Bahamas

There's no turning back. I finally booked our flight for the upcoming family cruise to the Bahamas in August. I deliberated long and hard. I didn't want to go because I'm deathly afraid of being in the water (in the ship, of course), but at the same time I don't want to miss this opportunity for a family R&R.

We thought about going someplace else (that doesn't involve cruise ship & water) for a mini-vacation. We searched online for flights and hotel deals to different destinations. We almost booked a vacation to Vegas but the SIN city is simply not an ideal place for children. Plus, the cost is just about the same.

I'm still not convinced I made the right decision. Just thinking about it makes my heart beat faster than it should. I'm really scared. But excited at the same time.

Easter Sunday @ Jan & Dave's

Easter Sunday came and I was still weak from my weekend bout with a stomach flu. We were invited to an Easter dinner and Egg hunt at SIL's place. I forced myself to act as if I was feeling better for the sake of the kids. I don't want a little illness ruin Easter for my babies! I was uncomfortable all through out the day but I had fun watching the kids have fun. We even went sledding afterwards. And what good is snow without snowball fight? It turned out to be a really good day despite my pain. Steve thanked me when we got home that night.

Real estate matters

The housing slump in the United States might spell trouble to most homeowners particularly those who are trying to sell, but to potential buyers, the sky's the limit in this current market. Mortage rates are at it's all time low and because real estate value has gone down in most places, a buyer gets more house for less cash. Talk about "more bang for your buck". It truly is a buyer's market.

Surprisingly, equity line of credit is on the rise. With rates as low as 3.49%, now is the perfect time to do home renovation or even consolidate some debts. You just have to know what's right for you. And what better way to educate yourself than to enlist the help of a reputable real estate agency. Whether you're looking at Branson real estate, or a high-rise condo unit, or investment properties elsewhere, it's best to trust the experts.

Pagninilay

Minsan lamang ako daraan sa daigdig na ito
Kaya't anuman ang mabuting maaring gawin ko ngayon
Oh anumang kabutihan ang maari kong ipadama
Itulot nawang magawa kong lahat ang mga bagay na ito

Nawa'y huwag ko itong ipagpaliban
O ipagwalang bahala
Sapagkat 'di na 'ko muling daraan
Sa ganitong mga landas

*Isa sa pinakapaborito kong awitin noong ako ay umaawit pa para sa aming munting simabahan sa Pasay. Isang magandang panuntunan sa buhay na walang pasubali kong ginagawang gabay.

PAYAT na AKO!!!!!!! (in my dreams)

Hindi ako makapaniwala! 6 lbs. Halos tatlong kilo. Bawas ang timbang ko ng 6 lbs sa loob lamang ng isang araw. Talagang hindi kapani-paniwala....

Heto ang aking sikreto....

Nagsimula akong manghina araw ng Huwebes. Parang patang-pata ang aking katawan. Hindi ko mapigilan ang paghikab kahit sa harap ng aking mga kliyente. Nakailang tasang kape na ako ay wala pa ring epekto. Parang hinang-hina ang katawan ko. Nang makauwi ako ng bahay ay ipinasiya ko na lamang mamahinga. Ibinili ko na lang ng McDo ang mga bata para sa hapunan nila. Nilamon ko ang french fries. Tinawagan ko si Steve at sinabihang bumili na lamang sya ng hapunan nya sa labas sapagkat wala akong balak magluto.

Nang gabi ring iyon ay halos hindi na ako mapakali. Parang may pumipiga sa bituka ko. Pati ulo ko ay parang lumulutang na rin. Ilang beses kong kinausap ang inidoro. Halos lahat ng pwedeng isuka ay naisuka ko na. Muntik pang sumama pati ang bituka, atay at balun balunan. Kinabukasan ay ipinagpasya kong lumiban sa trabaho. Hindi kaya ng powers ko. Buti na lang at nasa bahay din si Alexis, sya ang nag-asikaso sa kapatid nya. Sinusubukan kong kumain upang manumbalik ang aking lakas ngunit lalo lamang itong nagdudulot ng maigting na sakit sa aking sikmura.

Ngayon ay medyo nakakabawi na ako. Saging at ginger ale ang nakapagpabuti ng aking pakiramdam. Sana ay magtuloy-tuloy na ang paggaling ko.

Maraming salamat nga pala sa aking mga kaibigang nag-iwan ng bakas at komento sa aking nakaraang post about GowGel. Pasensya na at hindi ko kaagad nasagot....sa mga nagtatanong kung ano ang pr, hindi ito permanent resident (hehe mareng hustisya). Ito ay ang makabagbag damdaming page rank. Sa aming mga lumalagare ng paid posts, ito ay napakahalaga sapagkat kapag mataas ang pr mo, madami ding opportunities ang makukuha mo, na nangangahulugan ng anda, datung, salapi, money.

Fantasy Sports

I am not a sports fan. But because hubby is big on sports, I've learned the basics of a few sports like football, baseball and basketball.

At first I never really understood how someone could be so devoted to sports to know every little detail about a certain player, or a team. You can ask him about stats, players, teams, and he might just have the answer for you. I've seen him participate and even create his own fantasy baseball leagues. He's been doing it for several years and I'm amazed at how big it has become. People take this thing seriously! As for challenges, there's a lot of research involved for all the participants. You gotta know your game well as hubby says. He tracks them on a daily basis, and it goes hand-in-hand with real live sports events. Recently, he found a software called Fantasy Sports Prophet's Fantasy Baseball that could help him a lot in winning his fantasy leagues. The software is web-based so he can access it from anywhere. The player rankings are based on Predictive Modeling by PhD scientists. It has the most advanced Draft assistance tool - all the data needed to make the right decision about any player. It has a full season roster management including updated mid-season projections via artificial intelligence and includes all stats, injury reports and major updates available from within software. The best part is the $10 off special just by using promo code BMC200.

As for the rewards, hubby finds it very satisfying when he beats all the others in the game. There's nothing better than being on top of your game. As for me, I find this pasttime OK because it helped him cope with his deployments in Iraq. Cool beans!

GowGel

My oh my......habang ang aking mga amigas ay muling nabuhayan ng loob dahil ibinalik ng google ang kanilang pr, heto ako at nagdurusa sapagkat hindi pa rin tumataas ang bokya kong pr.

What have I done to deserve this???????? Bakit niya ako kinamumuhian?? Nakakasakit na siya (google) ng damdamin huh? Pero di bale, masaya pa rin ako sapagkat masaya ang aking mga amigas sa nanumbalik nilang pr. Malay natin, baka bukas o makalawa ay maawa din sa akin si pareng googs at ibalik ang kinuha nya sa akin.

Kung hindi eh baka magsimula na din akong isiwalat ang aming nakaraan katulad ng ginagawang pagsisiwalat ni Brian tungkol sa mapait nyang karanasan kay Delfin.

debt consolidation

Credit card, mortgage, car payment, and installment loans are just a few of common debts consumers are faced with. There's just so many bills piling up every month that it is sometimes hard to keep track. It can easily get overwhelming specially when you are also dealing with family issues. You miss a payment here and there and watch the interest rate you pay go up. You don't want it to happen to you that's why it's wise to avail of consolidation loans.

If consolidation loan is not what you're looking for and you'd rather go for the short term loans to supplement your needs, Michigan loans can provide you with links to different lenders that can accomodate your financial needs. Just click on the link and see what's best for you.

On Ramielle Malubay

Sa totoo lang, first time kong bumoto sa American Idol. Naawa kasi ako kay Ramielle...although nauubos na ang pasensya ko sa kanya dahil hindi nya masyadong pinaghuhusayan, I still want her to continue sa kanyang American Idol journey....I want her to prove na magaling sya. Na kaya nyang ilampaso ang mga kalaban nya. But, to achieve this, she needs to LET GO and just SING! Para kasing masyadong kontrolado ang boses nya eh. Kung ako sa kanya, ibubuhos ko na ang lahat-lahat....kasama pati atay-balun-balunan. Pick some nice birit songs. Ipakita ang vocal powers.

Akshuli, like ko naman ang kinanta nya dahil isa ito sa aking mga paboritong kanta. In My life ng Beatles, sino ba naman ang hindi mata-touch sa kantang ito. Yun nga lang, medyo na-bored ang mga judges. Heniwey, Go Go Go Ramielle!! Next week kapag boring na naman ang rendition mo, mapupudpod ang daliri ko sa kakadial ng number mo! Maawa ka naman sa hinlalaki ko!!!

Heto, two weeks ago kinanta nya....

home sweet home

If you are trying to sell your home and are having a hard time doing so in this tough housing market, I suggest you make a few little changes to your home to make it more appealing. When we were house hunting last year, we've looked at several houses, but few really appealed to us. Most of the homes we've seen were beautiful, but lacked character. They were boring.

Aside from the nice neighborhood and close proximity to schools, the main reason we fell in love with our house is because of it's character. Outside of the home you'll see a nice landscape with lush green grass, exterior shutters on the windows, and a decent size backyard where our kids can enjoy their playtime. Inside is more impressive because the walls are not painted with the boring white paint. The kitchen even had a two-tone paint. And the basement, it was a dream! Found out that the owner designed and built the basement on his own. I wish hubby had his skills! hehe.

See, we didn't think twice about buying this home. It's a nice place for our kids to grow up in.

HDMI

Is your TV HD ready?? Ours are. But we can't tell the difference with the picture quality as of yet because we haven't subscribed to High Definition channels. I know in time we will. And when that time comes, we need to buy HDMI switches which acts like a router. The three inputs can accommodate the simultaneous connection of up to three high definition video sources, such as satellite systems, HD DVD, Blu-Ray Disc, and PS3. The output then sends the high definition audio/video signals to a high definition display. Now, that's something I can look forward to!

Pinoy telemarketer

Pag-uwi ko ng haybol matapos ang sandaling trabaho ay nag-check ako kaagad ng answering machine. Walang bagong messages, pero may mga ilang tawag ang 1-800 number. Habang naghahapunan, muling nag-ring ang telepono. 1-800 number na naman ayon sa caller ID. Normally, hindi ko sinasagot ang mga ganitong tawag, pero dahil na-curious na din ako, sinagot ko na. Sa kabilang linya ay isang representative ng Chase bank. Gustong makipag-chika tungkol sa credit card na binuksan ko sa kanila. Nung binili ko kasi ang swingset ng mga chikiting patrol ay nagbukas ako ng credit card sa ToysRUs para maka-discount ng 10%, na kaagad ko din namang binayaran dahil ayaw kong magbayad ng interest (sayang naman ang natipid ko no!). Anyway balik tayo sa telemarketer...

Pamilyar ang kanyang accent. Halatang saulado ang mga linyang binibitawan (ewan ko kung binabasa) kasi kahit interrupt ko sya, balik sya sa spiel nya kaagad. Verify nya ang name and address ko. Imbis na Michigan eh MI (em-ay) ang sabi nya kaya na-confirm ang hinala ko na he's not calling from the States. So paligoy-ligoy muna sa umpisa....sinabi kung magkano ang credit limit ko pati ang available balance ko. Kinorek ko sya kaagad, sabi ko wala akong outstanding balance dahil binayaran ko kaagad online. So offer nya naman ang Fraud protection, $7.99 a month daw. Tanggi ako ulit, sabi ko ok lang ako. Next offer nya naman ang balance transfer, 5.99% daw. So chika pa sya ng chika, hindi ako pinapasingit. So sabi ko, "where are you calling me from?" Sabi nya, "Manila"...."you speak Tagalog?" sabi ko naman ulit. "Yes", tugon niya. ..."OK lang ako...salamat...". Medyo huminto sya, "ok ma'am" tapos tuloy tuloy ulit. Tinapos ang binabasa. Pinakinggan ko na lang, hanggang mag-babay na sya.

Buti na lang kabayan ko sya, kasi kung hindi, tinarayan ko na sya. Syempre he's just doing his job. Madaling araw kaya sa Pilipinas nun?! Pero, Haller, 5.99% balance transfer rate, eh samantalang yung bankong pinapasukan ko eh 3.9% lang? Tsaka bakit kailangang may monthly charge ang fraud protection, eh kahit naman hindi ako magbayad nun eh protected ang Credit cards against fraud. Kaya nga mas advisable gamitin ang credit kesa debit noh! Yun lang.

Lumamig tuloy yung dumpling na kinakain ko, sus!

Tinupad na Pangako.

Hayan, mga friends, tinupad ko na ang aking pangako. Medyo sumobra nga eh....kasi eh DS lang naman ang ipinangako ko, pero as you can see, me mga kung anik-anik pang nabili. Wala naman sa usapan ang Wii games eh, at DS accessories. Pero ano pa nga ba ang magagawa ko, napaligiran nila ako! Sabi ko na nga ba eh! It was a trap! lol.

reality check

Britney Spears dominated the headlines early this year, but not for good reasons. Pictures of her partying without underwear, shaving her hair off, going berseck with an umbrella, sitting on a curb crying, running off with one of her papparazis, and being confined to the psych ward, all painted a bad picture of someone who was once a highly regarded role model for teens. She was accused of being delusional, bipolar, a psycho, a bad mother, an alcoholic, a drug addict, among other things. Her downward spiral seemed uncontrollable and she lost custody of her kids.

I feel sorry for her and angry at the same time. How can someone with two beautiful children do this to herself? She's on a self destruct mode and I hope she gets out of it before it's too late. She needs to take life more seriously. She needs to go to drug treatment facility and start getting rid of the demons that plague her whole being.

Wake up, sister!!! Get a grip!

overstock

Hear ye! Hear ye! Nine more months to go before Christmas! ;-). It's never too early to start your shopping list as we all know putting it off just creates unnecessary stress later on. Besides, you can find good deals all year-round. You can find clearance items everywhere. Even online! Yes, you read it right. You just need to know where to look.

For starters, you can, as always, rely on couponchief.com to find the best deals for you. You can go to their website and check out Overstock coupons. You'll be amazed at all the great discounts you can get.

Foodie

We had an all-you-can-eat dinner at the Chinese restaurant in Toledo. Food was good, as it was a mixture of seafood, steak, typical chinese cuisines, mongolian, and plenty of desserts to choose from. There was something for everyone. I can't remember how many times I went back to the buffett table to get more to eat. I was still going at it long after Steve & Lexi were done. I wasn't really pigging out, but I do admit I ate more than the usual. I sampled almost everything they had on the table (except for the frog legs, yucks!). Steve even joked that I'm going to complain later on about how much I've consumed. And he's right. I felt so bloated when I woke up this morning. But it's ok, it's nice to once in a while. I'll just get me some plus size clothing so I can stop complaining about my clothes being too tight.

Good things....

...are happening. Alexis came home with her 2nd trimester (yeah, they have trimester here) report card and I was so pleased. All A's!!! (94%-100%). All her extra-curricular grades went up as well (from Satisfactory to Outstanding). I was also pleased with her A.R. (accelerated reader) result. She started reading Harry Potter around Christmas, and she's already on book 4. She more than doubled her A.R. goal in just a couple of months. I'm glad her comic books phase is over. She's reading more challenging stuff now, and I couldn't be happier!

Now the downside is, I promised I'd buy her a Nintendo DS if she improved her grades. She's demanding I keep my promise and wanted me to take her to Best buy or Circuit City to buy the DS. I told her I'll buy it on her birthday (May), but she's not particularly fond of the idea. Geez, I don't think she's going to let this slide.

Another good news. I received my appointment for the Naturalization interview. It's happening on May 21st at the Detroit INS office. I'll be taking the civics test on that same day. Good thing mom will still be here (she goes back to Germany on May 23rd), so she can take care of the kids while Steve & I head on to the INS office. I AM EXCITED.

The little one

Deal on No Deal was on TV last night, so obviously, our butts were glued on the couch the entire time. When the lady contestant came up onstage, hubby asked little Steven to pick a number (case). He said "6!!!". The lady chose 12. Anyway, the biggest surprise of the evening (for us) was that when case 6 was opened, it contained $1,000,000! My boy picked the freakin' million dollar case!!

I. have. a. plan. Get random numbers from my boy and start playing the lottery.

Florida

The sheriff is looking out for you. You have been given an extra assignment. Thanks for all of your hard work.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing this sheriff badge in my payu2blog assignments. I am so thankful for the assignments that I receive, more so to payu2blog because they don't seem to care that my page rank was slashed to zero by the very scary google monster.

Apropos assignments, I was glad to receive this one about Florida land for sale. I wouldn't mind owning a property in Florida. I find the sunshine state really beautiful. The weather, the beaches, the sights and sounds are just a few of the things that make Florida attractive. Florida real estate is truly a rewarding investment.

Fight the inevitable

February 27th marked the 22nd death anniversary of my father. He was 37. His death was tragic. It was sudden. He wasn't prepared for it, neither were we. The family went through tough times. All of a sudden, my mom became the mom and dad to two young kids. She received a little bit of money from my father's social security benefits but that was it. My father didn't have life insurance.

Looking back, I feel very blessed that we're able to rise from those hardships. It is because of all those hardships that we are smarter and more prepared this time around. We looked into different life insurance quotes and chose the one that suits our family best.

History will not repeat itself.

Maintenance

Imagine my surprise when I checked our bank account and found out that the deposited rent money from our Georgia property was missing a couple hundred dollars. I waited and waited for the mail statement to come so I can see what's wrong this time. I swear, it seems like every month there's something broke that needs fixin in the house. They're all little stuff so far, but it's still annoying. Why can't the renters pay for it for a change? I mean, it's normal wear and tear and even if they're living in their own house, they'd still need to come out of pocket for minor repairs sometimes. It's part of maintenance and I hate it that we're stuck with it since we own the house.

Anyway, turns out, the Moen faucets in both bathrooms need replacing. Fair enough. We plan on raising the rent anyway. Hah! Payback time.

Riedel

I'm not a wine drinker, but if I were, I'd go all out. From the quality of wine, to the wine glasses, to the decanters, I'll make sure I pick only the best.

Attention wine enthusiasts! Are you looking for the perfect wine glass to complement your most exquisite wine? Look no more.

Riedel wine glasses are the finest glassware and decanters for enhancing the enjoyment of wine and spirits. Tests have shown that the shape and construction of glassware can significantly improve the bouquet and flavor of wines. Through two generations of unparalleled craftsmanship, Riedel stemware come in a range of styles specifically crafted to enhance the nuances of different wine varietals, and price categories.

And guess what, the company is offering free shipping on every order. Act fast, and take advantage of this offer!

Cruise

This coming August, hubby's parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary, while SIL's in-laws are celebrating their 46th. SIL is coordinating a Bahamas cruise for the entire clan to celebrate both anniversaries. But since I'm not a big fan of water and ship, and the plane ride to Florida, I begged off. Hubby and Alexis are still going, though. Little Stevie & I are staying behind. I can tell Lexi is really excited because she's looking at all the things she can do while in the Bahamas. She expressed interest in the Dolphin swim, more so when she found out she'll be swimming with bottle-nosed dolphins (she did a paper on them when she was in 4th grade).

August is still a long ways away, and I could very well change my mind. We have until June to decide and pay for our tickets. I'm trying to psych myself so i can get over my fear. I'd love to go, but my fear is so intense I'm afraid I'll bring everybody down. I just can't imagine myself being couped up in a ship with nowhere to go but the big blue Caribbean sea. I wonder how long it'll take me to get there driving one of those travel trailers?? Nah, not a good idea.

What about you, have you been on a cruise? Was it good or bad? Do you think I can handle it??