Want a Laptop

My husband and I have been discussing whether it's viable for us to get a new laptop for myself soon. Well actually, we both know that money has been tight these days. With the increasing cost of basic commodities plus the seasonal big expense that come with the start of the school year (yes, we are literally sending 2 boys to school this June), it is really kind of hard to make extraordinary financial cash-outs at this time of the year.

However, we stumbled into a really good deal at the mall last weekend. That is what is really urging us to get this new laptop. It's a great deal because of the big discount. However, the offer is for a limited time only so we need to decide as soon as possible whether to get it or not. My husband knows that this kind of deal won't come around again anytime soon so, we really want to take advantage of it and buy the laptop now. An option for us would be to get instant payday loans to bridge our finances at this time of need (or you can say, want). The loan can pay for the laptop now while we wait for our next payday to pay for it. It's really easy and convenient. At the same time, the terms are not that bad.

I Wish...

I wish I was this thin again...

This was me back in 2005. I was lovingly staring at my husband-to-be, with no inkling that being married and pregnant (for the second time) would be mean having an additional 50 lbs to my then weight. Whaaa!!! Sad as it may seem, I wouldn't exchange this life for anything in the world.

For your Medical Concerns

Lately, I've been hearing so many stories of people getting sick and being confined in the hospital. We have a neighbor who had kidney and other problems and was in the hospital for weeks. Her family had already spent hundreds of thousands (even up to a million, I think) just to keep her alive. But in the end, she still passed away (may God bless her soul). I also have another friend whose father is in the hospital right now undergoing treatment for cancer. My friend has been out of her wits trying to find out how her family will pay for the hospital bills that is becoming bigger by the minute given the fact that her Dad isn't close to being well yet.

Actually, I know from experience how hard it can be to get sick or to have someone in your family get sick. As a consequence, you sometimes have to endure huge hospital bills that are really problematic in the wallet especially when you come unprepared. In our case, we depend a lot on our medical card to assist us in our hospital expenses.

In these kind of times, one is really needs to have a kaiser permanente. Depending on your location, you and your family can be enrolled in an individual or group health plan under kaiser permanente Colorado or kaiser permanente California. I swear, there is nothing like being ready.

Preggy at 25 Weeks

I'm planning to go on leave tomorrow to go to my OB at Cardinal Santos. Lately, I've been feeling the baby move in my tummy and it gives me the most wonderful feeling. I can't wait to see him. I am imagining already how he would look like. However which way, in my eyes, he will be the cutest baby boy in the world.

I am scheduled to take my OGCT to detect my sugar level today. I hope the results will be okay. I'm just a littled scared of the needle prick, hahaha. Plus, I'm also a bit worried because I've been eating a lot of sweets lately. We bought a Choco Almond Sans Rival from Conti's a few days ago and it was so delightfully sinful! (Got pictures but it's with my hubby). You should try it too! :-) Anyway, wish me luck guys!

Working for 12 years

Yes. I just celebrated yesterday my 12 years in the company that I am working for. It only seems like yesterday when I was fresh out of college and was such a newbie in the corporate world. But now, 12 whole years have already passed since my very first day of work. Yeah, it's been that long and I really didn't imagine that I'll last this long.

Anyway, lately, I have been thinking of getting out already from this company and starting anew. I really have been wanting to start my own business or go into some kind of profitable business venture. But I'm thinking that if ever I decide to stay at home to be a full-time mother and housewife, I still want to contribute financially to help my husband support our family's needs.

One of the things that is on my list is the possibility of venturing into Vending Machines. I have read and heard that those who are into the Vending Machine Business are apparently doing very well. With a Vending Machine, there is no need to worry about employing many people or thinking of ultra-creative products. All you got to have is a very strategic location where you can position your machine. With that, you can already ensure yourself of good profits. As long as there is good traffic and a well-maintained unit, there will be no problems in making your investment grow.

Singing a Happy Tune

Just wanted to journal my happy memories of Zoe and myself at Kindermusik. I just love the bonding that we have every time there's school.

Somehow, I just know that these times won't be 'repeatable' since time seems to fly so fast. Before I know it, Zoe will be going to a regular school already and the opportunity to bond like this won't come along that easy.

Looking for a Gift

My husband's birthday is coming soon and I find myself at a loss on what gift to buy for him. We've been together as a couple for almost 12 years already and all those years, I always find it so hard to get the perfect gift to give him. I've given him various things already and I want to make it a point to get him something different each time whether it be his birthday, our wedding anniversary, Christmas or other special occasions.

This year, I have been fortunate enough to have known about this site that offers various mens gifts. It's a very fantastic discovery actually because I really have almost ran out of ideas on what to give my dear husband. Their products ranges from nice personalized and romantic gifts as well as gifts in line with sports or other outdoor activities. And if budget is an issue, they also offer gifts that don't hurt the pocket but still will sure be well-appreciated.. They also have different "guy" items that I never thought can be good ideas too. For example, they also have books, video CDs, and gadgets. Plus, they also have good shipping deals that you can't resist.

I am actually tempted to buy ahead for this coming Father's Day in the month of June. I think there also stuff there that are apt to give to my own Dad on Father's Day. Moreover, I can also try buying online here for some anniversary gifts for men in time for our wedding anniversary this year.

What's more, Christmas shopping will now be a breeze. It won't be so hard to think of holiday gifts to buy for our uncles and male bosses because there so many things to choose from in this site. In fact, I think I'll tell my husband that we can buy that cigar flask for his boss. I'm sure he will appreciate it because he likes to smoke cigar.

Hey, look at this site of men's gift now and see the endless possibilities within your reach.

If I Were to Start a Business...

If I were to resign from work and start my own business, I would probably start on a business that concerns food or anything computer-related. Maybe I can get into a small catering business or maybe start a "pandesalan" at our village. Or maybe I can put up a computer shop or a copying center. I guess that wouldn't be so hard. But first, I need to look for options on where I can get Small Business Loans. That would help me a lot in pushing my business.

Any more bright ideas?

How, How The Carabao?

I was with some friends yesterday and we were talking about work and how we wanted to resign and just be a "working" housewife. The topic was about this because the party host, our friend from work, resigned last year to be just that - a housewife and a full-time mom. But the big question is, as many Filipinos would joke - "How, how, the carabao?" Hahaha. I don't know where to get the courage to risk not having a job and not having a stable income. I don't know what is the determining factor that would make me leave the corporate world. Would it be the stress? My boss? Maybe both?

To top it all, Zoe was talking in random to me last night and she was saying something like "I don't want you to go to the office tomorrow. Baby's here and Zoe can't go to office." Oh my. It's been a big dream of mine for years already but it doesn't seem to happen...just yet!

Planning a Painting Job?

Nothing compares to a room with quality painted walls. The color and quality of the wall paint spells the ambience for any room or home. In our case, for example, I just wanted to immediately transfer to our new room right after we got married. The wall paint there was still a mess. It was not done well plus it had bad stains from the vanishing of the cornice and the wooden closets. But even if, we did transfer and I regretted it a lot because after a few weeks, I couldn't take the looks of the ugly walls anymore so we had to move out again, pull out all the furniture again and had somebody who is more professional redo the work. This only shows that even if your furniture are grand or your room decorations are expensive but have badly painted walls, then it's still a disaster. That is the reason why we believe in investing heavily on good paint as well as on the services of a good indoor and outdoor painter.

If you agree with me and are planning of undergoing a painting job for your whole house or even for any of our rooms, then you can get in touch with an Atlanta Painter online who can give you comparatively better quality results compared to those other unknown painters in the area. Their results are also much better than your DIY project and I am sure about that. All you have to do is to go to their website and leave your contact numbers or email and they will get in touch with you immediately.

Tasks for The Weekend

As the workweek ends today, I want to list down the things that I plan to do this weekend and hope it'll be a very productive one. We originally had planned to go with my friend and her family to a trip to Zambales for the weekend but had to beg off.

Saturday:

1. Go to early mass at 6 am to have enough time to prepare Zoe for her class. We are perrenially late for school because of the traffic along P. Tuazon so I'm hoping we can leave earlier than usual tomorrow.

2. Install the hooks for Zoe's picture frames in the attic. I plan to hang 4 new frames on one side of the wall. I've reserved the other side for the new baby's pictures.

3. Be updated in my cultural reading ~~ I haven't done this for ages.

4. Cook something special ~ sort of to celebrate, in our own way, my Dad and sister's birthday.

5. Go visit the nearby ukay-ukay store and see if there's anything worthwhile there (I'm sure there'll be).

Sunday:

1. Attend a baptismal party of my friend Lucy's first-born.

2. Bring Zoe somewhere nice like Fun Ranch or the mall.

3. Take a nap. Hahaha.

4. Clean up our closets.

5. Find more of my pregnancy clothes from my old room.

I guess, that'll be enough. Have a happy weekend everyone!

Get Down to Business

My friend's sister just returned to the corporate world last month. She used to work as a lawyer in a big law firm, specializing in litigation and immigration. As good a lawyer that she is (she's actually a bar topnotch), she worked so very hard at her cases and delivered thoroughly what the company expected from her. I think she worked too hard too that after a few years of doing that, she felt just burnt-out. That is the reason she decided to resign and rest for the while.

After regaining her drive to work again, she gladly accept the offer of a relatively smaller law firm. Good thing that this company is very much interested in getting down to business, that is, focus on the practice of law and then take care of the other secondary things through outsourcing. They discovered the benefits of E-billing which helps them save time and money. They also use Matter Management to manage company issues and legal matters properly. Then there is an automation software Litigation Hold to help them have due compliance to all government and legal requirements and the like.

With the help of all of these software applications, I hope my friend's sister find her new company as a better place to work in where she will be less burnt out, less stressed, be more gratified and more fulfilled.

Gingersnaps Sale

I think I mentioned before that we went to the Gingersnaps Warehouse Sale last Saturday and was able to score several preggy tops, a pair of slacks and a skirt for myself. I badly need preggy clothes that are fit to wear at the office. I find the prices of the stuff in the department stores and the other maternity shops exorbitant so I really made the effort to go to Pasig to see if I can find some decent clothes at discounted prices.

Apart from my own preggy clothes, we also got to buy some t-shirts and pants for Zoe. I only shelved around Php 1,300 for all that. Not bad, huh? The problem lang with this sale is that the place is sooooo hot! As in. I was sweating so much that I had to cut short our "paghahalukay". And well...there are no decent baby boy clothes. If not for those two things, I would still probably return next weekend to buy some more.

Do I Need a Career Change?

Do I need a career change? That's the big question that crossed my mind last night on my way home. I was then walking towards the terminal where I could get a ride home (my husband had a basketball game with his officemates so I had to commute) and I felt so tired and confused. Really, at that point, I just wanted to cry. I actually was supposed to go somewhere important after work. It was my circle and confession day that day but I missed going because I had to stay in the office to assist my boss with a pending project. Tough luck!

Maybe it was the pressure, the tiredness and the fact that I am pregnant that made me think of really resigning soon. I just couldn't stop thinking that I deserve a better position and better benefits with my experience, education and capabilities. I also thought that I deserve a better boss. Hahaha. Maybe all of that is true, maybe not. So when I woke up this morning, things looked a little bit brighter even if things remain to be the same.

Anyway, I am thinking of developing more skills by taking up Database Development and studying new applications which I can make use of at work like Filemaker Pro. Then maybe if I become more adept and more knowledgeable of it, I can apply in another company that offers
Database Services. What do you think? Is this wishful thinking or what?

Ice Cream Bliss

Here is my current addiction...and it's only for a mere 15 bucks at Ministop. Hehehe.

I love this ice cream flavor and the sugar cone that comes along with it. If only I could eat this every single day...it will be pure ice cream bliss without hurting the wallet.

Secret Plan

My friends and I are planning on a post-summer outing this first week of June. It will be like a post-birthday celebration of the husband of our friend and my husband's birthday celebration as well. You see, our friend's family owns a resort somewhere in the mountains down east and they've offered their place as the venue for our outing.

Incidentally, our other friend's boyfriend is also planning to make use of this occasion to make a formal wedding proposal to our friend. When I heard about it, I got so excited! This guy is asking us for creative ideas on how to surprise our friend with a romantic proposal. So we're thinking, maybe a candlelight dinner beside the pool with a string quartet playing alongside them, a big sign or tarpaulin where the big question is written and a lovely engagement ring.

I still remember the movie "Pretty Woman" wherein Richard Gere went to Julia Robert's apartment in a limousine while holding a beautiful red rose. Maybe that's a good idea too. And oh, if you're the Boston area or in the surrounding areas and are planning to make an unforgettable wedding proposal, I suggest you get a Boston Limousine Service and go ala-Richard Gere. Boston Limousines are readily available for rent. You can also hire a Boston Limousine for your prom or wedding car needs. With it, I'm pretty sure you'll make a big impact!

Peace, Simplicity, Time

I love, love Beth Dargis' weekly simplicity tips this week. There seems to be something in my life right now that doesn't seem to be functioning well. My heart is somewhat feeling all gumbled up and I have been aching to have more time for some peace and quiet to be able to settle my issues with God but can't seem to have the time!!!

Lord, please give me peace, simplicity, time. :-)

Sharing with you the tips here:

1. Don't take over what is someone else's responsibility.
2. Forgive yourself for a recent mistake.
3. Remember - things CAN be different.
4. Cook simpler meals.
5. Watch your reaction to every day obstacles. Are they out of proportion to the problem?
6. Hone your morning routine - what isn't working?
7. Connect with someone today.

Hitting the 6th Month Mark

My pregnancy is officially on its 24th week today. I really look so pregnant now. Hahaha! However, unlike my first pregnancy when my feet and hands were really sore and my tummy was so wide, my extremities I think are not as bloated now and my tummy is more pointy than how it looked like before.

I think I gained a little bit more than expected this month so I resolved to watch my diet more. Besides, I'm due to take the test for gestational diabetes on my next doctor's visit so I am "trying" to discipline myself to keep away from too much sugar (less cakes, chocolates, coke, candy...wow, how come all those start with the letter c?!).

Anyway, I've also been preparing for baby boy's coming by buying, little by little, some newborn clothes and baby boy stuff. I was in Rustan's Makati yesterday and I was just drooling at the nice baby boy bodysuits that they have at Debenhams. I also saw a nice girly bed which we could get for Zoe. You see, part of the preparation for the coming of the baby boy is also to prepare Zoe to be a good big sister. This means that, sooner or later, she has to learn to sleep in her own bed and in her own room.

Talking about Zoe's own room, well, I think we need to decide as soon as possible when to have the remodeling done at home. I still remember when we had a remodeling project when I was pregnant with Zoe. Because of the dust and dirt from the construction, I developed severe skin allergy. It was so very itchy! Maybe it was also the fault of the contractor. They were not very keen in keeping the construction area clean after a day's work. I have a friend from Kansas and she was telling me that the Wichita Remodeling contractor whom she got never gave her any headaches. Everything in their home renovation project went very smoothly and the output was beyond their expectations. They were able to get in touch with that contractor through the internet and they were immediately contacted via telephone and email. I've actually browsed through the website and just wish there was someone here that could offer me the same level of service.

HHWW

I think I'm not ready for this~~

I'M JUST NOT READY!!!

AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'LL EVER BE READY.

But I must admit, they look so cute! ;-)

*picture taken May 16, 2009 (Zoe and Efjay) during the village Flores de Mayo procession

Post msg: For those who are not familiar what HHWW means, it stands for Holding Hands While Walking. LOL!

All You Need to Know

I have discovered the ultimate buying and shopping guide in the internet and it's called Shopwiki. Whereas other online shops only show you products or companies that have paid for advertisement, giving limited choices to customers, in Shopwiki, you will get to know all you need to know about a certain product before you decide to buy it.

I highly recommend this site especially to all young couples or parents who are just starting out and dreaming of furnishing their homes with the right wares and appliances. As a start, you can do your weighing on the best type of bathroom storage that you would need for your house. Shopwiki will aid you in determining the best type and size of storage you need. And when you are going shopping for humidifiers or maybe for an electric vacuum, this site shows you the brands that are available in the market and points to where you can actually buy them. When you look at Shopwiki's houseware category, you will know the pros and cons on settling for this type of appliance or that, taking into consideration the size, the price, even the voltage and the warranty deals that come along with it. And guess what, they also offer great ideas on cleaning practically almost anything.

Now tell me, is Shopwiki a great discovery or what?