CARCYLE?

Could the newest "carcycle" be the future transport? Well it's not really called that but, I like to call it that,lol.. This car is set on two wheels but has a body of a car. Below is a photo. It looks way cool. I don't know much about cars as I don't drive but, this caught my attention. You can read more about it here. All I can say is, it it's good on gas I'm all for it.

First food shopping haul

June was the month that I left blogging. I don't know if I ever shared pictures of haul when I go couponing. The picture below was taken last June and this was one of my biggest supermarket haul. This was also the first time I really put an effort into couponing with food. The lucky store that we went to was ShopRite. Since I started couponing November of last year I was focused more on Walgreens, Rite Aid and Walmart. It was my friend who encouraged me to join her and gave me a great couponing site to follow. There is the a couple of great website but for me Living Rich With Coupons is the best one. So without further delay here is my food shopping haul at ShopRite ..

It was for two different transaction each on different shoprite membership card. Couponing takes a lot of work and organization but it does pay off in the end.

Her Elegant Wedding Invitations

It looks like my trip home to the Philippines is going to happen. Hubby just told me yesterday he saw a decent fare price for all tree of us his mom, my youngest and me. I got so excited. If only my kids while get out of school early enough in June I will be able to make it for my cousins wedding. She and I have been talking about her wedding whenever we get a chance to talk Online.

A wedding is hard to plan when you are based in a different country. She based in Qatar, and has to put her trust into her wedding planner. Even though she is far she puts an effort on how she wants her wedding to be like. The wedding dresses that she has shown me were all beautiful but still has to decide which design. She showed me her Wedding invitations and they were simple yet elegant. It was important for her to make sure her wedding invitations were just right as it sets the tone for her wedding. I am just so excited for the whole preparation to come together. With the help of her wedding planner and the right vendors I am positive that she will have the wedding of her dreams.

Grinch?

We just got back from dropping off our youngest to school. Ahhhhh!!! A moment to relax and read what's going on.

Have you seen the movie " The Grinch who stole Christmas?" . Well it's no longer a movie, it's also happening in real life. I could not believe when I read the news HEERE about how 6k worth of toys from the Toys for Tots drive in Seattle were stolen. What has the world come to? I feel bad for all those organizers hard work. Not only that but the disappointment in the children's faces. What is the thief going to do with that many toys? Sell them on eBay? It's just leaves a bad taste in my mouth how some people have no remorse doing evil things. But according to organizers, the community have been rallying and helping out. It's good to know that inspite of the evil lurking around, goodness in people's heart still prevails. I for one am buying a couple of toys and donating them to charity supported by my local Walgreens. It's may not be much but to one little girl or boy it will make Christmas extra special.

What's up?

Wide awake at 2:07 in the morning! Why the heck am I still awake? I have no clue,lol.It doesn't help that I just found out a better way for me to do my blogging on my iPad. I just downloaded the Blogger App For the iPad. It's amazing! Before I searched for the app I've been having trouble blogging via safari. It wasn't fun at all and I made me crazy. Now that I can blog using my iPad ill be updating more frequently, I'll try.. Well it's very late or very early and I have to be up with my oldest to prepare for school. So, exploring this new app will have to wait until later, much later in the day. Goodnight to all the night owls and I'll be back in a few hours.

CHOICES

Don't you wish you were the person that always gives the best gifts on Christmas. Some people just have the knack of picking up the perfect present for the right person. I don't know about you but, that is so not me. Every year I struggle to think about what to get for my family. Well, I more often that naught over think things. I  get so many ideas in my head that I get bombarded with so many stuff. An gift idea overload! The only person that I  have no difficulty buying gifts for is my youngest daughter who is 5 yrs. old. Even my oldest, Is so hard to buy for. She is not the girly girl type nor is she a tomboy. Finding something for someone who is in between being a kid and approaching puberty. I swear when family members ask about what to get be it for birthdays, Christmas or just any special occasion my response is always " I'm not so sure". It gets old sometimes but, it is the truth. The other person I find hard to buy for is my husband. Every time I ask him what wants or need I get the same response " I don't need anything." I thought men were so easy to buy gifts for but I am wrong. Since I'm at a dead end I gave him a choice between Tools or Personal Use. For tools my choices are a Wet and Dry Vaccum, any affordable tools from deburring tool from MartorUSA.com , or a brand new circular saw. As for the Personal Use my choices are, a new set of electric shave and trimmer, weighing scale or a new set of hair clippers. It is up to him right now. I just hope that whatever he chooses I can afford it,lol. Knowing my husband, he won't want anything for Christmas but the happiness and the joy of his family.

BLOCK THE THIEVES

In today's society where more than half of the worlds population has become so dependent on the web. If we are not careful it could also lead to our downfall. Im talking more on financial downfall. Every time we go online, use our card or purchase in store ,we are putting ourselves in risk of identity theft. My husband has been a victim of that a couple of times. Some stole his credit card number and bought a lot of expensive stuff online. Its a good thing that he checks our back account on a daily basis or else we would have been screwed! We have no idea how someone could have gotten access. All I know is that we have to do something to protect ourselves. One way of doing that is getting a contactless cards . Since I have not gotten him any Christmas gift, this could be a pretty good gift idea. It will help protect our cards by blocking out signals that may want to steal information from our credit cards. It was bad enough already that it happened to use twice. I don't ever what it to happen again. So honey, I am getting your a credit card RFID blocking sleeve. That should stop thief from stealing your financial information and using it for their benefit.

GOOD INVESTMENT FOR WINTER WEATHER

Winter is in full effect specially in MN. I read in the news that MN has already gotten 16" of snow. Now that is a lot of snow. If I was there I would be miserable, my kids would be happy due to the snow. All I would be worrying about is the electricity going off. And when electricity goes off, no heater and that would never do. With the snowstorm wrecking havoc, it comes to no surprise how many accidents have happened. To those in the upper Midwest I hope they are keeping warm and safe. To help keep warm  check out the  best selection of patagonia coats
. It's  imperative that people living in a state constantly visited by snow to invest on a good coat for winter. We are in DE and Invested on a couple of coats/jackets. My most favorite coat is what I call my granny coat. It's length is down to my ankle and it has a hood to keep my head and ears warm. It's perfect for a cold freezing day when I have to walk to the bus stop to pick up my oldest. My prayers go out to the people in the Midwest. I hope they keep warm and safe.

DRAIN TROUBLE

It's been a rough day so far. The other day we found out that the drain to our washing machine is clogged. We came home to find out that the laundry room is flooding and it went into our family. Thankfully it didn't reach the area rug. Today, a plumber came to the house to see what the problem was and if they could unclog the drain. Unfortunately the plumber didn't have the right equipment. Can you believe that? We paid $75 for him to use a drain snake and he couldn't even fix it. What got us frustrated was he only had that one equipment. My MIL had to call the home warranty. We got a credit back for $75. We called another company and they a suppose to come tomorrow. If they don't have the right equipment again,they would have to cut through the wall to get access to the pipe. We are looking at around $295.00. That is a money we really don't have right now. MIL laundry has been in the washing machine for a day and a half now. I had to do something, I needed to do laundry as well or my kids will be going to school naked,lol. So what I did was Jerry rigged something so that we could use the washing machine. It doesn't look pretty but it worked. We got the water to drain outside the house. How I did I do it? I'll keep it a secret,lol..

HELPING PLAN FOR A WEDDING

So many things to look forward in the year 2013. First off, my husband and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary, Second I will be planning my trip to the Philippines. I am looking forward to my trip back home. It will be my first time to meet my sisters daughter, to visit my grandma after my grandfather death, to visit his resting place and also be a part of my cousins wedding. My cousin and I were like two peas in a pod. Growing up we were constantly getting into trouble, all you hear was both our names everyday.

Ever since I fond out she was getting married I have been talking to her about her plan for her wedding. She has asked me for her opinion on the color motiff, flowers and also the wedding photographer. I got so excited talking to her about her wedding that I couldn't help myself finding out more about weddings. I spent lot of time looking at videos of wedding, photos,flowers and wedding dresses. I even checked out philadelphia wedding photography.That I checked out for myself when my husband and I would eventually have a church wedding or maybe just a renewal of vows. It doesn't hurt to plan ahead. All I know for certain that pictures is one of the best way to capture a specially moment. And with a special moment like a wedding it deserves to have the best.

SLOWLY BUT SURELY

Day 2

I am just now getting back into the wave of things. Its been a wet, foggy day in my part of the world. At least its not freezing cold like in MN where they have gotten a total of 16" of snow. I would hate to be there right now. Sure my kids eyes would probably get so big seeing the huge amount of snow accumulation and would want to dive in it. My kids have been asking when we will be getting snow. The last big snow day they had was 2 years ago and they loved it.Not so much for mama and daddy. My dryer was constantly running, floor had to be constantly wiped and keeping track of the kids winter suits and gloves. While daddy had to do the hard labor of plowing the snow not just in front of out house but that also includes out neighbors house and half of the cul de sac. Good thing hubby has a snow thrower, its been a good investment so far.

It's just the beginning of the day and I wonder what is in store for me. I know! More cleaning, and cleaning and cleaning. It never ends when you have kids! So I am getting my butt of this chair and what needs to be done. Be back in a jiffy!

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG

It has been almost 6 months since my last update. I can't believe i have left my blog stagnant for this long. There are a few reasons why i have stopped updating my blog.Personal reasons is the main thing and I got burned out. The passion to write about my everyday life and what I find interesting, entertaining didn't seem to important anymore.

As im sitiing here talking to myself I have yet to think about what else to say. My muse and inspiration left me for a while. If I don't start writting and  updating I fear that I will never be able to pick up where I left off... Am I back for good? For now, yes I am. I have so much to write down and chronicle. Blogging use to be a way for me to keep track of whats been happening and how my girls are growing. For that reason alone I will dust my writing skills.

Until tomorrow.......

WINTER TO SUMMER

Winter has come and gone but I have yet to put away all my girls winter clothes as well as mine. I have about 2 season's worth of clothes in my kids drawers now. Two season worth of clothes for each girls has left a lasting impression on their drawers. I know that If i don't step up my game and separate the winter clothes from the summer clothes the girls drawers will need a new drawer slide.  I did put aside the winter clothes but the weather has been acting kind of funky and I just ended up putting them back in the drawer. My husbands not going to be happy if the kids drawers break. So before I totally end up ruining the drawers I am going to really start separating the kids clothes. Anyway, I know for sure that warm weather is here to stay and my girls won't be needing anything from Winter.

WATER CLEAR

At long last, our pool has finally cleared up! We opened our pool a few days before the Memorial day holiday. Ralph's plan was to have the pool ready by Memorial day since we were going to have a barbecue with the family. We did get the pool ready for swimming but we could not get it to clear up.. All the chemicals were perfect but the pool water was still cloudy. Even though the water was cloudy that didn't stop the kids from enjoying the pool. Ralph assured me that it was safe for the kids to get in the pool. Ralph was getting frustrated with how the pool water looked. He had already spent a lot of money on pool chemicals. He was just about ready to drain the pool and start all over again.

I convinced him to just give it a few more days and just let the pool filter do its job. If it still won't clear up after a few days I told him i would help him drain the pool. Thankfully i was right, the pool cleared up day after day until finally we could see the bottom of our pool. We were both ecstatic. I knew it was only a matter of time until the pool water clears up. The pool filter just needed to run a good amount. Every morning either Ralph and I would go check if the pool got clear. I am just glad for Ralph that he finally got the result he wanted. We are definitely ready, BRING IT ON!

PERSONALIZING GIFTS

How many of you here have already bought something for their husband, dad, friends a Father's day gift? Sad to say I have not even look around or even thought about it. Its just hard to get something for my husband since he always tells me he doesn't need anything. But, he does like to get gifts with personal touches. So it a no brainer to get something from Personal Creations site. A personalized site that lets you customized your gift. My husband loves wearing the shirt that he has with both the girls palm print on it. He wears it and the oldest one he had before our second daughter is already in tatters and he still wears it. A personalized shirt with my daughters photos will be the perfect gift. I will even ask the kids to write something why their daddy is the greatest. I can't wait to get my girls together and plan this years Father's day gift. I want to make it extra special this year, I have been neglecting my husband a little bit and I want to make it up to him. 

SPRUCING UP

On another note, I am extremely glad that the warm weather is here to stay! The weather has just been so nice and warm that I didn't need any jacket or sweater when walking my oldest daughter to the bus stop early in the morning. I love the burst of hot air, reminds me of my country where its almost 80 degrees and above all year long, lol. Enough about that.  I have also gotten my summer clothes out and that includes fashion accessories.
My 2 favorite set of accessories are my silver jewelry and my gold jewelry consisting of necklace, bracelet and rings.I also have other fashion accessories made from beads and what not. Wearing accessories is one way of sprucing up your outfit  without costing you an arm and a leg. So if your on a budget but still want to look fashionable and want to dress up your outfit, get a couple of inexpensive jewelry and make it work!

BABY BLUES

One of the reason why I have been dragging my feet updating my blog is my depression. For 4 years now, I have been struggling with infertility. Well, I already had a baby and she is turning 5 this October. We have been trying to get pregnant and nothing seems to be happening. Its very very depressing and it gets more depressing when friends and family around you are getting pregnant with a drop of the hat. I am very happy for them but I am also crying deep inside. If you are going to say to take my time or maybe its not the right time, please save it. I have heard so many advice and it doesn't really help. Part of my brain processes all those advice but my heart cannot or is not able to accept the fact that I am not getting pregnant. The longing I feel inside is so strong that It takes over my mind and my whole body. Depression is an ugly thing and its hard to shake off.

Some days I am so happy and content that I forget about trying to get pregnant but 90% of the time it's all I think about. The longing and heartache is specially strong when I see an infant. My coupon buddy Allison knows how much I have been longing for a new baby. She was hesitant to tell me that she was pregnant but finally told me. I am happy for her but I wanted to yell and scream at the same time. My heart felt so broken, I had to force a smile. I am so glad she understands me. I don't want to be depress and sad anymore but I just can't help it.

Oh no!

I can't believe its been a month since my last update. I use to love blogging and update my blogs regularly. I guess I am feeling burned out. I do love to write and blog about the daily happening in my family's life but at the same time I get so lazy sitting down and putting them into words. There is no excuse for my neglect. A lot has happened within the month and I intend to write all about it. I just hope I don't bore my followers and readers with my story telling,lol.

BE HEARD

Do you ever wonder what hidden talent yours children have? I often dream about what my children's talent would be. But,we can never make our kids be something they don't want. Still, I often wish one of my children will have talent and love for music. As far as my husband and I have observed, my youngest seems to be more inclined to music, be it singing or trying to play an instrument. She loves the Fresh Beat Band and wants to like "Kiki" who plays guitar and "Marina" who plays drum. She adores them and tries to follow there every move. That has prompted my husband to looking for music stores that offers lessons and that one of the largest retail of music band and orchestra instruments Music & Arts is just close by. The website itself is very user friendly with instruments and accessories easy to find. They offer rentals,repairs, lessons and they also have great deals online and in store. If your interested on learning to play an instruments go to "lessons" and put in your zip codes to find the nearest store in your area.  And your in luck because just for this week they are offering a 10% off in stores, just print out the coupon found on the site. If you prefer to shop online you are in luck with  iGive: $20 off $100 purchase Use Code: IGIVEMUSIC . Now that can make for an affordable musical instrument for your or your loved one.

Don't just take my word for it. Go check them out and have fun browsing at the hundreds of musical instruments they have to offer. Let music be your voice and be heard!

NEW HOME OWNERS

With the weather suddenly turning cold, I have limited the kids time outside in the backyard. I feel that with the changing of the temperature from warm, very warm to suddenly cold will wreck havoc on my kids health. Anyway, my kids have a lot of toys and activities to occupy them inside the house. I wonder how the weather is in Minnesota? Just recently a friend of mine from high school just bought their very first house. She and her husband are now proud homeowners of a 3 bedroom house. If we only lived in the same state i would already be in a tizzy looking any cheap housewarming gift ideas. What would the perfect house warming gift be? If it were up to be I'd probably give them a nice picture frame of my family so they can hang them up among the many photos of their friends.I am so happy and excited for them. Will have to ask her to take more pictures of the new house. I wish I could see her and her sister in Minnesota. That will have to be added to my list of people to see...

ITCHY RED EYES

Check out my tired, puffy and itchy red eyes. That is due to Spring allergy. Oh how I enjoy scratching my eyes out, not!!! It is such a pain in the neck and its very uncomfortable. One minute your doing good and the next your are just scratching your eyeballs out just to get relief from the itching you feel. It seems like my allergy gets worse and worse every year. But according to a doctor, this year's pollen is more brutal than the previous spring due to the mild winter that we had. Yup it was mild and that's the way aha, aha, I like it!!

With the rain we have been having it has helped a lot with the pollen in the air. My allergy is not as bad as it used to. I can finally breath easier, my nose got to rest a bit and I don't have to breathe through my mouth at night waking up with a very dry throat and mouth. And lets not forget about the sneezing. Every time I sneeze and hear someone say "bless you" I tell them to hold it because there will be more coming, lol. Seriously now, I accept my allergies gladly (doesn't mean I won't complain) as long as I know Summer is just around the corner....

MUSICALLY INCLINED

Do you ever wonder if your chil/children have musical talents? When I wan young I use to think I had the potential to be a good singer or maybe play an instrument. That never came to pass for I am a horrible singer and I don't play any instrument at all. With that, I have high hopes for my daughters. They are still young but I hope they would be musically inclined. My oldest is 8 years old and she is showing signs of wanting to play the piano. She is still young and gets influence so easily. She loves Taylor Swift and says she wants to learn how to play the guitar. We don't have any guitar but knowing my husband once he hears about this he will go out and by one. He would probably check out some Applause Guitars and see what would be a good starter for his little girl. My kids playing any musical instrument would be awesome. Next year, Kayla will need to bring an instrument in her music class. We will just have to wait and see what kind of musical instrument she will be good at.

RUGS AND RAIN DON'T MIX

What has happened to Spring. One minute the weather was sunny and warm, the next its pouring rain and chilly.I shouldn't be complaining as the rain will help with Spring allergy. Nevertheless, rain and I are not good friends at all. I have been stuck in our house the whole day. What I find annoying when it rain is how my area gets all muddy, wet and dirty. We actually don't have carpets in but we do have several big area rugs throughout the house. Its a pain in the neck when you have a dog who want to go out in the rain to go potty and you have to actually wait for them to come back. I  have to wait by the door for our dog so I can dry him off. I had to put towels on our area rug so it won't get dirty from the mud. But nothing ever go as planned when you have kids. They just let him in and out without drying him off. I wonder if I can have a carpet cleaner do our rugs,lol. Would that be possible? For those families with carpets in the house and want a real deep cleaning, I hear that carpet cleaners durham nc guarantee an excellent service. Makes me want to have carpet in our house so I can just call them to come clean and steam my carpet. This way I get to have a professional do my work,lol. I seriously want this rain to just be over and done with.

FROM AFAR

While at Walmart yesterday, I saw a beautiful Great Dane dog. He looks small in the photo but he was actually a big dog. I am amazed at how gentle Great Danes are. He is the second Great Dane I have seen that is very calm and behave in crowds. Like always I couldn't resist taking a photo, I didn't go to close since he looked like he was working. Usually when dogs are working their handler won't let them socialize with people. I don't  know if that is the norm but I have come across several handlers who would politely say that their dogs are working right now and they are not to be petted.

I was not a dog lover. In fact, It a while for me to even warm up to the thought of getting a dog. My reason for not wanting a dog was simple. I didn't want my house to smell like a dog. That all changed when my BIL's dog had a litter of puppies. I couldn't very well say no, I was defeated 3-1. Our dog Sunny has won me over, he is the gentlest and sweetest dog ever. He is amazing with the kids and watches over them like a mother hen. Since our dog is 112 lbs I want another dog that is big so hence, the Great Dane. Hopefully within the next 3 years we will own one. Until then, I will just be content admiring them from afar.

DISCUSSION

Never did I imagine that I would become a worry wart when it comes to my children's future. Yes its natural for a parent to worry about their children's future. The moment I became a mom was the moment I understood my husbands worry about getting the right life insurance. Now that my husband is considered middle age, he has taken it upon himself to find the best term life insurance quotes from different insurance companies. Everyone in my family has a life insurance but my husband wants to cover all the basis and get better life insurance if he can. My MIL turning 70 a couple of months ago has also been taking about her insurance. At first I didn't want to discuss things like insurance and funeral arrangement and benefits but I have come to the conclusion that If I want my kids to be taken cared of in case one of us passes away ,I have to pay attention and join in the discussion. Now I know the importance of finding the right insurance for our family.

EXTRA BOOST

Spring is my second favorite season while Summer will always come first in my heart. I don't usually enjoy spring season due to severe bouts of sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and watery eyes brought about by my allergic reaction to the many pollen in the air during Spring season. I do suffer a lot from Spring allergy but this year I looked forward to the beginning of mother natures rebirth.

Spring is usually my time to start loosing the weight gained from the cold winter months. I like to say that I hibernate in the winter, my excuse for eating and gaining weight. Its around these time that I try to exercise and go on a diet to loose that extra pound in order to fit into my bathing suit. I have held off taking weight loss supplement. However, this time around I got my hand on an all natural diet pill. I am more confident that the all natural diet pills side effects won't be as harsh as other diet pills. Exercise and diet is still on my agenda, the pill is just a small boost to help me start loosing the extra weight. I have already lost a fair amount of weight but it seems that I have plateaued . The pill will be the extra push to help me reach my goal. In due time I will be ready for my favorite season which is Summer!!!!!

T FOR TRAMPOLINE

At least the kids Trampoline has is up and assembled. That trampoline was in my MIL's room since last November when we got it for black friday. That was the only reason why my husband braved the swarm of people at Walmart to buy the Trampoline for the kids. We gave it to them for Christmas. We had to wait until it was warm enough to set it up for the kids. Thankfully, my husband's nephew Andrew came down for the weekend to help Ralph set it up. Actually, Andrew did all the work,lol. When Ralph got up it was already assembled. Kaitlyn and his cousin Andrew Jr. were the first ones to try it out.

Ralph and I knew that kids would love the trampoline. The trampoline is the latest addition to our mini playground, lol. Let me tell you, my kids have almost everything, We got the swimming pool, the sandbox, the swing set, trampoline and a big yard to run around and play hide and seek. My kids are the active kind, they love to stay outside in the backyard to play and get dirty. The trampoline is also a big help for both girls since they are studying gymnastics. As for next year, we don't know what we will be adding. Maybe a zip line?

DANCE IT OUT

Its absolutely that time of the month again where most people scramble to go on a diet in hopes of loosing a little bit of weight before Summer hits head on! I am embarrass to say that I go on a frantic exercise binge, and crazy diet. Its not like a really need to loose a lot of weight but I need to tighten and flatten some problem areas. I am not so fond of exercise but, there is one thing I have yet to try. A few of my friends have tried this one out and says its a great workout. I guess you know what I'm talking about,zumba zumba. This exercise regiment is effective as what I have been hearing and most of all it make exercise and loosing weight fun. A cousin of mine is actually a Zumba instructor and she does look great. since zumba is about dancing maybe i will be able to stick to it. I will have to try it out. I need to borrow a Wii disc from someone who has it, before actually buying it.

TIDE PODS

Don't you just love getting stuff in the mail. I get so excited whenever I get something in the mail. weather it be letter, junk mail or free sample from different products. This week I finally received my sample of the tide pods. I have heard so much about this tiny little pack of laundry soap. I must say, Tide is still the best detergent I have ever tried so far. It really does take out stains, whitens and smells great. One of my most prized stockpile is my bottles of tide laundry detergent. Its not a lot but it's more than enough to last me 6 months of laundry, I think,lol.

I was so excited when I recieved my tide pod sample in the mail. I tried it right away and I was not left disappointed. It really works, It comes in a small pre measured packs. Its so easy to use, just drop it in your washing machine, can be used cold, warm or hot water. I actually like it because you don't have to worry about spill. Sure, the price of Tide is a little bit more expensive than other laundry detergent but It does prove its worth. I have learned to buy my tide when the go on sale. With that said, I am on a constant lookout for Tide sale. My tide is only used on our whites and what I consider special garments, lol

WHITE BLOOMS

I took the photo a week before we officially welcomE spring. This is the side walk leading outside of our cul de sac. Every spring time we are showered with white bloom from these trees. I never asked our neighbors what kind of tree's they are. It is not cherry blossoms. We always pass under the canopy of white blooms in the morning when I walk my oldest Kayla to the bus stop and in the afternoon on my way to picking her up at the bus stop. Sure the trees are a menace to my nose but the beauty of the blooms are just breathtaking. I makes me feel like I am literally walking in Wonderland. However, the blooms don't last long. Eventually they will start falling down to make way for the new leaves. Spring is such a magical time! Although Summer is my favorite Season, Spring is my second favorite season. How about you?

I SMELL SPRING

Spring is just a few days ahead. I can literally smell and feel Spring in the air. Everyday is a battle with my allergy, spring allergy that is. Last year my Allergies were so bad that I could not breathe through my nose at all. Eating was like a matter of life and death. Chewing and swallowing was like a death sentence. Breathing is was hard. A few brain cells must have died while I was oxygen deprived. I kid you not, my nose would drip like a leaky faucet! Rudolph and I looked like we were related due to my red nose from blowing all the time. I am hoping that my allergies won't be as bad this year. And even if its going to be as bad as last year, I would gladly bear through it one tissue box at a time rather than suffer through winter. It's still early to tell but I seems like the allergens in the air is not as bad as last year. Who knows, that may all change in a month when Spring is in full bloom!

US

This is my family

Taken last March 3rd, we were celebrating my MIL's 70th birthday. All her kids and grand kids were present. Its always a blast a trip having all of us in one roof. A typical Italian family,always loud! Instead of having dinner at our house my MIL and I decided to just eat out. This way we didn't need to cook or clean anything. All we need to do is show up, eat, have fun, pay the bill and leave the clean up to the bus boys, lol. We ate at a Chinese buffet. Most people would say why the Chinese buffet? First, its very affordable since not all of us can afford a $50 meal each on one sitting. Second, we happen to love the diversity of the food. We had to be seated in their party room and boy did we laugh our hearts out. It was really fun. Although, the food selection this time was horrible, it was bad! In spite of that, it was still a family filled day.

We all went back to our house for more talking and laughter. It was at our house that MIL wanted to get a picture of her kids and their respective family. The picture above is my family with my two beautiful girls, husband and loving Mother-in-law. I wonder what next year is going to be like. Maybe we will have it at our house this time, who knows!

WATERLESS VASE

This is an update on my previous blog post here. I wrote about our early Valentines/5th wedding anniversary. I have been forgetful as of late. Its more like a norm for me now,forgetting about everything even as simple as water on a vase. And we all know if we don't put water on a vase, a plant withers and eventually dies to go to flower heaven. Due to my absentmindedness, I was informed by my youngest that the flowers her daddy gave me were dead. I didn't believe her until I saw the evidence. Right where I left it my roses had withered due to no water in a vase. How could one forget about putting water? I was actually just cutting the flowers to a right length and I was going to arrange them better. I must have gotten side tracked because I forgot to put water.

I felt so horrible. While I felt bad my husband on the other hand was laughing at me. He could not believe I forgot to put water. I scramble to save my flowers but only 3 survived. At least my husband didn't get offended. From now on I will put water first before I cut and arrange any flowers,lol

A STORY BEHIND A BUNCH OF ROSES

Did I ever tell you about the story behind my roses?

Well, a couple of weeks before Valentines I have been no so subtly been hinting to my husband I wanted flowers. And as the days got closer and closer i didn't hint anymore, I demanded I wanted flowers! You see, the last time I got flowers was for our 3rd wedding anniversary and I didn't expect it at all. So with that it seemed like he was developing a pattern of giving me flowers every other year, that every other year was this one! From my previous post we didn't celebrate on the actual day. We just had dinner at our house with all our favorite food.

Valentines morning rolled in and I was a little bit surprised that there were no chocolates, card or flowers and little trinkets for me and the girls. However, I did make some glittered hearts for the girls on the table. My oldest was so sweet when I woke her up. The first thing she did was gave me a big hug and said " happy anniversary mama!". That right there was my Valentines gift from my girls. Back to the flowers. As the day wore on I got a little bit irritated, husband was still upstairs sleeping. I was wondering when he was going out to get my flowers. Finally at past 1 p.m he woke up and called me upstairs. I was getting snippy and annoyed, hubby sensed it and he immediately explained. He ordered flowers to be delivered to our house on Valentines day. He wanted to act like he wasn't going to get my anything at all so I would be surprise when I get the delivered roses. It was not to be! The flower company he ordered from sent him an e-mail at 1:05 that they could not deliver due to the high influx of orders that came in. To prove that he was not lying he did show me the email. He was so bummed but I was happy. All that mattered to me was that he tried. Hubby ultimately went out to get me flowers and I did get my flowers. They may not have been as beautifully arranged but it was perfect.

I am the kind of person who treasures the simplest of things. For men who have missed out on getting the best valentines gifts for girlfriend fret not. Your gift doesn't have to be elaborate and grand. Whats important is the effort and thought you put behind the gift. As far as the saying goes " It's better late than never".

HOWL THE WIND

Winter had been mild but with that, it has also been crazy confusing. The other week we had such great weather that reached 60 degrees. We were all loving it! But the past couple of days have just been breeezzyy! Breezy is an understatement. It's been howling winds as strong as 40 mph. I was so spooked the other night when I was watching TV. All of a sudden I heard this howling wind blowing outside our window. I could feel it shaking the side of our house and the window in our bedroom. Just then, my phone rings and it was sweet husband. He was calling me from work to let me know not to be surprised about the wind. That calm me down a bit but I also worried about him. With wind gusting up to 40 mph in winter its got to be bone chilling cold and he gets in and out of his police car. I worry about him and reminded him to get warm. At least the windy weather will not be here to stay for long. Next week is supposed in the upper 50's and that is just awesome! I hope you guys had a great weekend!

GOING TO MY GRANDPARENTS FOR SPRING BREAK

Thanks to Roman May

My grandparents have been using their wireless internet service West Palm Beach connection to stay in touch with us since they moved. They recently decided that it was finally time for them to move. They have been talking about moving to their beach house as their primary location for years. They probably should have done it a long time ago because they spent a lot of time there, but they liked being able to see us grow and make it to our baseball games and tennis matches. They also liked seeing us every weekend. Now, that we are in college, they made the decision. They sold their house in town and headed to the beach. They even traded up and got a bigger place with a few more bedrooms to try and get us to come visit more often. It has worked. I have been e-mailing with them lately because they have invited my sister and I to come to the beach for spring break and even letting us bring our friends from school. I am just not quite sure that they know what they are getting themselves into.

ROSES AND STEAKS

I don't think I ever wrote about my Valentines. Well, its safe to say that I got flowers a dozen and a half roses in fact,lol. Valentines was not just a day of hearts in our household. I was a celebration of my 5 year wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband. The years that we have been married have not been perfect nor have they been hard. We had our moments of arguments, silent wars and moment of making up. As for the silent war, I almost never get that! Husband is the kind of person who just lets things go. I for one am the kind of person that harbors ill feeling and can't let go right away, lol.

Valentines day was celebrated a day early at our house. Why? The girls had Gymnastics on Valentines day itself and it would be to late if we go out to eat. Besides, I wanted to celebrate at our house. I wanted my husband to cook me my favorite food which is steak. Ralph cooks my steak the way i want it and I for one just love the way he flavors my steak. We had shrimp, corn in the cob, steak, rice and mac and cheese I think. I ate sat at our table not talking for about 5 min. I was just shoving steak and rice in my mouth as fast as I could. That is how much I love the way my husband cooks my steak. It was a great dinner. Next year, we are going to try to celebrate by going out just the two of us. What about your Valentines?

ARE YOU SURE ITS WINTER?

Can you believe the weather we've been having lately? I must say, this has been the mildest winter I have seen and experience in my 5 years in the US. As soon as Summer ended last year I was in dread. Winter and I don't mix. It's to be expected when I am from a tropical country where we are warm all year round,except for a few months of monsoon. The weather has allowed me and my coupon buddy Allison to walk to our nearest Walgreens almost everyday, well its safe to say everyday,lol.

Even thought the groundhog has declared we will get a few more weeks of winter, I am certain though that we are close to welcoming spring. And I for one cannot wait until it gets really really warm. The kids haven't really gotten very sick this winter season. Sure they have he sniffles and cough but no fever so far. I hope i don't jinx myself when I say that. Having a sick child is not easy and it pains every parents heart to see their child not feeling good. Hopefully the weather stay like this so we can walk to Walgreens everyday,lol

QUICK RELIEF

Tax season if finally on its way. A lot of Americans are looking forward to this season. We are looking forward to getting our tax return and paying off most of our debts. Like most people we did not come out unscathed from our worsening economy. We really had to tighten our belts and prioritize the needs and the want. People are struggling all over. I know quite a few that have resorted to selling jewelries just to stay afloat until the next paycheck. Thankfully we have been very blessed. But if it did come to that we would probably be going to a place like title loans tampa but somewhere within our state. I am just fortunate to have such a hard working husband with a stable albeit, dangerous job. Hopefully with the Tax season here most of us will get a break but for those needing fast cash the link provided is one way to get help and relief.

TARGET MADNESS

Hey there peeps! Guess what I got at Target today?? Its been a while since I went to the mall so I asked hubby to take me today. Armed with my binder full of coupons I hit up Target. I try not to spend more than $20 at Target and today I did not disappoint myself.

Scouring for deals always makes my heart start pumping fast. The exhilaration I get for finding what I want is something else. Its like a drug, I get my high from couponing. And so I got exactly what I wanted. If you ask me about the KY Jelly the answer is, NO, we do not use them. I just got it solely for the purpose of getting a $10 Target GC and I will be giving the KY to my husband married niece and nephew. My total for today's haul is $12.81. Yes, you read it right. The only thing I got that I didn't have coupon for is the paper plate. But since we were out of it, I decided to get it and paid full price,lol. All together my trip to the Mall was a big success!

MOLEY

Holy camoley! Has it been that long since I updated my blogs? My excuse is still the same. I am a total prisoner of coupons,hahahah.. Seriously couponing has taken most of my time and I barely have any time to write. I do get plenty of time sitting down in front of the computer but, it's to scour deals and check for new printable coupons. Some of my household chores have even suffered,lol.

I even remembered that I had another blog for my cheap find. The last time I updated it was like 8 months ago. That was a total waste of hosting and what not. Reviving that blog was to be my new mission but if I can barely update 3 blogs how much more if I add 1 more? I don't know if I can do it but I can at least try and if it fails then, at least I tried.

A SIGN?

Standing in line at Walgreens just minding my own business when suddenly this very old woman came up behind me and handed me a small pamphlet. I didn't want to be rude so I smile and took it from her. She left right away and I looked at the guy behind me to see if she gave the people behind me the same thing. I laughed seeing that I was the only one given that. I told the guy " I guess I'm the only one that needs some help being saved".

I am not laughing at religion. I am proud to say I am Catholic but I haven't been as active as I should be. Going to church used to be a necessity for me when I was still in the Philippines. It is embarrassing to admit that I haven't been to church for the longest time. Making excuses as to why I haven't attended church will not make a difference. I will have to make a conscious effort to do that regularly. I want my children to grow up with God and to understand and respect all the church holidays. Once I learn to drive things will be different. One thing for sure, I know that I believe in God the Almighty..

HAVING KIDS

Guest post of the week by Bradley Guthrie

Having kids has made me really aware of how far behind I am when it comes to technology. I really wish I had learned all these things before it was do or die time but I guess now’s as good a time as any and it’s important that I’m learning now and not that I’m not already knowledgeable. My kids are really great about teaching me what I need to know to get by – they’ve helped me set up the TVByDirect and get a good wireless provider and all that and they even showed me how to work my new iPhone when I finally broke down and bought one. I can’t believe that me, I’m a smartphone owner, but hey, that’s what you’ve got to do to keep up with the times. I can’t believe how many things there are to know not to feel like you’re totally out of the loop but I’m getting there, slowly but surely and that’s what really counts. Right? Am I right?

ONE OF MY BEST TRIP TO W

A quick shot of one of my best trip to my favorite store Walgreens. I have gotten stuff competely free but I love this one. This was last January 11, 2012. My friend Allison and I got dropped of my hubby to one of the nearest Walgreens in our area. This particular store is one of the cleanest Walgreens store I have ever been to. They also have very nice and helpful store associates that really make you feel at ease and taken cared of. Before I start going on and on let me start by breaking down what I got.

4 Chex Mix
2 EOS Shaving Cream
1 Tom's Maine kids toothpaste
1 Kids Omega Smart DHA
1 Tylenol Precise
2 Colgate Total
1 Snytha bar
1 Reach Floss (not in picture)
2 Candy canes and
3 Holiday Pencils

Retail Value for the whole thing is $37.5o. And guess how much I paid for all that? Drum roll please..............

My total out of pocket was $.10 cents. Below is a picture of my actual receipts. I love couponing and I am going to keep on clipping and saving until they say that its illigal to coupon.

NEWEST HOBBY

Wow I have really been neglecting my blogs. The last time I updated was last year before the new year started. I guess It should be in one of my New Years resolution not to neglect my blogs and to keep updating even just once a week.

A big part to blame for my neglect is my newest addiction. Yes, I to have gotten addicted or got bitten by the bug. The coupon bug/addiction that is. I officially started couponing last October 2011 and have not stopped ever since. In fact, I have gone full speed ahead, lol. I am still a greenhorn compared to all those people that have been couponing for years. I am proud to say that I learned on my own with the help of a few websites.

As a stay at home mom, my days can be very boring. I miss the interaction with adult people and other people in general. Couponing has given me back my confidence to try out new things and be heard. Couponing has also given me back my body, lol. Since I have been couponing I have walked to our neares Walgreens almost everyday and its like a mile going to and back. Loosing weight the fun way and a way that I didn't even notice. Yes, couponing is fun for me, its my newest hobby and addiction. And no, I am not like those couponer on the show that has a big big stockpile. My stockpile is still growing everyday, little by little.

How about you? Have you thought about couponing?