Posts from — October 2008

My mother who is visiting us for the first time here in Sydney is slowly getting familiar with our routines. In particular, she is getting a hang of how her grandchildren move about the house. Probably catching her attention most of the time is how bubbly little CN is, especially since my little girl is at home most of the time. Now, it is no longer a mystery when I tell my mother stories about how much time I spend picking things up and sorting things around our home. I always remind myself that once we get to build our dream home, an ‘exclusive’ playroom should be on the wish list (probably not only mind but my kids as well). Of course, having an overall great home like those built by Schumacher Homes Louisiana is something that we all dream of.

What do you do with an unwanted gift? If you have kids, then the chances of getting these get somewhat increased. There are different ways to handle such gifts. I frequently see some ads with the description ‘unwanted gift’. That means that some people ‘practically’ exchange goods for cash. Smart? I also know of some people who do recycling instead. That simply means converting a gift received to be a gift given. As the gift giver, how you feel if this happened? On the other hand, would you be happy to receive a recycled gift? There are a lot of variables and it is probably difficult to put a definitive answer.

When choosing a house or apartment (whether through purchase or leasing), it is very important for families to be mindful of the neighborhood where the property sits. One aspect to look at is the availability of services in the area. As a start, that would include schools, shops, church, and health services. It would definitely make life a bit easier if these services are easily accessible from home. Another aspect to look at is the peacefulness of the area. This one is probably on top of my list. After all, what will you do with all of the services if you do not feel safe to move around the community. Living comfortably surely requires having the peace of mind that you can find peace of mind at home and around the neighborhood. Nowadays, there are a number of organizations providing community reports so that people are properly informed and guided.

Of course, once the above ‘necessities’ are taken cared of, the other factors can come in. If purchasing the property, this may include searching for quality investments. Properties which have been great historically are sure to make top of the list. I ran into a good example in the Casco Antiguo region of Panama. Register for an eBrochure Here to get further details.

When it was finally confirmed that my mother (who is not so young anymore) can come to Sydney, we constantly reminded her to bring only what she can carry. Unlike the airport in Manila, the airport here in Sydney doesn’t have airport personnel whose job is to assist disabled and elderly passengers especially with their luggages. So when she arrived a couple of weeks back, she was on her own in carrying her luggage from the carousel to the trolley. Somehow, that triggered her back pains more when she made that extra effort to carry her load.

An appointment to a Chiropractor was one option (next was a good massage) we had to have her back on track. She had her bones adjusted and was given some stretching exercises. After having a few more sessions with the chiro, she said she feels a lot better.

It is either I am really old fashioned or it could be that I have just underestimated the influence of the internet. Just a few weeks ago, I personally heard successful stories of people who have first met online and are now married couples. Personals or online personals profiles may have been the start of it all. Anyway, I guess it may work out well for some people. Though I am still not quite sure how to react if I were the parent of these people. Maybe it really depends on the maturity of those involved. Oh well, I’m not at that level yet. I’ll cross the bridge next time.

There has already been a lot written about fad diets. I have to admit that some time in the past, I have also tried one but eventually bowed out as I could not catch up the pace. Anyway, while some people testify that a certain magical diet works, there are also people who would swear there is no way for such thing to work. The only thing consistent seem to be the need to have a good balanced diet matched with some exercise. I believe these are things we should start early with our kids so they don’t end up trying trying to have answer with fads and calories.

The global financial crisis is really something that should be taken seriously by families. With fluctuations in currency, stock market and others, everyone should just gear up and be prepared for any eventuality. To a simple family, what can be done? I have been reading a lot of articles suggesting ways on ‘how to survive’ this economic crisis. I like the more practical suggestions as they are easy to implement. And if done properly, I do agree that it will save up a few dollars (which end up to be big savings in the end nonetheless). An example is buying ‘generic’ branded goods particularly products which will definitely have the same quality as a branded one. The lessong being preached is ‘don’t be brand loyal’.

I guess brand loyalty comes from the fact that it has been tried and tested by several people. Or maybe these brands were recommended by a professional or expert in that particular area. Whatever the case is, I think the important think to note is the importance of getting a review or comparison of a particular brand versus another. The same is true not only for grocery items but other products or services. In my case, when choosing a web host, I had to make sure I read through relevant web hosting blog which provide review or comments about different providers.

I myself grew up attending Sunday School. I believe it is a good venue for children to be exposed to the truth of God’s word. It may all seem to be simple Bible stories. But the lessons learned do have a long lasting effect when heard by tiny kids’ ears. It is probably because as children, they are willing to listen and apply what they hear or see. It goes deeper into oneself. It goes straight to the heart.

It reminds me of one Bible verse that I like. Psalm 119:11 says “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” It captures the power of God’s word when we keep it in our hearts. It serves as a guide to daily living. I can still recall how we were made to memorize Bible verses in Sunday School. My children who are also now attending Sunday School have also started with their memory verses. I am glad that this is being done there. I believe it is a great way to start young minds, young lives.

A lot of moms like me probably had a hand on do-it-yourself interior designing. On a simpler scale, that involves moving the pieces of furniture a number of times. In several cases, the pieces eventually land on a spot where they may have started from. Meanwhile, some may have tried a more daring level of DIY interior designing such as painting the house, putting wallpapers or even doing the floor tiles! I guess the degree of flexibility on what one can do depends on available space as well as the general structure of the house or unit. A more glaring factor is really who owns the house (i.e. is the house rented? or owned?)

Whatever comes out of these designing adventures definitely reflect preferences, functionality, lifestyle and perhaps, to some extent, personality. Say for example, decorating windows. Here in Sydney, I have noticed the popularity of window blinds. I’m guessing that one thing contributing to its popularity is the ease of cleaning and maintenance. On the other hand, I personally like curtains more as it gives a more home-like feeling. The house we are renting currently has a combination of both curtains and blinds. If I were given a choice to modify things, then I probably would give Window Vertical Blinds a shot as it would probably provide better lighting control.

The statement garbage in, garbage out is not only true for computer programs or systems. It seems to present a fact about several things in life. For example, it has good applications for food and health. If people has poor nutritional intake, then this is reflected in weak body. An orovo review speaks of several options for health food supplements, thus effectively improving what goes in and what goes out.

I’ve been taking my mother ‘exclusively’ to one shopping mall here in Sydney. Thanks to my driving skills, I am not that confident going around in places I am unfamiliar with. Because of that, for the past two weeks, I only managed to take her to this special mall. Anyway, over the weekend, my husband decided to go to Westfield Chatswood for a change. I tried learning the route so one day, I can drive there on my own… for a change.

Discussions revolving around how to survive the economic crisis are all over the place. Whether you go for newspapers, radio, television, or internet, these topics will surely be easy to find (that is if it still needs finding). Anyway, the Australian government has recently increased the first home buyer’s grant. Essentially, it is hoped that this will help in boosting the real estate market (and economy) in the country. Perhaps people who are quite ready for that first home purchase could take advantage of this increase in grant. In fact, building or buying a brand new home will even be eligible for higher benefits. Schumacher Homes is sure to be a good guide when doing the build your own option.

Lesson #1 when fitting shoes or clothes: wear it fully as how it is intended to be. Sometimes, when we try fitting in some clothes or shoes, we tend to just put it on just enough for us to see how it may look. That means we sometimes put only a couple of buttons or not put on the straps completely, etc. That’s exactly what happened to my mother yesterday when she got a pair of shoes. When we got home, she tried the shoes ‘fully’ and discovered the misfit. It’s good that the store’s return policy is good and will allow us to exchange it for something else.

I always remind my kids on the importance of friendship. Compared to a few years ago, people/family movement across the globe has probably took a big leap. Because of these relocations, some friends just seem to have been lost (especially since email was not that popular a couple of decades back). Good that there are some online People Finder sites that may assist in locating an old friend or relative.

Kids often say something which isn’t really meant to be funny. But for some reason, it turns out to be one. I have already posted a few of these funny moments and will continue doing so. Besides, they say that laughter is good.

I’ve already told you about how we asked CN to prepare for her ’show and tell’ for school. So she went to the office table and got her Dora light wand. We then had to rehearse her to answer a few questions as that is how they do it in school.

Mama (pretending to be the teacher): “Hello CN. What are you going to show us today?”
CN: “It’s my Dora wand!”
Mama: “That’s nice. Where did you get it?”
CN: “From the office table!”