Monday, June 30, 2008

Building your dream home

Planning the interior of your dream is a big project. It takes a lot of consideration. Hubby and I agreed not to build our house until we have the enough budget for our DREAM HOUSE. One of the things that will be a ‘must’ when we build our house is an entertainment room; where a HD-LCD TV and a surround sound center channel speaker mount center will add spice to the viewing enjoyment. I’d also like a basement where we could have a billiard table, a dart board and mini-bar where boys can have their sports pleasure. Ahh..it’s really nice to dream of a home. But I guess it will take us at least 3 years to be financial ready for such big project.

Labels: finance, property

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Friday, June 27, 2008

DVD or Xbox 360?

While browsing some internet stuff regarding pregnancy, I was surprised to know that a lot of women who were advised to go on bed rest are having a great time playing xbox 360 or Wii or any other console games. I guess, it is a great way to release stress from all those pregnancy dilemma. But for me though, I would rather lie down on the couch to watch some DVD rather than playing those console games. I guess it is not just my cup of tea. :)

Labels: console games, pregnancy

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Surveys! Surveys!

I have seen these questions from my yahoo support group. Just like Kathy, instead of answering this in the group, I'll just post my answere here. I just started living in an apartment about 4 months ago.

How many sq. meters is your place, and how many people live there?
Around 60 sq. meter lang. I have one colleague in teh office that is living in the 2-bedroom apartment I am renting. We are paying a monthly rental fee of P8,000.

How much is your electricity bill monthly? Water?

I guess one of the ultimate factor that could determine the amount of your electricity consumption depends on how strong your AC is and how long your appliances are working. I have a 1.0 HP in my room that is running for at 10 hours. 8am-6pm. During the time that I don't have my AC microwave and other appliances yet, our electricity is only P400. Now, it has zoomed to P1,800. My co-worker only pays P200, I am paying for the rest.

Water- Drinking water is around P120 a week.

Other utilities?

LPG- P635 a month
Health Supplements - vitamins and calcibone...siguro around P1,200 a month.

Rice - around 1,000 a month. mag isa lang naman ako eh.

Household help-wala pa eh..but when the yaya comes when baby T arrives, budget will be P2,500.

Fuel/Gas-I don't drive a car as my apartment is just a stone away from the office. Commuting from house to office is jus P15 (FX) and coming to hoem from the office is just P60/day. I leave the office kasi at around 4:30 am so wala pang FX nun.

Phone Bill-No landline in the apartment.

Internet-DSL- No internet access in the apartment. Office lang . LOL

Cable- NO cable connection. Rather, I would always allot a budget of P200 per week for my DVD (lahat TV series)

Mobile Phone bills-P300. I don't send SMS, MMS and do outgoing calls that much. I have the office phone. LOL

Groceries- Di naman ako mashado sa groceries. I would just buy Milo, yakult, some fruits, instant yakisoba and break for the entire week. Busog na ko nun. I would always take my lunch/dinner either sa fastfood or sa office pantry. Daily budget of P100 goes for this.

Labels: surveys

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--------------------------------------- What's Up Baby Bop?

Again, the weekly update I am getting from Babycenter.com really thrills me. I am now on my 26th week. And I am getting more and more anxious as time goes by. Can't wait to see little peanut!


26 Weeks

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Labels: baby development

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Saturday, June 21, 2008

New Addiction

I have stopped watching Korean drama series for a whule. I got hook watching hollywood court room drama series. I can't help buy (though) a DVD of GMAs latest Korean drama collection- Witch Yoo Hee. The story is simple but it's appleaing to me. And I love one guy there. Dennis Oh (LALALA) . He just looks so HOT HOT HOT!!!

Though I don't speak Korean, I can sense that he is having a hard time speaking to that language. It shouldn't be a surprised though since he was born and raised in USA. He is half American- half Korean. Dang it! I just finished the series and I am trying to look for other drama where Dennis is included in the cast. :)

Labels: tv programs

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--------------------------------------- No Preggy Pictures Yet

I just realized that I haven't posted any preggy pictures yet. My brother borrowed my digicam as he was sent by his company for a training in Singapore this month. Hopefully by next week, I will be able to take pictures na. Hubby sent huge box/package last month that contains the rims and some baby stuff. I am really excited over this.

Baby has been active lately. I feel that his kicks are getting stronger and stronger. How I wish that hubby is here so that we can share the joy of being soon-to-be parents.. . **SIGH***

Labels: blurbs

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Leisure and Sports

My father-in-law would always join gold tournament sponsored by the rotary club of their district. He would always play with our wedding godparents. Playing this game is indeed relaxing but it can be too costly at times. Aside from the country club membership fee, you should expect to shed some huge amount of money as you buy for golf paraphernalia such as the Callaway golf clubs. At first, Daddy get addicted to it but he is now managing his golf playing stint. Talk about economic crisis!

Labels: leisure, sports

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--------------------------------------- Is it Harder to Raise Boys or Girls? by Paula Spencer

I got this through one of my online support group. This was pretty enligtening.

I often say that I spend more time and energy on my one boy than on mythree girls. Other mothers of boys are quick to say the same. Forgetthat old poem about snips and snails and puppy dog tails, says SharonO'Donnell, a mom of three boys and the author of "House ofTestosterone. " "Somehow it's been changed to boys being made of'fights, farts, and video games,' and sometimes I'm not sure how muchmore I can take!"

Boys and girls are both challenging to raise in different ways,experts say.

Not so fast, say moms of girls, who point out that they have tocontend with fussier fashion sense, more prickly social navigations,and a far greater capacity to hold a grudge. And as a daughter grows,a parent's concerns range from body image to math bias.

Stereotyping, or large kernels of truth? "I think parents use 'whichis harder?' as an expression of whatever our frustration is at themoment," says family therapist Michael Gurian, author of "Nurture theNature." "Boys and girls are each harder in different ways.

"Every child is an individual, of course. His or her innate personalityhelps shape how life unfolds. Environment (including us, thenurturers) plays a role, too: "There are differences in how we handleboys and girls right from birth," says David Stein, Ph.D., a professorof psychology at Virginia State University in Petersburg. "We tend totalk more softly to girls and throw boys in the air.

"But it's also true that each gender's brain, and growth, unfolds at adifferent rate, influencing behavior. Leonard Sax, M.D., author of"Boys Adrift," believes parents raise girls and boys differentlybecause girls and boys are so different from birth -- their brainsaren't wired the same way.

So, can we finally answer the great parenting debate over which sex ismore challenging to raise? Much depends on what you're looking at, andwhen.

DISCIPLINE:

Who's harder? BoysWhy don't boys seem to listen?

Turns out their hearing is not as goodas girls' right from birth, and this difference only gets greater askids get older. Girls' hearing is more sensitive in the frequencyrange critical to speech discrimination, and the verbal centers intheir brains develop more quickly. That means a girl is likely torespond better to discipline strategies such as praise or warningslike "Don't do that" or "Use your words."

"Boys tend to be more tactile -- they may need to be picked up andplunked in a time-out chair," Gurian says. They're also less verbaland more impulsive, he adds, which is especially evident in thetoddler and preschool years.

These developmental differences contribute to the mislabeling ofnormal behavior as problematic, a growing number of observers say.Five boys for every one girl are diagnosed with a "disorder"(including conduct disorder, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity,attention deficit disorder, sensory integration disorder, andoppositional defiant disorder), says Stein, also the author of"Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco." Some kids -- most often boys -- maysimply fall on the more robust end of normal. They need moreopportunities to expend energy and aggression, as well as firmer limits.

PHYSICAL SAFETY

Who's harder? Boys

"Much after-dinner wrestling here," reports Michelle Mayr, the Davis,California, mom of four boys, ages 5 to 12. "I'm constantly fightingto keep my house a home rather than an indoor sports center. Theirstuffed animals' primary function is to be added to the pile ofpillows everyone is launching into from the coffee table."

In general, boys are more rambunctious and aggressive, experts say.Taking risks lights up the pleasure centers of their brains. Manyparents find they have to keep a closer eye on what a son is "gettinginto," or use more bandages.

But letting kids explore -- at the cost of a few scrapes and cuts --builds character, self-confidence, resilience, and self-reliance, saysWendy Mogel, Ph.D., author of "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee." Boys,being natural risk takers, may need encouragement to slow down alittle, but maybe girls need to be encouraged to take more risks. Lookfor opportunities for your daughter to jump off a wall, swim in thedeep end, or try the bigger slide.

COMMUNICATION

Who's harder? First boys, then girls.

From birth, a girl baby tends to be more interested in looking atcolors and textures, like those on the human face, while a boy baby isdrawn more to movement, like a whirling mobile, says Dr. Sax. (Thesedifferences play out in the way kids draw: Girls tend to use a rainbowof hues to draw nouns, while boys lean toward blue, black, and silverfor their more verblike pictures of vehicles crashing and wars.)

In a nutshell, girls are rigged to be people-oriented, boys to beaction-oriented. Because girls study faces so intently, they're betterat reading nonverbal signals, such as expression and tone of voice.Boys not only learn to talk later than girls and use more limitedvocabularies, they also have more trouble connecting feelings with words.

"While most girls share their feelings and details of events, my threesons honestly don't see that as important. I spend my days asking,'What happened then?' or 'What did he say after you said that?" O'Donnell says.

Important note: Because boys hold eye contact for shorter periods thangirls, parents may worry about autism, since this can be a red flag."It's a relief for moms to know that this is normal and comes from theway the brains are set up," Gurian says.

As girls get to be 8 or so, things can get harder: The flip side ofbeing so adept at communicating is that girls exert a lot of energy onit. There can be a great deal of drama around who's mad at whom, whosaid what and why, and more. Start when your daughter's a toddler toestablish an open communication, so she learns she can come to you for advice.

SELF-ESTEEM

Who's harder? Girls.

Developing a healthy self-image is critical to all kids. But as themore compliant and people-oriented gender, girls tend to grow up lessconfident and more insecure than boys, researchers say. Famed genderresearcher and psychologist Carol Gilligan, Ph.D., calls this "thetyranny of nice and kind" -- unwittingly raising girls to be people pleasers."

This cultural pressure to put others' needs first, ignore one's owngut feelings, and avoid asking for what one wants has traditionallyharmed girls," says Jenn Berman, a California family therapist whowrote "The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids." "Despitethe fact that she enjoys the positive attention and accolades thatpeople pleasing brings, the more a girl pushes her own needs anddesires underground to please others, the more likely her ownself-esteem will suffer."

"I see a natural nurturing instinct in my daughter and her friends,"says Tracy Lyn Moland, a parenting consultant in Calgary, Alberta, whohas a girl, 11, and a boy, 8. "I find myself saying, 'I can take careof that -- you get yourself ready,' when she's trying to mother her brother."

Make no mistake, helpfulness and nurturing are virtues for everybody.But this tendency in girls makes it smart to help her explore andstrengthen her inner nature and encourage her to try new things.

Body image is a big part of self-esteem, and though there's certainlybody-image dysfunction in boys and men, it remains mostly a femaleissue. The natural rounding out of the body that happens in pubertyclashes with the unnatural slimness girls see in the culture around them.

Be aware of the messages you convey about your own body, diet, andexercise. "It's painfully obvious that girls' negative body image cancome directly from seeing their moms look critically in the mirror andcomplain," says Berman. "Teach your daughter to listen to her body'ssignals of hunger and satiety. Girls who listen to their bodies tendto listen to their instincts in other areas." Sports are a great wayfor girls to build confidence and a healthy appreciation for their bodies.

SCHOOL

Who's harder? Mostly boys.

Boys and modern education are not an idyllic match. An indoor-basedday and an early emphasis on academics and visual-auditory (as opposedto hands-on) learning ask a lot of a group that arrives at school lessmature. In their early years, most boys lag behind girls in developingattentiveness, self-control, and language and fine motor skills.The relatively recent acceleration of the pre-K and kindergartencurricula has occurred without awareness that the brain develops atdifferent sequences in girls and boys, Dr. Sax says. Music, clay work,finger painting, and physical exercise -- early-ed activities thatonce helped lively kids acclimate to school -- are vanishing. Fewteachers are trained in handling the problems that result.One area where girls do less well in school concerns spatial learning,such as geometry. Girls may use different parts of their brains toprocess space perceptions. The key is for parents to present both boysand girls with plenty of no-pressure opportunities to try out theareas that are challenging.

This was a pretty long article but it was worth reading. It gave me an idea what will it be like to raise a baby boy :)

Labels: parenting

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Make Money Online

Partly, the reason why I love blogging because I get the chance to make money through online assignments. Aside from getting paid on these online jobs, doing sponsored posts exposes me to various products, which honestly, don't exsist in my mind until I get the assignments. I have recenlty registered this blog to Bloggerwave. It was instantly approved. I am just hoping though that I will get to see more available opportunities. :)

Labels: opportunities

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Think Twice First

Quite a number of people in the companyb have now been seeking the help of mortgage lenders as they acquire their new homes. Taking a mortgage takes a lot of consideration so making a decision about it shouldn't be hurried. One QAS (who is by the way, no longer connected to the company) once tried to own a condo unit in Ortigas but it seems that he is not able to pay his monthly mortgage fee. When I saw the matrix of his payment versus the cost of his property, I came up with the conclusion that the interest rate he got is nothing but outrageous. He was deceived. In turn, he has to sell his unit at a very bargain price to at least get some money he has already shed out for his mortgage. Hubby already owns a land property so what we're gonna save up for is the construction of the house itself.

Labels: finance, property

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--------------------------------------- Lucky Guy

Ever since his TrendMicro stint, my brother has been very "lucky" with the new company he is now connected with. This April, he was sent off to Malaysia. This week, he will be on a 10-day training inn Singapore. Next month, it will be Vietnam. And a couple of months after that, he will be sent off to Singapore as well. My brother is working in a company who works with IT infrastructure like VOIP, routers, Juniper networks and used cisco. He's really a lucky guys. He's given a good break despite of being in the company for less than 2 years.

Labels: family, technology

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Waiting...

Hubby just shipped a balikbayan box that contains the Altera rims and a few of my PX orders. I joke to him that he should just buy a luggage bag like Samsonite or something like the Rimowa so that he could ship himself back to me. Hahahahahaha! Hoenstly, despite of my frequent madness and anger towards him, I miss the guy. And it make me feel even more bad the fact that I won’t be able to see in a year and a half time.

Labels: hubby

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--------------------------------------- Another Way of Losing Weight

A lot of products have already proliferated the black market that is specifically for losing weight. I know a lot of people who have already been tempted using these weight losing products like, Phentermine. At first, I thought that phentermine is a kind of illegal drugs but when I searched the internet, it’s just one of those weigh losing pills like the Bangkok pills. Peronally, I still love to stick to the basics- proper diet and exercise.

Labels: health and beauty

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Baby T at 24 Weeks

I have'nt been to our OB GYN. I am scheduled for a clinic visit on June 16. Hopefully, the ultrasound that will be conducted will reveal the gender of our baby. God... it's been a prolonged agony. I really want to shop for some baby stuff but the fact that I still don't know whether my dream of having a boy-first born is still hanging prevents me from splurging some moolah. Anyway, as I feel so giddy when I received this email from BabyCenter.com.

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

I hope that little peanut will be cooperative on Monday so that Mommy and Daddy will no longer feel the anxitey that we are feeling right now. :)

Labels: baby development

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--------------------------------------- UnionBank Sucks!

Our current payroll bank really sucks! Recently, I tried to withdraw some money from my PayPal account to my local bank but due to some reason (something that I can’t understand up until this time), it was denied. The other day, one of my QAS tried to do balance transfers to two of his savings account but the transactions were no go. Worst of all, when we tried calling their hotline, we had to be on hold for more than 30 minutes. After which, we will only a response of "I am sorry for the inconvenience" crap. Geeze! I really want to burn all their ATM and call centers! They are useless!

Labels: banking and finance, customer service

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--------------------------------------- On Buying Baby Stuff

When hubby and I talked over last week end, he mentioned to me that he started to buy some stuff. One of the basic needs that he bought was baby clothing. It was such nice thing to know that I didn’t have to ask him to buy that stuff. He had the initiative to do it. I guess hubby is now beginning to feel how it is to be a father, really. I think he is going to ship those baby stuff together with the car rims he bought for his parents. I am expecting the package to arrive within one. I am just so excited to see those cute little clothes!

Labels: baby stuff

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

RAM Upgrade

The note book that hubby gave me seems to be deteriorating, performance wise. It has a serious ‘screen problem’. I think that it already has dead pixels. I am not sure whether it needs a ram (Random Access Memory) upgrade so that it could work ‘faster’. Sometimes, opening a program takes a minute before it loads. I have consulted some of my geek buddies in the office and they gave me ideas on whether to find good ram deals. I am not sure though whether I will go to Gilmore or Greenhills. I just don’t know if I have the time to shop now.

Labels: computers

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--------------------------------------- Zits and Pregnancy

When I was not yet pregnant, I don’t have any face problems. When I got pregnant, especially on my third month, I noticed that pimples are starting to sprout all over my forehead. I don’t think that I will have to resort to an acne treatment since the problem areas aren’t as horrible as you imagine. I am not just used to seeing zits in my forehead. I am afraid of using skin products. Paranoia kills me, I guess. So I don’t have any option but to let those zits sit on my forehead and wait for them to be gone. LOL

Labels: health and beauty, pregnancy

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--------------------------------------- Eeeekkk! WTF?

Dangerous secret in the colored straws

Horrible story of mine goes back to year 2005 March. I ordered a Club Sandwich and a Sprite in a restaurant somewhere in Manila . When I finished half of the sandwich I sipped a sprite. But it did not taste like an ordinary sprite I used to drink. So I sipped once more, but it still tasted the same. It tasted like a sprite mixed with some kind of oil. I called the clerk and asked him if the sprite was expired. He said it was just delivered today. So I asked him to taste it. Then he also found that something was wrong with it.. Both of us were wondering for a while. Then I got to look inside the straw. There were a lot of tiny black round things that looked like eggs. So I cut the middle of the straw lengthwise to have a better look. Yuck. There were a lot of tiny black round things in it. I suppose they were eggs of cockroach. About 1000 eggs were there. Then I began to check all the other straws in the straws case one by one. Almost all of them contained black eggs that seemed to be either the cockroach eggs or excretions. After the incident I began to check all the straws in the restaurants and fast food chains that I had gone to. Almost of all the straws contained the same black eggs. Especially the darker the colors of straws, the more black eggs were found. In black straws, extreme amount of black eggs were found. It was found out that it is because the cockroaches live (hatch eggs and excrete) in the dark places.

Research result :

Amount of germs and cockroach excretion/eggs found

Jollibee - RED straws - 88.89%
Chowking - RED straws - Almost the same as above
Local Restaurants - BLACK straws - 225% above
McDonalds - WHITE straws - 0.5%
Starbucks - Straws covered with white wrappers - 0%

The fact is 80% or more restaurants in the malls use red or black colored straws – so be careful – it only takes a few second to check the straw before using.

Do you believe this? I don't! I think it's just a marketing strategy. Hello, Jollibee-Chowking?

Labels: business world

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--------------------------------------- Diet Pills, is it safe?

I was watching the Sweet Life when the topic of today’s show was losing weight. It in the program, it featured non-celebrity people who lost a huge amount of weight through exercise and proper diet. One of the guests was asked by Wilma if she was tempted to take one of those being diet pills sold in the market. The guest was honest enough to admit that for a week, she took some but when she experienced the side effects, she immediately stopped taking it. I know that diet pills can be quite dangerous but I also believe that there are many diet pills in the market that are proven to be safe as well. It’s just a matter of choosing which brand has the best reputation when it comes to safety and effectiveness

Labels: health and beauty

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--------------------------------------- Crusing Together

Hubby and I don’t have a ‘formal’ honeymoon yet. After the wedding, we just went to Boracay to have our "us" time. The idea that we are away from family and friends and away from the noise of the city really giddied us. Initially, our plan was to have an out-of-the country honeymoon. When I saw "All my Life" that starred Kristine and Aga Muhlach, I wanted to have a Caribbean cruise as well. But since cruises can be quite expensive, we just scrapped of the plan. I still want to have that cruise trip and maybe next year, the plan will push through.

Labels: travel and living

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