consider lap band

Obesity is a serious problem. Despite the need to solve their problems, people who are obese also sometimes find it difficult to go on a diet. Nowadays, there are other options besides diet and exercise. Some are looking into lap band Houston as a way of controlling their food intake. In this procedure, your stomach is made smaller by fastening a lap band around the upper stomach. The smaller stomach means smaller food storage or smaller food intake. In the end, it allows you to feel full and satisfied while you actually eat less and lose weight.

new beds

My mom has been scouting for beds for a few months now. She plans to change their old bed before my dad comes home this December. She has dragged me to some furniture shops several times already and I especially liked the modern platform beds she's considering. Unfortunately, my mom can be a bit fickle-minded when it comes to furnitures so I guess I'll be visiting more furniture shops this coming weeks.

holiday coupons cheer

It's so fun to do some online shopping especially since its the holiday season. I still have a lot of gifts to buy. I actually have yet to cross out some names on my christmas gift list. I'm planning on visiting Overstock for some clothes that my sister would love. I'm also planning to get my mom some books from Amazon.com since I haven't given her a book in such a long time. I'm still thinking of what to get for Mateo and for Ramil. I better hurry up while there are some really great coupon offers.

air tools

Ever since we got married, Ramil has this frustration over buying tools he would like to have. Since we'd sometimes do things around the house, he'd often express his desire to have nice tools to work with. He'd look longingly at some Ingersoll Rand air tools or Hitachi power tools whenever we go to hardware stores. I'm thinking of giving him some as gifts for his birthday or maybe this Christmas. Anything to make my handyman more handy :)

cover me

One of the things I am planning to get for Ramil and me are life insurance coverage. Hopefully, we'd be able to get a family insurance. Having worked in the insurance industry before, I know how important it is to have yourself covered. Now that we have Mateo with us, I feel the importance all the more. We would want to be sure that Mateo will be taken care of if something bad happens to us. Hopefully, we'd be able to get ourselves covered by next year. I just need to save more and to budget it.

parents' gifts

I've been racking my brain for a good gift to give to my parents for this Christmas. Hopefully, my dad will be with us this Christmas and we will get the chance to personally hand him our gifts, which doesn't really happen a lot. I'm thinking of giving them matching Luminox watches. My mom has been using different cheap watches for quite some time now and I think she'd really appreciate having a new, classy one. I just hope I still have enough time to save for it.

pay up

My mom's friend has been complaining about some people calling her and bugging her to pay her loans with a lending company. Most lending companies now get the services of a commercial collection agency to do the dirty work for them. I tried to tactfully tell her that maybe she should pay up to stop them from bugging her. She used the money anyway and it's only right that she pay it back.

starting a business

I have always dreamed of starting our own business. For the longest time, Ramil and I have been listing some business ideas down. From the simplest to the grandest, we list them down. We plan to narrow it down to several possible options and then make a more detailed plan on how to go about it. After that, it's a must to do some market research to give us an idea of how the business might fare. We are very excited about the whole thing. Ramil has been jealous about my status as a part-time teacher. He wants as much time at home with us as possible. If we can pursue our dream, we will be having a lot of time together on our hands.

a vacation fit for a family

I've always talked about Orlando and how it might be great to go there for a vacation. The place is really good for the family with all its theme parks and beaches all in one place. With an Orlando vacation rental, it becomes really perfect for a family. We are definitely putting Orlando in our list of must-go-to places and we also must definitely bring Mateo and any future kids along. It's probably one of the most family-friendly places there is considering that Disney World is its main attraction. Now, which family wouldn't want to go there at least once?

floored

I've experienced living in several houses already. The garage floors in all of them are usually stained with oil from the old car. In the house we're currently living, the concrete garage floor has a round oil stain in the middle and it's slowly growing bigger. Ramil and I plan to put tiles on the floor instead and hopefully, the floor would be easier to clean.

just me and Mateo

That's how it's going to be next week. The new yaya will be leaving on Thursday, with or without replacement. Ramil and I wants her to go already since she claims to be pregnant. We wouldn't want anything happening to her while she's with us. So next week, it will just be me and Mateo. Good thing it's the school's 2nd trimestral test next week, I don't have to go to school. Yipee! I'm looking forward to testing and challenging myself once again. I just hope Mateo chooses to be a good little boy next week. Hehe!

red car insurance

Our red car is pretty old already. Still, we get her insured every year though it's only of minimal cost. When Ramil and I considered buying a new car last year, one of the things that we found really expensive is new car insurance. We told ourselves that if and when we buy a car, we make sure to get a car insurance quote before choosing which insurance to pay for. Cost U Less is pretty affordable than other car insurance. I can't wait to start shopping for car insurance because that would mean a new car for us!

gifts for my baby

I think I will be a constant presence in baby shops in the next few weeks. It's Mateo's first Christmas and Ramil and I still don't know what to give him. I plan to buy some toys we wouldn't normally buy (read: more expensive than usual) since Mateo is very active, curious, and playful already. Also, his birthday will be in two months. So aside from a christmas gift, we need to get him a birthday gift as well. Not to mention that we also have to buy gifts for other babies in the family or of friends. It's okay though because I love visiting baby shops and looking at baby stuffs.

opps, more opps!

More than half of November has come and gone. In a few days it will be December already! I have yet to buy christmas gifts for people I love. I was able to get a lot of tasks from blogitive today (look below, haha!) but I'm hoping for more!!! I need to earn more so that I can get good gifts for people. Plus, I'm saving up for Mateo's birthday party and our 1st family vacation next year.

sleepy time

Grabbed another tag! This time, from Nice.

1. Are you a back, stomach, or side sleeper? Does it change throughout the night?
- Side sleeper. I used to be a stomach sleeper but I never slept like that again ever since I got pregnant.

2. Do you have any bad sleeping habits (snoring/tooth grinding/talking/walking)?
- I'd snore sometimes if I'm really tired. There are also some times when I would talk but I would usually be only half-asleep during these times.

3. How many hours of sleep do you average per night?
- 5 to 6. Bad! I would love to get more!

4. Are you a sound sleeper or do you wake up a lot?
- I used to sleep very soundly, it would take a lot to wake me up. After giving birth to Mateo, however, I became a light sleeper and I'd wake up a lot because he'd want to nurse.

5. Are you a “cold” or a “hot” sleeper? (i.e., Do you wear flannel pajamas and bury yourself under mountains of blankets, or do you throw your windows wide open in the middle of winter and complain about the heat?)
- I always cover myself with a blanket even if it's summer.

learning my make-up

I have always wanted to learn how to put on make-up. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I don't wear it much, I have this fear that my face and make-up would look so amateurish. I've always envied women who can expertly put on their make-up and look so flawless afterwards. It would be nice to go to cosmetology schools to learn everything about make-up. Not only that, these schools also offer lessons on other salon services. Who knows, I might get good enough to be able to earn money with it like put up my own salon or a freelance make-up artist!

my other half

Again, no one tagged me but aside from needing a filler post, I think I would really enjoy this one. Got this from Litzie again.

1. His Name: Ramil.

2. How we met? We were classmates in grade school and high school. Read more here.

3. Characteristics of Denon?

• Funny. Anyone who knows him would definitely agree with me. A day never passes that I don't get a good laugh because of him, makes my life such a joy.
  
• Honest and open. He's always been very open with me and it's one of the reasons why our relationship work.
• Loves to eat and sleep. The love for eating amuses me most of the time. The sleeping part matches mine.
• A gentleman. Even when we were still just friends, this is one of the things that I admire about him. He never fails to treat everyone, most especially women, with respect. I hope Mateo will grow up to be like him.
  
• Homebody. Another thing that made us a good match is our fondness for staying home. Ramil has never been a gimik guy and ever since we had Mateo, staying home has been more appealing than usual.
• Patient. He is a very patient man to be able to put up with me. LOL.
  
• Takes good care of us. He has always placed me and Mateo first. He is a family man in the truest sense of the word.
• Loving. He's not the kind of guy who shows his love with gifts and all. He would often make me kilig with his lambing though. He has always made me feel so much loved with words and actions.
• and a lot more...
  

4. Our 20-30 year plan

Not in any particular order:

• Some kind of business to augment our income. Doesn't have to be a big thing, we're slowly venturing into some small things.
  
• Our own car.
• Our own house
  
• At least another baby.
• We want to do a lot of traveling, if our budget permits.
  

blog tag

Snagged again from Litzie.

1. How long have you been blogging?
More than 2 years already. Started in April 2005

2. What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors?
I blogged to start an online wedding journal. Nobody really taught me how, I just thought of starting my own.

3. Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?
It was for fun at first but now, I also blog to make money.

4. Tell me 3 things you LOVE about being online.
- Heaps of INFO. It's so easy to learn anything now with the internet.
- Reading blogs
- Earning from home

5. Tell me 3 things you STRUGGLE within the online world.
- sticking to my tasks
- mindless surfing
- can't think of a 3rd thing...

brand tag

Grabbed this from Litzie.

1) What’s the brand of your wristwatch?
Timex. Ramil gave it to me a few years ago on my birthday. Needs to be replaced actually (hint, hint!)

2) What’s the brand of your bracelet?
I don't wear any bracelet.

3) What’s the brand of your cell phone?
Nokia

4) What’s the brand of your computer?
Neo laptop.

5) What’s the brand of your bags?
I'm not much of a bag person and my bags don't usually have brands. I have a Gucci bag, though, which was given by my dad.

6) What’s the brand of your undies?
Soen, Triumph, Hanes.

7) What’s the brand of your flip-flops?
No brand :)

8.) What’s the brand of your shoes?
The shoes I wear everyday to school are Kickers.

9) What’s the brand of your wallet?
Oscar something.... I forgot. Haha!

10) What’s the brand of your shirts?
Hmmm, I have different brands... Hanes, HerBench, etc.

11) What’s the brand of your TV?
JVC.

12) What’s the brand of your cars?
Mitsubishi.

13) What’s the brand of your mp3 player?
I don't have and mp3 player.

14) What’s the brand of your make up?
Pond's face powder, other stuff are L'oreal or Revlon. I don't wear make-up most of the time though.

15) What’s the brand of your shampoo and conditioner?
Rejoice shampoo, Cream Silk conditioner.

16) What’s the brand of your jeans?
Hmmm, no idea. Got them from 168. Haha!

17) What’s the brand of your laundry soap?
Surf

tagged by me

Saw this Dionne's blog, just thought I'd tag myself. LOL.

1. How old would you be in 5 years? 31
2. With whom did you spend at least 2 hours today? Ramil and Mateo
3. What do you look forward the most in the next 6 weeks? Christmas!!!
4 . What’s the last movie you watched? Lady in the Water (HBO), haven't seen a movie in a moviehouse in a loooong time
5. Who was the last person you called? Ramil
6. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My sister
7. What was the last text message you received? From our landlady, saying she'll drop by tomorrow to get the rent. Haha!
8. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? My dad
9. Do you prefer to call or text? Call. impatient ako e.
10. What were you doing at 12am last night? Working on the computer.
11. Are your parents married/divorced/separated? Married
12. When is the last time you saw your mom? Earlier today
14. What’s the color of your eyes? Black
15. What time did you wake up today? 5:30 am
16. What are you wearing right now? House dress
17. What is your favorite christmas song? The 'chestnuts roasting in an open fire...' song
18. Where is your favorite place to be? In our bedroom if we don't have money. A good beach or hotel if we do.
19. Where is your least favorite place to be? Crowded places especially crowded malls
20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? Europe
21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? Still happily married with 2 or 3 children.
22. Do you tan or burn? Tan
23. What do you fear the most? Anything bad happening to my family
24. What’s the last food you ate? A pack of Mocha Mini Keyk
25. Who was the last person to send you a message? our landlady
26. How big is your bed? Queen size
27. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? With clothes
28. What’s the colour of your bedsheets? Blue and green

business in the mail

A lot of businesses nowadays would benefit a lot from a dependable mailing list database. A lot of transactions and marketing strategies still uses snail mail but more and more are moving towards email. ResponseCom is one such mailing list database. It is the result of decades of tracking, compiling, and optimizing data merged into one vast database. The database lists brokers, direct mail responders, provides telemarketing lists, fax lists, mailing lists, Travel leads, among others. A lot of company using this database have experienced higher response rates. The database contains over 290 million consumers and 14 million US businesses. A database like this is a big plus for any kind of direct marketing business.

search for another yaya

We're currently looking for another yaya. The nanny that we have right now turns out to be married and pregnant! I was really irritated that she didn't tell us in the first place about her condition. So right now, Ramil and I are asking everyone we know whether they know anyone who would like to work as a yaya. Any help would be highly appreciated :)

a christmas look

I've been bugging Ramil that I want to put a bunch of Christmas decors in our house. Aside from loving them myself, I want Mateo to feel the Christmas season even at home. I am planning to get some wreaths, lights, balls, christmas tree skirts, and anything else that looks like a Christmas decor. I'm sure Mateo would love the colorful designs. I want him to love Christmas as much as I love it!

loose tummy problem

I have no other term for my post-pregnancy middle but to describe it as is - a loose tummy. Not to mention the fact that I am still a few pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. This is the reason why I have decided that I need to lose weight and that I need to exert more effort in trying to get back into shape. Most people of my age are now just starting to experience difficulty in losing weight. I know of some people who have planned on checking out Lap band. This procedure is said to help lose excess body weight, improve weight-related health conditions and enhance quality of life. Now, who wouldn't want that?

house alert

While walking around the village where we live, Ramil and I found a house for sale sign on a really nice house. I stopped and took another look at it. Ramil and I took a liking to the house and we're in the process of contacting the owner to ask for the price and the terms. Hopefully, we could apply it under a housing loan. It would be nice to fill up the house with modern furniture if ever we get to acquire it. I really hope things work out so that we don't have to pay rent anymore.

toy for my boy

My husband has been called a little boy more than once - by me. Until now, he hasn't lost interest for toys that one would often buy for boys. More than once, he has expressed his desire to have a playstation 3, if only he didn't have to set aside money for the real little boy - Mateo. I have plans of saving up little by little to be able to buy him those toys that falls under the nice-to-haves. I wouldn't be able to make it to Christmas but hopefully, his birthday in five months would be good enough.

promote your blog

If you're one of those looking to promote your blog, you might want to consider Free blogger cards. These cards are pretty much like calling cards. So you can promote your blog even in the real world! A card would have a unique tag card with the key words applicable to your blog. Ooprint.com offers free blogging cards, all you have to pay for are shipping fees. So are you a blogger? Get some for yourself now.

mamu in the house

The new nanny arrived last friday and although she's excellent when it comes to housework, she's lacking when it comes to baby skills. Hence, Ramil and I decided to bring Mateo and the new nanny with us to school last Monday. It turned out to be a wrong decision because Mateo, being unfamiliar with the person looking after him, didn't sleep the whole time we were in school! I really felt sorry for my baby that day. That very same night, I called my mom and asked if she can stay with us for the week just so we can leave Mateo and the nanny at home with her. Good thing she agreed! I honestly believe Mateo has never been taken care of as well as how my mom takes care of him when Ramil and I are not around. Thank you mamu!

coupon mania

It's so easy to get carried away with shopping with the approaching holiday season. With the great number of coupons out there that lets you save a lot, it can get doubly hard not to go on a shopping frenzy. Making a purchase with a Coupon is turning out to be the norm nowadays. Getting a Buy One, Get One 25% off coupon from OnlineShoes can be such a treat for someone who loves shoes. I also love BabyCenter because they usually have a lot of coupons. Can you tell that I'm on a coupon mania?

payday tomorrow!

Tomorrow is my favorite time of the month! Payday! It's not like we have much extra to spend but it feels good setting aside money for everything that we need to pay for. Haha! Honestly, we've just about exhausted the money we will be getting tomorrow. I'm counting on our blog earnings for anything extra we would like to have for this month. At least the bills will be off my mind by tomorrow.

time for weddings

People are getting married left and right. It seems that the wedding time in our generation's life has just arrived. Ramil and I will be attending two weddings in the next three months. Having gone through getting married ourselves, I'm glad we won't have to endure questions of 'how about you two?' to unmarried couples during weddings. All we need to worry about are the Wedding Gifts we need to buy. Knowing how it feels to open a not-so-cheap gift and not appreciate it, I've been trying to think back on the gifts that I think will be useful no matter what. Looks like we're going to do some shopping soon!

one more...

I feel like I'm slowly crawling to a goal. Just one more test and I'm done! I never thought that making them can be as difficult as taking them. Haha! I'm still on track with the things I need to do for this week and my mom agreed to stay for a few days to watch over the new yaya. I'm very thankful because I won't have to worry over that stressful aspect. Just need to finish some blog tasks... :)

monday blues

I hate mondays. I find myself almost always not emotionally and mentally ready for a monday. It's good though, that I was physically ready for my classes today. I was ready with my lessons and a quiz that I hurriedly printed at home. Good too that we were able to rest at home last saturday and sunday so I had enough rest and energy for today. Still, I would love it if it's weekend once again.

earn more online

I've been on the prowl for more ways to earn online ever since I've started earning a significant amount of money through blogging. I never thought that I will get paid for blogging and I am loving it! One of the paid blogging services I use and love is Smorty. They are one of the better services that connect advertisers with bloggers.

What I love most about Smorty is the expiration period of their tasks. Tasks are emailed to appropriate bloggers and once taken, a blogger is given three days to complete the task before it is given out to others. So I don't really have to worry about making a quick post in a short time. Usually though, I still make the post as soon as I take it because I'm only allowed to reserve a post one at a time. I would try to make the post as soon as possible so that I could reserve another task that becomes available.

Another good thing with them is their fast payment system. They pay every two weeks through paypal so I actually get the money sooner than the 30-day standard for some paid blogging sites.

I hope I see more tasks popping in my email from Smorty.

silver circles

I used to collect coins when I was younger. Since my dad's work consists of going to different places and countries, he'd often bring home a few currencies from the countries he'd visit. Because of this, I was able to compile quite an impressive coin collection. What I would have loved to have is to be able to add some rare coins, maybe a silver dollar, to my collection. Maybe when Mateo gets older, I'd give him my coin collection and let him add more to it. For the mean time, I'm still on the look-out for more coins worthy of being added to my collection :)

losing those pounds ain't easy

I also didn't use to have problems losing weight. I never reached 100 pounds until I reached my 3rd year in college. After that, gaining weight seemed effortless. Still, I was lucky to be able to shed some pounds with just a few 'diet' meals. Although I still find it a bit easier than others to lose weight by reducing my food intake, what I need right now is an exercise! I would love to get some fitness equipment to help my quest to a fit body. Anybody want to join me? :)

get discovered!

Do you want to be a model, a singer, an actor, a dancer, or perhaps, a comedian? Talent Rock will be holding an event wherein there will be 100+ agents looking for you. My sister, who has always had this thing for show business should be informed of this event. I'm sure she'd be interested to go. This might be her chance to get discovered and make her dream come true.

staying home

Every weekend, we often go to my parents' house and sleep over for a day or two. During the week-long break, we stayed for four days, three nights went home to our house and stayed for three days, two nights, went back to my parents' house and stayed another three days and two nights. It was tiring and restful at the same time. Tiring because of the long travel but restful because we didn't have to do anything (no chores!) while staying there. For the rest of the month, however, Ramil and I have decided to just stay home for the mean time. Gas prices are rising and we plan to try to save up a little on gas. Also, we have a new yaya who will need time here to get herself used to the routines. With a newly-opened mall nearby, I don't mind staying home at all! :)

visit Orlando

Ramil and I can't wait for Mateo to get older. We plan to bring him to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. Aside from Mateo, we're pretty sure we're going to enjoy ourselves as well. This dream trip would take a lot of planning though. At the top of our list is saving up for it. We need to prepare as early as now if we want to turn the dream into a reality. We also need to look into several hotels in orlando. Since we're going to be spending at least a week there if we plan to make the most out of it, we need to choose the hotel very carefully. As early as now, I could save up on my air miles so that we could use it when the time comes. Ramil and I can't wait.

she's here!

The new yaya is finally here with us. So far, all is well and I hope it continues to be okay. Mateo responded well to her from the start. Although he spent a lot of times looking at her, as if asking, "Who are you?". What's good though is he immediately wanted to go with her. Hopefully, she's the one we're looking for!

in times of need

Ramil and I have experienced having almost nothing in our pockets. There was a time last year when all we had was enough for his commute to work. Most of the time, our parents are our Loan facility. LOL. Sometimes, our loans would even be written off. There were also times when we've considered taking unsecured loans. My mom, on the otherhand, would often suggest trying homeowner loans. I feel fortunate that we haven't been in such times of need since we've discovered many ways of earning some extra online. I hope we won't find ourselves in such times of need again.

movie maniacs

Ramil and I used to be movie buffs. Well, we still love watching movies but ever since we started scrimping ourselves on movie tickets, we haven't really spent much time inside a movie house. It would be perfect if we could just get a sony 40 inch LCD so that we can do our movie-watching at home. It would surely beat going to the mall just to watch a movie. At home we can have as many popcorns as we want, we can watch while lying on our bed, and basically lounge and relax. Movie maniacs can be homebodies too! It's time for Ramil and me to catch up on our long list of must-watch.

a new yaya

Mateo's new yaya will be arriving this Friday. I am hoping that she's the one I've been fervently praying for. Since I don't have classes on Friday, I can have the whole day to brief her on her different tasks. I have decided to bring her and Mateo along for the mean time when I go to school for my classes. So for next week, Mateo will be a regular presence in school. I'm sure he'd love that.

study help

A lot of my students are starting to have difficulty with some of their subjects. A few of them are concerned enough to ask help from their teachers. Sometimes though, they prefer getting help from somebody else aside from their teachers. They hold study groups and try to help each other out. They might also benefit from an Innovative Tutor. Whatever help they decide to get, what's important is they do something to help them understand their lessons better.

dreading monday

We're going back to school tomorrow, Monday. Wah! I am not physically, emotionally, nor mentally prepared for it. Since we didn't have any yaya with us for the whole week, I didn't exactly get that much rest done. Also, the pile of papers I was supposed to check is still unchecked. Haha! Not to mention the 2 trimestral tests I was supposed to have started already. Wah!

I hate mondays.

reading problem solution

One of the biggest hindrance to learning a child can have is a reading problem. It's one of the most important step that a child needs in learning. I have a kid who is currently struggling with dyslexia. Even Math isn't easy for him because of all the word problems that I ask them to solve. He's had several Reading Tutors and I think they're helping him cope with his difficulty. Children with dyslexia need special guidance. They usually benefit a lot if given enough individual attention which they get not from their classes but from their tutors. A child should be given the chance to overcome any kind of difficulty he or she might have. If getting tutors is the answer, why not? :)

happy birthday bespren!

Happy happy birthday to my bestfriend Jeng!

Jeng and I met way back in June 1994 during the Freshmen Orientation Program in Philippine Science High School. She has been my bestfriend since then. We've been through so much and I feel so blessed to have her as my bestfriend. I can't believe we've been friends for 13 years already!

She's turning 27 today and I wish her all the best in life. I can't believe that Ramil and I will be attending her party with a baby in tow! I'm looking forward to more years of friendship... until we'll be bringing grandkids to our meet-ups.

Love you bestfriend! MWAH!

who says math is hard?

A lot of kids find this subject very difficult. Being a math major, I never found it difficult even when I was younger though there were times when I pretended that it is just to sound like most of my classmates. Some of my students who have had difficulty with my subject tend to cope well with it with the help of Math Tutors. The subject may be hard but sometimes they just need special attention so they can understand the lessons at their own pace. Having tutored a lot of kids already, I can say that some of them benefit more from tutoring. It helps them keep up with their classmates. What used to be a stigma that goes with tutoring is definitely gone. Parents and their children are now more willing to seek and accept help when it's needed.

aging gracefully

Got this from Ann.

1. If you could pause your aging process, at what age would you choose do to it? (Meaning you would not live forever, but live for 90 or so years at whatever age you chose)

This might be a corny answer but... I wouldn't want to live at a particular age for 90 or so years. Life becomes richer because we get older. Hehe!

2. At what age did you (or will you) consider yourself to be an adult?

I guess I really felt like an adult a few months after Ramil and I got married. We were doing things that I thought were for adults only (no, I'm not talking about the sex part haha). We were doing groceries, paying rent, paying for electricity and water, juggling a very tight budget, and were pretty much on our own.

3. What do you think will be your most annoying trait when you’re a senior?

I think I'd be one of those old women who always seem to have unsolicited advices for everyone. LOL. It's funny because it's something that really irritates me, older people telling us that this or that would be better, or older women always having something to say on how to bring up our own child.

4. How does your current life compare with where you thought you’d be at this point when you were young?

Somehow, I've always thought of myself as starting my own family at an early age (early 20's). I never really dreamed in terms of how much I should have financially so I guess I'm still pretty much on track on how I envisioned my life.

5. When would you like to retire? What do you see yourself doing with your life after retirement?

Right now, I am a full-time mom and a part-time teacher. With the mom part, I guess there's no retiring from that job. Haha! Also, I don't think I will ever stop teaching. Basically, retirement for me means seeing your children settled down with their own families. Of course, I plan to enjoy myself along the way so I don't really see a point in my life wherein I will stop working and start enjoying myself. Right now, I am working and enjoying myself! Why wait for retirement? :)

Thanks, Ann! Now, if you're thinking about the future, feel free to snag this ;)

learning from home

We've had several students who've had home schooling before entering formal school. Ramil and I plan to do this to Mateo in the years before he goes to school which means I am definitely saying goodbye to full-time teaching at least until Mateo can go to school with us already. This made me think of studying myself while doing only part-time work. There are a lot of e-learning opportunities online and I can actually 'go' to school without leaving home. There are several online universities like capella university that offers graduate degree programs and bachelor degree programs in several fields like business and education. It would be a good idea to be able to learn also while staying home and teaching Mateo several tricks.

manchester fan

My cousin loves football so much and she's a fan of Manchester United. She's even planning to go to Manchester to be able to watch one of their games. She's urging my sister to go with her and they are planning several activities for them. They are scouting for good Edinburgh Hotels or any Edinburgh Accommodation. They are planning to stay for several days so they wanted to make the most out of their time there.

While researching on Manchester Accommodation, they were able to learn all about the different art galleries they could visit. They are pretty hyped about visiting the Museum of Science and Industry and the Urbis, the world's first and only museum dedicated to exploring urban culture.

They can't stop talking about their planned trip. I hope they have as much fun as they're hoping.

get ready for the beach!

Ramil and I have decided to have our first family outing next year. I already told him that I will be checking out the school calendar to schedule our trip already. I'm pretty excited since it will be the first time we will go on a vacation as a family. I need to plan this really well for Mateo. Since we will be using our miles too, I need to book the flights early. I also have to consider the fact that Mateo will be more than a year old by then! We're going to have so much fun!

three steps!

Mateo was able to walk three steps on his own! He was standing inside his playpen when he let go and slowly took steps towards the other side. I am one proud mama! I'm sure he'll be walking around our house in about a few weeks' time. Time to buy him more shoes!

correct those bank charges

How many of you have experienced losing money to banks because of different charges they make. I myself have found these unfair. I find it unreasonable that I will put money in my bank, earn the smallest interest rate possible, and yet they can make horrendous bank charges against my account.

Well, it looks like things will be different. Last July 27, 2007, the Office of Fair Trading filed a court action against a number of Banks to obtain a legal ruling on the fairness or otherwise of bank charges. Some people are now making claims against their banks. There's a way to Reclaim Bank Charges! No matter how small your money in the bank is, it's only fair to get back what unfairly charged. This is certainly good news.