excited to move in

yesterday we paid the balance of the downpayment for the house and lot yesterday. honestly, processing the papers and getting the loan fixed have been all the we're thinking about for the past few days. moving out of the apartment and moving into our own place. its really fun and exciting to think about finally investing in our own house, something we know we will be living in for the long term and something we can finally call our own. its something really special for tabs and me, we know we have probably lapsed in saving or investing, but we do have our own car and house now, so in a sense it is the fulfillment of all our dreams and our hopes for our family. we recognize we will have tougher times ahead of us in the near future once we live farther from work, but that's something we can eventually adjust to and hopefully our income and our financial state will get better in the next few years. its all a matter of working hard for it.

the exciting thing for us is really the part about leaving this apartment and moving there. its quite a challenging phase since we have to do a LOT of packing up because we have a lot of stuff here. and then we have to squeeze the stuff we have into the house and organize it so it won't be messy. i want our own place to be really organized and clean. because its ours for keeps.

oh, and another exciting part I'm looking forward to is to have a nursery for jessica. since we're moving into a 4-bedroom house, I've alloted the small room for Marites, our yaya, and the next smaller room for Jessica's nursery/playroom. I plan to put rubber mats all over the floor of the room and then put up a mattress there so that yaya and jessica can also sleep there. but there won't be any bedframes because I don't want any hard surfaces there. it should just be the mattress, the rubber mats and I'll have all her toys there so she can play and go around there to her hearts content without me having to worry about her bumping her head all over the hard surfaces. looking forward to that most of all!

we're getting our own!

more than two years ago when hubby and I got married we had simple dreams. a good career, time to spend for ourselves, have a baby or two, get our own house and car. and I remember back then that we set a certain age as a deadline for ourselves. hubby was saying then that he was sad that some of our HS batchmates were so successful at their careers already, and he felt he wasn't. I earned my MBA degree but I wouldn't say I'm in my most desired place in my career yet, I just simply knew that time would take me there.
and then we had jessica, and a few months before she was due, we loaned for our first car. We both didn't have our own cars from our families, so the car was really a big thing for us then, we wanted to have it before jessica was born so we can drive her around between families and so she won't develop any of those pollution related illness. It was a blessing for us.
now, we're both 29, and we will be moving forward with our dreams. We're finally moving out of our rented apartment in 2 months and we will move in to our own home. We got the loan approval yesterday, and I can only say that it was really God's blessing to us, that we are able to attain this much together despite the odds. We're not rich, we work for the money we have and we have almost no savings. We want to find our own place because we believe its something we can already work hard for and renting meant throwing away hard earned money on something we don't own.
I'm feeling quite nostalgic about it, really, but it just makes me feel so glad that we got this blessing.
Thanks to all who prayed for us. Thanks to all who helped.

hotel reservations with a plus

Unfortunately, with the many things happening in our lives this year, we won't be haing any vacations anytime soon. I get a lot of flyers on discounted fare rates across asia and other countries, and had I the budget for it, I would definitely consider taking a much needed break from the office. This nice website on hotel reservations would be a great help in my planning.

The good thing about planning and booking for hotels online is that there are is so much information available on the web, and unlike doing it alone with local agencies, there is so much transparency when booking in the net, and there's no need to talk to so many agents here and there, wait for fax or email copies of quotations, and you can easily get reviews of the hotels in your priority list. I've tried booking via the net for some local trips and I really believe it was easy and stress-free.
The locations on the web also vary, you can book anywhere from hotels to motels to resorts, and there is no limit to the places they offer and to other services you can avail together with it. It really is very convenient, and the rates are very much competitive in comparison with other local travel agencies. One of the many offerings of the site is their $100 rebate for booking on certain specified dates, but this would of course be dependent on the length of stay within the hotel booked. Isn't that really enticing? Vacation packages are available to a LOT of places, there are more than 1000 destinations to choose from. Now that really is service plus. Even though I don't have any immediate plans (at least in the next six months) to use their services, it is good to know that they are just a mouse click away, and that there are always so many choices for me, and travel planning will never be burdensome for me.

MBA Besties

just a short tribute to my MBA best friends. they have made my MBA life so much more fun and memorable, I could even say that despite the fact that I enjoyed college life because I spent it with tabs, I also enjoyed MBA life because I asserted my independence there and I spent three years there making a degree for myself. The 5 gals with me there made all the difference. They made going to school fun and appealing, coz we had a lot of stories to share, and they were never a burden when it comes to schoolwork. It fact, its the chemistry we shared that made it better because we always made things easier for each other. We always said that now, our lives are already intertwined, what with three of them being godparents to my daughter, and myself am a grandparent of Joaquin, fran's son.

well, just wanted to share this, it'll be a year next month since we graduated, and its fun to remember the good times.

updates on the house

today we paid half of the DP on the house and lot we wanted to buy. last monday we filed for the loan at the bank, and we are really, really hoping that the appraisal would be enough....

here's a sneak peak of the house we want to get... and we are hoping that we get the appraisal we want next week so that we don't have to think about a Plan B.

the master's bedroom has its own built in closets and own T&B. its also very spacious and comfortable. they were supposed to leave the master's bed and mattress behind. hahaha.... why not! its a king-sized bed anyways.

the dining table is between the kitchen and the living room, and is separated by the doorway/arch above. the owner, I would say, loved plants at least and made it a point to have plants around the small corners.

the living room. they will be leaving the sofa (and hopefully the table, too) and according to mom the sofa needs a bit of re-upholstery. its kinda big so i hope we can find upholsterers willing to do it at home. hmmm.... i'll have to find a nice color to fit in the theme. I would also want to have new curtains made for around the house, but of course that would have to wait until after we get a lot of the stuff we need to have immediately.

the frontage of the house. its really nice and warm. actually, if I can have a choice, I would have it repainted white or blue, but that's just me. of course this can come later naman. over-all I like the look of course.

the kitchen. love it!!!! of course, i figure we need to have some repainting done I suppose, but I love that it has a lot of cabinets. Space!!! I sooo love space.

Don't you think its worth it? We got it for a really good price, its all up to bank now to give us the appraisal we want by next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get approved with a good appraisal so we can move forward with the processing of the title.

Please do pray for us....this is indeed the fulfillment of our dreams and our family's future. that's what makes getting the loan so important to us.

gossip girl, anyone?

I've been hearing stuff about this new TV series out there, and several of my officemates have actually been watching it (That would be anj and kate chu). So the last time hubby and I bought DVD's I got one myself. Actually this is the only time in the past month that we have actually used the DVD again. Thank goodness for the holidays. hehehe.... I will finally have a few hours rest.

Anyways, back to Gossip Girl, its a pretty little series, all about fashion and classiness of the Upper East side of NY. Sweet really, I'm only on the third or fourth episode, so far I'm enjoying it, and I'm also taking the time that hubby is not here so I can watch this. I'm so sure I cannot watch this while he's here because he would most likely be asking 101 questions. hehehe....

Well, just wanted to post a bit, while enjoying the next few days of rest...

PS. I finished the whole first season today. geez. talk about addicting.

jessica's invite

Finally finished Jessica's invite. Its already mid-March so I figure its not too early already to save the date for Jessica's birthday. Hopefully this is already the final one, because I keep on changing the look of the invite. hehehe.... now I can already proceed to the thank you cards. hahahaha....

BTW, check out what I did for the object jessica's holding compared to the original pic. hahahaha... cute eh!

my digiscrapping hobby

Ever since I went to work at my current company life had been so busy that I haven't had time to work on digiscrapping, which is really unfortunate since I rather enjoyed doing it. Being a new mom now and since I want to catch up on jessica's pics, I now want to get back to the hobby I used to want to concentrate on.
I happened to glance upon this site while looking for free digiscrapping kits, they have an annual membership fee of $19.95,had 6 downloadable free kits, 1 book on phrases, and another on sketches for layouting, plus bonuses and free kits throughout the year. Oh, also there's the free website. Would think its quite a steal already, I mean this is done for a year anyways. :-) I do hope I get enough time to do layouts!

i wanna go to school

Well, plans are in the ropes, but probably in a few months time still. One of our initial plans with my MBA friends is to take up dressmaking or pattern making, more as a skill development so we can start a business venture in the next couple of years. I know it would be quite tough to start it, but it would be something we can work on so we won't have to work our ass off till we're too old to enjoy our lives and just keep on working till we are 50.
Fashion schools in California may be a good example for us. It might be a great idea to go there since the place is a center of fashion, but then it would be quite expensive for me to even contemplate. But really, I wouldn't think twice if I were given such opportunity.

on mineral makeup

I got the mineral makeup sampler from everydayminerals.com, and the verdict: Winner! I got nice colors and it looked good on me, at least that was what my friends told me. The only downside of it is that its a bit messy to use. Ok, messy is an understatement, its very messy to use. But since I turn out beautiful anyway, I'm still ok with it. haha.... Now I can't wait to get the custom kit I actually ordered. That's a lot more colors including eye colors. Yipee. If I get really good reviews for it then I will build up my own kit. Will also try Bare Escentuals, just to check which one is actually better for me.

i hate google

I hate Google. I visited my blog rating in PPP today and I found out that I have been reduced to a PR 0! ^%#$^%!!!! Now I won't get any opps! :-( sad and hateful.... why do they do that anyway? I think I have to find out why this happens. I guess I have to just count on the posts that don't really require a high PR rating, I might get one or two. Good thing I've had a pretty good month and have managed to get a few postings out. Otherwise PPP would be a futile venture for me.

jessica's pics

As promised, here's a peek at the BUB pics of my darling jessica. Isn't she such a princess? We had a harder time with her the last pictorial but seeing how she is, it was all worth it, wouldn't you say? I like both and if you ask me to choose which I like better, I won't be able to tell!bath time with jessica and the rubber duckies

cupcakes anyone?

getting a cruise

One thing I would like to go on to for a vacation is to get on a cruise. Cruises are really a great way of spending vacations, because you get to spend your free time on the cruise ship, a luxurious way of whiling away travel time, and then when you get to the specific areas where the ship stops over, you get to visit a new place and see new sights. Its really two in one. Add to that, the cruise ships are really luxurious and you can really immerse yourself in that luxury, even for a few days. I have to really get into one, so I'll make it a dream to get myself and my family into a cruise, before we turn 40!

blow up babies

yey! we'll be getting jessica's pics later, which makes me really excited! we had the same photog last time we went there which was really nice. she still remembers our jessica. we had a harder time this time versus the last because now she seemed to have her own mind. she doesn't want to sit still and smile. she was a little better when we gave her a stress ball but then she wanted to chew on it. she still smiled though, and we had pretty good shots. I still had a budget of only 1 pic printed so we only got the one free and upgraded the gc for my birthday, so we're getting two shots of 8x10 later. excited!!!!

the house we want to buy

Got a text message from the owner of the house we wanted to buy. She's already received her visa and is seriously looking into awarding the sale of the house to the most prospective buyer. Unfortunately she jacked up the price of the house to 1.7million, because she made some home improvement measures just a few months back. sad, we're still interested though, but the next move would really be up to her to decide if she wants to sell it to us.

more work for me

Had a short meeting with my boss today. To cut to the chase, I now have more responsibilities at work. Well, its really a big deal for me, I guess it also reflects my abilities and the fact that my boss believes in my capabilities and that I can handle the additional workload. It impresses me, well. I impress myself! To those who don't know, the thing is that I work in Procurement. Its a function where you gain a lot of friends and enemies at the same time, and one where people skills also matter, not only skill. Well, skills also matter a lot, and over the years that I've been into procurement, I've learned to handle both. I would say that my people skills have increased from 1 to 9, with 10 being the highest. My negotiating skills have improved a lot, from 0 knowledge, I can confidently say that I have around 80% skill level.
Anyway, this afternoon my boss asked me to take on some of the new spend our group has started to handle, that is, tv commercial productions. currently I'm handling several events for some of our bigger brands, premium items and corporate giveaways, bundling services, polybags, plastic and paper cups, and garments. So yes, I'm quite loaded. But before tvc's came along, I could say that I was able to manage my responsibilities well enough. I could go home at past 5, I could relax on some days, I could involve myself in some of the other activities. Now I must again get out of my comfort zone to learn something new. And I hope I can learn well and learn fast, because just like all of my previous endeavors, I want to be able to handle this well. Wish me luck!

to get or not to get insurance

I don't have any insurance yet. Whether its by chance that I don't have one, or that I haven't considered getting any yet, is a matter of perspective. Yeah, there are a lot of companies offering accident insurance, auto or truck insurance, pre-need plans, etc. I have a vague knowledge about it and how its done, but frankly, I don't have a clue on the basics of the computations or how they come up with the premiums. I like and have contemplated several offerings though. I like the ones that offer premiums for women, like free check-ups or freebies when they give birth, I also like the ones that give you a certain amount after several years. I think this is what they call pre-need plans. But of course, this comes after paying so much to them, and the money is not as liquid as when you put it in a bank. But then again, you hardly earn at all when you put something in a bank. Money sleeps there, if you know what I mean. So overall, over putting something in a bank, I would think it would be much more worth it to put it in an insurance plan as a safety as well as an earning investment.

looking for the $1K post

Well, I didn't succeed this time. I heard there were those $50 posts every tuesday, and I was hoping to land into 1, but unfortunately its not my lucky day today. hehehe.... I hope next week will be the week. Gosh, that's a lot of moolah for one posting. I sure hope I get one soon!

buying the dream house

The economy seems to be faring well enough, interest rates are going down, bit by bit, and so is commercial mortgage. Now I think would be a good time to go into buying real estate. To good thing about investing in real estate is that the value normally appreciates over time, though the sad side is you still need to pay for all those real estate taxes yearly. Even so, property normally is a good, hard investment to keep in the long term, so its so good to go and buy them when the interest rates are going down, so will the mortgages you have to pay, after all, the small increments in the interest rate matter a lot when you have to pay it long term, say 10-15 years. It makes quite a difference, really.
We're also looking at buying our own place, and its a really challenging task. We will be staying at the apartment till mid-September, which gives us enough time till then to search our own place. Its kinda hard given that we want to have the best value for what we will buy, because its such a long term investment. We need to get the best bank interest rates as well because we need to get the lowest possible mortgage. It really is quite a challenge, this business of buying real estate. A challenge we'd surely be facing head on in the next couple of months.

Withdrawing funds from Paypal

Yey! I've just added my bank account in Paypal. I was contemplating trying to withdraw funds while I only have 5 dollars in it, just as trial, but I wanna be sure first. hehehehe... its free for transactions more than 7k, and then needs 50php payment for less than that. So I'm not quite sure what is worth it or not, I'll certainly try! Especially now that I have a lot of lined up for payment postings, probably around $60 worth. So its quite worth it I guess. Still too low, but then I know I have to work some more to earn more. :-)

On playing online

I found that the neatest thing about the Internet is that people can actually do anything now while they are in front of their computers. They can choose to learn, to play, to be creative, to relax. In fact they can do just about anything with the Internet. Now they can even play online casino without having to go to Vegas or a similar location. The same thrill I suppose, but with more flexibility and at your own time. No need to get a vacation just to find time to travel and go to one.
If you're the type who likes wants to master the casino game, or the type who can spend millions in online gaming, then this is certainly for you. No need to leave your home or office and travel far to get to a casino. You will definitely get the same thrill doing the same thing online. Its really an opportunity one cannot miss!

mineral makeup

mineral makeup is the new trend in make-up these days. I even saw loreal having their own. I was browsing a while and I saw the site the sells the mineral makeup called Everyday minerals. So I decided to try it out because their prices seem really inviting and cheap! Why not right? Maybe I'll ask one of my suppliers who will go to the states to buy me Bare Escentuals when she goes to the states so I can have my new own set of makeup! teehee.... i'll do that when she tells me she's gonna leave. Anyways, I ordered the sampler kit from Everyday Minerals. The kit consists of the following:

• 3 Foundations
• 1 Blushes & Face Colors
• 1 Concealers

Pretty cool. I paid for the shipping at $5.05. And then I ordered some makeup myself! hehehe.... Here's what I got:
The kit consists of this stuff:
Custom Kits: I Can't Believe It Kit

• blush or face color: Everyday Bronzer 6g
• brush: Angled Blush Brush Brush Size
• blush or face color: Snooze Bar 6g
• finishing powder: Natural Reflections Fair Large
• brush: Angled Blush Brush Brush Size
• foundation: (Buff) Buff-Light Neutral 8g Semi-Matte
• eye color: Comfy Large
• eye color: Oasis Large
• concealer: Spring Concealer 6g
• eye color: Dark Brown Brow Color Large
• foundation: (Golden) Golden-Medium Tan 8g Original Glo
• blush or face color: Apple 6g
• eye color: On the Phone Large

Add to that, I got the following freebies from their coupon:
Enter discount code 5GizZt in your cart to get 8% off your order before March 10th. All orders over $35 (after discount and minus shipping) receive the 2 NEW PRE-RELEASE COLORS, the new sample-size eye shadow GLASS BOTTOM BOAT-- a gorgeous iridescent blue-green that will remind you of that trip to Key West -- plus the new sample-sized blush and eye shadow combo MOJAVE CAMPING a super versatile apple red with a luxurious shimmer and rich brownish undertones. These will be available March 15th but you can get a preview of two fantastic colors today!

Not bad, right?