Have You Started Your Christmas Shopping?

Hey, it's never too early, right? Since my parents and sister lives on the other coast, I try to shop early for presents. Doing so helps me avoid those long lines at the post office plus I have a lot of time to look for good deals. It is easy to shop for women, isn't it? There are a lot of choices like pocketbooks, jewelry, clothes, perfume and so on. Shopping for men though, is entirely a different matter. I always end up giving my dad a shirt for Christmas, pretty boring. I'm thinking of giving him a blood pressure monitor this year. His old one needs replacing since he's had for a long time and the velcro on the cuff are worn. This is one gift that I know he'll be using for a long time.

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The Vacation to Remember

Summer is over and kids are in school, can you believe it? How was yours? Ours was unforgetable, awesome, great, beautiful, tiring, exciting and wonderful. (I could add more adjectives but I don't want to bore you.)

We had a grand vacation in Europe last June, it lasted for a month and we visited seven countries. It was our 10th year anniversary celebration. We did not have an expensive Honeymoon when we got married. The entire wedding was expensive enough that we did not have any money left to spend for a honeymoon in some exotic place. We went to Washington,D.C. and spent three days doing the tourist stuff. We vowed that we'll have a grand celebration on our 10th anniversary and we started saving towards that goal.

So off we went, dh and I plus the kids. Yes, all four of us since it's not complete without the kids. The cities we visited were: (in Italy) Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice; (in Switzerland) Luzern and Wengen; (in Germany) Trier, Koln, Prum, Kaiserslautern, Berlin, Hohenswangau and Munich; (in the Netherlands) Sitaard, Volendam, The Hague and Amsterdam; (in Belgium) Brussels and Antwerp and (in Luxembourg) Luxembourg City. We took our time and weren't running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. We had a lot of rests and Gelato! Italy was definitely a 'walking city.' All those delicious pasta dishes were burned off, thank goodness! Switzerland was the most beautiful in all the countries we've visited. I was awestruck with all the natural scenery. These are two countries that we would love to visit again. Anyone want to meet us in Rome someday? :)
Credit: Background & Elements: scrapadelic.com
Template: freedigitalscrapbooking.com

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Let Go of That Tacky Gold Necklace!

Do you have any gold jewelry that you have not used for years? Maybe it is out of style or outdated, it could be one of those gawdy 70's style necklace or even a jewelry from an ex (now that's one that you do not want to keep!) Do you know that you can make money out of your old and unused jewelry? Trade your Gold for fast cash , it is not a hard process as you might think. The Gold and Stone Exchange will send you a free gold exchange kit. Your gold jewelry is shipped securely and is insured and you don't have to pay for anything. They will appraise your unwanted gold jewelry and evaluate it's recycle value afterwhich, they will send you a check. They don't charge a hefty fee, they only charge a 6% processing fee. You are not dealing with any middleman here so you aren't losing extra cash, aside from the 6% processing charge, everything goes to you. If you are still unsure and have some questions, you can chat with their online representative any time of the day. Now what would you do with the money you get from your old and unwanted gold jewelry? I would probably get a nice dress watch or purchase a top-of-the-line DVR for the family room.

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Rich and Poor

I took this photo of a small junkboat against a backdrop of expensive yachts in Hong Kong. My high school friend and I went to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen, Hong Kong last year. We were waiting for the boat to take us back to dry land when I noticed this old boat pass by and snapped this photo. I'm glad I did.

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My Poor Hostas and the Happy Deer

I knew after the first year I planted them beside the driveway that it was a big mistake. I noticed that some animal ate the leaves of the Hostas, I didn't know what kind at first until one early morning. I'm an early riser and when I looked out the window, I saw a doe and Bambi munching on my plants! We live in a private wooded lot and along with privacy, we also have a family of deer that lived in the woods. I was supposed to get some deer repellent but just never gor around to doing it. When we came home from our vacation, I saw a lot of weeds and no Hostas. As usual, the Hostas are the breakfast of choice for the deer. I will be ready for them next spring. I want to see my Hostas become full and grow flowers. I saw this site online where they have deer repellents that are also organic and earth friendly, it is called Havart.com. Using an organic repellent is very important specially if you have children or pets. Along with deer repellents, they also sell repellents for other pesky critters like squirrels (they dug up my Tulip bulbs!), skunks, groundhogs and they even have a racoon repellent. This site also has an extensive library with information on Critter Control and a section on how to get rid of critters called Critter Ridder. Whatever kind of repellent or critter control you are looking for, Havart.com has many selections to choose from.

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I'm Still on the Fence

Ok, both Obama and McCain have chosen their running mates. Obama who ran his campaign with the premise of change, chose an old Washington insider, Joe Biden. McCain on the other hand, chose Sarah Palin, a first-term governor from Alaska, a pro-life advocate and definitely a Washington outsider.

Who am I voting for? I still don't know. I'm neither a Democrat or a Republican, I'm an Independent. I don't get swayed by speeches full of rhetoric nor do I get swayed by my family. I like to watch the candidates in a debate situation, not in a convention where they obviously read their 'prepared' speech from a teleprompter. You should at least watch each candidate in a 'town hall meeting' situation and see how they react to the questions.

How about you? How do you vote? Do you vote along party lines? Do you vote for someone who supports things that you personally don't believe in?

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Send Business Postcards

This is a great idea if you own a business and need some kind of promotion to gain much needed exposure or if you just want to send a reminder to your customers about the offerings of your business. If you are just starting your business and don't have a mailing list, Vistaprint can help you purchase a mailing list that is composed of your targeted demographic. They have a partnership with Accudata, which is an industry leader in marketing information solutions. This will give you access to millions of mailing addresses from their extensive database. Using Postcards to sell your business is an inexpensive way of advertising. Vistaprint currently has a coupon code that you can use with your postcard order. They are offering 50 free oversized postcards, 8.5"x5.47". The coupon code you use for checkout is PC50. This is a great deal. Vistaprint also offers a complete postcard mailing service for those who are too busy to do it themselves. They will print, address and mail the postcards for you. All you need to do is give them your mailing list and either create your own design by uploading it to their website or have Vistaprint's expert and professional design team make it for you. You will save money with their discounted postage rate and you can send quantities from 1 to 20,000 postcards. Any way you look at it, Vistaprint's custom postcard service is the best for you and your business.

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Are You a Fan of British Singer Dido?

If you are, then you'd be happy to know that she is finally releasing her third album titled 'Safe Trip Home' on Nov. 4. For those of you who are not familiar with the name, you might know one of her popular songs "Thank You" and the theme song from the TV series 'Roswell' titled "Here with Me".

She is giving away one of the album''s tracks, "Look No Further" for free. You can download it at her website http://www.didomusic.com/

I have one of her songs as the hold music in my cellphone. I like her voice and her music, it's soothing.

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Take Some Stress Out of Traveling to NY Airports

We've driven through New York city a couple of times and the traffic is not something to smile about. Driving to the airport is already stressful and you do not want to deal with that when you have other travel issues to take care of and worry about. That is why it is advisable to take the airport shuttle if possible. We've used an aiport shuttle service and we saved money in airport parking fees which can be expensive.

In New York city and the surrounding suburbs, one company that offers airport shuttle service is Go Airlink Shuttle. They offer Shuttle to JFK, Newark and La Guardia. Unlike other airport shuttle companies which makes you walk far to reach their service, Go Airlink Shuttle picks you up from the inner curb just outside of baggage claim. They can do this because have an official permit given by the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Go Airlink Shuttle has a fleet of comfortable and modern vans with a separate luggage compartment. Their drivers are courteous and professional and they also provide customer assistance at the Ground Transportation Desk in the airport. Make your reservations online and receive a special discount.

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Mishmash

There were two days this past week where I did not go after campaigns. There a number of offers that are available for picking but I had other things to do that I felt needed more attention. I don't stress out if I missed out on big campaigns.(@%# to whoever snagged that $65 campaign LOL joke!) The only thing that I did that is related to blogging is to drop ECs. I feel that it's important to reciprocate the drops I received. Dropping ECs can be tiring and dare I say stressful. I still have to get up to dropping 300/day. I did it twice but boy, it wasn't fun. I usually get sidetracked, I see blogs that have interesting posts and stop to read the content and before I know it, mommy duty beckons. :)

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New Jersey Family Vacation

This Labor Day weekend, we planned to go to see my high school batch mates in New Jersey. The last time we saw each other was on Columbus Day 2 years ago. There were 5 of us plus our families who attended the mini-reunion in the Garden State. Three lived in the surrounding area while two of us live out of state. We stayed for a couple of days that time and went sight-seeing in the area. Too bad that we had to re-schedule this weekend's party, there was some scheduling conflict with one of the attendees. With the beautiful warm weather this long weekend, this would've been the perfect weather to go have a family beach vacation or visit New Jersey water parks. I heard that Morey's Piers is the place to go when you're in a vacation in New Jersey. On their website, you can find their weekly specials which will save you a lot of money in discounts. For example, they have 'Extreme Wednesdays' where you get unlimited rides on six rollercoasters. You can also find hotels and motels in Wildwood and the surrounding area. This will take out the guesswork on whether the accomodation you chose is close enough to Morey's Piers.

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His First Day of School

My son did GREAT on his first day of school last Tuesday. He was so good and very confident. He didn't cry and wasn't 'clingy' like some kids in his class. I think it's because he has seen his sister go to school countless times. He knows that I will be there in the afternoon to pick him up. His teacher said that he listened intently and was not disruptive in class. I'm glad to hear that since he is the 'family clown.' I hope he will be an A+ student like his big sister.

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Cord Blood, Save It

Do you know that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, August has the highest number of births. That's why Cryo-Cell International started a campaign this month to educate new parents about the importance of cord blood banking. This company is the most established Family Cord Blood Bank in the country. Cord blood has the stem cells that can be used to treat 70 diseases. These diseases include diabetes, leukemia, cerebral palsy, anemia and many more. The stem cells are harvested from the cord blood after delivery and is preserved for later use. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for parents so it is imperative that they make a decision before the baby is born.

Cryo-Cell also launched a new service called C'elle which provides women with the opportunity to collect and preserve vital stem cells that can be harvested from the body's menstrual fluid during the menstrual cycle.

Current offers by Cryo-Cell includes $300 off with an online application for this Labor Day Weekend; savings for new clients up to $599 and up to $799 for returning clients; $200 savings for C'elle customers and many more. They have highly trained child birth educators available for consultation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Would You Like Some Spicy uh Rat?

Now where is Mickey Mouse when you need him? Apparently, more people in Cambodia are having these rodents as their main source of protein. I read that this country also have high food prices and poor people here and neighboring Vietnam are opting to have these for food.

"With consumer price inflation at 37 percent according to the latest central bank estimate, demand has pushed a kilogram of rat meat up to around 5,000 riel ($1.28) from 1,200 riel last year.
Spicy field rat dishes with garlic thrown in have become particularly popular at a time when beef costs 20,000 riel a kg."

According to the article, rats are also widely eaten in Thailand and the Indian government is encouraging it's citizens to consider eating rat to combat soaring food prices and save grain stocks.

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Mulder...A Sex Addict?

Known as Mulder to X-Files follower, David Duchovny checked into a rehabilitation center for sex addiction. I used to watch X-Files religiously during the first couple of seasons. I like his movie 'Return to Me' with Minnie Driver. I'm fond of Duchovny, he seemed like a nice guy and I like the fact that he is a 'family man'. I'm surprised to read this about him, aren't you?

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Make It a Habit

It is a good idea to start teaching young kids the value of money. Everytime my son asks me to buy him something he saw on TV, my answer is always "We'll have to save money for that." It's not a good idea to buy them everything they want even though you can afford to. Whenever my daughter wants an item, she has to pay half of the cost herself. Even though I can get her the item, I don't want to do it. I want her to learn the lesson that to have something, she needs to save first. That's why she has her own savings account although she cannot get into this without my knowledge. It's an online account and I didn't ask for an ATM card. Having a card will just give her the idea that it is easy to take money out. Until she is old enough to be financially responsible, I will be the primary contact for this account.

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School's Open!

Credits: sweetasmel.blogspot.com kimscrapping.blogspot.com scrapadelic.com

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Vacation with Friends

Have you ever had a vacation with your close friends? It's fun only if you all get along. We've spent some vacation time with friends and we all enjoyed it. We've been talking of going on some Caribbean cruises. One of us just went on a Disney cruise in the Caribbean last spring and she and her family enjoyed it. I've been on a cruise in the Mexican Riviera. It was a week-long cruise and it was fun. If you don't have any self-control, then you'd end up a couple of pounds heavier from all the delicious food on board. Having a vacation with a group of people is fun, just make sure that you all have the same idea of fun.

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Three Keys to a Successful Marriage and Family

I found this article online and want to share it with you. A part of it reads:

To raise great kids, focus on your marriage. There are three keys to a successful marriage and family:

1) Recognize that we've already chosen the perfect spouse. No, we would NOT choose better next time;
2) Recognize how often our fight-or-flight instinct overrides our passion in marriage. To create a happy marriage, we need to go from the fantasy, "It's his/her fault that I'm unhappy" to the truth, "I wouldn't do any better in my next marriage, so I might as well give 100 percent to this one;" and
3) Recognize that if we build a great marriage, we create a great role model for our kids, and they learn self-reliance and cooperation in the process.

As long as you believe your life is your spouse's fault, a new partner will always seem attractive. But once you begin to see your role in the ongoing, lifelong problems of your marriage, you'll recognize that if you started over with a new partner tomorrow, you'd still be carrying all your personal baggage into that relationship.
And that's where accepting our spouse creates a positive chain reaction. Commitment forces us to be more forgiving because we have given ourselves no choice but to work things out. It also forces us to be more outspoken and negotiate a relationship we can live with.

Read the FULL ARTICLE.

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Planning for the Winter Break Vacation

My in-laws are what you call 'snow-birds'. After Thanksgiving, they pack up and head off to warm weather aka Florida. We usually visit them during Winter break if dh can take time off from work. Next year, we are planning to see them and also go to Disney World. I'm looking at different websites offering Orlando vacations. My son has not been to any Disney parks yet and I'm sure that he will have a blast. He's also tall enough to be able to ride most of the attractions in the park. My daughter meanwhile thinks she's too old for Disneyworld and prefers Universal Studios.

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Strange Photo at the Trier Cathedral Courtyard

This are some of the photos I took at the courtyard of the Trier Cathedral in Germany. Photo#1 was the first photo and you can see that it is clear. The next photo I shot was of the hallway in front of my husband and daughter. You'll notice that there are some spots on the photo, just like photos 3 and 4. Photo#5 was taken by my husband and it was on the opposite side. You can see a big spot on top of my head. I know that these are not some kind of dirt or dust since the photos before, after and in-between these photos are all free of spots. I also have some photos I took at the Trevi Fountain and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome that has spots on it. I noticed these after I downloaded all the photos in my notebook. What do you think? Strange eh?

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MyLifetime.com - A Place to Unwind

What do you like to do when you want to relax? Read, watch tv, sleep? I like to play flash games. Yes, I do play games online. I enjoy it because it's fun. I like to go to MyLifetime.com. It's from the same company that brings us the Lifetime channel on cable. The channel with those tear-jerker movies and a lot of love stories. I enjoy their website as much as I enjoy their movies. This website has a lot to offer. Aside from games, they also have a Home and Crafts area for those creative types, a Health area for the health nut, and they also have a place for those in need of help with their relationship and more. Whatever tickles your fancy, they have it. Let me tell you, if you haven't played their games, you should try it. It is addicting!

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New Layout

I'm thinking of changing the layout of this blog. There are a lot of templates to choose from although the choices are not as varied as Wordpress. I still don't know if I'm sticking with the same color combination. This whole process can be easy but it ends up to be tedious for me since I want to add some personal touches. It'll probaby take me a while to complete a new template. I'll have to design a new header or maybe just stick to my current one.

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Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

Just like the Olympics Opening Ceremony, this one did not disappoint. It is still beautiful even though it's not as elaborate as the opening ceremony. My favorite part was this memory tower. There are thousands of participants just like the other one. I read that the participants had to wear an adult diaper since the program runs for a long time. Whoever choreographed this deserved the accolades that they received. It also costs a lot of money for sure. The presentation of the British for the London 2012 games were pretty lame. What the Chinese presented was simply amazing and it's going to be a tough act to follow.

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Goodbye Comcast Cable Internet?

I've been satisfied with our Comcast internet service until these past few days. I'm a regular surfer although I rarely download music or videos. I use the internet for web surfing (mostly news bits) and blogging. Lately, I've noticed that our internet connection which used to be 'fast' has slowed down to a crawl. It takes a while for the page to load. I stare at a blank white screen for what seems like a minute before I get to see the page. For example, when I go to check my Yahoo mail. I see the Yahoo logo, then the borders then after a while I see the messages. Sometimes it takes a minute or so for the whole page to load. When I tried to view a photo a friend has sent me, it downloaded at a snail's paced. I read online that Comcast has been limiting the internet speed of some customers, those that they consider 'heavy users'. Am I a heavy user?
I'm seriously considering getting that FIOS thing from Verizon. I heard from my friend Lanie that they're satisfied with it. Does anyone else have any experience with FIOS?

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A Day in the Streets of San Francisco

San Francisco, a city that has special memories for me. I remember visiting this city for the first time when I was 15 years old with my parents and siblings. I was awed by its beauty and vowed that I will come back. I did come back, 9 years later when I migrated here in the US. Since it is a tourist destination, we always have relatives and friends visiting from the Philippines and around the US. Naturally, my sister and I became the 'tour guides' during these visits. I've memorized the route from our house to the popular sights in the city so I didn't have to use a map. There was one time though wherein they closed one main road and I had to find a different way. Boy, was I in for a treat! I had to drive up a steep hill with a light on top and guess what? I was driving a car with manual transmission! I remember my sister and cousins laughing and teasing me when I was driving up the hill. I didn't think it was funny that time of course. If you haven't been to San Francisco, then I highly recommend visiting the city. There are different San Francisco tours available in the website Trustedtours.com.

Trusted Tours & Attractions also offer city tours in 23 cities in the United States. For example,if you are visiting the Los Angeles area, they can get discounted Knotts berry farm tickets or other theme park in the area. They also have online travel guides and you can sign-up for their newsletter. By signing up for their e-newsletter, you get a chance to enter to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate. This offer ends August 31st, 2008.

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22 Years of Friendship

We left the house on time, at exactly 11am since it takes an hour to get to the city. I had the GPS programmed with the Westin hotel address. What I didn't realize until later was that we changed the route preference when we were in Italy. Instead of the usual 'fastest route' it was on 'shortest route' which I chose when we were visiting Venice last June. No wonder it made us take the backroads when we reached the city. Anyway, we were 15 minutes late but my friend was aware of it since we kept in contact by phone. We saw her waiting outside the hotel and she didn't change a bit. Yes, we are older but other than that she still looks the same. It was great seeing her, it didn't seem like we haven't seen each other for ages. I'm sure you know that feeling. We were joking that even if we're old and gray, we will still be chatting like we were in the university. We talked about the good times we had in the Philippines and in California. It also reminded my husband and I on how much we miss the San Francisco Bay Area since we haven't been back since 2001. I hope to see her again next year when she comes back for their annual conference and hopefully next time, it'll be a longer visit.

Frame by Cen's Stuff

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Living Without Debt

A lot of people are in deep debt these days. Their house is being foreclosed by the bank since they can't keep up with their mortgage payments. Some people are also using their credit cards to pay for necessities or worst, use one credit card to pay the monthly payments of the other card. These people need help from businesses that provide Debt Relief. One website called Freedom Debt Relief offers services that help people get rid of their debts. There are a lot of things that makes this site different from others. First is their free 10-minute phone consultation assess your financial situation. They also design a debt consolidation program that will fit you and your situation, unlike other financial institutions where you are given the same cookie-cutter solution. With Freedom Debt Relief, they usually negotiate your debt up to 50% less than what you owe. After your debt has been paid off, they can also help you with other financial services offered by their affiliates like home and auto financing or credit repair. Even if all you need is some advice with making some sort of financial decision, FreedomDebtRelief.com will help you with the best strategy to stay debt free.

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Meeting an Old Friend

I haven't seen her since we moved to the East coast 8 years ago. Jo is one of my closest friend, we became close during our 5th year in the university. She's one of the bridesmaids in my wedding and she is my daughter's Godmother too. She's in the city since Tuesday attending some sort of conference for ToysRUs store managers. They've been pretty busy, their schedule was packed from early morning till night which is a bummer since I want to see her and spend some time together. Today, I will finally get to see her. I will go to the city with my family and pick her up from her hotel. We have a couple of hours before her flight back to California. How I wish it could be longer. :(

How about you? Do you have a close friend who lives far away that you wish you can spend the day with?

To the EC droppers, thank you. I will return your drops tonight. :)

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Getting a Domain for My Kitchen

I've been thinking of getting a domain for my cooking blog. I'm still deciding if I'll go with Blogger/Google or try Wordpress this time. I know that Blogger is easy but Wordpress has more options. I am worried though that Wordpress is too complicated and harder to figure out. I've seen a lot of wordpress blogs that have nice layouts and it seems they have more flexibility. Before I worry about that, I need to get a domain, but where? So right now, I'm looking for the best web hosting site that will fit my needs. I saw this website called WebHostingGrating.com where they rate all the web hosting providers. They also have helpful articles, I read the tips for choosing a domain name and learned that it's helpful to have some keyword in it. This website is the place to go if you're still undecided on which web hosting provider is the right fit for you.

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A Nice Award

I received this award from Gin of E-Pamilya. Thanks sis. :)

Rules:

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award

2. Four (4) of them are followers of your blog.

3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.

4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I'm passing this award to my friends who I know visited my blog(s) even before I started dropping ECs.

1. my BFF Mira of Random Thoughts

2. my favorite kumare Lanie of My Life and Family Journey

3. blog designer extraordinaire and generous friend Carlota of Dashing Smiles

4. my blogger friend Laura of My Big Dreams

5. Joy of Words of Love - she's from Australia and the busiest blogger I know :)

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Freetime

This coming Tuesday, my little boy is starting pre-school full time. I now have 6 hours all to myself, except for the two days of the week that I do the laundry. If I didn't have my blogs, then I would probably be at a lost on what to do with that extra time. I would probably go back to school and take another degree. There are a lot of online courses available, I wonder if employers take these online degrees seriously. Does anyone have any idea? I think what's important is doing what you love. I know of my husband's friend who quit his job and enrolled in massage therapy schools. He wasn't happy with his previous job and this is what he wanted to do. He's happy with his new career and is less stressed. I'm sure I'll find something to be busy with.

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The Duomo in Florence, Italy

I took this photo of the Duomo in Florence, Italy. Isn't it a beautiful church? I love the colors of the marble used. (Read more for more Duomo photos.)

This is the Campanille (Giotto's bell tower). To climb up the tower, you pay a fee of 5Euro. It has 414 steps. sorry, no elevators here. :)

The outside surface of the church is being cleaned.The front part has been done and you can see the result. The statues and sculptures on the outside are all replicas. The originals are stored in the Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Cathedral) located in another building at the back of the Duomo. The entrance fee is very affordable
The back part of the church is not yet cleaned and you can see the grime and dirt from pollution.

Photos inside the Duomo. It's not as breathtaking as St. Peter's Basilica (nothing
is, in my opinion) but the painting on the cuppola is worth the visit. You can climb up the cuppola (400 steps) for a fee of 5Euro. Breathtaking views await you at the top.

This is my favorite photo in Florence. I saw this priest walking alongside the Duomo. I should've asked him for a photo-op with me. :)

I hope you enjoyed these photos. Florence truly is a beautiful city and should be in your lists of places to see in Italy.

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Fundraising for School Activites

School is starting on Tuesday for the kids which also means it is time to sign up for volunteer work. Now that my youngest will be in school full time, I can now spare an hour or two. Private schools have limited resources so it's up to the parents to help out when possible. Every year, parent volunteers think of ways to raise money to fund school activities like field trips and also buy additional computers for the technology laboratory. One fundraising idea that I like is selling
promotional items like caps, key-chains, mugs and the popular t-shirt. These are easier to sell and not fattening like chocolates. Although they still have the yearly chocolate fundraising (which we end up paying for the whole box ourselves!) I guess it's better than the catalog-based fundraisers where you end up buying something you don't really need.

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A Mountain of Laundry

With the amount of laundry that I do each week, you would think that I have a football team in my household. I have 6 piles sorted out if it's a regular week: denims, darks, reds/pink, brown/beige, whites and towels plus two loads for the bed sheets. Once in a while there'll be an extra load on top of that. The washing and drying part is not the hard part. The bulk of the work is in the folding part, takes a long time to do all of it. I try to fold the clothes as soon as it's finished in the dryer, or else it'll just pile up in the laundry basket. The kids meanwhile helps me in sorting and folding the socks and towels. I'm starting to have my daughter wash her own towels, bed sheets and pillowcases. I cannot wait for the two of them to do all the laundry in our household. That'll be the day!

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Giving Back

My parents are now in their seventies. They live in Southern California just like my sister and is only a 10 minute drive to her house. I wish they live closer, we are on both ends of the continental US! I envy my sister and her family, they get to see my parents all the time. I am not an envious person but this is the only exception. I'm just thankful that she is close by and she can look after them. In my culture, there is an 'unwritten rule' that we take care of our parents in their old age. There are no questions about it, it's a given that it's our duty. They worked hard to give me and my siblings comfortable lives, it's now our turn to give back. My parents and I already talked about it, they don't want to live in senior homes. They prefer to live in their own home and I don't blame them. I know that there are businesses that provide homecare for seniors. One directory that I saw was Springfield homecare which has a list hundreds of certified homecare professionals. As of now, they're both strong and active. Too bad they don't want to live here, they said its gets too cold in the winter. That's where I lose my argument, I cannot do anything about that.

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Taking a Short Break

I took a break from blogging for a couple of hours to go to the beach with my family.

The city I live on is on the coast and my house is just 5 minutes away from the closest

beach. It was a perfect day, not too hot and there was a comfortable breeze. Thank you

to those who dropped ECs. I'll return your drops later tonite, I need to finish the Europe vacation slideshow I promised my dh. :)

Layout by Cen'Stuff

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Being Happy with You

Why is it that we are not completely satisfied?  Some people have a lot of money yet they still want more.  There are drop-dead gorgeous women that still wants to be more beautiful.  The reason I'm asking this question is because I learned that an acquaintance that I knew from the Philippines is looking for a New Jersey rhinoplasty doctor.  She wants to have her nose done. I guess to make it look like a Caucasian nose, high, pointed and perfect(?). 
I've pondered about this, should I have a nose lift?  I have my dad's nose and I wished I have my mom's. Yeah, she has the nose of our Spanish ancestors, high and pointed.  Growing up, my paternal relatives would comment about it (which I don't understand since they have the same nose!) so I used to have hang-ups about it.  Now that I've "matured", I've learned to be content with what I have.  My wonderful husband meanwhile always remind me that he likes me just the way I am.

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What Makes Me Happy...

I received this tag from Joy and Glorie.

Here are the Rules:
1. List things that makes you happy and what makes you sad.
2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs.
3. Tag other online friends you know:

Participants: Toni’s attachment, Charmdestiny, Dressmeup, Gloriesolitude, Restlessrant, Fit4all, Ozlife, Jcelyns Journal,What A World,More on Health,Words of Love,Kikay Fashion and Beauty,Fil-Oz Blog,Everyday Life,Taurians,In The Lances Mind, Dream Home, KusineraUSA, Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink, Definitely Maybe, YOU'RE NEXT.

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY:
- material things: nice perfume and jewelry
- Seeing my kids play and enjoy themselves; getting my daughter's report card (she's a straight A student so I'm a proud mom)

WHAT MAKES YOU SAD
material things: - whenever I lose a piece of jewelry

- Hearing stories in the news about kids being neglected and abused.

Tagging Janet, Laura and Marie. Copy HERE.

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Tax-Free Weekend, Shop Till You Drop?

Last weekend was a tax-free weekend here in my state. I'm sure a lot of people went out shopping to take advantage of the tax-free incentive.  I wasn't one of those people, we did not need anything so I prefer to stay home.  A friend meanwhile was out the whole day with her husband, I heard they hit all the stores in town. haha  They spent a lot of time in an electronics store since her husband was interested in a home theater in wall speakers subwoofer.  He just bought a plasma tv and he wanted the whole theater sound experience.  You would think that he'd be watching a lot of movies but no, he's getting ready for football season.  Yes, one more week and it is starting.  Can't you tell?  I could.  My husband is a huge and I mean HUGE football fan so I know when it is starting. Pre-season games and draft days, he doesn't miss it.  Back to tax-free shopping, clothing here is tax-free all year round so I can get in anytime.  I'm actually going out later today to get new pairs of shoes for the kids.  So what did I do last weekend? I made Blueberry Cobbler and it is good, definitely beats shopping anytime!

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It's All About Me

Thanks to Liza for this tag. :)

The object is to complete each of the following snippets.

Participants: Startin’ A New Life, Too / All Things Me / Because Life IsFun / Feels Like Home / Mommy Talks / Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps / All Kinds of Me Stuff / The Salad Caper / Winding Creek Circle / Everything Plus / InkBabyStudios / My Happy Place / Iam Dzoi / Suburban Sass / To the Moon and Back / Raising Sandy / Fun.Fierce.Fab / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / Ozzy’s Mom /100% KELLY / And so I am / Princess Bela / Our Journey to Life / My Planet Purple / Women Xplore / Princess Vien / In The Spirit Of Dance / Moms... Check Nyo / Kusinera sa Amerika / Definitely Maybe / Your Blog

I am: a wife and a mom
I think: I need to pause blogging and finish our Europe vacation slideshow
I know: that my husband loves me.
I have: a wonderful life.
I wish: my parents live closer.
I miss: my parents and sister
I fear: getting into an accident
I hear: the morning news
I smell: coffee brewing
I crave: lechon
I search: Google for everything
I wonder: if I'll win the lottery LOL
I regret: not buying a pair of earings that matches my ring in Florence
I love: my family unconditionally
I ache: for nothing
I am not: high-maintenance
I believe: in fairness and equality
I dance: when I hear a good beat
I sing: in the car (sometimes)
I cry: at the end of a good love story
I fight: for my rights

I win: at scrabble
I lose: at bingo
I never: smoked
I always: hug and kiss my family
I confuse: ugh, nothing?
I listen: to XM Fred
I can usually be found: online
I am scared: of snakes
I need: a maid ;)
I am happy about: my life
I imagine: being Michael Phelps LOL

Tagging Lanie, Jemi and Joy

You can copy it here.

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Men and Their Cars

What is this devotion by some men to their cars?  They even take care of the cars better than their girlfriends.  My cousin in California is one of those men.  He has a 1993 GT convertible Ford Mustang that he keeps in tip-top shape.  I always know that he arrived in our house because I can hear the loud sound of the Mustang exhaust coming from the garage.  I asked him about his love affair with the Mustang, why does he like it so much?  He said that it is a great car with a powerful V8 engine. It is considered a 'muscle car' which makes this car attractive to men.   He wouldn't trade it in for a newer model even though he can afford one.  There are many Ford Mustang enthusiasts like him, they own classic cars and are proud of it.  That's why there are still a lot of stores and businesses that cater to Mustang owners.  As for my cousin, he said that he'll keep his Mustang as long as he can.  

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