is already half close but still I have been working on my laptop to meet deadlines.

This is one thing that we are proud of for this home – we got this home from our own sweat, everything in it including the Joy dishwashing liquid (LOL) comes from us. I hate to be cocky but that is the truth and that is one accomplishment that hubby and I will be sharing with our kids when they are old enough to understand.

We are poor now, I don’t even have cash in my wallet but at least we have our own home, a home for our kids that HUBBY and I built for them.

If not for the expense for the monthly amortization of our house, hubby probably would have decided to get a second car for us.

He was a little piss last week as he was not able to attend the Filipino Week celebration at our daughter’s school since no one would be kind enough to fetch us from the hospital. He actually planned on taking a cab from the hospital where our youngest was confined but then nobody will be left with me and we still have to process the hospital bill so we can be discharge on the same day.

He was really upset because he wants to be with his precious daughter because we promised our daughter that at least one of us will be present to watch her performance. That is why he has been looking at Used BMW from Trusted Dealers because he is checking if we can afford a pre-owned car so we don’t have to rely on other people in case we need a ride.

Instagram is the new Flickr, at least for my group on online friends. We love Instagram and if you want to get the latest buzz about each other, Instagram is our best bet. From rant, to personal problems, shopping, bags and of course our most favorite topic, our loving family.

And our latest topic, our need for weight loss pills as we made a confession about our weight. LOL. Oh well, we know we are pretty and sexy mommies inside and out and we all agreed that weight is just a number. The way we look is on how well we project ourselves.

But it wouldn’t hurt also if we inspire each other to lose weight. In fact a number of my friends already started going on a diet and hitting the gym again.

Well at least, we just don’t influence each other on shopping but we also give inspiration to each other when it comes to healthy living.

It was January 2011 when I received a call from HSBC to confirm an online transaction that was credited to my account. The transaction was from UK and the amount was around $1200. I was in complete shock after hearing about this as this is the first time that my credit card has been hacked.

I have several citibank credit cards which I have been maintaining for almost a decade now and never did I experience this problem. My HSBC card is actually just new and it was with me for less than five years only. I was actually not happy with their service in the first place since it is difficult to deal with their customer service agent, the credit limit that they gave me is way too low than the one that I have with Citibank plus they don't really offer that much promos and discounts that I can benefit from.

I filed a dispute the very day I learned of the hacking incident and it has been 8 months already and there is still no resolution from the dispute that I filed. I have been following up with them almost everyday from January to May but despite my efforts, all I get from their customer service agent is the same answer over and over again :Ma'am, we still have no updates. You can call us again after 3 banking days to check if we will have news about your dispute."

Of course I got tired of them already. I don't deserve this kind of service especially for a customer who has a very good credit standing. So as soon as my dispute has been settled (which I hope will not reach its 1st year anniversary come January 2012), I will have my HSBC credit card cut and I will just go to the site of credit card applications so I can apply for a new credit card.

It is very easy to file for a credit card application from them as everything is online. I just have to choose what type of user I am and what requirements I am looking for in a credit card and a list of credit card companies will be displayed. Then I can just apply online and wait for the approval in a few days. That easy.

Hopefully, I can say goodbye to HSBC as their service really sucks big time.

I hate August because for this month, we have been going in and out of the hospital, as one of us will always get sick.

First week of August, Bela had a high grade fever hitting up to 40 degrees Celsius that we have to rush her to the hospital. Thankfully her fever was gone the next day and so they were able to rule out dengue.

The next week, we had been food poisoned so we were all vomiting and experiencing upset stomach. I was even brought to the Emergency Room of UST as I won’t stop vomiting and they fear that I might be dehydrated.

Then just a few days after that, our youngest son had an eye infection that his right eye was so swollen that he can’t even open it. He was admitted at St. Luke’s just to make sure that the infection is under control and it won’t spread in his brain.

Then while we are at the hospital, I caught a virus and now I have sore eyes.

I can’t wait for next week, as I want August to end. It is indeed a ghost month as we experience a lot of bad faith during this month, health wise.

My husband and I sat down one night to discuss the details that we want for the rooms when we move to our new home and we both agreed that we will allot one room as our home entertainment room.

Our whole family loves to watch movies so a big LCD TV complete with the whole entertainment system is perfect for us. I can already imagine our whole family in our entertainment room as we enjoy watching our favorite movies or our favorite TV series.

And of course to complete the whole feel of movie theater setup right in our own home, I am looking at buying a pop corn machine from Epopcorn. Epopcorn sells all kinds of popcorn machine for home use and for business use. Their popcorn machine also comes in different sizes so we can choose the one that perfectly fits our family. This will save us a trip to the mall and we can enjoy our favorite movies with our popcorn without having the need to go out.

What I like about Epopcorn is that they have a 30-Day money back guarantee, they offer quick shipping and their price is very affordable as they have wholesale pricing and they don't have sales tax.

So I am really excited to enjoy my popcorn right in our own entertainment room at home.

Next week will be the move to our new home. Hubby and I are both excited because this is finally it, a house that we can call our own.

Nothing much needs to be done except for a little cleaning here and there but there are some additions and improvements that hubby wants to install. He has been checking the site of Gadget Shack and he is looking at purchasing their wireless doorbell. This wireless doorbell is so nice since it has six individual channels, which we can program to different push button, door contact sensor and even to motion detectors. It even has a wide range that can reach up to 450 ft.

Another item that he wants to purchase is a wireless driveway alarm. Since our room is at the third floor and the garage is at the ground floor, hubby thinks that we need the security feature of a driveway alarm so we will be notified of any human or vehicle motion.

This is already not included in our budget but prices in Gadget Shack are not bad since they don't have sales tax and they even offer free shipping.

So in just a few more days, we will finally be spending our first night in our dream home.

My husband and I never carry cash in our bag. Well for one, we don't find it safe and secure to carry around large amount of money when we go out especially since I am a bit careless with two kids in tow, that I sometimes forget where I left my things. That is why we pay either by credit card or we order checks so we can pay using our personal checks.

But I got more encourage to order checks after I have heard about Carousel Checks. They can make our personal checks more fun and interesting to use because if we order checks from them, we can select from their gallery of a wide collections of licensed characters, colorful images, and even panoramic views as backgrounds to be printed on our personal checks. And to even make our bank checks more interesting, they can even print photo checks. We can choose to put our favorite family picture or cute picture of our kids or memories from our last vacation.

Carousel Checks is really so cool. It gives me all the more reason to pay for our purchases, weather online and in store, using our customized checks from Carousel Checks.

I have been busy lately that I was not able to blog about what happened to me first week of August.

It was Monday and right after lunch, I feel kind of different. I feel bloated and a little nauseated. I called hubby and he asked me to tell my dad to fetch me but I don’t want to burden them and I thought that it is just a simple dizziness that I thought that I can make it home safely.

But then while waiting for the FX to become full, I feel like I will throw up but I tried to control it. I thought that I could control it until I reach home but I was wrong. We were along Espana when I can no longer hold it that I asked the driver to stop and I alighted . Good thing the driver knows me since I am a regular passenger so they waited for me and so I was able to reach Capulong St (which is just one ride away from our house) without throwing up again.

When I reached our street, I threw up again and then again when I reached home. I threw up for another time that my dad decided to rush me to the Emergency Room of UST. They did a CBC test and they found out that I have infection. Normal count for WBC is 10K and my count is 20K. The doctor was advising me that I get admitted but I begged her not to since I am worried for my two kids because I know it will be a big hassle if I will be in the hospital and nobody will attend to my kids.

The attending physician agreed but she have to make me promise that I will take my antibiotics religiously and I will go back on Thursday for another CBC test.

It was 12 AM already when we reached home and then Bela woke up and threw up also. I asked our nanny and she said that Bela vomited twice already before that. Then my mom threw up several times also and then we realized that we might have been food poisoned.

I feel so weak and I can’t even get up from our bed that is why I took a sick leave from work for three days.

I am just thankful that it was I who was badly affected and not my daughter and I am glad that it is all over.

My husband and I are both working five days in a week. We both work in the IT field and things can get really busy at work so we always look forward to going home and getting a good nights rest after a long day at work.

And so now that we will be moving to our dream home in the next couple of weeks, we are already starting to plan for the furniture that we will purchase for our dream house.

At the top of our list is luxury bedding. They say that getting 8 hours of straight sleep is very important for good health and my husband and I believe that we can accomplish that if we can fully relax and have a comfortable rest in our luxury bed. That is why we are really investing on our mattresses, fine linens, pillows, bed sheets, comforters and the like. And we know where to get nothing but the best when it comes to luxury bedding needs but Versai.

Versai has a whole range of linens, bed sheets, comforters, pillows and many more that is made from high quality material like Egyptian cotton yarns, 100% rganic mattresses from Australia, Grade 1 Siberian comforters, and even cocoon silk throws.

Imagining myself lying down in bed with these luxurious items relaxes me already. So I really can't wait to start shopping for the luxurious items for our bedroom from Versai.

August is the month for the celebration of "Filipino Week" in my daughter's school and they have a lot of activities lined up for this month to celebrate it.

They started with a parade where each Grade Level was asked to come in the costume for the region assigned to them. Mindanao was the region assigned to the Prep class and this is what Bela wore:

I got her costume from Quiapo, which is very affordable compared to the one being sold in SM. I am also thankful for the cheap costume jewelry that I got from Finderskeepersjewelry.net to complete the overall look for Bela's costume.

Finderskeepersjewelry is the online store where I can get discount fashion jewelry without the designer price. They sell all kinds of designer inspired jewelry like costume jewelry rings, bracelets, necklaces, and many more.

Since there was no classes for a couple of days before the Filipino Week celebration, we were only given a few days to prepare for the costume that our kids will wear for the event. I actually panic when I got the letter from Bela's teacher but thankfully I can always rely on Quiapo for the costume and on Finderskeepersjewelry to complete the attire of my daughter. So she was able to come in full Mindanao costume (and not to mention one of cutest in all the Prep class. LOL), during their parade to open the official celebration of Filipino Week.

Any moment now, we are expecting birth announcements from my sister in law as she is due to give birth this month.

This is their second baby and they are expecting a baby girl again. Everybody is excited to see the new bundle of joy to add to our family.

I know they are thinking of naming the baby “Martina”, “Georgina” but I am not sure if the couple is definite already with the name that they are going to give to their daughter.

Their first child looks exactly like my brother so we all can’t wait if their second child will be a mini me version of him again.

To my sister-in-law, Grace, we are all praying for your safe delivery. And we all can’t wait to see your little Martina or Georgina or even Grace Jr. soon. LOL.

We just got back from a weekend of fun with family and friends at Shangri-La Mactan last Sunday. We went to Mactan together with my four other friends and their family so it was really fun. Imagine, five families with 13 adults and 10 kids.

This is the first time that we traveled out of town with my group of friends and we all agreed that it was really fun and that we should do it again. We were really able to enjoy Shangri-La with the company of our friends. I can say that we were also able to relax (even if we have two kids in tow for this trip. LOL) and in that three days, I was able to let go of my worries for a bit and just enjoy life.

I was telling my good friend Peachy that I was really refreshed and energized after our trip and I am ready to face the MONSTERS of the real world again. LOL. So I don’t feel guilty in spending even a single centavo for this trip as this is what my husband and I really need – to just have fun, relax and forget about our problems which I know only God and Us will handle as we feel that there is nobody else helping us with our present predicament.

Unlike our previous trips, hubby only used one memory card for our pictures (and I was really surprise). I guess when you have no nanny and with two kids in tow, things will really be a big challenge. LOL. I haven’t sorted it out yet but I promise to post it here soon.

It has a been a long dream for my sister to be able to show her talent in acting. She is an artist by heart. She is active in school joining plays and programs where she is always the star of the show. That is why I did not get surprised when one day she told us that she wants to try her luck in acting.

Of course as her elder sister, I want my sister to enjoy what she is doing and so if it is acting that will make her feel happy and fulfilled, then we will support her in her decision.

In fact, I already started researching on how she can have acting auditions so she can attract potential talent scouts and discover her talent. Thankfully a friend recommended the site of TalentJug where my sister can find casting call auditions.

Joining TalentJug is just easy as all my sister has to do is sign up for an account. Once she has an account, she can search the database of Talentjug for open casting calls and auditions that she can try. TalentJug has a long list of open casting calls available so I am sure my sister will be able to find someone who needs her talent. She just needs to check their list and she can instantly apply for an audition. She can also upload up to fifty images and pictures and even videos showcasing her talent and acting skills after setting up her account with TalentJug, which can be viewed by different casting director who is searching for new actors to train.

TalentJug also is a great source of information too for agencies and TV producers so my sister can even contact them directly.

I am wishing my sister good luck in her new endeavor and we want to let her know that we will be with her to support her in whatever new path she wants to take.

Now that we will be living in a house with four floors, it is essential that we install a good quality doorbell so we will know if we have visitors or if there is someone outside the house who needs the gate to be open for them.

My dad and my husband checked the house last weekend and the doorbell is one of the things in their list that needs to be replaced. We live in a neighborhood where there are a lot of kids and so you can expect that these naughty kids will constantly play with our doorbell so we really need something that is durable and that will last.

My sister also works for a call center company and her schedule is a bit off as she goes to work late in the evening and will arrive home early in the morning so it is very important that the sound of the door bell can reach up to the fourth floor so anyone of us can open the door for her whatever time of day it is.

That is why I have been looking for a store where I can get good quality wireless door bell and that is how I discovered WirelessDoorbellStore.com.

WirelessDoorbellStore.com sells all kinds of wireless doorbell and the model that I am looking has a wireless range of up to 450 feet so the sound can definitely reach even up to the roof deck. The added feature that I like about this high-tech doorbell is that we can assign each melodies for different locations so we will know which push buttons has been pressed. It is also very flexible as we can order additional push buttons and receivers. They even have a model that comes with an Intercom that will give our doorbell more functionality.

We have more than two weeks to fix everything before our move at the end of the month and we all feel very excited.

Since I am not that busy the past weeks, I was able to finish 4 photo books for the birthday party album of Bela from her 2nd up to her 5th birthday party. Every night before going to bed, I will spend a few hours dragging and dropping the pictures to the templates of Ate Jen that I use for the album and voila, after just a few days I was able to finish not just one but four photo books. I was able to work so fast that I was even able to avail of the promo and paid only $9.99 for each 30-page photo book.

And I got so excited this morning when I received the email that 3 out of 4 of the photo books that I created has been shipped already:

The last time I ordered a photo book, it took more than a month before I received the parcel so I tried using my friend Jody’s address this time as she has good experience when it comes to photo book delivery when she last ordered hers. So I am hoping that I will be receiving mine soon.

Excited much.

After I got sick last week, it looks that my kids are starting to have cough and colds too as I might have passed the virus to them. This is what happens every time one of us gets sick. The virus will be transferred to each members of the household and the cycle continues. That is why it is really important that each of us is healthy and we have strong immune system so none of us will catch any virus so none of us will ever get sick again.

In a household where there are kids, this is really very important. As a parent, it pains me and it makes me really worried every time my kids get sick. So my husband and I agreed that the health of our family should be our number one priority.

To keep us healthy, we should live a healthy lifestyle by avoiding vices that is bad for our health like smoking and drinking alcohol. Doing exercise is good too to keep us strong. Another sure way to achieve a healthy living is by taking vitamins and supplements such as vitamin b2 and other supplements that will keep our immune system and our body strong.

That is why we always visit the site of HealthDesigns. HealthDesigns is an online site where we can buy vitamins and supplements like zinc supplements, healthy fruits juices, organic foods, and anything that is healthy and good for the body. They carry different brands from Biotics Research, Good Earth, Doctor' Best and many more so you will surely find the health products that you are looking for from their site. They even have products for the health of your pet too.

Caring for your health married or not, with or without kids should always be the top priority of every individual. So check out products from HealthDesigns now so you can start living a healthy lifestyle.

My husband is very much excited to move to our new home but he has no choice but to give in to my belief that we should finish the ghost month first, as per the Chinese's Calendar of Feng Shui, so he has to wait until August 29 before we can start moving our things.

So while waiting, he and my dad always visits the house and the last time they were there, they checked and took note of the things that need to be repaired like the replacement of some of the light bulbs, termite treatments to some of the rooms and their priority project is to get a concrete floor grinder to polish the concrete flooring at the roof deck.

So hubby quickly checked the net and discovered Innovatech. Innovatech is a company that provides concrete polishing tools and carpet removal products for any house or establishments. The product that hubby is particularly interested is their I-shine which is the best concrete polisher in the world. It is very easy to use and it will definitely make our floor sparkle fast which is what my hubby wants.

My husband and my dad still has three weeks to do whatever repairs and works they need to do and I am sure they will be able to finish all their projects especially the floor polishing with the help of products from Innovatech before our move on August 29.

I am so excited as we will finally be heading to Cebu for a much needed rest and recreation this coming Friday. I was all smiles when I went home from work today and I can’t stop thinking about our upcoming trip. I only have to wait for a few more days and we are off to paradise.

I have been through a lot of stress and adjustments these past weeks and hubby can attest at how stressed out I am as I have been talking to him about it. My Twitter friends are also a witness of my rants these past weeks and the things that make me feel problematic and stressed out and I know a little time spent away from the place that is giving me stress would really be a perfect breather for me.

Hubby is excited too as I know how he has been working hard lately to make both ends meet so we can pay for our monthly amortization for the housing loan that we got for the purchase of our new house. God knows it is ONLY him and I who will make things work for us as we can’t rely on anybody else for help except the two us so I know how tired he is also so this vacation will be a perfect time for him also to relax.

Just a few more days to go and I can finally be free from all my problems even just for three days.

The quest to a healthier lifestyle becomes a responsibility once you have kids. If you are not concern about your health when you were young, this perspective will change once you start a family and this because you know that they rely on you. Remember that your kids look up to you as their role models so if you are lazy to get up or a fan of unhealthy foods, chances are your children will pick up this character as well.

Here are some tips on how you can get fit and healthy as a family:

1. Engage in weekend physical activities such as biking, walking or hiking. It’ll be fun to be away from home and taking a hike with the family. A few minutes of biking in the morning are also a good a form of exercise. Swimming is another fun exercise activity that is perfect for summer.
2. Limit your time in front of the television or computer screen. Kids could easily pick this habit and next thing you know everyone is slouchy and glued to their favorite TV shows or online games.
3. Being fit and healthy is not all about exercise; it should be accompanied with a balanced diet. Encourage kids to eat fruits and vegetables and prepare home cooked and healthy meals for the entire family.

There are a number of ways on how you can encourage your kids to be active and healthy but they will need your guidance and support all the way. This is the reason why doing it as a family is the best way to do it.

Sheila currently works as a freelance writer and uses her free time traveling. Her current project on lån penge rki ingen hindring has provided her with an opportunity to share information and resources about a special type of Danish loan.

I caught a terrible virus this week that I was absent from work for three days. If only I don't have a meeting today, I might have skipped work again as I still feel dizzy and I still feel weak today. The doctor who looked after me at the Emergency Room got so alarmed after my CBC Test that she is even suggesting that I should get admitted so they can better monitor my condition.

Because of what happened, I receive a sermon from my husband. I always tell him that we should look after our health, as our goal in life is to live longer so we can be with our kids for as long as we can but it seems that I am the one who should be reminded to take good care of my health.

That is why as soon as I am well to go online; I checked the site of Naturally so I can order vitamin supplements for my husband and me.

Naturally is an online store where I can order vitamins, nitric oxide supplement, food intolerance products, systemic enzyme products, targeted nutritional products, fizzy effervescent products and even natural products for the relief of join pain.

As the name of their store implies, they sell all natural products so I am sure that all of their products will not be harmful to us.

I promise hubby that from now on, I will really look after my health not just for me, but for him and the kids.

We had a fun Saturday last week because we were able to go out the whole day as a family (which is something we haven’t done in a while).

It was Cobi’s schedule for vaccination in St. Luke’s Global so we left the house around 10 AM. We were in and out of the doctor's clinic in less than 15 or 20 minutes so we decided that we could still have lunch in the Fort before Bela’s gymnastics class at 1 PM.

We dined in at Conti’s (one of our favorite restaurants there) and we pig out. LOL.

After eating lunch, we head straight to Rizal Coliseum for Bela’s 1 PM gymnastics class. The class lasted for more than two hours (Bela was really having fun that she even joined the 2-4 session. LOL) and then we went to Robinsons after.

Our first stop of course in Robinsons is Toys R’ Us and then had merienda in Crepes and Cream and I am happy as I was able to do a little shopping for or upcoming Cebu trip.

I had a though week after that Saturday as I got sick (and I will make a separate post about that) but I have something to look forward to next week as we will head to Cebu for a much needed break.

Bela would want to have a Jake and the Neverland Pirates as the theme for her 6th birthday party. She will actually not have a big party for her 6th birthday as budget is a little tight and since she will have a big celebration next year for her 7th. We will just have a celebration at Hospicio de San Jose and we will invite our friends, relatives and Bela's classmates to celebrate with us too with the kids at Hospicio.

Since Jake and the Neverland Pirates is a new show in Disney Junior, I am sure there is not much option for balloon decorations with this theme. So what I am thinking is just put up a lot of custom flags around the party venue and just print a big tarpaulin with a beach setup and a pirate ship as the background.

I checked and I discovered the site of htcustomflags where I can order affordable feather flags. They use the highest quality of material that is made in the USA and the best UV resistant ink to print the flags. They even offer free shipping and turn around time for the order is only 1-3 business days.

I am thinking of getting message flags too with the message "Happy Birthday Bela" or something catchier as the center flag.

I only have three months left and I better start with the party preparations for Bela's 6th birthday celebration.

I can't believe it is August already and after this month will be the start of the busy "BER" months which signals the start of the Christmas season.

Every Christmas, a good friend of mine organizes fund raising projects to help the Cancer victims of PGH. Last year, she solicited donations and she organized a party for the kids where she treated the kids like prince and princesses as they watch the play Cinderella before the party. The proceeds of the donations too was used to fund medicines and chemotherapy sessions for the kids who have cancer.

I always like to help my friend for her project because I know that it is for a good cause and so I have been doing some research and I stumbled upon the site of Natures Vision Fundraising.

Since we are all concern about global warming, then organizing a nature fundraiser would be a great idea to help us raise funds that will widened the awareness of people about caring for the environment and at the same time, we will be able to raise funds for the cause that my friend is promoting.

Natures Vision Fundraising has a lot of items that are saleable so we can generate funds for our cause. By tapping their services, they will handle all the ordering and delivery for us so we can just concentrate on our nature fundraising campaign.

I am so excited as I love doing charity work especially if it will benefit a lot of kids who really need our help.

Since Sunday, we have no Cable Service. We usually encounter a “No Signal” problem from Sky Cable but all we need to do is call Sky Cable and they can reset the box over the phone and restore our service.

But this time is different, as they have to send a technician to check the connections. Since we have no cable for two days since the turnaround time for their technical support is 24-48 hours, hubby kept himself busy by watching:

what else but FPJ movies. He excitedly brought out his DVD collection of FPJ movies and had a marathon. Now I am thinking if he is more happy that we don’t have cable connection. LOL.

Our cable service was restored last Tuesday and the technicians found out that all Sky Cable connections have been disconnected from the main post and their suspects are our good old neighbors who want to get everything for free by using jumper connection even for their tv cables. Some people are really born to be molesters, eh? I am glad that we are leaving this neighborhood.

Hubby and I are still in heaven because we sill can't believe that in just a few days, we will be moving in to our dream house that we recently purchased. We actually did not plan for it because the seller, who happens to be hubby's officemate, just happened to mention to hubby in passing that they are selling their house because they are migrating to the US soon. Hubby decided to drive by one day as the house is just near our place and we both look at each other when we saw the house and we both said at the same time, "Let's buy it?"

It was love at first sight. We both fell in love with it that soon enough, hubby arranged for us to visit and checkout the house and all the more we fell in love with it. Hubby immediately negotiated the price and when they both agreed, hubby gave earnest money to secure the deal.

So hubby applied for a housing loan so we can finally purchase our dream house. It was a long process with the bank but we are thankful that the seller was patient and is true to their word as they waited for us until it was only last June that they were able to get the full payment from the back.

It was a journey of six months for us to purchase the house and in just a few days, we will be moving in to the house that we can call our own.

The house has a European theme before with a lot of Stanley furniture so we are thinking if we will go with the same theme or adapt a new look altogether by buying new furniture like the Lexington furniture for our bedroom that I am so loving:

Or this Lea furniture for our children's bedroom.

Thankfully, we don't have to go and visit different stores to get this cute furniture as everything can be seen and bought online via Great Priced Furniture online site. As the name of the site implies, they offer the best price in the market, which is what we are looking for as we are working on a tight budget for the furniture. They even offer free shipping and no sales tax on most items so that will be a big savings for us.

I really can't wait to spend or first night as a family in our new house.

This is it, in less than a month we will be moving to our new house. The seller is leaving tomorrow which mean we can move in anytime after tomorrow but since hubby and I believe in Feung Shui, we will be postponing our move until August 29 since it is the first day after the ghost month which is good for house move.

While waiting for August 29, hubby plans to have the interior and exterior of the house repainted. According to the seller we will need around 50,000 for the repainting project and since our savings account is drained to the brim, we might need to check checkcity.com payday advances, as we might need to borrow money so we can have the budget for this house-repainting project before August 29.

We are all excited already. We visited the house last week and we checked the rooms again (this is the first time that we did this again after purchasing the house) and Bela was so excited upon seeing the bath tub and I got really giddy after seeing my walk-in closet.

Just a few more days and we will be moving soon to our dream house.

Just look at hubby’s latest picture?

17 again? Hehe. I don’t know what got into him that he went home one day with a new haircut. And then he even shaved his mustache and beard.

Did you know that when I met hubby, he already have a mustache and I married him not seeing how he looks without a mustache. That is why it took a lot of getting used to when I first saw him without a mustache. He even did it while he is on a remote trip and he just sent his picture to me via MMS.

But I like his new haircut and clean-shaven look. He definitely looks a lot younger and less stress out. Even our friends and our kids’ doctor noticed how young he looked like after shaving and with his new haircut.

So dad, I wish you would always keep this haircut. The kids and I like it more than your long wavy hair. LOL.

I did not realize that deciding to buy a new car would be this stressful. LOL. Since we applied for a loan a few days before Holy Week, we were only able to get the bank’s approval last Friday. So yesterday, we went to Toyota again to get a quotation for Toyota Vios 1.3 J and 1.3 E if it is through bank financing.

Howell was already set on getting the Vios 1.3 E (The only difference of the E model with the J model is that the Vios 1.3E has power lock, power window, power side mirror and mag wheels). And Toyota is also having a promo wherein they are giving the Insurance and the LTO registration for free if we purchased our car through Toyota Financial Services.

I made an Excel sheet yesterday so Howell can get a bigger picture of the price difference between the J and E model and if we will get the car through bank financing or through Toyota’s in-house financing. And after seeing the total amount after adding the interests, he is starting to have second thoughts again. LOL.

So we will see….We badly need to make a decision soon since we have no car to use since we sold our SUV weeks ago and Bela is already going to school for her summer class. Wish us luck and hopefully we can finally make a decision soon.

We said goodbye to our Vitara last week when the buyer picked it up in our house last Monday. Then the next day after Bela’s Moving Up Day program, we went to the different showrooms in Otis and Macapagal area to check out the cars that we are considering buying.

After our car window shopping, our choices were:

1. Toyota Innova – The capacity of this car is just perfect for us specially we are planning for baby # 2 this year. But it is over our budget.
2. Toyota Vios – This car has good reviews and they say that it consumes less gas plus it very well fit our budget. But the capacity of this car is just enough for a small family.
3. Honda City – Howell fell in love with this car. He is even set on buying it but I told him to think it over as it is already almost the price of the Innova.
4. Mitsubishi Strada – This is hubby’s number one love. But I find the price to pricey for a car and considering that it also has a small passenger capacity.

So what did we end up buying? That’s for my next post (Sayang din pang fillers din yun. LOL)

I can't contain my excitement already because in just three weeks, we will finally be heading to Cebu and spend three days and two nights at Shangri-La Mactan. This will be our first time to stay at Shangri-La in Cebu but my good friend Peachy and her family are avid patrons of this five star hotel and I hear nothing but raves from them for this resort so I am sure that we will have a grand time and will finally be able to relax and rest even for just three days.

Since we will be going to a beach resort, I am now thinking to get Laser Hair Removal to prepare me for this trip. Of course I have to be ready to wear the proper swimming attire minus the nasty hair so I am considering having this service from Cultura.

A friend recently tried Botox Maryland from Cultura and she is very happy and please with their service that is why she highly recommends this cosmetic dermatology and laser center to us. They integrate their dermatology, laser and Reveal Medspa expertise to give their patients the best service for skin health.

The countdown is on so I better contact Cultura soon so I will be ready for the beach for our next family adventure with our friends.

I don't know why SM decided to pull out Monterey products from their supermarket and they just started to market all SM Bonus meat products. I guess it is their strategy to monopolize the market but I really prefer Monterey products as I know that it is safe and of high quality.

That is why when a Monterey shop opened just a few blocks away from our house, I was really happy as at least we have easy access now to good quality meat. My only problem when they opened was that they don't have credit card processor so I have no choice but to pay in cash.

But when I passed by their store last week, I am so happy when I learned that they availed of the service of Merchant Perfect, one of the credit card processing companies today.

I wonder why they did not thought of getting the service of Merchant Perfect as signing up for a merchant account with them is very easy and is even free. Once they have an account, they will get the following service from Merchant Perfect:

. Low Swipe Rate
. Free Account Setup
. 24/7 Toll Free Support
. online payment processing
. Free virtual terminal
. Check services

At least now I can shop conveniently with them by just using my credit card.

Hubby and I had a tough day today, as we got so worried since Bela is sick. Last night, Bela was complaining that she feels hot and when I checked her temperature, it is already at 38.5. We just gave her medicine and she went to bed after.

This morning, I checked her temperature and she still has fever but I did not think that it would shoot up so hubby and I even prepared to go to work. We are all dressed up and we are already about to leave but I checked her temperature again one last time before we leave for work and I panicked when it read 40 degrees Celsius. I quickly called my mom and hubby decided that we would not go to work and take Bela to the hospital.

We went to her pediatrician around 8 AM. We initially planned to take her to the Emergency Room but we know that they will do all kinds of test as that is the routine in the ER of Chinese General and we don’t want to expose her yet as she might get traumatized. So we waited for her doctor to arrive and it was already 10 AM when her doctor entertained us.

She was given medicine and we were asked to observe for her fever and if it doesn’t improve in 3 days, then she has to have a CBC test and Urinalysis.

Her temperature shoots up again to 39.9 around 3 PM so I gave her Advil as per her doctor’s prescription. When she went to bed, her temperature is already down to 37.6 so I am hoping that it will continue to improve.