Sunday Stealing: The Strange Question Meme Part 1

1. What is the color of your toothbrush? Yellow and white.

2. Name one person who made you smile today. Erynne, of course.

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Getting Erynne ready for school.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Writing some essays.

5. What is your favorite candy bar? Not really a favorite but I do enjoy Twix.

6. Have you ever been to a strip club? Yes -- I saw naked women, not men.

7. What is the last thing you said aloud? Stop, don't do this to me.

8. What is your favorite ice cream? How to choose? Chocolate, chocolate and then some more chocolate.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water.

10. Do you like your wallet? I guess.

11. What was the last thing you ate? A piece of sweet pork (tocino).

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No.

13. The last sporting event you watched? Can't even remember.

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Kettle korn!

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? My sister.

16. Ever go camping? Not since middle school.

17. Do you take vitamins daily? I've been remiss these past couple of days but for the most part, yes.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? No.

19. Do you have a tan? Yes, an uneven one at that. All this sun in Cali!

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? Sometimes.

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? Yes.

22. What did your last text message say? "Erynne says she's an American girl so she only uses a fork to eat."

23. What are you doing tomorrow? Finishing my essays in the morning then off to class in the evening.

24. Favorite color? Green!

25. Look to your left; what do you see? The wall.

Nine Ways to Slash your Family's Spending.

I got this from babycenter.com. Maybe you or someone you know could use a few tips on spending (I know I could!).

Look for hidden waste
Can you find a cheaper cell-phone plan, long-distance phone service, or Internet service provider? Is it time to refinance your mortgage or car payments? Can you raise your insurance deductibles, which lowers your premiums? What about canceling your long distance and purchasing budget phone cards — or using a cell phone (with free long distance included) in off-peak hours? Are you getting your money's worth from your gym membership, or could you walk, jog, or play basketball in the park instead? You may want to consider becoming a one-car family — you'll save on gas, insurance, and car maintenance. And ask your utililty company how you can lower your payments. Even simple changes, like turning down the temperature on your water heater or installing energy-saving showerheads, can bring your monthly bills down.

Watch those credit cards
If credit card charges are eating up a big chunk of your monthly budget, look into consolidating your balances or getting a lower interest rate. Examine your credit card statements: Are there automatic charges — subscriptions or monthly fees — that could be canceled? (Get more tips on easy ways to lower your credit card debt.)

Plan low-cost family vacations
Instead of staying in hotels, consider traveling with friends and renting a house together. This is usually cheaper than hotel rooms, and it allows you to cook meals instead of going to restaurants. Other ideas: Travel locally so you can drive rather than fly. Carry a cooler full of snacks and sandwich ingredients so you don't have to eat out for every meal. Pack up the tent and go camping. (Get more tips on saving big on family travel.)

Go co-op crazy
Form a meal co-op with friends and neighbors — each family takes a night to make dinner for everyone. This saves time, builds community, introduces children to a broader variety of foods, and saves money by allowing participants to buy food in bulk (without having to eat the same food for weeks straight).

A babysitting co-op may also be a good idea. By trading babysitting duties with other families you're close to, you can save money on childcare and know you're leaving your child with people you trust.

Avoid restaurants
The average American family eats out four times a week, which takes a big bite out of their budget, says Jonni McCoy, a mom and founder of the Miserly Moms Web site. You can save a lot by making relatively painless adjustments to your dining habits. On date night, leave the kids with friends and prepare a candlelight dinner at home instead of going out to eat. On workdays, bring your lunch to the office. On weekends, make a picnic and take your family to the park or the beach. Take snacks to the playground, zoo, or movie theater instead of visiting the snack bar. You can also save money by making coffee at home — those fancy coffee drinks really add up. Splurge on your favorite beans and a travel mug and take yours to go. (One Baby Center reader figured that by breaking their specialty coffee habit, she and her husband could shave $2,000 a year off their budget!)

Find cheaper entertainment
Go to matinees or rent movies instead of heading to the theater, and try borrowing videos and DVDs from your local library rather than paying for rentals. And do you really need cable television when you can rent DVDs of your favorite premium channel shows?

You can also get creative about finding ways to cut costs and create family time. Organize a family game night instead of going out, or make holiday presents together to save on gift-giving.

Become a smart shopper
Start with the food bill, McCoy advises. "This is usually the largest category of spending, and there are so many ways to whittle it down," she says. Buy in bulk, clip coupons, and mail in rebates. (You can trade coupons with other parents on our trading post forum.) Generics and store-brand products are almost always cheaper than name brands. (Get more tips on trimming the fat from your food budget.)

For clothes, baby gear, furniture, and similar items, secondhand stores and resale shops have bargains galore, as do sites such as eBay and Craigslist. Or, if you're buying new, purchase clothing for next year during end-of-season sales. For furniture or appliances, ask for floor models — you probably won't notice a scratch on your new bed, but it could bring down the price significantly.

And finally, skip the pricey salon and become a beauty school drop-in. Beauty schools offer discounts on services such as haircuts, facials, and mani-pedis.

Keep a tight rein on your budget
Stay-at-home mom Heather DeGeorge uses a simple envelope system: Every two weeks she takes the cash from her husband's paycheck and divvies it up into envelopes marked for specific expenses. So if she has budgeted $400 a month for groceries, she puts $200 into the grocery envelope every two weeks. Then she knows she'll have the money when it's time to go to the store. DeGeorge has envelopes for other fixed costs, as well as for luxuries. "We budget a certain amount for eating out," she says. "If there's no money in the 'eating out' envelope, we go to the pantry."

Similarly, you can use a separate bank account to make sure you have all the money you need tucked safely away for certain fixed monthly or yearly expenses. Add up the yearly total of all your fixed expenses, divide it by 12, and deposit that amount every month in your separate bill-paying account. Once you get going with this system, you'll never have to scramble to pay your property taxes or any other regular expense.

Put in the time
It's time-consuming to develop and maintain a budget, find the lowest prices, collect coupons, and shop for the best deals. It takes still more time to shop and cook in bulk, and to make presents instead of buying them. McCoy figures that she devotes seven hours a week to keeping her household costs low. "That includes everything: meal planning, shopping, making meals from scratch, and keeping track of spending," she says. "When you consider the rewards, it really isn't that much."

Ondoy.

I know it's already been a few weeks since typhoon Ondoy came and turned a lot of families lives upside down (literally). Hubby's family still resides in the Philippines and fortunately, my MIL and BIL were spared from Ondoy's wrath and were safe in Cavite. My FIL, unfortunately, still resides in Tanay, Rizal, which was one of the areas that was hit by Ondoy. It took us several days before we could even touch base with him (after the 4th day, we were sure something terrible had already happened) but thank God, he was alright. He may have lost a few things (his motorcycle didn't float away but his memphis shades were damaged) but it is nothing even remotely close to the thousands of families that lost it all. God bless the Philippines.

Sunday Stealing: The ABC's of Meme

A- Advocate for: Molested and raped babies and kids

B- Best Feature: uhm.. my eyes?

C- Could do without: 100 lbs

D- Dreams and desires: see the world, have a lot of hearty laughs along the way, at one point in my life be able to say I was a size 10 *laugh*

E- Essential items: Nivea lip balm, my daughter

F- Favorite past time: eating

G- Good at: being rude when I want to be

H- Have never tried: bungee jumping

I- If I had a million dollars: invest, invest, invest -- maybe a sidetrip to Europe too

J- Junkie for: chick lit books

K- Kindred spirit: none.... yet

L- Little known fact: my husband and I married each other after "meeting" each other a little over 2 weeks before

M- Memorable moment: when I first met my daughter

N- Never again will I: gain extra weight after a pregnancy

O- Occasional indulgence: Mountain Dew soda

P- Profession: SAHM

Q- Quote: The Child is Father of the Man

R- Reason to smile: it's a beautiful sunny day

S- Sorry about: all those affected by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng

T- Things you are worrying about right now: about the 6 pounds I've gained

U- Uninterested in: anything geeky

V- Very scared of: getting sick and dying before my child is grown and independent

W- Worst habits: procrastinator and being a perfectionist

Y- Yummiest dessert: Karaoka or sopapillas

X- X marks my ideal vacation spot: Boracay when it's picture perfect

Z- Zodiac sign: Virgo

Investing.

The job market is so bad right now, hubby is still without a job. That's why we're really hoping for so much with the career fair that hubby will be attending in DC. I'll be crossing all my toes and fingers that something will open up for him -- and soon. So you see, even though we'll be meeting up with O and C, there is a real purpose to going to DC other than partying *smile*.

And of course, as soon as hubby lands a job again, I'll finally consider investing in silver. A friend has been bugging me about it for the longest time. See, she was doing some research and came across Monex Deposit Company -- they've been in business for 30 years, selling silver, gold and other precious metals. I've never invested in anything like this so I'll have to get all the information I can before taking that plunge. Afterall, with hard times as it is now, you really have to be careful where you put your money.

Thirty five years...

...ago, my parents were married. Less than a year ago, I was playing with the idea of organizing a renewal of vows for them in Manila. Cecil even persuaded me to go through with it because in this time and age, he said thirty five years of marriage is definitely something to celebrate. Add to the fact *knock on wood*, what if my parents didn't reach their 50th anniversary? As you can see though, it didn't push through. I think I was just looking for another reason to work with Cecil again, in all honesty. Hehe!

Happy anniversary mom and dad! More anniversaries to come!

Score.

I just realized today that we didn't have a hotel booked yet for our DC trip. Headed to Priceline's "Name your own Price" for some horsing around and what do you know, $75/night for a 4-star hotel. Rack rate for the hotel we got is $159 -- gotta love the savings, right? However, I'm a little sad that they don't have an indoor pool (because I imagine the hot DC temps have now disappeared -- hello beautiful fall leaves!). I was hoping to be able to relax in a pool at the end of a tiring, touristy day and maybe get some exercise in as well with a few laps here and there. Oh well. So much for wanting to bring my swimming goggles.

Sunday Stealing: The Magical Mystery Tour Meme

First time to join. Here goes:

1. Is there anybody you just wish would fall off the planet? I want to be nice (from now on). Happy thoughts, please.

2. How do you flush the toilet in public? I never (NEVER!) touch the flush thingy. I always (ALWAYS!) use my feet.. so I hope no one else touches the flush thingy because ewww, germs!

3. Do you wear your seatbelt in the car? When I'm driving, always. When I'm a passenger, I slack -- sometimes yes, sometimes no.

4. Do you have a crush on someone? Oh yes.. currently, Enchong Dee. LOL.

5. Name one thing you worry about running out of. I don't worry all the time.. but I think money's right up there. And my Nivea lip balms too hehe.

6. What famous person do you (or other people) think you resemble? No one.

7. What is your favourite pizza topping? I really love all sorts of vegetables, can't just pick one.

8. Do you crack your knuckles? Never. I have this belief my hands won't be feminine looking if I do.

9. What song do you hate the most? Hate's such a strong word.

10. Did just mentioning that song make it get stuck in your head? Can't think of any.

11. What are your super powers? I wish.

12. Peppermint or spearmint? Spearmint probably.

13. Where are your car keys? Near the front door.

14. Last song you listened to? Erik Santos' "My Love is Here." See, told you I'm crushing on Enchong, LOL!

15. What's your most annoying habit? That I think I can do things better than others.

16. Where did you last go on vacation? Vegas.

17. What is your best physical feature? Eyes, maybe?

18. What CD is closest to you right now? Hubby's -- not sure what kind though.

19. What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator? Milk, fruits, eggs.

20. What superstition do you believe/practice? Hubby says if I've been ironing a lot, I can't wash my hands because of "pasma." My mother also says this. When I've asked for the meaning of "pasma," they can't translate it for some odd reason. But still, I follow.

21. What colour are your bed sheets? They are a multitude of colors -- pink, red, white, peach, orange, light green.

22. Would you rather be a fish or a bird? Fish.

23. Last thing you broke? Hair band.

24. What are you having to eat tonight? Not sure.

25. What colour shirt are you wearing? Cream.

26. If you could be doing anything else today, what would you rather be doing? Shopping.

27. Do security cameras make you nervous? No.

28. If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be? I am Woman, Hear me Roar!

29. Last time you went to a cemetery? A few years ago -- to visit my grandparents.

30. Last concert you went to? Never.

31. Favourite musician(s)/bands you've seen in concert? None.

32. Next concert you're planning to attend? Not planning one.

33. Do you talk to yourself? Yah, when I've done something stupid.

34. Have you ever adopted or purchased a pet? No.. not yet.

35. Have you ever been present when an animal is being born? No.

6 years.

That's how long the hubby and I will have been married this coming January. I want to do something really special (Europe!) but due to current circumstances and the fact that hubby wants to take the kid with us (and God knows trotting a little kid to Europe isn't such a hot idea), I don't mind postponing Europe. I wouldn't mind a Karisma family vacation though, what with Azul Beach and Azul Blue resorts being family-friendly. I love the kid-friendly details of Azul Beach -- they have strollers, cribs, baby milk heaters, beach games, coloring books, refrigerators for milk and medicines, and even kid-sized bathrobes! Europe can wait for now. Erynne would enjoy a Riviera Maya vacation more, I'm sure.

Soon.

This is where we're going to be for Halloween. Without the little girl though. This makes me sad because we'll be missing Halloween with her :(. I wish we could take her with us but time is so limited and she might end up being more tired than rested if she were to tag along.